On the way the terrain went from more flat prairie, cows, windmills, "worlds biggest prairie dog," etc into hills and mountain-views over a relatively short distance. And yes, Coors does have an excellent representation of said mountains on their can-cans:)
Driving into downtown Denver was kind of awful. The traffic was a little intense (esp in contrast with what had come before) & the layout just didn't make a lot of sense to us. Stopped in for some chippies & salsa and to figure out where we were/wanted to get to. Claudia, our Chilean waitress, was full of enthusiasm/suggestions. She stayed chatting with us, until they came out of the kitchen and scolded her. Sorry Claudia!
Found a place to nest in an area called Lakewood. Not exactly the center of the action, but close enough. Attached was the Sporting News Grill - we wondered if it was the same company as "Sporting News" (an old client Mr used to work w)
Our initial impression was that there might be some really fun areas. This was strengthened when we came across a group of - what appeared to be college kids - setting up a tightrope and performing for an audience of one - their dog (I guess 3 w us).
The next day we hit Red Rock Amphitheater and Park. Pretty friggin, well, pretty. Lotsa stairs and, in fact, people were running the bleachers for exercise. It would be so awesome to come back in the summer and hear a concert under the stars there:
Nice to see an old guy on a unicycle fly by as we had aches and pains slowly meandering about there. Guess the regular bike wasn't enough of a workout?
Huh, that seems very tall and tilty
I'll just nap here
We're all okay as long as he doesn't discover fire!
The famous garbage-loving mule deer
There are only about 20 more steps...to the next set of stairs:)
How ya like me now Stair-Nazi?
On our way back we hit Cafe Jordano - great Italian place - throngs in for the lunch rush, but everyone was nice and efficient and in short order, we received wonderful eats - I'd say the best food we had in Denver.
In the afternoon, we headed over to Fancy Tiger Crafts - wonderful yarns, helpful & fun ladies working there. I would soooo be over there asking for help & advice all the time if we lived nearby (not to mention dropping our retirement on beautiful fibers)
Walked around the Design area on Broadway some more. Got some vegan earl grey ice cream from Sweet Action & found a spiffin' pet shop Quality Paws (no actual animals, just slightly balmy toys and treats)
hit the Lowbrow art gallery and Illuzion Glass (particularly appro as they'd just legalized grass in CO)
On Friday Morning, we went out to Roxborough Park. What is it with the elderly in Colorado? Met up with a couple in their mid-80's on one of their frequent hikes. At least they didn't leave us totally in the dust - plus, they were super cool. Lovely walk around one of the loops on a beautiful, slightly chilly day. Betting a lot of people get sunburns on days like this here.
The Bluebird Theater was charming. I would love to see more music there. However, I may have gotten groovy with the place from a bit of a contact high:)
We walked in for the end of the first act which was a bit boring. Milo Greene headlined and were spectacular. They were a great fit for the venue and said it was one of the best shows they'd ever had. They are really entertaining - after each song, they'd all switch around to new instruments. Incredibly, they all seemed perfectly proficient. I can't even manage one, let alone what they were doing.
Here's a youtube from that night of the cover they did - Sufjan Stevens 'Chicago' - see if you can get past the Blair Witch style camera work and excessively long lead-in...
On Saturday we headed west for Grand Junction, CO. In our attempts to beat an incoming storm, we managed to hit it up by the area around the Eisenhower tunnel. Plus our NC windshield washer fluid froze up, so that was fun. Got to watch Mr trying out the snow in his sandals. By the time we hit Aspen, it was easier going.
Continuing on, it was interesting to see that to one side, the mountains were totally clear and sunny and on the other, there were storms raging. Once we got near Grand Junction, the mountains really began turning more into mesas and the sun shone brightly.
Hit Main Street Bagels for some hot cider and cocoa. Really cool bakery - went back for breakfast it was so good! Then walked around for an hour or two before settling in to Naggy Mcgees (cool, blue collar sorta place - reminded us a lot of some of the local dives in Boston) for some more alcoholic ciders and scotch eggs with curry sauce.
