Can you get in there without going through downtown Denver? 14 years in the woods & now big city's freak me out.
Yes. You can sneak in from the south - Highway 470 - without going anywhere near Downtown Denver OR
drop down from the Boulder Area - which again, avoids Denver altogether. The whole highway network around Denver is just a big loop arrangement.
Highway 400 across to US 50 is a great drive to Colorado from your general vicinity. Well, I mean once you get over to the Joplin area to start off...
But you can also take I-70 across and cut off before getting near Denver proper, and squirrel your way to 470 from the south.