Welcome to Denver, Colorado!

As some of you may have heard, E.B. Lane now has an office in Denver, Colorado. Since you are new to the Mile-high city, the locals of E.B. Lane Denver want to let everyone in on some fascinating facts about Denver and Colorado. Most people unfamiliar with Denver assume the city is nestled in the heart of the mountains, always covered in snow in the winter and rarely more than 32 degrees as the average high.  True or false?

Below you will see “mostly” true facts about Denver through the eyes of locals.

Fact 1 – Denver is not in the Mountains. Rather, we are nestled on the plains with a stunning view of the Rocky Mountains. As a matter of fact, the airport is half-way to Kansas (or at least, seems like it). Fact 1.5, some folks from Denver are prone to exaggeration.

Fact 2 – Denver has more than 300 sunny days per year, more than anywhere else. So, sunscreen is a requirement. Plus, we are closer to sun (see Fact 3).

Fact 3 – 5,280 feet….need we say more? That is the altitude. Not only does this allow a baseball or golf ball to travel further (about 9% further than sea level), it also means that sea level folks really need to be careful about consuming alcohol as it hits the bloodstream much faster. And yes, the air does feel thinner, but you get acclimated to it after a couple of days.

Fact 4 – It does snow in Denver and April is the snowiest month. However, since Denver is a very dry climate with little moisture in the air, the snow rapidly melts once the sun hits it. It is not uncommon for it to snow a few inches overnight and then by mid-morning have the snow melt entirely away.

Fact 5 – Outdoor activities rule the day whether it is skiing, hiking, running, etc. It is hard to find a more “fit” city in the United States.

Fact 6 – 52 is a key number in Colorado as that is the number of “14ers” in the state. Those are number of mountains over 14,000 above sea level and many Coloradoans aspire to climb all of them, most notably Long’s Peak, which is always visible in Denver’s the northwestern skyline.

Fact 7 – While one would think skiing is the official sport of Colorado, it is not. In fact, burro racing is apparently the official sport. No one really knows why that is the case.

Fact 8 – One of the few cities that has all the professional major sports leagues: football (Denver Broncos), baseball (Colorado Rockies), hockey (Colorado Avalanche), basketball (Denver Nuggets) and soccer (Colorado Rapids). Among that group, there are five championships with the most recent being the Colorado Rapids who won the 2010 MLS Cup!

Fact 9 – Most of the state is flat, despite having the highest mean altitude of all the states.

Fact 10 – A cultured city with theaters and museums (i.e. We are not a simple cow town). The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is the largest performing arts complex under one roof and the second largest in pure seating capacity.

So, there you have it. Hopefully this clears up some common misperceptions about Denver and Colorado in general. There are few cities like Denver and we excited that E.B. Lane is now part of this wonderful community!