We finally got a chance to get out and see some of the area around us! Like everyone else, we have been pretty much shut-in due to COVID-19, but as things are starting to open up we are looking forward to being able to get out and see the area surrounding Denver.

For our first outing we drove the Lariat Loop Scenic Byway. It is about a 40 mile drive that starts about 10 miles from where we’re staying in the charming town of Morrison. Unfortunately, Morrison’s main attraction, the Red Rocks Amphitheater and Park, is still closed.

From Morrison we drove west on the loop and through a few other small towns. There are several County and Municipal Parks along this drive that we want to come back to, but for today we really just wanted to drive the whole loop so we decided not to stop, which turned out to be a good thing, since they were all full!

Next was the town of Evergeen, which is really cute and looks like a great place to come back and spend an afternoon.

We did stop at the top of Lookout Mountain to see the view and take a few pictures. The view from here was amazing!

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Driving down Lookout Mountain was fun, but a little creepy. It was pretty steep with a lot of switchbacks and hairpin turns. One thing that amazed us was the number of bicyclists we saw going UP the road.

About a third of the way down the mountain was a pulloff that overlooked the city of Golden. We stopped to appreciate the view of the Coors brewery!

Once we got to Golden we stopped for lunch (and a Coors of course!) at the Old Capital Grill and Smokehouse.

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It was great to see some of the area around where we are staying and get some ideas of places to visit in the future. We sure are glad we didn’t make this drive with the trailer in tow!