Airport Eats: Shake Shack at Denver International Airport

After arriving at Denver International Airport on the red eye, we grabbed breakfast at Shake Shack.  They do offer burgers for breakfast, but they also have breakfast sandwiches!

We got the Shack Burger (lettuce, tomato, cheese, ShackSauce), SmokeShack (cheese, bacon, cherry peppers, ShackSauce), Bacon, Egg N' Cheese Sandwich, Fries, and Tots!

Burgers for breakfast is a bit unusual, at least for us, but I guess when you're on vacation, anything goes!

Shake Shack was super ideal because it was not too busy and we could easily find a table.

Shake Shack
Denver International Airport
8900 Peña Blvd, Denver, CO 80249

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Airport Eats: Voodoo Doughnut at Denver International Airport

After arriving at Denver International Airport, we wanted a bite to eat before our next flight, so we stopped at Voodoo Doughnut for some snacks.

Their first shop opened in Oregon in 2003, and in my opinion, they were the first doughnut shop to start what has since become a craze in gourmet / specialty doughnuts with fun toppings and creative names.  

Marshall Mathers

Marshall Mathers is topped with loads of Mini M&Ms.

Oh Captain, My Captain

Oh Captain, My Captain is topped with lots of Cap'n Crunch cereal.

Old Dirty Bastard

Old Dirty Bastard is a fave - with chocolate frosting, chocolate cream-filled cookies, and peanut butter drizzle.  PB and chocolate is my fave combo!

After two decades, it's nice to see Voodoo Doughnut still going strong, with numerous locations throughout the country, and that their signature doughnuts have remained consistent.

Voodoo Doughnut
Denver International Airport
Concourse B, 8500 Peña Blvd

Denver, CO 80249

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Airport Eats: Pour La France!

During our stopover at Denver International Airport, we had breakfast at Pour La France!

Smoked Bacon and Gruyere Petite Quiche

The Colorado Omelette

Kids Scrambled Eggs with Potatoes and Bacon

Kids Cinnamon Sugar Crepe with Fresh Fruit

Breakfast was actually quite good and satisfying.  The Petite Quiche is indeed petit, but it was very delish, and since it was accompanied by a croissant and potatoes, the entire meal was very filling.

The Colorado Omelette was stuffed with poblanos, green chiles, and goat cheese.

The kids meals were generously-sized!

Pour La France! was a great stop for breakfast while waiting for our connecting flight back home!

Pour La France!

Denver International Airport

8900 Peña Blvd

Denver, CO 80249
(303) 317-9472

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Colorado Omiyage

We scored a lot of Colorado omiyage during our visit to Denver.  We ended up with lots of chocolates and popcorn, as well as jerky and snack mixes.

It was quite easy to find made-in-Colorado items wherever we went (especially since brands like Boulder Canyon, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and Chocolove can be found almost anywhere).

Here are the brands / products we bought during our visit to Denver:

Aspen Mulling Cider Spices
Boulder Canyon Natural Foods - Kettle Cooked Potato Chips
Bubba's Fine Foods Snack Mixes
Chocolove
Colorado Kernels
Duke's Jerky
Hammond's Candies
Kettle Head Popcorn
Open Road Snacks - Rocky Mountain Popcorn
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
Rocky Mountain Foods Snacks

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Visit Colorado: Creekside Playground

While we were walking through Boulder, we stumbled upon the Creekside Playground, right next to the Main Library.

Of course the kids begged to go, and how could we not let them?

It's a fun playground with places to slide, climb, crawl, and balance.

The playground is in a really nice, recently developed area of Boulder - the Boulder Civic Area, and definitely made for a fun stop!

Creekside Playground
1001 Arapahoe Avenue
Boulder, Colorado 80302

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Visit Colorado: Scott Carpenter Park

On a chilly day in Boulder, Colorado, when the kids were itching to get out and play, we decided to take them to Scott Carpenter Park. 

It's an enormous park with a super cool playground.

There is a huge, grassy area where the kids just ran and ran until it was time to go!

 There are also several walking and bike paths through and surrounding the park. 

It was a fun park to visit, and the kids definitely had a blast!

Scott Carpenter Park
1505 30th St

Boulder, CO 80303
(303) 441-4406

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Visit Colorado: Boulder Civic Area

While exploring Boulder, we walked through the Boulder Civic Area.

The Boulder Civic Area is a community space that offers guests walking and bike paths, and places to play, picnic, or simply relax.

The first phase of the Boulder Civic Area was recently completed, and while there in the Fall, we got some exercise walking the paths and checking out the creek.

Lights were being installed along the pedestrian bridge, and during the winter, the park is lit up with thousands and thousands of lights. I imagine it's just magical!

The kids had a lot of fun walking and running around, and it was such a nice area to get some fresh air.

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Visit Colorado: Rocky Mountain National Park

While in Colorado, we had no real plans of visiting Rocky Mountain National Park since it's quite a drive from Denver.  However, we found ourselves headed towards the direction of this 415-square mile park, so we braved the heavy snowfall to drive there, while crossing our fingers that we'd see wildlife.

And wildlife we saw!

We saw lots and lots of elk as soon as we entered the park grounds.

Cars were lined up on each side of the road to watch and photograph these huge animals.

We made our way to the entry gate, and ended up turning around.  Although no fees were being taken due to the heavy snowfall and limited access to the park, it was already getting late, and we didn't want to drive back to Denver in the dark during the heavy snow.  We also asked another visitor if it was worth driving up any further.  He said no, and that there were more animals outside of the main entrance.

It was truly neat to see all of that wildlife, especially in all of that snow.

Hopefully one day we'll be back to explore more of Rocky Mountain National Park!

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Visit Colorado: Red Rocks Trail

On a chilly 35-degree morning in Boulder, we hiked the Red Rocks Trail, which is an easy, family-friendly 1-mile loop.

Icy trees and melting snow from a pre-winter storm lined the path.

The mix of fall colors with icy whites made for a pretty scene!

The red rocks are quite a sight.  It was a gloomy day, so the photos do not do these beautiful works of nature any justice.  They are a vibrant in person.

The entire trail is relatively easy, but stairs leading to the pinnacle proved quite slippery due to the ice.

The views were pretty, and it was a really nice hike, and fun for the entire family!

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