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Colorado
A few pointers.
1) Drink A Lot!!! you are at a much higher altitude  than your body is used to and there is usually 0% humidity, this means you can easily dehydrate! and visitors often do!
2) Use sunscreen! being that you are that much closer to the sun, you get sunburnt that much faster, and 0% humidity means that it feels cooler than it actually is out.
3) when going to/up the mountains bring sweatshirts and other warm clothes, even on a scorcher of a summer day it can be freezing and windy on top of a mountain.




Denver
There are three jewish areas which are part of denver they form a rough triangle roughly 20 minute drive from one another so they kind of feel like three seperate cities.
West side: is the yeshivish neighborhood, home to the Yeshiva, the Bais Yaakov, the Kollel, 60-80 families, the oldest shul in denver (over 120 years old and only one currently on the west side) the Bronco's stadium, and quite a few homeless people.Not much else noteworthy for the vacationer. There are no jewish stores there and the bulk of stores that do exist there are pawn shops and used car lots, Oh yeah and retail marijuana shops! Sloans lake is a beautiful lake half a block from most of the jewish neighborhood, roughly 3 miles around you can get some nice views of the mountains over the lake, but it isn't inside the eruv and certainly not worthy of a special trip.

SouthEast/Greenwood village: Is a relatively new part of Denver, something like 10-20 years old the community is largely a kiruv community in all stages of growth centered around the only shul Aish. There is also a decent group of Bnai Torah who live there as well. The SouthEast is an upscale waspy suburbia and the stores and citizens are generally more upscale as well.
They have a pretty good frozen Yogurt shop called Yogurt Yuphoria which is certified by the scroll k (the local and very reputable hechsher) but is mostly cholov stam. They do have some sorbet and sometimes pareve frozen yogurts that are labeled "dairy equipment" and are surprisingly good, you can also get some parve razzles and the like. They close at 930PM. Also the King Soopers nearby(a grocery chain which is part of the whole ralph's/kroger thing) has a small kosher meat section, kosher product section and almost entirely kosher fresh bakery (note most things are cholov stam!).They are open either to 12PM or are 24hrs.

East Side: is currently the largest and fastest growing part of Denver, here is where you will find almost all of the jewish/kosher amenities. The East side is a diverse crowd but the bulk of it is modern orthodox.
 
The Shuls:
EDOS (East Denver Orthodox Synogogue)is made up of an older crowd, very few young people, and is modern orthodox.
DAT (Denver Acadaemy of Torah) is a shul inside a school. Here is where the vast majority of the 20 and 30 somethings daven, it is a modern orthodox shul and is strongly zionist.
BMH-BJ (bais medrash hagodol-beth joseph) is technically an orthodox shul as it is part of the OU, but they don't have a mechitza and most of it's mispallelim drive to shul on shabbos. They do have a smaller minyan in a side room known as sharai simcha or "the mechitza minyan" which does have mechitza and it's mispallelim are local.
Bais Yisroel/Beit Uriel/TRI are three shuls housed in one building, Beit Uriel is the local Sephardic Shul, TRI is an old minyan for russian jews and Bais Yisroel is the yeshivish shul on the East side, they recently renovated and is gorgeous and spacious,with almost a intown feel.

The Restaurants:
ESKD (East Side Kosher Deli) http://www.eastsidekosherdeli.com/ It is located in the back of the only kosher store in town. In the store they have very nice meat and dairy departments. (although if you are just looking for a steak to grill you might to better off going to trader joes and getting one of their luscious teva's black angus kosher rib steaks). They also carry a full line of heimish products and wines, they are both a bit overpriced, but not crazy for this far out of town. They also have a full delicatessen/bakery in the store, their coldcuts are usually excellent. They close at 9PM.

Back to the restaurant (literally). They have a lunch menu which is significantly cheaper for many of the same things. Certain nights of the week they sell sushi which i haven't tried but hear is all right. The ambiance is not to great but the food is very good for the price (18-35 a main). I would suggest  the sesame chicken, steak fajita's, cowboy burger, and onion ring brick, they are all delicious. They have some wierd things that you may like or hate for instance a burger with pastrami jammed between two greasy Latkes etc. Read the menu carefully. Also their shwarma is not up to par.Wine by the glass is surprisingly cheap for upscale restaurant standards, but ask when it was opened. They don't get a lot of wine orders.

Bitcoin Grill https://bitcoin-grill.com/ Brand New(2023) Shwarma, Steak, Burgers, Schnitzel[/s]. (Update OCT 2023: CLOSED :-\. We really enjoyed back in August)

Brooklyn Pizza http://brooklynpizzadenver.com/ They have some really good pizza and some really out-of-the box toppings like fake pepperoni (which supposedly tastes legit), smoked lox and capers, mac and cheese, and chocolate and riccotto cheese, if you are into that type of thing.All the above are made to order so give yourself some extra time. Their fries are good and the calzones are beyond enormous (enough for two). At peak times there will be a wait and a dearth of seats.They close at 9 PM and are open late on Motzoi Shabbos.
Next door is a King Soopers with a pretty big kosher item section (3 small isles) a small fresh meat and dairy section and a fresh bakery that is kosher but mostly cholov stam. Across the side street is a liquor shop called the grapevine which has a pretty large selection of kosher wine at a fair price, they are open very late.

Rosenberg Kosher (formerly The Bagel Store) http://www.rosenbergskosher.com/ Note, open to the public on Fridays and holidays. makes solid bagels and challah, they also make amazing doughnuts but only sell them on fridays, and for some odd reason they get stale very very quickly, so enjoy them right away.

Mordy's Falafel https://www.mordysfalafel.com/ Falafel Truck

High Point Creamery: https://www.highpointcreamery.com/ Ice cream shop across the street from EDOS. Small batch ice cream shop with unique flavors.

Hotels:

Colorado
has enough amazing sites for one to visit one a day for several years and not run out. I have spoken to avid hikers and natralists who live in Denver for 20-30 years and gathered that they havn't hit all the popular spots yet and are constantly finding new places. Below you will find a long but limited list of popular trips, anyone will have different favorites, enjoy!

Unique Attractions In Denver
--Denver Museum of Nature and Science. hands-on interactive Kid oriented science museum. Very interesting exhibit on health/human body. Special exhibits and IMAX films are extra(Admission is free if you have membership at other science centers through the ASTC passport program. Good for a rainy day or if acclimating to the altitude). https://www.dmns.org/
--History Colorado Center: Museum (Admission is free if you have membership at other science centers through the ASTC passport program. good for a rainy day or if acclimating to the altitude). https://www.historycolorado.org/history-colorado-center
--Slick City Denver West (Check groupon for deals. Usually $30/pp). An indoor trampoline-type park with water-free version of water slides. You ride down various slides on low-friction mats. https://slickcity.com/denverwest/
--Hammonds Candy30 minute factory tour. Free. Runs every 30 minutes. Reservations are recommended. Some of their products are kosher. location is at 5735 Washington Street
Denver, CO 80216 https://hammondscandies.com/pages/factory-tours-new


Day Trips from Denver

Children friendly short trips from Denver:

Tiny Town- a little boring, but nice stop for little kids. They charge $5 for adults and $3 for kids above 2. This is about 25 minutes from Denver, it is a miniature kid sized city! All this houses and stores are built with great detail and there are about 10 of them the kids can climb into and peer out the windows and such. It also has a child sized railroad that drives around the town for an additional 2$ a pop. When it gets boring there is a nice playground and picnic area.The whole town is set in a scenic locale in the foothills and has small creek meandering through it. I'd say it would be a nice 1-2 hour trip (not including traveling for 1-6 year olds)
St. Mary's Glacier(town of Alice): is about 50 minutes from Denver. It is a easy/moderate short hike (hour round trip) with a rewarding view on top. A great day trip idea for those who don't want to work too hard to see the views. The top has a really pretty clear lake fed from a glacier melt with a mountain view surrounding it. Really nice!!
Red Rocks: closest really scenic mountainy spot to denver. Beautiful red rock formation and kid friendly hiking trails, 25 minutes from Denver and nice for adults and slightly older kids as well (figure 3 years old and up)
Lariat Loop: scenic/historic 40 mile drive with stops all around golden and lakewood colorado. (most stops are western/cowboy themed)
Falcon Ridge short hike/amazing view
Buffalo Bill's Grave and museum - see @Yehuda's TR below
Coors factory tour-see @Yehuda's TR below
Roxbourough national park: A short half hour drive from Denver, this park has huge striking dramatic red stones (couple hundred feet high) the park is set in the middle of wild country and warns that bears and rattle snakes are very often seen, while the scenery is some of the best this close to Denver, the trails are a somewhat distant from the rocks (50-500 feet) and i wouldn't feel comfortable going off trail with all the rattlesnake warnings. This kinda puts a damper on the feel.
Lookout mountain-see @Yehuda's TR below

Boulder- 45 minutes north of Denver has quite a few family friendly trip options
Celestial Seasons tea factory tour: interesting and fun, with free tea sampling. Entering the "Mint room" is a highlight you won't soon forget, watching the fully automated factory whirl is remarkable and exciting. Avoid going on a Sunday because the factory floor is not on and you lose that experience. You can also purchase all their discontinued teas in their tea store. They suspended tours during COVID and now charge $5/pp. (they don't allow children under 5 years old on the tour). https://celestialseasonings.com/pages/tea-tour
Eben G. Fine Park: is a nice place to eat a lunch dip your feet in the river or just relax a bit, there is also another gorgeous park across the street but i can't remember the name.
Pearl Street: get a taste of the eccentric lifestyle of boulder, explore the stores and watch street performers. You are guaranteed to be amazed and amused by the eclectic locale!
Breweries: Colorado is home to dozens of microbreweries, of which quite a few are located in Boulder. Consider a short tour to see the less commercial side of beer brewing.One example is Avery brewery.
Eldorado Canyon: Is not in boulder but right near it. It is a beautiful site with a supposedly "stroller friendly" hiking trail. I took my double citymini up there and about halfway up had to hide it in a bush and continue with both kids on my shoulders, that being said it is a fairly easy stunning short trail which you could take a jogging stroller on if you were so inclined. There are often people crock climbing hundreds of feet in the air which makes for a fascinating watch.

Longer day trips from Denver

Mt. Evans: about an hour west of Denver.Then you begin the long drive up to the top a 14er (one of America's highest paved roads) the trip up is exhilerating and the switchbacks are steep with huge drops on either side, you pass two incredibly beautiful lakes en route and usually some mountain goats and big horn sheep. As you get higher it gets colder and it is not unusual for there to be a hailstorm or even snow in the middle of a 100 degree day in Denver, so bring a sweatshirt. The view from the top is astounding (unless you are unlucky enough to arrive on a foggy day on top).

Estes Park: is the city at the base of Rocky Mountain National park and is set by a large lake with great views and a plethora of local activities and interesting shops. It is an hour and half north of Denver
Rocky Mountain National Park: It is large enough to spend a few weeks exploring(more than 400 square miles!!), one can easily spend two days there, although there are no upscale hotels nearby. There are two main scenic drives, The view from Trail Ridge Road is arguably the the most beautiful astounding sight in Colorado and is not to be missed! Old Fall River Road is a harrowing winding one way dirt road that will constantly have you on the edge of your seat and affords you rawer less commercialized views of the park. You can take Old Fall River Road to the peak at the Alpine visitor center and take Trail Ridge Road back down the mountain. If you're looking for a hike geared for Intermediate/Advanced hikers, Flattop mountain is a great trail ~3 hours hike up, ~1.5 to get back down. The bear lake area is the most popular with scenic Alpine lakes surrounded by mountains. NOTE: In addition to the regular entry to national parks You now need to reserve entry online to the park and to the popular "bear lake area", as they try to control the increase in crowds post COVID. see https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm
Peak to Peak Scenic Byway https://estes-park.com/peak-peak-scenic-byway

Colorado Springs area: - 1-1.25 hrs south of Denver
Garden of the G-ds: https://www.gardenofgods.com/ Is a mind bogglingly beautiful park with the same redstone rocks found in red rocks and roxborough, the important difference is that you are allowed to and encouraged to climb on the rock in the Garden of the gods, this makes the view personal and significantly more fun, you can spend hours exploring and not get bored! (tip: don't spend much time in the first official parking area, it is all paved but not accessible or nearly as much fun as some of the other spots in this park, park in one of the pull offs later in the park or especially at the balancing rock at the end and explore! You won't be disappointed!
US Air Force Academy: https://www.academyadmissions.com/visit-the-academy/self-guided-tours/visitor-center-information/
Cave of the Winds: https://caveofthewinds.com/
Pikes Peak: https://www.pikes-peak.com/ Amazing views at 14,115 FT. You can also bike down from the peak with various tour companies.
Royal Gorge Bride & Park: https://royalgorgebridge.com/
Royal Gorge Railroad: https://royalgorgeroute.com/
Manitou Springs: https://manitousprings.org/
Manitou Incline: http://www.manitouincline.com/
White water rafting on the Arkansas river (royal gorge or buena vista)
brainard lake
Kruner rock hike
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (sounds pretty ordinary but this zoo has the beautiful background of the Rocky mountains, as well as many fascinating animals (lions, tigers, bears, and more!) It also has a chairlift that can take you above zoo level so you can see from bird’s eye view! 4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Rd. Colorado Springs, CO 719-633-9925


Vail Area:

Hotels:
Grand Hyatt Vail
Vail Residences At Cascade Village


Activities:
1. biking down from vail pass. Vail Pass is at exit 190 on Hwy 70 (about 15 miles east of Vail). It's several thousand feet higher than Vail. There is popular bike path from there to Vail, that stays near hwy 70 with stunning views that is 95%+ downhill (going west from 'Vail Pass' to 'Vail'), which makes for an amazing bike ride). You can rent bikes in Vail from many bike shops, and most rental places offer services to transport you and your rental bike to Vail Pass. Use of the bike trail itself is free. Bike rentals cost vary and the cost to transport bikes to Vail Pass can be more than the bike rental. 
2. Zip Lining
3. Gondola rides to top of Vail, (and scenic trails at the top)
4. Razor Tours Above & Beyond 4x4 Guides
5. Lake Dillon Boat Rental Dillon Marina
6. There is a BikeShare program in Vail called "Shift" with Pedal-Assist bikes (e-bikes). The first 30 minutes is $3, then $0.40/minute. You need a smart phone to get the bikes. There are various stations. They don't include helmets. Note: certain trails don't allow E-bikes. see https://shift-bike.com/
7. Copper Mountain is around exit 195 on Hwy 70. They offer Gondola rides at $15/pp (vs $50/pp at Vail). They also offer an summer activity pass with a package of rides including: gondola ride, zipline, go-karts, obstacle course, climbing wall, mountain coaster, bungee trampoline for $62-$80/pp. see https://www.coppercolorado.com/things-to-do/activities-amenities/summer-activity-passes
8. Hiking. There are many hikes in and around Vail. With Vail being in a valley surrounded by mountains, many involve substantial uphill sections. E.g Strawberry Lane (starts at Vail Gondola), Upper Piney River Trail (Stunning hike, but need to travel along a 10 miles unpaved, very bumpy road with potholes to get to the start, ideal to have an SUV when travelling on that road). See Alltrails.com or the alltrails app for more hikes in the area (including difficulty, length, pictures, user rating, and popularity).
9. Scenic Walking/Bike Paths: There are also relatively flat walking/biking paths in Vail, (e.g. Gore Creek Path) along the gore creek along the base of the mountain.
10. Sunday Farmers Market and Art Show in Vail.
11. Betty Ford Alpine Garden Small botanical Garden in Vail, (Free: less than an hour). There is also a nice playground there. https://bettyfordalpinegardens.org/visit/
12. In the nearby town of Avon (10 miles west of Vail). There is a small lake with Pedal boats, Kayaks, and SUP rentals ($35-$50/hour). see https://www.avon.org/431/Nottingham-Lake-and-Beach


Shul:
Chabad of Vail has a thriving shul centrally located http://www.jewishvail.com/ https://minyanmaker.co/s/Chabad_Vail

Food:
Kosher Vail - Run by the Chabad of Vail

Glenwood Springs:
1. Hanging Lake https://www.visitglenwood.com/things-to-do/hanging-lake/ (you now need to get passes online to enter $12/pp)
2. Glenwood Caverns (Modest size amusement park on top of a mountain with 10-20 rides including a mountain coaster, about 1 hour west of Vail. Need to take a gondola up to the park. Entry to the park also includes access to two cave tours they offer.) https://www.glenwoodcaverns.com/
3. Bike path from Hanging lake to Glenwood Springs, gently downward sloping. You can rent bikes in Glenwood Springs and some of those shops will transport you to the Hanging lake area, for a one-way gently downhill bike ride, or do the round trip.
4. Aspen is 1 hour from Glenwood Springs. It's a different feel than Vail, with more of a residential community, as opposed to just temporary vacationers. In Aspen there are various shops, bike rentals, art galleries, a Chabad, etc.
5. Near Aspen there is Maroon Bells lake with a short trail. Access is limited and requires a pass to drive your car to the trail head (only after 5pm) or you can take alternative transportation. For details see https://aspenchamber.org/plan-trip/trip-highlights/maroon-bells/reservations.


To be continued...
If you have any questions or need any help please feel free to PM steeeveknowsbest and i'll get back to you ASAP

TRs

Yehuda Summer 2014 (trip divided up by day into several posts, so keep reading!)

Yehuda's Trips to Denver

Something Fishy's TR

CGR

kivabb trip report

Joel TR

yungermanchik TR

Friars500  TR

LMB TR
« Last edited by yochai on October 20, 2023, 11:21:21 AM »

Author Topic: Colorado Master Thread  (Read 375868 times)

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #360 on: August 25, 2014, 10:48:12 AM »
Day 7 – Sunday

After Shacharis and breakfast, we headed off to Cave of the Winds about an hour and a quarter away from Denver. When you get off the highway, you go onto an insanely curvy road up the mountain, similar to one at Piney River Ranch, but at least this time it was paved and not dirt. :) At the top there were, of course, some beautiful views:



We got on line and found out about the 2 tour options. The Lantern Tour is a 1.5 hour tour going through the darkest parts of the cave holding – you guessed it – lanterns. The Discovery Tour is 45 minutes and a bit more family-friendly/easier to do. The hourly Lantern Tour was sold out for the next 2 hours and, although the Discovery Tour runs quite frequently, it was still sold out for the next hour. We (my inlaws ;)) bought tickets for the next Discovery Tour – a bit steep at $20 pp and then we walked around the area until it was our turn. They have several activities for children: a 2-person zipline, a ropes course (that partially hung over the cliff!), a climbing maze thing and some electronic hit-the-flashing-lights game. I think the maze was free, but the zipline and ropes course were $20 per kid for unlimited entry on those 2 activities. The lights game was more of a family thing (you play with 2 teams) and cost only $2.



We looked around at those things, but then just decided to eat our sandwich lunch (had a lot of those this week :)) in the restaurant area and check out the gift shop. Another very Coloradan store (which I love) and, surprisingly, they had a bunch of racks that were 50% off so we picked up a few souvenirs. Out back behind the gift shop was another ride called the Terror-Dactyl, which was just insane. I believe it cost $50 to ride, and here’s how it works: 2 people get in a seat that’s hooked up to a rope that’s strung over the edge of the cliff across the canyon below and tied onto the mountain on the other side of the canyon. The floor below the riders swings open leaving them hanging over the edge. The slowly start tilting forward and then it happens. The seat just drops into the canyon with the riders swinging across almost the entire canyon (looking as if they’ll hit the next mountain) and then they swing back and forth a couple of times. If you’re a thrill seeker with cash, this ride's for you. Was terrifying just watching it. Anyway, onto the actual cave tour!

They called our tour and about 15 people gathered with a very enthusiastic guide, and we headed in.

We learned about the cave's discovery by some kids that were just playing around and how the original tour in the 1880’s took 8 hours, since the cave was only open enough for crawling – 4 hours of crawling till the end and then 4 hours going back the same exact way! Thankfully, the cave has been expanded a bit and you can walk through a lot of it, only having to duck once in a while. The guide shows you the different types of stalactites that have formed, and in one “room” he turns off the electric lights so you can experience almost complete darkness. You literally could not see your hand if you waved it in front of your face. Was a fun, cool tour but yeah, it could get expensive with a large family. Unfortunately, besides for being dark, the camera would never fully focus in the cave, so none of our pictures are great, but here are some:





After the tour, we headed back to Denver and got there in time for a BBQ at EDOS, went home for a bit before Mincha/Maariv, went to Shul and then just hung out at the house for the night… day 7!

Day 8 - Monday

We were planning to spend the day at 7 Falls, a site where you climb up a mountain via outdoor stairs and watch 7 waterfalls that come down the mountain, but it’s about 1.5 hours from Denver and we were kinda tired from all the busy activities we had done the past week. We also had to be near a computer to checkin for our SW flight at 11AM, so that kinda broke up the day. My inlaws were back at work, so after we checked in for the flight, we decided to just go to the Cherry Creek mall and hang out there for a while – a nice chill day. We then went back to the house, had a nice Parve dinner (you'll see why in a second), went to Mincha/Maariv, and then went to Bonnie Brae for dessert. Can’t get enough of this place. After reading their Kosher list last time, we found out the banana split was good to go. We also did some math and realized that 1 scoop is about $3.25 and a banana split is about $5.75 and comes with 3 scoops thereby actually getting you more for your money – who wudda thought? My wife and I split the split with vanilla, cookie dough and mint chocolate chip, surrounded by 2 slices of banana, covered in hot fudge, whipped cream on each scoop and a cherry perched on top of each mound of ice cream. Yes, there's a pic:

Was heavenly. We went back home, packed up and called it a night. In the morning, we went to EDOS, had some breakfast, packed food for the plane and went to the airport. Unfortunately, I left my iPhone in my FIL's car as we got our luggage out and we went home without my phone. :( Fortunately, he's coming into NY on Sunday iy"h so I can get it back then. Checking in was otherwise smooth, and since we had about 1 hr 40 min, we decided to take the airport train to Terminal B (we were flying SW from C) to check out the UA lounge. Terminal B must be the UA Terminal because there are 2 lounges here. We picked one (using 2 Club passes) and found ourselves a some seats. The lounge was nice, had Ghiradelli's hot chocolate (OU-D), but was the only lounge we've been in that didn't have sodas and charged for alcoholic drinks. We stayed for a bit and gave ourselves plenty of time to catch the train to Terminal C and get to our gate. The flight to LGA was uneventful (of course a good thing), and we enjoyed B13 and B26 boarding from the SW auto-checkin. We had a bunch of the free snacks as the Chips Ahoy and Ritz cheese crackers had OU-Ds on them. LGA was as gross as we left it, but we got our bags and got a ride from our friend back to his house to pick up our car. We presented him with a personalized Colorado sheriff's badge we picked up in a gift shop... and that was Denver Summer 2014!

Offline Crazy tools

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #361 on: August 25, 2014, 12:50:02 PM »
Wow @yehuda your trip reports are amazing..
Lucky you that you made it up piney Lake road without an issue, I was there last year and got a flat tire. It wasn't even from a rock, it was a massive bolt- what a waste of a dirt road
The lake at the end is indeed georgous!!

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #362 on: August 25, 2014, 01:53:45 PM »
Wow @yehuda your trip reports are amazing..
Lucky you that you made it up piney Lake road without an issue, I was there last year and got a flat tire. It wasn't even from a rock, it was a massive bolt- what a waste of a dirt road
The lake at the end is indeed georgous!!
Thanks, I appreciate it :)
Wow, that's terrible! But after experiencing that road, I'm not surprised.
Agreed, as I think I wrote above, it was my most beautiful picture from the trip.

Offline zee

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U.S. ROCKIES SKIING!! REWARD HOTELS??
« Reply #363 on: January 17, 2015, 03:14:20 PM »
Wow! I actually went through the entire thread hoping to find some info on getting to the rockies and lodging there on points, and not a word  :(

Any suggestions?

I would like to swing by on my way back from IL. I already see I can fly with Avios from TXL to ORD, and then on to DEN. Now i need some tips for lodging. Any suggestions for good hotels, or inexpensive-point-redemptions near any ski resorts?

Offline HP58

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #364 on: January 17, 2015, 06:20:13 PM »
@Yehuda love your TR! I've been to DEN a bunch of times but it seems like I still have a whole lot to check out...

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #365 on: January 17, 2015, 07:41:27 PM »
@Yehuda love your TR! I've been to DEN a bunch of times but it seems like I still have a whole lot to check out...
Thanks! :)
Oh yeah? What brings you there?

Wow! I actually went through the entire thread hoping to find some info on getting to the rockies and lodging there on points, and not a word  :(

Any suggestions?

I would like to swing by on my way back from IL. I already see I can fly with Avios from TXL to ORD, and then on to DEN. Now i need some tips for lodging. Any suggestions for good hotels, or inexpensive-point-redemptions near any ski resorts?

Btw don't mean to ignore your post, zee, but I don't know anything about points hotels near the skiing cities. Also, DEN is out of the way from TXL-ORD, no?

Offline chani21

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #366 on: January 22, 2015, 09:11:27 PM »
Just an fyi to anyone who might be visiting Denver now or anytime in the near future, a new kosher eatery opened in southeast.  Its called gathering grounds and its a dairy place.  The menu isn't so big yet so far theres pastries, sandwiches/panninis and some breakfast options.  Additionally, a lot of variety of coffee.  I had a grilled veggie pannini so far and it was super delicious.  The staff was very friendly and helpful.  Furthermore, they have a whole wall of games so you can play and hang out there for awhile.  They plan on opening up another store on the west side as well as a food truck I believe near downtown. 

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #367 on: January 23, 2015, 07:23:13 AM »
Just an fyi to anyone who might be visiting Denver now or anytime in the near future, a new kosher eatery opened in southeast.  Its called gathering grounds and its a dairy place.  The menu isn't so big yet so far theres pastries, sandwiches/panninis and some breakfast options.  Additionally, a lot of variety of coffee.  I had a grilled veggie pannini so far and it was super delicious.  The staff was very friendly and helpful.  Furthermore, they have a whole wall of games so you can play and hang out there for awhile.  They plan on opening up another store on the west side as well as a food truck I believe near downtown.
NICE! I gotta tell my wife. And just added to wiki.

Offline myb821

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Re: U.S. ROCKIES SKIING!! REWARD HOTELS??
« Reply #368 on: January 23, 2015, 07:51:01 AM »
Wow! I actually went through the entire thread hoping to find some info on getting to the rockies and lodging there on points, and not a word  :(

Any suggestions?

I would like to swing by on my way back from IL. I already see I can fly with Avios from TXL to ORD, and then on to DEN. Now i need some tips for lodging. Any suggestions for good hotels, or inexpensive-point-redemptions near any ski resorts?
a great place to use pointa is the Park hyatt beaver creek. It is ski in ski out but it is not cheap, i think 25k per night. If you have hyatt free nights that is a good use. there are also a bunch of marriots around vail and beaver creek IIRC.

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #369 on: January 23, 2015, 07:53:36 AM »
Just an fyi to anyone who might be visiting Denver now or anytime in the near future, a new kosher eatery opened in southeast.  Its called gathering grounds and its a dairy place.  The menu isn't so big yet so far theres pastries, sandwiches/panninis and some breakfast options.  Additionally, a lot of variety of coffee.  I had a grilled veggie pannini so far and it was super delicious.  The staff was very friendly and helpful.  Furthermore, they have a whole wall of games so you can play and hang out there for awhile.  They plan on opening up another store on the west side as well as a food truck I believe near downtown.
whose hashgacha is it? I cant find any info on their website http://www.gatheringgrounds.co/#!about/cyvh

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #370 on: January 23, 2015, 08:17:44 AM »
whose hashgacha is it? I cant find any info on their website http://www.gatheringgrounds.co/#!about/cyvh
The Vaad of Denver has a monopoly on Hashgachos there. I would imagine it's under them? Although perhaps that should be verified before I added it to the wiki.

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #371 on: January 23, 2015, 08:33:32 AM »
The Vaad of Denver has a monopoly on Hashgachos there. I would imagine it's under them? Although perhaps that should be verified before I added it to the wiki.
I am aware of that I was just making sure because its not stated anywhere on their site.

EDIT: and i havent heard anything about it from my family in denver so was surprised.

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #372 on: January 23, 2015, 09:55:21 AM »
They're open on Saturday.
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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #373 on: January 23, 2015, 10:17:13 AM »
They're open on Saturday.
could be owned by non jews. The VHQ which is almost universally excepted in ny gives a hechsher to a Dunkin that is open on shabbos.

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #374 on: January 23, 2015, 10:39:17 AM »
I emailed them and they said: We are under the supervision of the Vad Hakashrus
« Last Edit: January 23, 2015, 10:50:21 AM by Ergel »
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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #375 on: January 23, 2015, 10:52:06 AM »
Next time I speak to my Rabbi, I'll ask him. (He happens to also be the Rabbi of one of the Denver shuls.)

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #376 on: January 23, 2015, 11:08:22 AM »
I emailed them and they said: We are under the supervision of the Vad Hakashrus
Interesting.

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #377 on: January 23, 2015, 11:15:47 AM »
I just spoke to my family in den and they said they heard about it and that its under the vaad. Its nice that they are getting some more options.

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #378 on: January 23, 2015, 11:21:22 AM »
Once we are doing denver food updates:
The East side kosher Deli has been sold to Shua Horowitz from West Hempstead NY, Expect some changes over the next 6 months to a year.

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Re: Colorado Master Thread
« Reply #379 on: January 23, 2015, 11:51:14 AM »
Yes they are under the vaad and open on shabbos i believe. but owned by non jews.  Additionally, the new owner of the deli seems nice and will likely change things so far all i know of is he added wifi.