The state of Colorado is probably best known for its mountains. Indeed, the state is largely filled with gigantic mountains, which are part of the Rocky Mountain chain. These mountains are a large part of why people choose to vacation in Colorado.

But people who head towards the Centennial State just because it offers good skiing don’t know what they are missing. Colorado is full of things to do, no matter what interests you hold.

I had the privilege of going to Colorado for my honeymoon last week. Although it was my second trip to Colorado in less than a year (I also went over Thanksgiving break), it was the first time that I spent more than a couple of hours in the mountains.

On this trip, my wife and I stayed in a fairly pricey resort in Dillon, which is located roughly sixty miles west of Denver.

Dillon is the classic tourist trap town designed to draw skiiers and mountain lovers. Dillon, which is located in a valley on a lake bigger than the town itself, is a fairly nice place to fish and hike, but it lacks much else to do.

So, my wife and I took off in pursuit of something fun to do. It didn’t take very long. Not far from our resort and the town of Dillon is Loveland Pass.

My wife and I spent last Monday climbing a mountain in Loveland Pass. After strenuously climbing for almost two hours, we hadn’t even gotten one-third of the way up and it was getting cold.

But then again, it was pretty cold in Colorado all week long. While everyone in Iowa was working on drowning like rats on the Titanic, I was driving through mountain passes during blizzards.

However, the weather in Colorado is rather strange. In the span of sixty miles, I drove through a blizzard, a rain storm and sun in one day.

The high altitude in Colorado also produces strange effects in people. The constant shifting of elevation causes ears to pop every fifteen minutes or so (I thought I was deaf most of the honeymoon).

The elevation also produces a greater nicotine buzz per cigarette and causes fatigue, nausea and muscle stiffness.

Sightseeing in the mountains

Despite the constant ringing and popping in my ears, the fatigue and nausea and the nuisance of taking well over an hour to drive thirty miles, there are a lot of fun sightseeing things to do in Colorado.

Among those is the Garden of the Gods, located in Colorado Springs (roughly two hours south of Denver).

The Garden of the Gods is a spectacular place, completely worthy of its name.

A plaque bolted into the side of one of the mini-mountains located in the Garden of the Gods states that the site was “given to the city of Colorado Springs … that it be kept forever free to the public.”

Unfortunately, Garden of the Gods is one of only a few free tourist attractions in Colorado. Fortunately, it is also one of the coolest.

Other tourist attractions do not fare so well. The majority of them charge $8 or $12 for admission, and most of them are not worth the money.

For instance, there is a $6 charge per person for driving to the top of Pike’s Peak, which is affectionately called “America’s Mountain.”

However, even though Pike’s Peak may be “America’s Mountain,” it is not worth the $6 charge to drive to the top of it.

The view may be pretty neat, but it’s damn near the same view that you can get from the top of any other mountain in Colorado, and all of the rest of these mountains are free.

There are two other places near Colorado Springs and Pike’s Peak that should also probably be avoided by conscienscious travelers.

The first is the Cave of the Winds, which charges an admission fee of $12 per person. Now, I must admit that being inside of a mountain was pretty awesome, but most of the cave is not accessible to the public, the tour guide I had was incompetent and way too happy, and as far as rock formations go, there are better ones to be

seen all around Colorado.

Another place to avoid is the Cliff Dwellings, which are right next door to the Cave of the Winds. The admission price here is also $12 per person, and there is almost nothing to see.

Actually, I take that back. The Cliff Dwellings do have one of the best souvenior shops in Colorado. There are three floors filled with Indian artifacts, mountain rocks, postcards, and other assorted knick-knacks big and small.

Places to definitely see

Besides the Garden of the Gods, there are several other places in Colorado that are really worth checking out.

As far as towns go, Boulder is definitely the coolest town in the state. This college town (home to the University of Colorado) has a very liberal atmosphere and some very cool shops.

Used book stores, head shops, cafes and delicatessans help to form Boulder into a shopper’s paradise.

Another nice place to shop is Morrison, which is fairly close to Denver and a close neighbor of Red Rocks Ampitheater.

Morrison has at least a dozen antique shops, and each one of them specializes in something different.

Then there is Denver, and there are a lot of things to do in Denver. A few of the places that I enjoyed were the 16th Street Mall, the Denver Zoo and the Museum of Natural History.

The 16th Street Mall is particularly noteworthy because it is a dozen city blocks lined with all sorts of stores and restaurants.

If you are going to the 16th Street Mall, make sure you stop by the Rock Bottom Brewery. This fine establishment offers excellent food at very reasonable prices and its own micro-brewery.

Although the Denver Zoo is a fairly fun place to visit, it is not nearly as nice as the Omaha Zoo. Price-wise, they are both about the same.

While you are downtown, make sure to avoid the Elitch Gardens Amusement Park. There are only 21 rides, most of which are designed for children under the age of three, and the price of admission is a whopping $20 per person.

Ripple Effect rocks Colorado

Over the course of last week, my wife and I did a lot of really fun things all over the state of Colorado.

We went to the city of South Park, which is a filthy little town plastered in cardboard standouts of the cartoon characters.

We went white river rapids rafting on the Arkansas River. We drove through the longest tunnel in the world (the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel, located west of Denver near Loveland Pass and the Continental Divide) and caught a glance of what is supposed to be NORAD (just outside of Colorado Springs).

But the funnest thing I did all week was seeing Ripple Effect play two nights in a row.

Ripple Effect was just in Ames a couple of weeks ago, but I unfortunately missed the group because I was planning for my wedding.

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t expect much when I showed up to hear the group play at Quixote’s True Blue Cafe (attention all Dead-Heads — you have got to check this place out).

I left the place very impressed. Ripple Effect is a collective of truly great musicians that know how to write really catchy songs and lyrics.

The music is really bouncy and happy, and the group’s members take great joy in playing it. The group’s groupies (and it has quite a few of them in Colorado) also take great joy in listening to it.

Keep an eye out for Ripple Effect because it will probably be back in Iowa really soon. The group plays dynamite original material, and great Dead and Allman Brothers Band covers (almost better than the originals), and the group’s guitarist, Mike Dowty, is one of the best guitarists I’ve had the pleasure of seeing live.

So, definitely check them out when they come back. I guarantee that you will have an excellent time.

Oh, and make sure you get out to Colorado sometime this summer. But remember — gas is really expensive in Nebraska.

Ben Jones is an elderly man who is majoring in procrastination.