Happy New Year and Fort Collins!

Happy New Year! This year we chose to ring in 2015 by joining many others on the 16th St Mall in Downtown Denver. We ate at range, which was quite good. It is located inside the the Colorado National Bank building and has since been converted to a hotel with restaurant. We enjoyed a tasty appetizer of kale and artichoke flatbread which also had little fingerling potatoes! This was followed by entrees of jumbo shrimp and squash tortelloni! Not like you need to know everything we ate, but I thought I would mention anyways. 

Fireworks made two appearances, once at 9pm for families with youngerish children and again at midnight. The fireworks were shot off from two different locations! We stood in the middle of the pedestrian mall between both sites and watched them go off at midnight! It was cold, but nothing like what Wisconsin is experiencing now! 

Between dinner we visited several establishments; Katie Mullens (terrible music, especially for an Irish pub), a lovely bar with many beers on tap that I forgot the name of, and Toms Urban where I drank my first mocha of the year with a shot of Bailey's for good measure!

Today, we finally made it to Fort Collins. I have been waiting to check out this college town for a long time. I have always wanted to visit New Belgium Brewing...and the only day they are closed is Monday...today. So, we proceeded on to Odell Brewing. What a fantastic place. I was extremely impressed! Their beer has been a favorite of mine since I tried it so I knew this was going to be a great time! As we walked up to the brewery, the bright red and yellow building greeted us warmly. I immediately noticed the recycled decking and native plantings. Inside, as I looked around I noticed reclaimed wood tables, recycled glass counters, and a very clear display for trash divided into landfill, recycle, and compost. There were also informational signs describing more ways Odell participates in water conservation like porous pavers, incentives for employees, helping the community, and supporting local farmers. All around...impressive.

In fact, the whole Fort Collins community is quite progressive and sustainable. We stopped in to get a warm beverage after our dinner at Lucky Joe's (very good Irish pubfare). As I entered Mugs, I was greeted by a friendly gentleman waiting to brew us up some good coffee. Mugs too had their garbage receptacles separated into landfill, compost, and recycling. In talking with Nate, it really isn't that difficult. If everyone made a small effort the amount of waste in landfills could greatly be reduced! Especially if all one had to do, is simply decide which bin your trash goes in. I'll get off my soapbox...

We also took a drive to see Horsetooth Reservoir. It was stunning! Snow stuck on the north facing slopes, bare rock on the south. The water was half frozen and reflecting the sun beautifully as we drove past. I wish it would've been safer to pull off and take a picture, so I will have to do with my smudgy one from the window. We weren't able to go too far up because the road was closed due to winter conditions. 

I enjoyed Fort Collins very much and would go back in a heartbeat. I would love to explore more...hiking, mountains, breweries, food, etc.  

My apologies for the lack of pictures this time. I don't have many fantastic ones...I will work on a few and post later. We have about a week until the next great adventure...and I'm not referring to the Packer game... 

First AirBnB Experience

We decided to give AirBnB a shot after hearing so many great things from friends. Airbnb is a website where you can either list your place, or a room for other people to stay in. If you haven't heard of it, check it out. We thought about doing this in Europe however we just stuck to the hostel scene. Anyways, you can search for the type of place or room you seek. You can filter for amenities you are looking for, prices you are willing to pay, areas you would like to stay, etc. 

We found this great little place on the North side of Denver in the Berkeley area. The hosts were a young couple. They were welcoming, friendly, smart, and well-traveled. We had great conversations and they had a lot to share with us about the area. They also have a dog (retriever, border collie mix) and a cat. We didn't see the cat much, but the dogs got along very well! 

Nate had to work quite a few of the days we were staying there, but we made the most of the time off he had. We made a visit to REI. The REI in Denver is huge! There is even a climbing wall inside. There are three staggered floors of clothing, camping gear, snow equipment, shoes, and a Starbucks. The building is old and used to be an industrial building on the river. I can't remember exactly what it's purpose was, but it had something to do with coal. We found a few good deals for their pre-holiday sale. 

Friday was also free day at the Denver Botanical Gardens and the Denver Zoo. Yes, it was a chilly day of about 20F, but we both we geared up with hats and mittens and there were plenty of buildings to duck into for a little relief and to warm up our toes. Now, free days tend to be quite busy in my experience but neither place was bad at all. The gardens had a special exhibit of Dale Chihuly. My pictures weren't very good, I only had my phone and the sun was in a goofy place. I recommend you click on some of these links to see his beautiful glass sculptures. They were having a small market as well for people who wanted to get an early jump on Christmas shopping!

The zoo was a fun time as well. The animals were much more active than in the summer. We saw the otters, sea lions, Siberian tiger, cheetahs, all moving around. Many warmer climate animals were in their respective houses for the winter but were still pretty active. I had a good time watching the elephant. He was playing with some toys, throwing sand, and rubbing his body on the walls! Nate had an even better time with the gorilla. When we arrived inside, he looked mad. He was swiftly spinning across the floor and making very abrupt movements. The exhibit was neat because you could step right up to the glass and be closer than ever. At one point the gorilla wound up his arm and send a blow to the glass immediately in front of Nate's teeth. The glass made an echoing sound and everyone stepped back...and then, the gorilla did it again! Could've been a bad day, who knows, but it sure scared me! We stopped for a hot beverage on the way back to the Airbnb to chill out for awhile.

For dinner, we found this Native American place that was unique and very good, Tocabe. It reminded me a bit of a Qdoba where you decide what goes in/on your food but instead of tortillas you meal was made on fry bread! It was very good and I would go back in a heartbeat!

We checked out some local bars and tried to find the opener of the Badgers Basketball, instead we found the UW-Milwaukee game on in the corner. All in all it was a good night and a great time. I would recommend airbnb again! 

Day 5: Driving I-70E From Grand Junction to Denver

Normally, a four hour drive along an interstate would prove to be fairly uneventful. Not this time! I drove home since Nate had to work and the thought was that he could relax, maybe catch a nap, and at the very least not have to drive on the way home. When we left Grand Junction it was about 65F and sunny! I put on my comfy driving clothes of leggings, t-shirt, and Chacos. As we drove eastward, the sky slowly clouded up and there was snow in the distance. I had briefly joked to Nate, "Do you think I'll have to drive through that snow?" It was quite a while until we hit flurries, but they slowly came and it was kind of pretty. You could see the shape and design of each snowflake as it hit the window and immediately melted.

Quite a few more minutes passed and steadily my pretty snowflakes began to lose their enthusiasm. We were about to hit the big mountain ski towns of Vail and Breckenridge, thus rising in elevation. The homes are immaculate! We continued to drive and soon I could hardly see, still climbing up the spiraling mountain road. Needless to say, Nate was not as relaxed as planned due to my minor freakout of having to drive down the mountain in ice and snow! 

I did just fine and needed a beer with my lunch. The temperature dropped about 55F, the snow and ice covered the car, and my feet were freezing! Nate helped me determine when to downshift, coast, and keep up with traffic and was very encouraging. Hopefully, this has/will make me a better mountain driver.  

The next day, still snowing of course, we played in the snow!

Day 4: Black Canyon of Gunnison and Colorado National Park

Waking up in Montrose proved to be a beautiful morning to explore the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park. We headed a few minutes east to the entrance to the park. We were both surprised when there was a sign on the park station, "No fees during the winter season". I didn't know that the NPS ever waived fees, even if it was cold. 

We carried on to the visitor center to get a map from the ranger. We followed South Rim Road to 11 lookouts along the way. We were unable to hike with Kobi as dogs are not allowed in the inner canyon, so we stopped at all the lookouts. Some of these has short trails a couple hundred yards long and each one was well worth the stop!

I haven't gone too crazy about the rocks, minerals, or fossils in area of the areas we have visited, however I have to mention a few things here. When the explorers came through this area they called the canyon "black" because of the dark rocks and the fact that part of the canyon only receives 33 minutes of sunlight. The dark rocks are black gneiss, a metamorphic rock. There are also incredible pegmatite dikes running through the canyon like an artist painted stripes on the rock walls. Pegmatites are very cool! These large crystals were formed and are visible because the cooling time was very long, allowing chemicals to form the structure that you see in the large mineral chunks in these walls! There were a lot of micas, both muscovite (light) and biotite (dark). 

The photo directly above is Painted Wall! One of the most beautiful views!!!

The Gunnison River rages below and many rapids are visible. The river cut the canyon deeper than the Royal Gorge. The first outlook we stopped at was ~1700ft down to the river, whereas the last outlook was more than ~2700 ft down! 

The trails around the South Rim Road were dotted with many junipers, pinyon pine, and the gnarly branches and trunks of trees long gone. There were many yucca which I always thought were cacti, however they are actually the lily family. 

A truly beautiful park! We hopped back in the car and headed westward yet again to the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction. 

The Colorado National Monument is appropriately named! There are alternating layers of sedimentary rocks that dance in and out of the scenic drive going through the park. The scenery is amazing, not only because of the sedimentary strata (layers), but because you can see the mountains in the distance, and the city below. The structures within the park are beautiful as well and as you will see above, there were rock climbing on that high pinnacle. As we approached the visitor center, we happened upon a herd of Bighorn sheep. There were young and old, male and female, and hungry and not! Nate snapped these great pictures!

After the Monument, we found a little motel and a brewery to watch the Packers completely destroy the Bears!

Next stop: Home! Or at least the closest thing we have right now.

Adventures around the Crown of Colorado: Day 1 Denver to Colorado Springs

Well...at least I have been referring to our latest adventure at the Crown of Colorado, I'm not it actually exists. In fact, it probably doesn't!

Last Thursday, we left with no real plans. We figured that we didn't really need them, considering we did 12 days in Europe with no real plans. We left Denver and headed south to Colorado Springs. I have been wanting to see Garden of the Gods and it looked like Colorado Springs had a lot to offer. So we went to Garden of the Gods and Red Rock Canyon Recreational Open Space. It proved to be an exciting adventure like all the rest thus far. 

Garden of the Gods was given to the City of Colorado Springs and is intended to be free to the public forever! What a gift! It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1971. There were massive chunks of sandstone shooting out of the ground. We walked an easy path touring the different structures that were all named after something fairly religious. We saw a few rock climbers, a lady walking a cat (on a leash), and beautiful sedimentary rocks and structures in them! 

After Garden of the Gods, we ventured onward to Red Rock Canyon Recreational Open Space. In Colorado, they have many "open spaces" and the closest thing I can equate them to are county parks in Wisconsin. They are many activities there from biking, hiking, dog areas, horseback riding, etc. This one did have an off lead dog area and Kobi was lucky enough to explore it. He was crazy running around in the pokey grass and cacti. I was reluctant to let him go. He sure enjoyed it, but then I spent about an hour tweezing cacti needles out of his paws and legs. A great time was had by all!

We hiked a bit more and called it a day, especially since Nate had been up for over 24 hours. We found a LaQuinta, ate some dinner, and called it an early night. 

Next trip: Royal Gorge in Canyon City!

Geology Museum: Colorado School of Mines

Yesterday was pretty gloomy and cold, however we still wanted to make the most of the day. I took an early trip to the grocery store to acquire some fixings for some chicken and rice soup! It was a good soup day. I grabbed a mocha from Forty Weight Coffee (a must if you are ever in Denver) and went for a little ride to look at the mountains. I wrote this on my facebook page with some pictures, but I will reiterate it here: the mountains are always reaching up to the sky and yesterday it was if the clouds finally decided to reach back. Even though it was gloomy, chilly, and not the best day for hiking, there was a whole new beauty to the mountains. I sat watching the clouds, drinking my mocha, and talking to my grandma!

After making a delicious pot of soup, Nate and I headed over the the Geology Museum at the Colorado School of Mines. It was free admission (although you pay for parking) and that wasn't even the best part. There were so many beautiful mineral specimen from around the world. The minerals were neatly organized by region of the world and type of mineral class. They also had fossils, gemstones, education materials, and a goodwill moon rock (only one of two on display)!

 Beautiful minerals: malachite, azurite, and gypsum!

The big "M" on the side of the mountain is for the Colorado School of Mines in Golden.

I picked up a lot of education materials, I know you're probably not surprised by that at all. Don't worry I won't turn this into a classroom blog, however one of the neatest and most surprisingly things I learned was that Marie Curie discovered radium from uranium crystals from Colorado! Let that be your new thing you learned today, if you are interested in more just hit me up, I'd love to tell you more! 

I see that we are much colder that Milwaukee this morning, so enjoy your nice day!

Much love to my homeland!

Beer, food, and more drinks!

I'll keep this one short and sweet, however I write about our dinner and drinks last night! We weren't completely set on a place to eat, so we drove downtown Denver and looked for something appealing. We still have the Rocketbox on top of the car and honestly forgot about it until we heard the scrape on in the parking garage. We found a spot right away so it only hit once on the way up and once on the way down. 

We walked around where the 16th St. Mall begins and settled on the Wynkoop Brewery. We later learned that this used to be owned by the current governor of Colorado (he's up for reelection so this may not be accurate by the time you read it). Nate and I studied the brews carefully and decided to split a flight called, The Koop. The flight consisted of their Railyard (amber), B3k (black lager), seasonal wheat beer, Patty's Chili Beer, and Uber (light lager). Nate also ordered London Calling IPA which was a cask conditioned beer. My fav was the Railyard. The chili beer is nothing like I have ever had before. It is made with Anaheim and ancho chilies and you could definitely smell them! It tasted good and I did like it, however I don't know if I could consume copious amount. My nose was left smelling of peppers and it was just weird that you couldn't taste them. 

The food was very good too! I had Turlu turlu and Nate had a reuben brat. 

After, we planned on walking around and found a little jazz trio at another restaurant. We had a few drinks, listened to the trio, watched some college ball, and called it a night. 

One of the lessons we have learned since moving out of Wisconsin is that drinks are made WAY differently. There were some issues with an old fashioned sour and I had the worst drink ever a few weeks ago when we all ordered bloody marys. The glass was rimmed in salt, the drink was garnished with a single stalk of celery, and the drink tasted like vodka and ketchup. I tried to spice it up with Tabasco and pepper, but it just didn't cut it. 

Enjoy your bloodies Wisco! I'd love one from Centraal right about now! 

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

We went for a day excursion with Kobi the other day. We went to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It is located in Golden, and not too far from Ben and Ellie's (well the road to to get there). There is a slow winding mountain road that takes you up to the park. From my few experiences so far, Colorado Parks really have their stuff together! Immediately, as you enter the park, the visitor center was in sight. An adorable log cabin with a pond where you could feed the fish, restrooms, and many information kiosks greeted me. I was unable to feed the fish due to the thin layer of ice that covered the entire pond. I knew it has been getting chilly and snowing in the mountains, but I wasn't prepared for this. 

After talking to the knowledgeable park staff inside, Nate and I assessed the park map and decided to take Mountain Base Road to Panorama Point first! We wound up the narrow two lane road. I hung on to the "oh shit" handles to keep me in place! When we arrived at the top, it was stunning. I couldn't have imagined such a sight. On one side, you could see Longs Peak (a fourteener) and some of the other peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park. On the other side you can see Mt. Evans (which we drove up to last weekend) on the far side of Idaho Springs. 

After not spending much time at Panorama Point due to the wind and cold, we headed down to Kriley Pond and hiked the Blue Grouse Trail. It was an easy .8 mile trail that was out and back. We decided against doing too much hiking due to the fast that we were not well equipped in case of more wind and cold. We hiked up and then back down to the pond for a snack. It was a little warmer facing the sun, but when the wind whipped up it sure was fierce and chilly. 

On the way down the winding road

There is the car!

After our brief lunch by the pond we decided to do one more hike on the Horseshoe Trail, 1.8 miles out and back. It was a nice trail, all uphill on the way in and all downhill on the way out. We saw a gray jay, but I wasn't able to get a picture. We also saw some ice on this trail!

More mountain roads

Pine tree collecting aspen leaves

Ice!

This is what I do in the car...

On the way out of the park we took a loop that would eventually meet up with the road we took in. There was some crazy geology along the way. I saw some major pegmatite, gneiss, lots of schist (pardon my link to wikipedia), and some granitic intrusions (or at least that's what I think this might be). There is a lot going on in this picture, however I only had a chance to snap it and not get out and look. 

Today, I hiked a few trails at North Table Mountain where I have already been a few times. It was a good straight up hike. Love to all!