Destination: Colorado
Don Vaughan
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16th Street Mall runs through the heart of downtown Denver. Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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Colorado is justifiably renowned for its natural beauty. In fact, when asked to describe the state, Theodore Roosevelt, a man seldom at a loss for words, demurred, noting, “The scenery bankrupts the English language.”
Indeed, few states are as truly majestic as Colorado, home of Rocky Mountain National Park and a treasure trove of other natural wonders. It's where those who love the great outdoors come to commune with nature, where wildlife thrives in abundance, and where rustic living remains a time-honored trait.
Colorado is also where nurses in search of new vistas can find both adventure and astounding career opportunities.
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Few states are as truly majestic as Colorado, where those who love the great outdoors come to commune with nature, where wildlife thrives in abundance, and where rustic living remains a time-honored trait. Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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Known as the Centennial State because it was granted statehood in 1876, Colorado is the eighth-largest state in the union, with an area of about 104,100 square miles. Within its borders are three natural regions of the western United States: the Great Plains, which cover the eastern third of the state; the Southern Rocky Mountains; and the Colorado Plateau.
Colorado is the Spanish word for “reddish colored,” which is the name given to the Colorado River by early Spanish explorers. When the region became a territory in 1861, William Gilpin, the first territorial governor, formally requested that it retain its original Spanish name. In the decades following statehood, Colorado became known for its mineral wealth, plentiful wildlife, agricultural opportunities, and tourism.
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The Denver Museum of Nature & Science offers fascinating exhibits on everything from fossils and Egyptian mummies to space travel. O'Hara Photography for the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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Denver
Colorado's capital city, Denver, is located in the north central part of the state near the base of the Rocky Mountains. Its natural beauty, which includes an average of 300 days of sunshine annually, makes it a popular tourist destination. Here, you'll find the nation's largest city park system, 90 magnificent golf courses, and 650 miles of paved bike trails.
But Denver also has its cosmopolitan side, including a bustling downtown centered around a pedestrian promenade lined with outdoor cafes and flower baskets.
Denver's weather is another popular draw. Springtime visitors will find balmy, sunny days with cool evenings, while summer tends to be warm and sunny. Denver weather in the fall is similar to spring, with relatively warm days and cool evenings, and winter days are generally a combination of warm sun and crisp air, with only occasional snow.
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Washington Park is one of 200 named parks in Denver and is part of the largest city park system in the nation. Stan Obert for Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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Arts and culture. Denver is a city that takes great pride in its art and culture, as evidenced by the city's many museums and related attractions. Some of the most prominent include:
- Astor House Museum in nearby Golden. The museum, built in 1867 to accommodate legislators when Golden was the territorial capital, operated as a boarding house for more than 100 years, and allows visitors to experience frontier Colorado boarding house life as it really was.
- Black American West Museum & Heritage Center. Located in the former house of Dr. Justina Ford, the first black woman doctor in Denver, this museum preserves the history and culture of the African-American men and women who helped settle and develop the American West.
- Buffalo Bill's Museum and Grave in Golden. Exhibits include memorabilia from Buffalo Bill's life and Wild West shows, Indian artifacts, antique firearms, and other Old West treasures.
- Colorado History Museum. Exhibits examine Indian buffalo hunts, mining in the Rocky Mountains, and life in early Denver.
- Denver Firefighters Museum. Houses an extensive collection of artifacts, photographs, and documents that document the history of firefighting in Denver from its inception to the present.
- Denver Museum of Nature & Science. One of the top family attractions in Denver, according to the 2004 Zagat Family Travel Guide, this museum offers fascinating exhibits on everything from fossils and Egyptian mummies to space travel. It also boasts one of the best planetariums in the country.
Denver also has much to offer families with young children. The Children's Museum of Denver features interactive playscapes, programs, and special events that make learning fun by encouraging children to play, learn, and explore.
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Maroon Bells, located near Aspen, is one of the most photographed mountain ranges in the Centennial State. Ron Ruhoff for Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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Nearby, you'll find Tiny Town and Tiny Town Railroad. A historic Colorado landmark since 1915, this museum features more than 100 hand-crafted miniature buildings in a town in a rural and mountain setting, as well as authentic steam train rides.
For those who feel like getting back to nature, there's the Denver Zoo. The zoo, located in Denver's historic City Park, spans more than 75 acres and is home to nearly 4,000 animals including rare amur leopards, okapi, black rhinoceros, elephants, vampire bats, orangutans, and Komodo dragons.
And in nearby Westminster, visitors will find the Butterfly Pavilion and Insect Center, where more than 1,200 butterflies flutter in a simulated tropical rainforest environment. In addition, the brave at heart can hold live tarantulas and other creepy crawlies, and learn the invaluable role insects play in our lives.
Sports. Denver takes its athletics seriously, and is home to professional teams in every major sport. Baseball fans, for example, cheer for the Colorado Rockies, who play their home games at Coors Field, one of Major League Baseball's premiere ballparks. Football fans root for the Denver Broncos, who play at INVESCO Field at Mile High, the site of the former Mile High Stadium. And hockey fans can enjoy watching the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center, which is also the home court of the National Basketball Association's Denver Nuggets.
Other Denver-based professional sports teams include major league lacrosse teams the Denver Outlaws and Colorado Mammoth; the Colorado Rapids, a major league soccer team; and the Colorado Crush, a member of the Arena Football League.
Dining. Denver has achieved a deserved reputation for its innovative young chefs and eclectic, diverse cuisine with a distinctly Western flair. The metro area features more than 2,000 restaurants that offer everything from traditional American dishes to more exotic fare such as buffalo burgers and rattlesnake tails.
Visitors looking for regional cuisine have many fine restaurants from which to choose, including The Buckhorn Exchange, a 113-year-old restaurant and saloon renowned for its prime beef and buffalo steaks, ribs, and elk, and The Fort restaurant in nearby Morrison, which features a full-size replica of an adobe fur trade fort with a scenic view of downtown Denver. Specialties include fine buffalo, elk, quail, beef, and vegetarian entrees.
Other regional restaurants of note include the Historic El Rancho restaurant in Golden, the Rocky Mountain Diner, and the Ship Tavern, which opened in 1934 and offers what many consider to be Denver's finest prime rib, as well as a vast selection of beers, microbrews, and wines.
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An aerial view of Boulder, the largest mountain town of the Front Range, which is home to the University of Colorado. Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau.
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Front Range
The Front Range is one of the Colorado's most spectacular regions. In fact, like the Grand Canyon, it must be experienced to be believed.
Landscapes overwhelm the senses on the Front Range, and nowhere is that more evident than in Rocky Mountain National Park, a 416-square-mile preserve of forests, meadows, tundra, and opaline ponds. Visitors can stay above timberline for days on end, enjoying views normally reserved for eagles, picnic by a meandering creek, or tug at a taut line with a native greenback cutthroat at the other end.
Nature frames the many mountain towns of the Front Range, the largest of which is Boulder, home of the University of Colorado. Surrounded by foothills, the city boasts 33,000 acres of parks and trails, as well as a philosophy of spiritual and environmental health that those in health care will find refreshing.
There's plenty to see and do in Boulder. One of the most intriguing from a historic perspective is the Argo Gold Mill and Museum in nearby Idaho Springs. Here you can tour a mine and arrange a gold-panning outing that could put a valuable gold nugget in your pocket.
Other sites of interest in and around Boulder include:
- Boulder History Museum, which documents Boulder's past from the 1800s to the present through a variety of interactive exhibits, oral histories, and artifacts.
- Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. Founded in 1972, it shows contemporary art by renowned regional, national, and international artists.
- Leanin' Tree Museum and Sculpture Garden of Western Art. This free museum offers a stellar private collection of American western art that includes majestic landscapes, wildlife, cowboys, and more.
- University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. Located in the Henderson Building on the UC main campus, this showcase houses one of the most extensive and respected natural history collections in the Rocky Mountain and Plains regions.
- Fiske Planetarium and Science Center/Sommers-Bausch Observatory. Also located at the University of Colorado, this state-of-the-art planetarium that offers educational programming and allows you to travel the solar system.
If you'd rather spend your time outdoors, Boulder is the place to be. The city contains 200 miles of serene hiking and biking trails plus opportunities for kayaking, rock climbing, fly-fishing, and much more.
Ready for dinner yet? Boulder has an incredible array of dining choices, from ethnic and health food restaurants to funky spots, popular brewpubs, and elegant dining for that special occasion. If you're unsure where to start, ask the locals; they won't steer you wrong.
Colorado is a state with a long and proud history. Rich in natural beauty, it's a welcome destination for nurses and other health care professionals seeking new and challenging pathways.
