Alright enough side tracking, it was now time to hit the trails for a hike. When I was searching for locations near our cabin the one that popped up as the most popular, and also not too challenging for beginners was Red Rocks Park.

We had barely just driven into the park and were already taken back by the size and beauty of where we were. I found a parking lot that seems fairly close to a few different trails, and picked one that stated it was about 2 miles in length.

We figured it was best to take a before photo since by the end of this experience we may not be in as high spirits.

The trail wasn’t paved, but was well worn and easy to follow. We came across many different signs and marking helping to keep us on the correct path.

It was just really beautiful here and I found myself taking so many pictures and videos along the way to document it as best I could. Trust me however, as nice as these photos are, they pale in comparison to being there in person and seeing it with your own eyes.

We weren’t speeding through the hike and really took our time to enjoy where we were. In total probably look a little less than an hour to do the whole trail and thankfully it brought us right near where we had left our car. Before we left the park there was one other place I wanted to check out. This was the Amphitheatre that is wedge into rocks and is incredible. The only draw back was we had to walk up these very steep ramps that twisted back and forth up along one of the rock races.

This was another place that just seems out of this world. They host all sorts of different events here from early morning yoga, to music concerts, and more.

It’s hard to explain exactly how huge this place it but trust me it was amazing. I wish we would have been able to stick around for a concert or some event to see it in action.

My family opted to sit and rest back down towards the bottom of the amphiteathre but I had to clip a ton of steps to the top so I could access to Red Rocks Visitor Center.

Inside near the information desk was where I found two different machines. First was a collectible medallion machine with a wonderful vinyl wrap.

The coins had images of the Amphitheatre, Red Rocks park established 1941, the Denver Skyline, and a ferocious looking T-Rex. The reverse side of all the coins had the same design which had a little description of the Amphitheatre.

Just a few steps to the left and I found myself in front of the Pressed Penny Machine. Now if you look closely you may see a sticker near the $1.00 price tag that says “Out of Order”. I walked all the way up here and the penny machine was out of order. I did try it anyways but just confirmed it was not operational.

So it took a few weeks after we got home for my mail off letter to make its way back to the Visitor Center and a very kind staff member pressed the pennies for me once the machine was back up and running. The set of pennies has some fun designs including another wide image of the Amphitheatre, Red Rocks from Dinosaurs to Rock ‘n’ Roll, The Red Rocks, and a Dinosaur skeleton.

Our hike was a success and we even heard from comments from our kids on the drive back to our cabin that they enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately our trip to Colorado was coming to an end in a few more days, but we were taking this as a sign to try and squeeze in another hike or two if we could. Plus I still had quite a few more pennies on my shopping list we had to track down so be sure to stay tuned and as always Keep on Pressing!

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