Every so often, a musical act will feature a one-time guest appearance that causes people to reminisce for years to come. For Mike and me, one such legendary event came in the form of a joint concert by Mumford + Sons with The Milk Carton Kids. The catch? Though Mumford + Sons had a tour scheduled all over the country, The Milk Carton Kids would only be joining them in Denver, Colorado.
The Milk Carton Kids hold a special relevance for us; Mike took me to their concert at the Paramount Theatre for our first date. Seeing them in concert together with another of Mike’s all-time favorite bands seemed too great an opportunity to pass up.
No matter where we go, we have a habit of wanting to dig in and experience as much as we can. My challenge was to plan a fun-filled weekend in which we could get the most out of Denver in only 42 hours. Here’s what I came up with!
DAY 1
We flew via Spirit Airlines from Austin to Denver. Spirit flies cheap, but they’re notorious for keeping you trapped on the runway. Sure enough, we wasted over an hour of our precious time on the tarmac. Early Friday afternoon, we were finally on the train, bound for downtown Denver. The train lets out at picturesque Union Station, gateway to completely pedestrian 16th Street Mall.
We still had some work to finish, so we scouted out a coffee shop (edit: City Stacks Books & Coffee is no longer in business), equipped ourselves with hot beverages, and zoned into our laptops for a couple hours.
By the time we turned off our computers, we were squarely in Happy Hour territory. 16th Street Mall is ripe with restaurants, shops, and breweries, so it was no trouble tracking down a good deal. Denverites argue over which place in town has the best green chile, so that was our spicy aim. We ended up at the Blue Agave Grill, where Mike chose some bomb tacos and I grabbed a green chile burger.
Fueled and freshened, we strolled 16th streets and admired the shops and Victorian architecture. We took a quick detour to spot the Big Blue Bear sculpture leaning against the convention center, then proceeded on toward the gold-domed Colorado State Capitol. I asked Mike if he wanted to take a tour. He shrugged and said, “You’ve seen one capitol building, you’ve seen ’em all.” We enjoyed the gilded view from the beautiful grounds of Civic Center Park.
Sightseeing is cool and all, but Mike and I were eager to strike out on a quest for Denver’s real draw – or draught, if you will. Austin’s craft beer scene is hopping (man, I’m killing it with the beer puns), and Denver has a similar reputation. We bused over to Cerebral Brewing where we enjoyed a flight of beer brewed using science. It was packed, which meant we had to share a community-style table with total strangers. We struck up a conversation with a young businessman from Ethiopia and his girlfriend. She was scheduled to take a work trip to Austin, so we had fun making recommendations for her time in our city.
Cerebral made a tasty product, but we didn’t detect any unique characteristic that reflected the scientific brewing method.
Although we stayed in the Tech District, way south of the city center, the journey to our hotel was straightforward (thanks, Denver public transit system). Our stay at the Marriott was basic, but pleasant. We crashed early so we could start our first full Denver day at the crack of dawn.
DAY 2
Early Saturday morning, we decided to walk from our hotel to a nearby coffee shop, which happens to be a Denver staple. Summer heat in Austin is insufferable, so we took our time and enjoyed the cool, clear Colorado-morning air. At Corvus Coffee, we got our signature beverages (Mike, an americano; me, a cappuccino) and split a first-rate breakfast sandwich.
Buzzing with caffeine, we took the train from Belleview Station to the University of Denver campus, then transferred to a bus for a visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens. I’ve always felt that spending vacation time at a botanical garden is kind of the same as spending it at a zoo – you’re going to see the same things you would in any other city, including at home. However, while a botanical garden does present exhibits that capture exotic beauty from around the world, it also features diverse native flora and fauna, growing in their natural environment. We saw some beautiful landscape designs that captured the understated beauty of the Colorado plains, as well as some creative attempts at taming rugged desert life. All in all, we enjoyed the gardens, but probably wouldn’t go back again.
We made our way back downtown for lunch and ducked into Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, where we split their Bison Pastrami Reuben. It was delicious, but wasn’t quite enough to satisfy our hunger. Ophelia’s had a dark and funky vibe, so we stuck around through the featured performer (a DJ-spoken-word-poet-synth-player accompanied by a slideshow?). Afterward, we walked back along 16th street mall and across the bridge into Commons Park, which was lousy with frisbee-tossing Millennials. On the far side of the South Platte River, we waited in line for twenty minutes for Little Man Ice Cream – worth it not just because of the creamy concoctions we enjoyed, but also because a live band dressed up the airwaves via the park across the street.
At this point, we had to start our southbound journey to make it to Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater for the show. We arrived with time to spare, bought exorbitant concert venue food, and leaned against the upper deck’s railing to take in the glowing sunset over the distant Rocky Mountains. Romantic, if you don’t mind sticky floors, overpriced beer, and being crowded by complete strangers.
The concert, which was the entire reason for our trip, was absolutely astounding. I wouldn’t necessarily list Mumford and Sons among my favorite bands, but I like them well enough. I was blown away by their musicianship, their presence, and their energy. And when they played together with The Milk Carton Kids, they made some kinda sweet magic. We sat, stood, danced, and cheered ourselves silly for nearly three hours, so I’d call the event a raging success.
Post-concert, our hotel was our destination. We had an early wake-up call in order to make the flight home. And so, overfed and dazed with music mania, our brief stint in Denver came to an end.
If we hadn’t had to revolve our schedule around the concert, I would have loved to take advantage of Denver’s abundant natural beauty: the iconic Red Rocks Canyon, Garden of the Gods, or a hike up Chautauqua. Those looming beauties will have to thrill us next time we’re in the Mile High City.
Have you spent a weekend in Denver? What else should we have included?