Thing is, I've spent a lot of time in Colorado and there's a lot of beautiful places in the front range of the Rockies that are a short drive from Denver. So yeah, maybe not Denver the city but you're not far from Estes Park or Golden.
Oh for sure, but I don't think most people travel for nature (with a couple exceptions like the grand canyon, Mt Fuji, etc). There's amazing natural beauty all throughout north America.
