1. You fly in and don’t recognize the skyline.
It’ll be hard to call Denver a Cowtown once that 1,000-ft skyscraper is completed. The city is growing up, and as much as we natives may yearn for the old days, they aren’t coming back. That said, the qualities that make this city great haven’t left — people still laugh at those jokers driving around with giant Raiders decals on their 4Runners, you can still wear flannel into a fine dining establishment and pass the “collared shirt” policy, and the city still charges full-steam ahead no matter how much it snows. If after landing you doubt Denver’s awesomeness, take the A-Line into Union Station.