Colorado is one of my favorite places to visit, and I’m lucky enough to have gone several times over the last few years – including for the 4th of July last year. Since my friend Liz lives out there, most of my trips out to the Centennial State generally start with, “Can I stay with you for a few days?”
Rocky Mountain National Park 
A very frozen Bear Lake 
Got the gang back together
That’s what happened last November, when we decided to reunite our Iceland group in Boulder, Colorado, for Veterans Day weekend. We flew in Friday after work, catching up late into the night. We then spent our Saturday playing in the snow and exploring Rocky Mountain National Park before ending the day at Under The Sun Eatery and Pizzeria.
When Sunday rolled around, we brunched at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse before meandering around Pearl Street. We didn’t have any set plans for the day other than Tyler flying home that night, so we spent the morning popping into random shops, checking out the selection at Fjallraven and Trident before we wound up in a shop I was unfamiliar with: Topo Designs.
Unfortunately, as of writing, the Topo Designs’ Pearl Street location is permanently closed (though you can still shop online), but they had a great selection of bags and apparel to check out. However, what really caught my eye was the map on the back wall of the shop. I can remember asking Liz if it was to scale – were we really that close to Wyoming? Cheyenne, the capital city, appeared to be right next to Boulder.
She confirmed it was very close, and a check against Google Maps told us we could be there in about an hour and a half. Everyone in the group had been to Boulder before, but none of us had been to Cheyenne, so a consensus quickly had us on the road to Wyoming for a spontaneous day trip across state lines, knowing that we had to be back in time for Tyler’s flight home.
Cheyenne was much quieter than Boulder, but its “old west” charm could not be ignored. We were definitely on a time crunch, but we still found some fun spots, like Accomplice Beer Company and the Laramie County Library, which offered great views of the city. We also uncovered several fun photo opp spots, including the murals behind the Paramount Cafe and the big cowboy boot in the middle of downtown.
It was only a few hours later that we found ourselves back on the road to Denver International Airport, but this quick trip to Cheyenne was a great reminder for why some things can’t – and shouldn’t – be planned. As much as I love to plan out our vacations, it’s important to leave time to stop and smell the roses… and maybe cross a state line or two.