After enjoying the natural scenery along this road, we made our way to the "top circle parking lot," which is the closest parking lot to the visitor center. The center, like the park itself, is free. My favorite exhibit was discovering which musical groups have played at the famous amphitheater. My grandkids, ages 5 and 9, most enjoyed seeing the dinosaur exhibit. (Red Rocks Park sits adjacent to Dinosaur Ridge, an area where many fossils have been found.)

Next, we toured the amphitheater itself. It's a gorgeous venue. One doesn't need a musical performance in order to enjoy it--it's just a joy unto itself. We climbed down the zillions of stairs to explore the stage itself. It was fun standing where the musicians stand, imagining what it would be like to play there in that spot! Climbing back UP the zillion stairs to the parking lot... now, that was a workout! We certainly didn't feel the need to find a hiking trail after that!

Next, we headed to the picnic shelter to eat our little feast. The views on all sides were spectacular. After eating, the kids enjoyed exploring the little trails around the picnic area.

Last, we headed to the Trading Post. We enjoyed looking at the wide variety of Red Rocks souvenirs on sale. We checked out the snack bar, too--and we were glad that we had picnicked! A 20-ounce bottle of soda sells there for $2.50 (which is funny, because I noticed the same bottles for only $1.50 at the visitor center)!

We left the park with happy kids, and we hadn't spent any cash, except for the gas to get there!

The name Red Rocks comes from nature's own reddish sandstone rocks. The open-air ampitheatre is about 15 minutes outside of Denver and is open during the summer for rock, classical, and jazz concerts. I have attended more than a dozen concerts here and am awed by the beauty of the rock formations as well as the city skyline whenever I have found myself lucky enough to visit this venue.

Since 1947, there has also been an annual Easter sunrise service. Though I have never attended, I have heard from others that it is an inspiring location for this type of service.

Like I said, I have attended numerous rock concerts, one of them being the U2 concert that was filmed and titled, "Under a Blood Red Sky." The rain drizzled that night, the winds kept us shivering, but we stayed through the final encore. It was a truly unforgettable concert, my first at Red Rocks, that allowed me to fully appreciate the acoustics created by the rock formations.

I don't attend many concerts these days, but would choose one at Red Rocks in a heartbeat if an artist I wanted to see was playing there.