Oh! The places you can go!

Colorado is divided into four areas: the Front Range, the mountains, the Western Slope and everywhere else. When most people visit Colorado, they want to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. Take in the sights, maybe see a few bighorn sheep, snap some pictures and say that they saw the "real" Colorado.

I was in the mountains yesterday for a wedding, at the YMCA camp in Tabernash to be exact. Every time I go to the mountains – winter, spring, summer or fall – I am breathless at the sight of what nature created. I understand why people want to see it for themselves. When I first moved here from cactus country 16 years ago, I could hardly believe my eyes. I still count my lucky stars every evening when I look up and see the sun setting behind the snow capped mountains.

At the wedding yesterday, while I was sitting in the freezing rain of an afternoon shower, I started thinking of all the other places that tourists never get to see.

All over this great state of mine, there are wonders to behold:

Antonito, Colorado: Cano's Castle, Beer Can Folk Art
Colorado is a relatively young state, it was founded in 1876, and as such, we don't have a lot of historical buildings except for in old mining towns. Some enterprising gent took it upon himself to build a castle. Being resourceful, he made it with recycled aluminum. Beer cans to be specific. "... a few smashed beer cans nailed to the walls, along with hubcaps and strips of aluminum."


Golden, Colorado: Buffalo Bills' Grave
William F. Cody herded cattle, worked a wagon train, mined for gold and scouted for the Army. His
skills as a buffalo hunter earned him the nickname Buffalo Bill. His Wild West shows traveled the world, allowing foreigners a chance to experience life in the American West.

At his request, he was buried on Lookout Mountain, which offers a stunning view of the Great Plains and the city of Denver. Unlike Jim Morrison's grave in Paris, this grave site has a gift shop! Don't forget to get your Buffalo Bill shot glass to impress the ladies back home.

Nederland, Colorado: the Frozen Dead Guy
We have our fair share of festivals in Colorado: the Dragon Boat Festival, the Irish Festival, the Underground Music Festival and on and on. Every March in Nederland, the town celebrates Frozen Dead Guy Days. This, by far, is my favorite festival.

Grampa Bredo is the frozen dead guy. He lives in a Tuff Shed in an aluminum box, covered in ice. He's waiting for some mad scientist to invent re-animation so he can be brought back to life. While he waits, the town of Nederland has a party every year to re-animate it's treasury.

Florence, Colorado: Supermax Prison
Ever wonder what happened to Zacharias Moussaoui, Richard Reid and Theodore Kaczynski? You can visit them at Supermax in Florence. Well, you can visit the fence surrounding the compound that houses "473 notorious terrorists, vicious murderers and violent, disruptive escape-prone inmates brought in from other federal penitentiaries." Inmates are kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. The prison is underground and prisoners only view to the outside is through a 4"x4" window that looks up at the sky.

While you're there, stop by the Museum of Colorado Prisons to get your very own Alfred Packer t-shirt. Alfred was a cannibal, but a very fine cook.

Coming soon: find out why the Centennial State is called the Napa Valley of beer.