GC6V66J Wherigo Cache Vintage Neon- East Colfax
Type: Wherigo | Size: Micro Micro | Difficulty: 1.5 out of 5 | Terrain: 1.5 out of 5
By: tammy_b @ | Hide Date: 10/08/2016 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N39° 44.395 W104° 59.044 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
Recommended for kids  Takes less than an hour  Public transportation  Bicycles  Stealth required  Stroller accessible  Flashlight required 

**NOTE: If the cartridge won't download, I have listed the content and waypoints below. Don't skip to the end, this one has some great history.** Winter cachers, no need to dig through snow for final.

Click here to go to the cartridge.


This is an easy Wherigo and should take less than an hour. Try it on a Sunday afternoon/eve where there is likely quick stop-and-go parking. Highlights some cool vintage neon signs along E. Colfax.

Posted November 3, 2017: Vintage Neon East Colfax Ave (GC6V66J) I am sorry about the trouble with the cartridge. I am hoping to get it fixed soon, but since I am not a computer geek I cannot do it myself. I will get to it as soon as I can. I am giving you this paper “cartridge” so you can find the stations until I can redo the cartridge.

The final location of the container is listed at the bottom. You can just go to the final and log it as a find if you want, but I hope you choose instead to go to each of these totally cool neon signs.

Please note your favorite sign in your log. If there is any trouble with the final, please let me know. If you do all the steps but cannot find the final, as far as I’m concerned you can log it as a find, as to me the container is just icing on the cake. If you went to all the signs, you still “ate the cake.”

Have fun! Tammy

1. Start point: N 39 44.395 W 104 59.044

2. Newhouse Hotel N 39 44.395 W 104 59.025

• Hotel Hesse opened in 1911 at the corner of Colfax and Grant. Due to anti-German sentiment during WWI, the hotel was renamed the Newhouse.

• Running underneath much of Capitol Hill are tunnels which connect the Capitol Building with many of the surrounding businesses, and in the 1920's these tunnels were reportedly used to sneak politicians into the hotel for booze and affairs. The tunnels have long since been sealed.

• For over 100 years this historic hotel has operated in the Capitol Hill section of Denver. Reservations are not accepted, as guests will frequently check in and then decide to stay. Cash only.

3. Satire Lounge: N 39 44.393 w 104 57.848

• This one of those crispy old bars where the bartender knows your name and remembers it even until you slide off the bar stool to head home. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the bar is more lively than any other saloon around, and the people-watching is the best in the city.

• In the early sixties, before he became famous, Bob Dylan lived nearby at what is now an empty lot at Gilpin and Williams streets. According to Phil Goodstein’s book, The Ghosts of Capitol Hill, in roughly 1989, after doing a local concert, Dylan walked straight into Wax Trax Records at 13th and Washington as a customer.

4. Pete’s Kitchen N 29 44.394 W 104 57.823

• Also known as Petie Ts and owned by Pete Conto, Pete’s Kitchen is a Colfax institution and has the most character of any of the local dives. It is open 24/7, but it is best to get there by 1 a.m., because by 2 a.m. there will be a line stretching out the door and down the street.

• Although the restaurant serves Greek cuisine, try an order of chili-cheese fries with green or red chili, or with one of three flavors of their very own Pete’s Hot Sauce. The gyros and eggs are also a local favorite. The neon sign is a favorite of mine, with the flapjacks flipping above the frying pan! A work of art.

5. Trattoria Stella N 39 44.403 W 104 56.995

• Tom and Marna Sumners own both locations of the Trattoria, this one in the east and one on the west side of town. This hip Italian neighborhood bistro has an eclectic menu, and their pasta is home made.

6. Goosetown Tavern N 39. 44.403 W 104 56.968

• The Goosetown is named after a former bar of the same name in Golden, Colorado, where German immigrants once communed. They settled in the foothills around Golden and their fondness for waterfowl led them to create many ponds and lakes to encourage migrating geese to stay in Golden. The geese came and the district became known as Goosetown.

• A German immigrant, Julius Shultz, originally built the Goosetown Tavern in Golden in 1873. It was torn down in 1998 to create a parking lot. The original Goosetown Tavern was the oldest continually licensed tavern in Colorado.

• Upon demolition of the original bar, the owner salvaged the front and back bars and booths and placed them in their present location in the tavern on Colfax.

• The current owner, Chris Swank, also owns the Mezcal next door and has owned the Bluebird Theater for 20 years. The kitchen creates a dish that sounds odd but is a local favorite: Buffalo and bleu-cheese pierogis. The neon sign is as unique as the taverns name.

FINAL LOCATION: N 39 44.441 W 104 56.760

• The final location is a cammo pill bottle. Please see the cache’s web page for the hint.

Tammy // Jan 14, 2017: New cartridge uploaded after Ranger Fox fixed it. Should be good to go. If you have an old cartridge download, delete it and download this one to avoid glitches. If you are using an Oregon device, remember to scroll down below the photo on the questions pages. Report any issues please. Tammy

WINTER cachers; If the final cache is buried in snow, no need to dig it out. Just in your log list your completion code (or mention that you got one).

Are you a neon sign enthusiast? Click here for a neon sign gallery.

The listed coordinates are for the start point. Photos are welcome but please no spoilers. Please note your favorite sign/location in your log. This would be great to do at night, when the signs are lit up. (You will then need a flashlight for the final.) Take a buddy with you if you do this at night.

During the 1950's, Colfax Avenue was better known as Route 40. Travelers passing through on their way to the mountains were greeted by the a bright outdoor neon museum. These neon signs were each unique to their business, and made with great craftmanship and artistry. The decayed motels along Colfax were once bright, clean and popular tourist stops in the heyday of Colfax.

Then along came Interstate 70, which allowed travelers to completely bypass Colfax, the once-vibrant businesses along the street began their steady decline. Today, the neon signs that survive are a reminder of an important era in the history of Colfax.

The remaining neon signs are in danger of disappearing due to an influx of residents back into the neighborhoods along Colfax causing a demand for new development. The old restaurants, bars, and motels on Colfax as well as their signs are quickly becoming prime targets to be torn down and replaced with artless modern versions of buildings and signs.

New to Wherigos? Wherigo FAQs Here is a play anywhere Wherigo tutorial. And Wherigo forums are the best place to find information about WIGs and your device.

Here are some quick tips:

Wherigos seem to work better on smart phones than on gps devices.

To play the Wherigo, you will need a Wherigo-enabled device. (For Andriod the app is called "WhereYouGo") info here First upload the Wherigo application to your device, then download the cartridge you want to play from the Wherigo web site, using the app. There is a link to this cartridge above.

As with all Wherigos, make sure you have uploaded the most recent version of the cartridge before you go. COs sometimes make changes to the cartridge and if you have the older version you will have glitches when you go to use it. So just upload it again just before you plan to go.

While using the cartridge, if you are at a zone and there is a glitch of some kind, step 30 feet away and try to enter the zone again. (Wherigo dictates the zones are only 10 feet around.) All zones/ locations are located on public property.

Save frequently during cartridge use.

Choose times of low traffic. Bring paper and pencil to jot down completion code (or take a screen shot) and to sign the log at the final.

Unique to Wherigos, there are two places to log them once found. Post a find on geocaching.com as usual. Groundspeak created another web site just for Wherigos: http://wherigo.com. Note there are no GC codes on this site; you have to do a search by area. To log the cache on Wherigo.com, go to the cache web page and click on the key icon and put in your completion code. The cartridge will give you this code after the very last stop of the cartridge. Have a pencil and paper ready, or take a screen shot. Be ready as it is only given once!

FTF Back Country Horsemen!

Thanks to Greasepot for agreeing to help with maintenance for this cache. Thanks to tugies for help with coordinates and hiding the final.

Thanks again to Ranger Fox for his easy-to-use Wherigo kit! RF WIG kit

References: Refs: http://www.westword.com/location/petes-kitchen-5162036, Facebook.com, the Westword, http://www.5280.com/restaurants/trattoria-stella-0

Additional Waypoints

016V66J - Stage 2
N 39° 44.395 W 104° 59.025
Newhouse Hotel (answer green awning)
026V66J - Stage 3
N 39° 44.394 W 104° 57.848
Satire Lounge (answer, two lights)
036V66J - Stage 4
N 39° 44.394 W 104° 57.823
Pete's Kitchen (green and red)
046V66J - Stage 5
N 39° 44.403 W 104° 56.995
Trattoria Stella (green brick)
056V66J - Stage 6
N 39° 44.402 W 104° 56.968
Goosetown Tavern (beer mug depicted)
FN6V66J - Final Location
N 39° 44.441 W 104° 56.760
tree with three trunks, cammo pill bottle at corner of parking lot behind bastiens
 Custom URLs

Add cache to watch list
Log your visit
Picture Gallery

 Additional Waypoints (6)

CodeNameTypeCommentsDateCoordinatesDistance
016V66JStage 2 Virtual Stage Newhouse Hotel (answer green awning) 10/08/2016 N 39° 44.395 W 104° 59.025 0.03 kms E 
026V66JStage 3 Virtual Stage Satire Lounge (answer, two lights) 10/08/2016 N 39° 44.394 W 104° 57.848 1.70 kms E 
036V66JStage 4 Virtual Stage Pete's Kitchen (green and red) 10/08/2016 N 39° 44.394 W 104° 57.823 1.74 kms E 
046V66JStage 5 Virtual Stage Trattoria Stella (green brick) 10/08/2016 N 39° 44.403 W 104° 56.995 2.92 kms E 
056V66JStage 6 Virtual Stage Goosetown Tavern (beer mug depicted) 10/08/2016 N 39° 44.402 W 104° 56.968 2.96 kms E 
FN6V66JFinal Location Final Location tree with three trunks, cammo pill bottle at corner of parking lot behind bastiens 10/08/2016 N 39° 44.441 W 104° 56.760 3.26 kms E 

 Hints

three trunks I have




tree with three trunks, Bastiens park lot.

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GCA0P9W It's been a while! V2 (7.31 kms NW)
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Driving Directions

 Logs

23 Logs: Found it 21  Write note 2  

Found it 04/30/2022 By JPWAVE
#9898 - After a fun-filled business trip to Ft Morgan, on my way back to the DEN (or is it DIA?!?) while detouring to pick up a few extra caches along the way. If there was one type of cache I wanted to find during this trip, it was a WIG to help with a Challenge Cache back home. These Neon WIGs looked like some fun ones. For this one, I had trouble trying to download the WIG cartridge. For the other two WIGs, I can download the WIG cartridges but then my WhereYouGo app cannot find it on my brand new Samsung phone?!? Oh man, this is frustrating. Spent way too much time on this. Reached out to the CO. For this one, I thought I just might have a chance since the CO kindly provided perfect details in the cache Description. Enjoyed reading the history in the cache Description. Of the ones I found, Pete's Kitchen would be my favorite. I agree the neon sign tour would be MUCH better during night hours but unfortunately, I did not get that opportunity on this business trip. At the final, I had no problem finding the host but it appears the container may be compromised/MIA. Sent photos of GZ to CO. MANY thanks to the CO for allowing this Find. TFTWIGC!! BigSmile FP! My vote is to keep this fun WIG!!

Found it 04/14/2022 By poeanne
This was the first wherigo for my granddaughter, ColoradoDawg. She LOVED it and has already convinced me to come do another one before we fly back to Georgia. I have messaged the CO about the final. Dropping a fav point.

Write note 01/09/2022 By LostinDenver
Keep it! Colfax Neon History is cool!

Write note 01/08/2022 By tammy_b
Should I archive this one? The final keeps going missing but the signs are still interesting. Chime in your thoughts please.

Found it 01/08/2022 By vegantriathlete
I messaged with the previous hider to ensure that the cache was missing and am now logging a Found It with permission from the CO.

Found it 05/25/2019 By Denali41
I came down from Wellington today with my puppies Orizaba and Chimborazo, hoping to finish up the great wherigo Selentic Age and then come farther south to get the "neon" wherigos along Colfax Avenue. Things worked out well, and I worked my way through three cartridges, including Vintage Neon-East Colfax and Vintage Neon--West Colfax. Unfortunately, I had forgotten all about Neon Americana--East Colfax, so that will require a return trip.

It was a super day of sun and warmth, such a change from the past week of cold, cloudy, rainy weather. Thanks for this wherigo, tammy_b!!

Found it 05/18/2019 By kb0rpw
Thanks for the tour of Colfax

Found it 05/04/2019 By LostinDenver
I successful loaded the cartridge for the other Colfax whereigo, but this one wouldn't load for me. Thank you for providing the necessary info to complete it without the app. I grew up on Colfax, so I'm familiar with the area. My dad had a used furniture shop (DeVille Fine Furniture) which is now Bound by Design Tattoo. Signed the container and hurried away. TFTC!

Found it 04/16/2019 By jax-man
Got to Denver a day before i needed to start the setup for the big volleyball tournament so of course I needed to go caching.

With the waypoints listed, i didn't download the player. As i was walking the route, i was noticing other signs too. I wondered if they would be on the other wherigo. I guess I won't find out - I downloaded that cartridge and it worked just fine until the first stop. I got to 1 meter, but it wouldn't move on to the next stage.

Back to this cache, I got to the final and poked around for a bit before coming up with it.

TFTC

Found it 12/23/2018 By WindAtMyBack
Found with @LostinDenver TFTC

Found it 10/20/2018 By OneKindWord
I completed the cartridge on this one over a year and half ago and have made two previous search attempts at the final with no success. After seeing continued find logs, I decided to stop by again today since I was going to be fairly close. Found it right away and not sure how I missed it before! Always love WIG caches, and this was a fun one! TFTC

Found it 09/21/2018 By j3yoda
It's time to leave Denver after an awesome time, but there are a few geocaches on the way to the airport to find! Gracias por el cache!

Found it 09/08/2018 By goldpot
Staying in Downtown and took the bus along Colfax admiring the neon signs, sadly too early to see them all lit up. We are only staying for the one day.
Arrived at GZ, the crow is now feathers and bones, we removed some litter and found the cache hidden underneath it.
TFTC this is a similar neon cache we did in Las Vegas two years ago.

-GOLDPOT- #11695

Found it 07/07/2018 By shell1fish
Since the cartridge wouldn’t download, I appreciated the paper version, and I explored Colfax Ave by bus on a very hot morning. The signs still had a bit of magic in the daytime, and it was fun to compare and contrast the different styles. Since it's my best friend's name, Trattoria Stella was my favorite sign. The area around the final was quiet, and the hint confirmed I was in the right place. With the dead crow still there (although, thankfully, on the other side of the trunks) and plenty of trash, I was very happy that a tentative search was enough to turn up the container. Thanks for the great tour and interesting tidbits of local history, and thanks for the find!

Found it 07/02/2018 By ksgator72
Logged and signed as Team WOGG (Wall77, Oilbear125, Ghostiegal, ksgator), nice fun

Found it 07/02/2018 By Oilbear125
Caching with KSGator, Ghostiegal and Wall77. We are doing the DPL series. Had great fun and some frustrations on some, but we worked them out and made the find. TFTC

Found it 07/02/2018 By wall77
Caching with Oilbear125, Ghostiegal, and Ksgator72. Caching in the area.

Found it 07/02/2018 By Ghostiegal
Cha-Ching! Caching with my favorite crew from KS and OK....Oilbear....Wall77...and KSGator. Thanks!! Cache on!! :)

Found it 06/29/2018 By Broncobandet
This one was cool first for me. TFTC

Found it 05/20/2018 By WildBandy
Fun WIGO. When we arrived at the final, there was a muggle officer eyeing us. Hopefully he didn’t pay too much attention.

Found it 05/17/2018 By jasperdakota
Thanks for the fun wherigo! SL.

Found it 05/03/2018 By Edwards654
I so enjoyed the Wherigo. Being an East High graduate, this was familiar territory. The daughter of the owner of the establishment near the final was a classmate of mine at East. The final was not the most enjoyable part of this cache, what with a dead crow very close by and a half-drunk bottle of wine sitting right on top of the cache (next to a Pinesol bottle). We threw the Pinesol away, signed the log and left the wine (incase the owner was coming back :).

Hopefully creating another Wherigo is in your plans. These were fun!

Found it 03/23/2018 By cjfishmusic
Greetings from Sacramento.
Growing up in the Denver metro area, I cruised Colfax every once in a while but I never really paid much attention to all of the signs. This was a well done 'Wherigo' and my favorite sign was Satire lounge sign.
The final container is still there, you just need to look under some stuff.
TFTCSL cjfishmusic.
cjfishmusic is swimming at the Satire.