8 replies to this topic

[jebr]

As a bit of additional feedback, from someone that has only partially attended a couple of Fests:

 

A Denver Fest would be the most likely for me to attend at least part of, simply because I could pair it with a trip to visit family in the area as well. That said, I likely would only make it a long weekend on either end since I do have a limited amount of time off I can take, and I already have scheduled most of this year's allotment. Should it work, I'd either fly into/out of Denver or take the Zephyr to/from Iowa (where we also have family in the area.)

 

That said, even a Denver Fest wouldn't be a sure thing for me to be able to attend - the odds would probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of 50/50. I'd certainly push more to make that work, though, especially since I'd like to get out there anyways to visit family. Some sort of weekend (or Sunday/Monday) would be ideal, though that may not work as well for other attendees.

Edited by jebr, 21 May 2019 - 11:09 AM.

[KevinKorell]

I should add that the way my mind works, we could add a Detroit or Milwaukee or St. Louis round trip to that Denver run, of course connecting through Chicago.   New streetcars to ride in all three cities.

[steve4031]

I was just in Denver last weekend and they have added significantly to their system. Im sure Kevin has a fest percolating for a future summer.

[KevinKorell]

At a first glance, what I see as activities in Denver (covering any lines or segments that did not exist for our 2014 visit) would be to ride the entire A, B, & G commuter rail lines, the whole R Line, and the newest extension in Lone Tree of the E F R Lines.   It can easily be accomplished with the following in this order:

 

• A Line Union Station to DEN Airport
• A Line DEN Airport to Peoria
• R Line Peoria to Ridgegate
• E or F Line Ridgegate to downtown Denver
• B Line Union Station to Westminster
• B Line Westminster to Pecos Junction
• G Line Pecos Junction to Wheat Ridge-Ward Station
• G Line Wheat Ridge-Ward Station to Union Station

The first 4 bullets would be a long triangle trip taking about half a day, while the last 4 bullets would be another trip unto itself.   We probably could do one of those on the day of arrival, and the second group on the day of departure.

 

Should time remain, we could always fill it with re-do of the C D Lines to Littleton (being extended to Highlands Ranch) and/or the W Line to Golden.

[steve4031]

I think Penny wants to go to Denver when Im in school so she can get that last peace of chocolate cake on 6 headed back east.

[pennyk]

I am still working on both trips and hope to launch them soon.   Like the Toronto Fest being oriented to the airport area because the hotels are more competitive there, such may happen with Denver too.  Not necessarily the current Denver airport but it could be areas outside of the immediate downtown area, such as near Central Park station on the A Airport Line (on land where former Stapleton Airport was), or in Arvada along the new G Line. If that's the case, the itinerary will be rewritten to make the "official" trips the ones we take to & from hotel areas.

 

I took a quick look at downtown Denver hotels and they did not look too pricey.  I did see 30,000 points at the HGI walking distance from Union Station. FYI, If I attend the fest, I most likely will stay at a downtown hotel.

[jebr]

I'll likely use an opaque booking site to purchase my hotel, when the time comes. My preferred chains don't have decent locations downtown, and I'd rather stay downtown over earning points (assuming the pricing is similar.)

 

That said, if it's done the week between the two Broncos games, I wouldn't be able to attend. I've got a few things that weekend (9/21-9/22) and so couldn't justify taking PTO for a day or two just to have to swing back home for the weekend anyways. There's a bit of a chance that I might be able to do the Monday-Tuesday on the 16th/17th when the Mets are playing, but it'd be somewhat unlikely given other moving pieces to make the trip work.

 

EDIT: Looking at my schedule a bit more, anything before the late September likely won't work, given personal constraints. Given that, I'll probably have to bow out of this one in terms of active scheduling, and just happen to see if what's planned will happen to work with the rest of the moving parts (family availability, PTO for my spouse and I, etc.)

Edited by jebr, 28 May 2019 - 01:37 PM.

[pennyk]

Although I am likely to make reservations and plan to attend, because September is peak hurricane season, my plans could be changed by a storm (and train cancellations).  This has happened to me regarding trips in September and October in 2015 and 2016.

[saxman]

I'm in Denver right now for a few weeks and went to ride the new open lines and happen to be staying in Stapleton. Most of the hotels there have free shuttle service to the Central Park Station. They even reserved a bus stop specifically for hotels there! I also visited Old Town Arvada and it's a nice walkable neighborhood with several bar and grill type places. And of course downtown Denver Union Station is much more built up and more complete than it was in 2014. It's really nice now. Hopefully the issues with the California Zephyr will be more back to normal by then. I too enjoy riding the LD trains with the group and having meals together. 

 

As far as Canada, I'd be interested too. There's a lot of lines I've yet to ride there.