El Rancho Trading Post Colorado Information

El Rancho Trading Post
The Gift Shop of the Rockies

Colorado Fun Facts Events

Mount Evans has the highest paved road in North America at 14,240 feet.

Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is the highest continually paved road in the US. (Apparently Ticlio Pass in the Andes Mountains of Peru, claims the 16,000 foot mark for world status.)

Mount Elbert is the highest of the "14ers," (Colorado mountain peaks that reach 14,000 feet and above), at 14,433 oxygen-sucking feet. (And on a hilarious note, El Rancho gal Ché climbed Mount Massive with a hiking party for her first 14er: the second highest of the 53 available to climb. She didn't know that beforehand.)

Where did the state name "Colorado" come from?
The state of Colorado gets its name from this word. It was the Spanish who first called the area Colorado because of the red color of the soil, and the name was later chosen for the State by Congress in 1861. The letter C of the state flag is also red to represent the ruddy color of the earth there.
Source:

Red Rocks is the best place in the world to see a concert. (O.K. that's not a fact, but see anything there, and you'll probably think so, too!)

Denver is known at the "Mile High City" because it rises to 5,280 feet above sea level.

The Native American group most associated with Colorado is the Ute Indian tribe.

Some Famous Colorado Movie spots...
The Shining was filmed at the historic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.
Woody Allen's movie Sleeper was made the "spaceship house" infamous in Genesee.
Sylvester Stalone's Cliffhanger movie was supposed to be set in Colorado. Denver had several views that were composited together (not quite our skyline, but sure if you use a panoramic camera). Alas, the "Colorado Rocky Mountains" were actually the Dolamites in Italy. (Also for fact checkers, the Denver Mint produces coins, not paper currency).

You cannot possibly be bored in Colorado. Here's some of the things you can do here:
Ski, hike, raft, shop, kayak, bird-watch, golf, snowboard, motorcycle ride, mountain bike, caving/spelunking, hang glide/paraglide, snowshoe, test taste at microbreweries, balloon ride, dog sled, hayride, amusement park, bar hop, eat yourself silly at great restaurants (try El Rancho!), hunt, fly fish, boat, jet/water ski, try rock candy, ice skate, visit an Olympic training center, see Indian ruins, sleigh ride, photograph and draw in the wilderness, sit in the hot springs, see a rodeo, tour a tear jerking tea room (the mint room at Celestial Seasonings), visit vineyards and taste delicious award-winning Colorado wines, cross country ski, rollerblade, telemark, canoe, gondola ride, tube/sled, ride the rails and half pipes, sway on a suspension bridge, ride a historic train, ride horseback, rock climb, ice fish, see a concert, march in a parade, dogsled, attend a red carpet film festival premiere, see snow 10 feet high-in the summer, visit a butterfly pavilion, see buffalo, elk, eagles, ground hogs, big horn sheep and rattlesnakes, bungee jump, see great architecture and art, sit in a shimmering golden aspen grove, see a professional car race, enjoy many ethnic festivals, visit relatives, make new friends, gamble, see a mine or a ghost town, go to a pro football/baseball/soccer/basketball/hockey/lacrosse game, pan for gold, view dinosaur tracks...and breath (or need oxygen if you're near the top of a mountain).

And this is just a partial list.

Rocky Mountain Oysters...the myth/the truth. They kinda taste like fried mushrooms. They are not from the sea. Although, oh we'll just leave the semen joke alone. Every area has a dish that the locals raz the tourists about. This is ours. Give 'em a try and live the adventure. We'll try weird stuff when we're in your state or country, too.

Events

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