Bands, brews and a buckwheat burrito — it’s aweekend in Fortcollins
fort collins » ver the years, Fort Collins has been little more than an I-25 potty stop for us. Beyond the rest area at exit 268, Colorado’s fourth largest city remained largely terra incognita.
That changed when my wife, Dianne, learned that one of her favorite rock bands was scheduled to play a Friday-night concert at Mishawaka. The rustic restaurant, bar and music venue sits in Poudre Canyon, 24 miles northwest of Fort Collins, and not wanting to drive home after a night of bands and brews, we booked a room in town for the weekend.
The concierge provided directions to Colorado State University, where we boarded buses bound for The Mish. The riverside setting proved spectacular, and with the audience limited to around 1,000 people, it didn’t feel like a mob scene. Returning late to town, I was thankful we only needed to drive back to the Marriott, not the metro area.
Armed withmy wife’s list of sightseeing and sustenance suggestions, we began Saturdaywith breakfast at La Creperie& French Bakery. While Diannewent traditional, I opted for their French breakfast burrito. The multicultural combination of burrito fillings stuffed in a buckwheat crepe proved to be très bueno.
Next stop was Old Town
OSquare, a wide, two-block-long downtown pedestrian mall that’s lined with largely nonchain shops and restaurants and peppered with flowers, benches and artwork.
Young children frolicked in a geyser fountain, their gleeful squeals suggesting they were having a good time. A derbycapped man played for tips at an upright piano. As we wandered about, not one person asked us for loose change.
“This is what Denver’s 16th Street Mall should be like,” Dianne sighed.
For lunch, we stopped for burgers at Coopersmith’s Pub & Brewing. The city claims 18 breweries, including Budweiser, New Belgium and Odell, and I suggested we hire a driver and spend the afternoon sampling them all. Unfortunately, my brews got bumped by blossoms, and we headed for the Gardens on Spring Creek.
The community botanic center features an array of individually themed gardens. While I liked its artistic sprinkling cans, Dianne was drawn to their Sus- tainable Backyard exhibit featuring long-blooming, xeric plants. The copious notes my wife was taking suggested I’d be spending next Saturday digging dirt.
Next stop on Dianne’s list was Jessup Farm Artisan Village, former home of an early Fort Collins farmer. Its adoptively restored buildings now house shops, eateries and the Barrel House Brewery.
“Only 16 more brewhouses to go,” I reminded my honey. “There’s still time.”
After dinner at Jessup’s Farmhouse Restaurant, we returned to Old Town Square. Itwas Saturday night and music blasted from the local bars. Youngsters still played in the nowilluminated fountain, families milled about and buskers entertained onlookers.
A toddler danced to a streetcorner violinist. Nearby, a crowd watched a juggler on a unicycle, followed by ahoudini-like escape artist extracting himself from a straight jacket. Although the scale is far different, it’s easy to appreciate howdowntown Fort Collins served as amodel for Disneyland’smain Streetu.s.a.
The next morning, we headed to the Soapstone Prairie Natural Area north of town, hoping to glimpse the pure-blooded bison recently introduced there. It was then time to head back home.
Before tackling the interstate, we made a nostalgic stop at what formerly had been our favorite Fort Collins site— the exit 268 rest area.
Dan Leeth is a travel writer and photographer; more at Lookingfortheworld.com.