My son and I ate here after visting Water Tower Place. It's worth the walk from WTP's food court! We didn't have enough time to get a deep dish pizza (we did last time), which take 1 hour to bake, so we got a thin crust. We ate an entire medium pizza between the two of us! We had a blast reading the graffiti on the walls and seeing the charactures of the celebrities who've eaten there. Do NOT miss this for real Chicago pizza. This one is the only real thing!

My son and I visited the Art Institute for the first time in Feb. '11. We've been studying art history in our home education courses for 8 years and it was absolutely amazing to see the actual, original art we've studied! Our train into Chicago ran late, so we missed two main galleries - Medieval and early Renaissance, which made us sad. We spent four hours really enjoying the art, having a great meal in the cafe', and shopping in the great store.

We are die-hard Choice Hotels fans, but yet I was wary of staying at this hotel...mostly because I couldn't see photos that convinced me of it's value. I was NOT disappointed. We stayed in the main part of the hotel, which has larger rooms, and they are incredible! They have both an interior and an exterior door. We loved this. We could walk about 12 feet to our car via the exterior door, or we could walk in our bare feet through the property to the front desk, etc.

We had a lovely patio with columbine (my favorite) flowers in full bloom between each room. Our room was very spacious with plenty of room for the kids to play. The staff was absolutely wonderful...we even received a Christmas card from them! The food was great, stocked quickly and even past "closing" time. The fireplace in the lobby was cozy, and the covenience to both downtown Estes and Lake Estes was nice. There's a scooter rental store next door, and wide, well-maintained sidewalks in front of the property. The Estes visitor's center is close by, too.

We will ALWAYS stay here when in Estes. We had a former favorite at the east end of downtown, which was nice for shopping, but not so nice for noise, or for any views. I'll update with photos of this property soon.

This is a neat side trip and it's the best when you can catch the re-enactments of the fort. You can visit quickly, or spend some leisurely time here. You really get the feel that you're inside the fort as it was when it was so important to travellers! Make sure to purchase, and eat, nearby Rocky Ford cataloupe and other melons!

This NPS site is a very fascinating piece of history! No Native American lover should miss this! Plan on a lot of driving around and hiking. Most trails are easy and well-paved, but they can get steep. We visited when I was pregnant and it wasn't too fun! ;-) I also couldn't climb and crawl around the ruins, which is a major part of it. Try to visit in the spring or fall when the weather is cooler, as it gets pretty hot and there's not much shade around! Bring plenty of water!!!