Comment on Oakland's street art scene is vibrant. New works will be created during city's first Mural Festival

I have to confess that I made many trips to Albuquerque to see family during my childhood, but I never really explored the city or the surrounding area until recently. Not only did I find some unique activities and places to see, but I’m ready to return and continue discovering its history and character. Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city, is a 6 1/2-hour drive from Denver or an easy 1 1/2-hour direct flight.

By Lisa Wells, Food Drink Life With autumn in the air and Halloween looming, bring some spookiness to your vacation with a haunted itinerary. These chilling destinations offer spine-tingling histories, unexplained phenomena and the chance for an unforgettable ghost encounter. Scary movies, haunted houses and ghoulish costumes are favorite trappings of autumn, delivering a dose of terror as Halloween draws near.

After one night in the Manitoba capital city of Winnipeg, 13 of us climbed aboard the Calm Air 62-seater from the charter terminal, ready for our arctic adventure. Soon, we began our smooth 2½-hour flight to Churchill, the “Gem of the North,” as its called, a small former railroad town built by the Hudson Bay Co.

Peering over the edge of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison from one of its numerous overlooks, it’s natural to feel weak in the knees. The dark canyon walls streaked with once-molten magma fall sharply down the river below, as if someone used a knife to slice a 48-mile slit in the earth’s crust.

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems). Modern travel is not for the faint of heart, and the ongoing construction at Denver International Airport ratchets up the challenges with a shifting maze of temporary walls in the main terminal. But I know of a special place here that provides a little respite from this craziness — and it’s free. First, a slight digression: Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station in Denver is a wild assemblage of storytelling, colors, lights, and sounds about fictional alien worlds.

Sanitas is Latin for “health,” and hikers are bound to boost theirs while tackling the challenging climb up Mount Sanitas. It’s the area’s rich history, though, that draws this writer to the top of Boulder’s 6,863-foot peak. Arrive early enough, before all the other day hikers turn up, and you might snag a spot in the small Centennial lot off Sunshine Canyon Drive, which services both the Centennial and Mount Sanitas trailheads.