We drove across the mountains on route 40 and picked up I-70 about 25 miles west of Denver.  We crossed the continental divide at about 11,200 feet.  It was a lot of climbing and descending but the views were great.  We settled in at Golden and hiked on Dinosaur Ridge, a park we used to go to when we had an apartment in Denver a few years back.  We are staying for 2 days and are looking forward to revisiting places we know as well as some we missed.