I’ve heard many good things about Boulder and Denver, but I’ve never paid that much attention. Now I’m wishing I had, because I’ll be there for a whole week, starting next Monday. I’ll be working in Louisville during the day, but have the evenings to spend on my own.
So, does anybody have some suggestions for what to do or see? Anybody want to meet a slacker for dinner?
slackergirl,
I am in C Springs but Athena lives up in that area, she might be your best bet for hooking up for a mini-Dopefest.
I haven’t been to Boulder in years and years…my brother was a student at CU and would have parties so I’d go hang out with him and his buddies.
You could always visit all the external shooting locations for Mork and Mindy 
Two words:
Overlook Hotel
Colin Wilkinson:
I suppose you’re kidding, but that really might have been a good idea…except that the house Mork and Mindy lived in on the show, a real Boulder house as seen in exterior shots, was torn down years ago.
slackergirl, in Denver you may go to the U.S. Mint. They give regular tours. It’s pretty interesting.
In Boulder you should visit the CU campus just long enough to go to the student center and eat at the grill. Why? Because it’s named after Alferd Packer, the only man in U.S. history to be convicted of cannibalism.
And if you’re of an outdoorsy sort and will have some free daylight hours, you can climb the FlatIron mountains. My days were busy both times I’ve been to Boulder, but that’s what I would have done otherwise.
The best way to kill time in Boulder is to NOT BE THERE.
I don’t know, Boulder just doesn’t agree with me for some odd reason. Perhaps there’s an old Indian curse on the place.
For a true dive, head down Highway 93, and stop in at the Rocky Flats Lounge. It’s a small, dirty looking place, but they serve a cheeseburger that will curl your toes.
There’s always Denver Citysearch for ideas about what’s happening locally, as well as The Westword and Lonely Planet.
I would also suggest The Denver Post, The Rocky Mountain News, 9 News.com, and KCNC News 4 as viable news sources.
Good luck, and try to make it to Larimer Square and a Rockies game!
sheesh man, head to the mall. There’s a whole bunch of brewpubs, used bookstores, crazoids, street performers if it isn’t cold. Man, boulder is a great place not purgatory.
Ahh, Boulder, my personal favorite city in the world.
I recommend hanging out on Pearl Street mall for at least one night, as was previously recommended.
Spend a lot of time on The Hill (on the CU campus), be sure to go to The Sink while you’re there. They have awesome pizza, good beer and all of the tables are covered in clippings from The Onion. The hill has the best bars, record stores and people to hang out with, what you would expect from a campus in Boulder.
Be sure and tell Boulder that I said hi, OK?
MarxBoy
I suppose you’d kill him like any other; knock him off his horse and slip a blade through a joint in the armour…
Oh. Wait. That’s not what you meant…
Athena checking in. Next Monday, as in Monday the 23rd? Hmmm… I think I’m free most of that week. If you want to get together for a minidopefest I’m all up for it.
The best place to hang out in Boulder is the Pearl Street Mall. It’s a pedestrian mall, about 5-6 blocks long, with additional blocks on either side that house many places to shop, drink, eat, etc. One of my favorite things to do is a mall crawl, stopping and getting a drink and an appetizer at several different places. The places we frequent most are, from west to east (ie, mountain side to flat side):
West End, Pearl St. between 9th and 11th:
Bacaro: semi-upscale (for Boulder, that means you can’t bring your dog in) Italian place. Good rooftop bar.
West End Tavern: across the street from Bacaro. Great rooftop bar with wonderful views of the mountains. Casual bar food/drinks.
Jax: Next door to the West End. Yuppie fish type place. The place to go if you have a hankerin’ for a mango martini.
Rumba: Carribean type place. The last couple times we’ve been there we’ve been a little disappointed but they used to be really good.
Mid-mall:
Hapa Sushi: newest upscale Sushi place. Used to be the New York Cafe, where Mork worked (or ate, or something…) Pretty good eats, hard to get into sometimes.
Old Chicago: The original, much better than the Old Chicago franchises you see all over the web. Pizza/beer/burgers.
Sushi Zanmai, our favorite Sushi spot, is one block north of mid-mall.
East side of Mall, Pearl St. between 15th-18th:
Mountain Sun Brewery: Hippy brewery spot. Good local beer. Serves food late (In Boulder, you wanna eat past 9pm, your choices go WAY down)
There’s also many, many new places where we haven’t been yet.
Non-drinking/food establishments worth seeing:
Teahouse: A couple blocks south of the mall. I guess this counts as an eating/drinking establishment, but it’s worth just taking a look at. It’s a big ol’ teahouse received as a gift from one of Boulder’s sister cities. Beautiful building.
Boulder Creek Path: A couple blocks south of the mall. Beautiful running/walking/bike path that goes from the mountains all the way east of Boulder. Very pretty.
Chautaqua Park: South Boulder. This is the mountain park at the foot of the Flatirons (those big ol’ flat mountains you see from just about everywhere in Boulder). Great place for a hike or picnic.
Boulder Bookstore: on the mall, pretty decent indy bookstore.
People watching on the mall: On weekends, there’s a lot of buskers on the mall. Also just a lot of funky looking people. Fun to just sit and watch.
That give you enough for now? If you’re looking for something in particular, let me know - I’ve lived in the Boulder area for about 10 years, Mr. Athena is going on 20. We have a pretty good understanding of the town. And lemme know about the dopefest!
Wow, thanks for the ideas. The outdoor mall and CU campus sound like they’d be about my speed.
And ChiefScott, thanks for reminding me about The Overlook. It just wouldn’t be right to be that close and not check it out. It’ll probably give me nightmares. 
Maybe I’ll haul my copy of the Shining out and spend Saturday reading it in the Stanley’s lobby, or would that be too cheesey?.
And look what happens when you preview - Athena posted!
I have the feeling that I will be eating well on this trip.
I’m thinking that I’d probably do better at a dopefest later in the week - Thursday or Friday maybe?
…if you have to make a killing, do it here. You can get away with it…
…if you have to make a killing, do it here. You can get away with it…
…if you have to make a killing, do it here. You can get away with it…
If you do make it to Denver Downtownish area here’s a quick guide. This is a quick cut and paste of a letter I sent to a friend.
16th street mall is the best place for people watching, during the day grab drink and hang out anyplace that has open seeating outside.
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Larimer square is cool for a casual evenings socializing, Andrews and Nalens are good Irish-style pubs.
Lodo is the hottest area these days, but its still close enough to winter that a lot of people aren’t going out to bars yet. Wyncoop is good on weekdays, too crowded on weekends. Fado’s, the Soiled Dove and Lodos are decent people meeting places. EL Chapultepec is a cool little Jazz bar, and has as much character as anything in Denver. Sing Sing is fun as well, but some people don’t appreciate it.
Capital hill is good, Govnor’s park is a good afternoon hangout. Lots of little places that have good hamburgers and stuff.
If you want a good very expensive meal I would suggest the Buckhorn exchange.
Look up the Ramsey’s…