Quote:
Originally Posted by the3Ds
Given the state of the economy and summer vacation looming, I was wondering if anyone has some great ideas for a 2 or 3 day "staycation" for families who want to vacation, but may not have enough money to take a big trip. We do live in Colorado after all (a place where many out-of-staters take their own vacation) so if anyone has some great ideas/itineraries, I would appreciate it (as I'm sure many others would as well).
I'm specifically looking for ideas outside of Denver. I know there are fun things to do in Denver but I still want my kids to have the excitement of packing a suitcase and staying in a hotel.
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First of all.....you can't go wrong anywhere you pick in this great State. You will see a variety of scenery, have a good time and learn a lot. Colorful Colorado has so much to offer....make sure you don't rule out any parts without some research.
La Junta is town of about 8,000 in the Southeastern part of Colorado. We are on historic (3,073 miles long, coast to coast) US Highway 50. We are a full service stop on the Amtrak Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles.
We are 2.5 hours from Denver....have Bronco tickets...don't miss a tailgate or a game (2.5 hours to Invesco from house).
Although it is under construction,
www.visitlajunta.net has more information and links if you are interested. The lodging page does have a listing of all of the lodging options in town.
We have 2 museums in town, famous Ben'ts Old Fort Historic Site, dinosaur tracks and historic petroglyphs within a 45 minute drive. One of the museums (Koshare Indian Kiva and Museum) is home to the Koshare Indian Dancers...a Boy Scout Troop that has over 600 Eagle Scouts...one of the highest numbers in the Nation. They also have a multi-million dollar native American Museum. The other museum (Otero) has surprised guests from every Visitor Center in the State....the last being the Fort Collins group. We have a municipal swimming pool with a Wipe Out water slide and huge skateboard park in our City Park.
We are not surrounded by mountains, but my wife and I have property in the Sangre de Cristo range about 1 hour and 40 minutes from our house (Cuchara). We can see the Sangre De Cristo's, the Greenhorn Range, Pikes Peak ....about 100 miles in any direction!
We are in the Arkansas River Valley and 9 miles west on Highway 50 is Rocky Ford, home of world famous cantalope and the Arkansas Valley Fair.
The lower Arkansas Valley has eight golf coureses where golfers are able to play over 330 days a year...with no tee times! There are courses in Fowler, Rocky Ford, La Junta, Las Animas, Cheyenne Wells, Eads, Lamar and Springfield (sand greens).
To the East you can visit the Rawlings Museum and Boggsville in Las Animias, the Sand Creek Massacre site in Eads, Big Timbers Museum in Lamar, and Camp Amache in Granada (an internment camp used in WWII to "imprison" over 7,500 Americans of Japanese descent after the attack on Pearl Harbor).
You can drive southwest to Trinidad, CO (quaint historic coal mining town...1 hour away...pop about 8000) via highway 350 and then take the scenic Highway of Legends (Colorado Highway 12 )through the beautiful southern range of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains over Cucharas Pass to Cuchara and La Veta, then take 160 to Walsenburg and back to La Junta on Highway 10 for a comfortable one day loop.
We don't get as much splash as the touristy areas of Colorado....but we are certainly a very welcoming area of the State.
For more about activities, etc., visit
www.lajuntaevents.com
Also, you might look at
www.musicatthejunction.com (Foghat was here last year).
www.Lajuntaeconomicdevelopment.net has even more information and links.
I have posted a few pictures of Ben'ts Fort, the Koshare Dancers, and the Dinosaur Tracks...have many more ....dm if you want more information.
No matter where you and your family decide to go in Colorado....have a safe, fun and enjoyable trip. You will not go wrong in Colorful Colorado.
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Don't rule out La Junta and Southeast Colorado
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