Colorado, with its superb skiing and majestic mountain scenery, is one of the USA's great vacation states. Denver, the state capital, is the largest city for over 600 miles in any direction and a popular gateway to the Rockies. With a metropolitan population of around 3million, it's both an economic powerhouse and a fascinating city to explore.
Known widely as the 'Mile High City' - Denver's official elevation is 5,280ft - it occupies a fine position where the Great Plains meet the mountains. The location, climate and financial success have paved the way for huge expansion in recent years.
Originally a cow town and mining centre, Denver hit literary fame in the 1950's as the home of Dean Moriarty, the main character in Jack Kerouac's novel On The Road. Later, the 80's TV series Dynasty was based on Denver's business elite.
Today, the city is a major economic hub with Distribution, Telecommunications and Defense the core industries. Denver's business thoroughfare, 17th Street, is dubbed by some 'The Wall Street of the West'.
The modern city contrasts sharply with Denver's long reputation as a cow town, yet that's how the city feels for a couple of weeks in January when it hosts the world's biggest rodeo.
Its population is young by national standards and Denver boasts the best-educated workforce in the country. It's growing rapidly too, as many relocate from the likes of California, attracted by the climate and the great outdoors - just a short drive from downtown Denver.
Denver is served by Denver International Airport (DIA), opened in 1995 and now the fourth busiest in the US. It covers an area greater than Manhattan and is geographically the largest airport in the whole country.
Two Interstates, I-70 and I-25, converge just north of the city centre. I-70 heads west in to the mountains and is the route taken by those heading for the ski resorts. I-25 reaches the Wyoming border in just an hour's drive time north. It's a seven-hour drive south to Santa Fe in New Mexico, and the USA's oldest state capital.
It is always easy to find one's bearings in Denver with the Front Range of the Rockies a dominant feature fifteen miles to the west.
Denver was once the hub of the railway system. Today, services still operate to San Francisco and Chicago from the historic Union Station. A new light rail system opened in 2006 while there's also a popular train service to the city-owned Winter Park ski resort.
Denver enjoys a glorious climate with over 300 sunny days each year - that's more sunshine than southern California. It's relatively dry, although afternoon storms make July and August the wettest months. Temperatures can fluctuate widely in winter, with heavy snowfalls quite common, while summer thermometers often top 100°F.
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