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Colorado’s Brewing History
And Fantastic Free Fun For Travelers
Find Entertaining And Historic Attractions
That Won’t Break Your Travel Budget
The Rocky Mountains offer guests more than a vivid
portrait of the pristine wilderness. Visitors can also find an abundance of
free and entertaining tours and attractions that provide the perfect side
trip for an active vacation day. Whether you enjoy the free wine tasting,
toffee testing or choosing your own toy dinosaur after touring an ancient
fossil site there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
 Rich learning experiences can be explored in throughout
the scenic state of Colorado. Step back in time to the Colorado Gold Rush on
a tour of the historic Brown Palace Hotel located at 321 17th Street in
Denver can be reached at: 1-800-321-2599. Find politics in action on tour of
the state capitol and visit the governor's mansion while in Denver. For
interactive exhibits, a Performers' Hall of Fame, and sweeping views of the
Front Range travel about 15 miles west of Denver. Once there you will find
Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, a world-famous geologic wonder and musical
venue. Families will be thrilled and entertained by the astonishing site of
fossils and 300 visible dinosaur tracks found just minutes away at Dinosaur
Ridge.
 Visit Colorado's Western Slope where you can sample
fine wines at one of 12 wineries and watch wild horses roam near Grand
Junction. Other free activities found in the Grand Junction area include
gold panning and historic walks through the town. Indulge your sweet tooth
by stopping in at Enstrom's Candies where they have made delicious toffee
and other sweets since 1960.
 Travel along the paths of Indians, pioneers and Pony
Express riders on the South Platte River Trail Scenic and Historic Byway.
Visitors will find sweeping scenery and more in northeastern and
northwestern Colorado. In the northeast, near Julesburg you can explore the
history of Native Americans, early pioneers, and the great Pony Express
while on the South Platte River Trail Scenic and Historic Byway.
If you head west you can travel along the Pawnee
Pioneer Trails Byway that is anchored by the towering Pawnee Buttes. Here
you can hike, enjoy a picnic and admire the abundant wildlife around the
buttes, which James Michener renamed Rattlesnake Buttes in Centennial, his
novel about Colorado.
Each year the American Homebrewers Association holds
it’s annual National Homebrew Competition. It has become the world's largest
beer competition with over 4,443 homemade beers from 1,058 of the finest
homebrewers. Brewers come from 46 states and three countries to display a
record number of brews in 29 style categories. The first National Homebrew
Competition took place in 1979 in Boulder, Colorado when only 34 varieties
of beers were judge. Since then the competition has evaluated as many as
49,674 different brews from Canada, Japan and United States over the past
26-years.
Charlie Papazian, author of Complete Joy of Home
Brewing and founder of the National Homebrew Competition and American
Homebrewers Association proudly announced, “Homebrewing is alive and
rocking.” The spectacular participation of homebrewers from around the world
and particularly America is a reflection of their passion for homebrewing.
Competition is fierce. Seven hundred and forty-three
beers advanced to the second round of the competition held at the 2004AHA
26th Annual National Homebrewers Conference in Las Vegas. Homebrewers
compete for gold, silver or bronze medals to be given during the Awards
Ceremony and attend the Grand Banquet Dinner at the close of the conference.
Homebrewer of the Year is awarded to the entrant with the Best-of-Show brew.
Homebrew Club’s that earns the most combined points from its members
throughout the year also receive an award of the Year at the ceremony.
 The sweet taste of success. Through clubs and
competitions homebrewers meet and form a growing community brewers who keep
the spark of the craft alive. The Association of Brewers based in Boulder,
Colorado is a non-profit organization that continues to provide educational
and trade association for small and craft brewers. Their mission is to make
quality beer and brewing knowledge accessible to everyone.
Quench your thirst. Sample some of the finest brews or
learn the art of crafting your own while in Denver and along the Front Range
at one of the numerous brewpubs that offer tours. If you prefer a fresh cup
of tea to fine ales visit Boulder's Celestial Seasonings tea company for
free sampling of the famous drink at the end of your tour.
Links to entertainment:
Brown Palace Hotel can be reached for reservations and
tour information at 1-800-321-2599 or by visiting
www.brownpalace.com.
Dig into a calendar of events and attractions around
Colorado at:
http://www.colorado.com/.
For other attractions available in the Grand Junction
area visit their web site
www.visitgrandjunction.com.
Maps and directions to Scenic and Historic Byway and
other scenic byways call (970) 474-3504 or (970) 353-5004 or at
http://www.sangres.com/byways.
Upcoming events sponsored by the Association of Brewers
can be found at:
www.beertown.org.
Information and dates of upcoming Homebrew conferences
visit the American Homebrewers Association National Homebrew Conference web
site at:
http://www.beertown.org/events/hbc/index.html.
Interested in finding breweries along your travel
route? Find links to breweries around the nation and across the globe at:
http://beerme.com/breweries.
Find recipes and the intriguing history of Celestial
Seasonings tea at:
http://www.celestialseasonings.com.
A variety of exciting reviews on Colorado destinations
can be found by visiting
http://www.travellady.com/Destinations/west.htm#Colorado.
For other travel destinations throughout the West
visit:
http://www.travellady.com/Destinations/west.htm.
Or visit
http://www.travellady.com/Special/special.htm for links to a variety of
special travel information.
Edited By Melody Schubert
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