This article appears in Volume 17: Myths and Legends

For

For
Volume 17, we followed myths and legends to destinations like
Ireland, Naples, Oxford, Tangier, and Yosemite. But for Colorado,
we sat down with The Lumineers to talk about what makes Denver
feel like home. And we picked up a great guide to the Mile High
City along the way.

Where’s the first place that you head when you get back
home?

The
Meadowlark Bar is where we got our start at an open mic – it’s
just a tiny, cavernous basement bar. And Steuben’s for a
cheesesteak – that place is good.

Where would you take friends for a meal?

Colorado is a landlocked state but you can get great fish tacos
at Dos
Santos. Do you have a favourite neighbourhood? RiNo (River
North Art District) is a really cool spot, along with South
Broadway and Cap Hill.

Where can you go to switch off in the city?

You can go to Red Rocks. During the day, people do yoga there, run
the stairs or you can just stand on the stage. It’s very
photogenic. Where do you go when you have writer’s block? To the
mountains – Denver is one-and-a-half hours away from Breckenridge;
you can go skiing there, or you can go hiking and clear your mind.
If you have a car and you’re not in the winter months you can go to
Mount Evans Road – at over 14,000ft it’s the highest paved road in
North America.

What’s the biggest myth about life in Denver?

The weather. People just think of Aspen and are like, “oh,
Denver must be cold”, but it has more days of sunshine on average
than any other US city.

Which are the best parks?

Cheesman Park, Wash Park and City Park are all enormously
popular. There are more than 200 parks in the city.

Where is the best breakfast in Denver?

Snooze is
good. The owner was around when I was eating there the other day
and he said how much he liked our music.