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Boulder, Colorado
A Small-scale City
with Big-time Charm
with Big-time Charm
By Jenn Director Knudsen
The walking tour also includes a stop inside two high-ceilinged rooms. One of the two remains practically hermetically sealed and, after the guide lifted its huge door, our noses (and cleared sinuses) immediately told us why it must remain so.
The mint-tea room's scent was so overpowering one could nearly taste the mint as well as smell it. Some on our tour kept close to the room's entrance, and our menthol-infused chat with the guide in this room wrapped up quickly.
After that tour, which ends, strategically, in the plant's ample gift shop, getting a substantial dose of fresh, mountain air was key.
Heather and I took two hikes while I was in town. One trail is close to the city's center and is tailor-made for the strong, yet casual walker. The other is geared toward the serious, well-prepared hiker. We drove about 35 miles northwest from Boulder to get to that trail.
Our first, easier hike we took through Chautauqua Park. We started the couple mile loop (though one could have gone farther; we never reached a terminus) near dusk and knew the nocturnal wildlife would get more copious the darker it got.
And as darkness descended on this park, located at the base of the jagged, nearly straight-up Flatirons, nature in fact was true to form.
During the gentle climb upwards, we heard more and more rustlings through the nearby trees and underbrush. Soon thereafter and not too far from us, we spied Mr. Fox (my first). We quickly pivoted and returned to the park's entrance.
While walking back down the slope, I took in a bird's-eye view of all of Boulder; I noted the different neighborhoods, bursting-with-color fall foliage (rivaling that of Vermont!) and the way the city is encircled by jutting hills and mountains.
