Top Things You Didn’t Know About Colorado
1 – Denver can lay to the invention of the cheeseburger the name Cheeseburger was awarded to Louis Ballast, a resident of the city.
2 – In a small town called Fruita just outside of Grand Junction in Colorado’s west the locals celebrate Mike the Headless Chicken Day. The celebrations stem from a day when local farmer Mr. Lloyd Olsen cut off the head of Mike the chicken, in anticipation of a chicken dinner – Mike survived the ordeal and lived for another 18 months without ahead!
3 – Colorado boasts the highest continuously paved highway in the United States. Trail Ridge Road – (US-34) passes through Rocky Mountain National Park between Estes Park and Grand Lake, crossing the Continental Divide at 12,183 feet above sea level. Colorado is also home to the highest paved road in North America. The Road to Mt Evans off of I-70 from Idaho Springs climbs up to 14,258 feet above sea level.
4 – The world’s largest flat-top mountain is in Grand Mesa. Visitors can enjoy panoramic views stretching from the valley floor to the mesa top as they tour the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway which winds past picture postcard scenes. Fruit orchards, vineyards, and fluttering aspens fill the landscape as the byway climbs to 10,000 feet.
5 – Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the United States. Standing at 10,430 feet above sea level, the region was a thriving silver-mining region – many of the neighboring towns had ‘silver’ in their name. To add a little variety the founding fathers decided to call the town Leadville. Just east of Leadville is Alma where you will find the highest post office in the US.
6 – Colfax Avenue in Denver is the longest continuous street in America.
7 – Colorado is the Rodeo capital of the world. The World’s first rodeo was held in Deer Trail just east of Denver. Every January Denver hosts the world’s largest Rodeo called The National Western Stock Show and Colorado Springs hosts the State’s oldest annual rodeo, the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo.
8 – Over 400,000 people ascend Pikes Peak (14,110 feet) every year.
9 – The Colorado Rockies are part of the North America Cordillera, which stretches 3,000 miles from Alaska through Western Canada and the United States, into Northern Mexico. The centerpiece of this dramatic uplift is the peaks over 14,000 feet or the Fourteeners as they are affectionately known by climbers. There are over 52 Fourteeners in Colorado.
10 – The Dwight Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel between Clear Creek & Summit counties is the highest auto tunnel in the world. Bored at an elevation of 11,000 feet under the Continental Divide, it is 8,960 feet long. The average daily traffic through the tunnel exceeds 26,000 vehicles.
11 – Colorado has more micro breweries per capita than any other state.
12 – The highest suspension bridge in the world is over the Royal Gorge near Canon City. The Royal Gorge Bridge spans the Arkansas River at a height of 1,053 feet.
13 – The world’s largest natural hot spring pool is located in Glenwood Springs. The two-block-long pool is across the street from the Hotel Colorado, a favorite spot of former president Teddy Roosevelt.
