Travel Oracles 50 States: Colorado

As part of my summer series - Travel Oracles 50 States - I am revisiting each os the fifty American states as an overview on travel culture and history. Today: Colorado

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Joined: After its first bid for statehood was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, Colorado entered the Union as the 38th state on August 1, 1876, the year the United States celebrated its centennial. Colorado became a U.S. territory in 1861 shortly before the American Civil War began, and the territory supplied men and support for both the Union and the Confederacy. William Gilpin, the first territorial governor, supported the Union and quickly raised a regiment.

Original Indigenous Peoples: By the time Europeans entered Colorado, several historic tribes inhabited the state: the Ute, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Apache, and Shoshone were the most numerous, although Comanche, Kiowa, and Navajo also wandered into Colorado as part of their hunting range.

First Settlers: The Spanish were the first Europeans to settle in what is now Colorado. Conquistador Juan de Oñate founded an extensive Spanish territory in 1598, parts of which included modern-day Colorado.

History moment: Early on, decades of mining and gold rush history and the old wild west

Known for: The Mile high city, Colorado river, Rocky mountains, Outdoor activities and landscapes (4 National Parks), Vail, Aspen, and Ski resorts, Old wild west, Cannabis legalization

Places: Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Aspen, Vail, Telluride

Movie setting: The Shining, Misery, Cliffhanger, Big Short (just part of it, where Brad Pitt’s banker character lived, but it should be noted that many fellow venture capitalists and celebrities own land in Colorado including Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner, Goldie Hawn, Ralph Lauren and Oprah)

Musicians: The Lumineers, Nathaniel Rateliff, Onerepublic, and partial resident John Denver who wrote many songs about Colorado including “Rocky Mountain High”

Surprising facts: The mountainous area of Colorado is six times the size of Switzerland and contains 9,600 miles of fishing streams, 2,850 lakes, and over 1,000 peaks that are at least two miles high. Colorado contains 75% of the land area of the United States with an altitude over 10,000 feet and has 56 or America’s 91 "fourteeners" (mountain peaks over 14,000 feet). Also Colorado's southwest corner boarders Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah – it's the only place in America where the corners of four states meet.

Colorado is a gorgeous state has seen people flocking to it in increasing numbers. A playground for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts, Colorado has majestic landscapes, raging rivers, and winding trails perfect for activities from biking to rafting. The heart of the Rocky Mountains has scores of snow-capped summits towering higher than 14,000 feet and trails from easy to challenging for exploring them—as well as roads offering spectacular drives. Skiers flock to the slopes here for the champagne powder and thrilling downhill runs - but urban adventures await too in cool cities like Denver, Boulder, and Aspen. Let’s visit Colorado

My experience: I also consider Colorado one of my home states, given my mom and her family has been there for generations, and both of my parents attended University of Colorado. Heck, my great-grandparents ran a wild west town (hello Cripple Creek) and one was a state senator. I have photographed and written about it before here: Denver & Boulder, My own mini Deadwood, Colorado & New Mexico road trip

Denver: The city has grown rapidly over the last decade, and it feels more modern than ever. The Mile High City offers something for everyone: a flourishing restaurant scene, microbreweries, miles of trails for skiers and bikers alike, and a vibrant street art movement.

Boulder: An easygoing college-town base of 30,000+ students at the University of Colorado Boulder, 45,000 acres of protected open space and 300-plus days that see the sun, nestled into natural beauty & mountains, and many now business owners and endurance athletes.

Colorado Springs: Home to the United States Air Force Academy, the city has a beautiful Rocky Mountain backdrop, and also the plains that stretch for miles ensuring a mild, sunny climate year-round, and makes skiing and golfing on the same day feasible with no more than a two- or three-hour drive. (However, this town is very conservative compared to Denver and Boulder)

Aspen & Snowmass: A winter wonderland (and a winter playground for the jet-set crowd) that combines the wilderness experience with skiing, snowboarding, shopping and dining, that can be enjoyed without breaking the bank (mostly) that can be enjoyed year round (the Autumn colors here are spectacular). It’s a multifaceted gem with acres of surrounding wilderness that lends this former mining town a certain mystique.

Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge: Vail does not have the charm of Telluride, nor does it exude the glitz of Aspen. Even Breckenridge, arguably, has better night life. But the one thing that Vail does have is great snow: some 5,300 skiable acres with a seven-mile-long mountain face, 193 trails and not one but seven bowls. That hasn’t stopped Vail, the nation’s largest ski resort by area, from polishing its base village.

Telluride: There are steeper ski resorts than Telluride. There are ski resorts that get more snow. But few places are more friendly and prettier than this town at the end of a box canyon in the tall San Juan Mountains, and home to the annual film festival, jazz festival and brews & blues festival

Nature: An outdoor enthusiasts and athlete-training homing beacon due to the altitude, be sure to visit the Rocky Mountain National Park, Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde National Park (featuring Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings)

Ranking in US: Per the annual US News report, Colorado is currently ranked #16 out of 50 in 2021, down from #10 in 2019. Colorado is a great state (nature, economy, education, healthcare) and continues to draw new residents regularly, and is overall in good shape aside from some lower rankings about fiscal stability and opportunity (upward mobility).