rocky mountain hi!

well finally august came around, which usually means it's time for our annual vacation (as it's the only two weeks of the year when neither JR nor i have any big programs at work). in efforts to save money we thought we'd alternate foreign trips with domestic. so this year we headed to colorado and the mountain west! we got a great price on plane tickets (from augusta of all places) and with a very brief layover we were soon touching down in denver. we were surprised at how flat and barren the land around the city looked - obviously we were flying on the non-mountain side. (apparently in denver people give directions based on you're going towards or away from the mountains.) even the airport was a site in itself - the trademark architecture, the somewhat crazy murals, and the giant crazed (and apparently cursed) horse statue out front.

denver brews and views

we were delighted to see our friends, who very nicely made the trek out to the airport to pick us up. from there we went straight into the city and within the hour we were sitting down with a local beer and a great view. we spent the evening catching up, strolling the area near union station and visiting a bar or two. then back to their place in the adorable platt park neighborhood.

the next day we were up fairly early to make it to rocky mountain park. it was a long drive but a pretty one. we had hopes of getting there early but a few other people had the same idea. it was just a few days after the national park service's centennial and happened to be the last of the free days so it was a popular destination. this meant that many of the parking lots were full so we settled for sprague lake, one that i had rather randomly put on the map.

sprague lake

it was a pretty little lake with lovely views of the mountains beyond. then about twenty minutes in to our walk we spotted a moose! actually mike did, which was fitting because he has always loved moose (mooses? moosen?). he was so excited to finally get a photo of one that he said his hands were shaking. as it turned out, we had plenty of opportunities for photos. the moose took his time, giving everyone a show. he spent quite a while eating plants from the lake, going in and out of the water, even crossing our path outside the lake. and he was a huge bull moose. his antlers alone must have weighed fifty pounds!

lunch time

oh hey there

back in the water

as you can tell, we were pretty excited. turns out sprague lake wasn't a bad destination after all!

rocky mountain thistle, i'm guessing

after about 45 minutes of oogling the moose we managed to pull ourselves away. we popped off to a different part of the park for another view - small streams, mountain views and some lingering wildflowers. from there we headed back into estes park (the name of the town, not a park) which seemed to us a bit like a classier version of gatlinburg, or some similar touristy mountain town. we stopped for lunch, enjoying some elk sausage and tasty chili. besides this kind of typically western food (and plenty of burgers), we realized colorado doesn't have much of a local cuisine. although they are very fond of green chilies - they're not terribly spicy but they seem to put them on everything. after popping into a few shops filled with carved bears and moose we decided to head back to the car and out of the spitting rain.

spirit hound distillers' finest

from estes park we continued just outside the mountains to the small town of lyons where we'd identified a little distillery we wanted to stop at. it was a small place with an old fashioned sign out front and a rusty pickup truck to match. inside there was a small bar, a couple tables and a window to see the vats and stills at the back. JR and i shared a flight of whiskey - some of the smoothest we'd ever tasted! if it weren't for liquid allowances on domestic flights i'm pretty sure we would have picked up a bottle. we sipped some cocktails made with root beer and sarsaparilla (both of which seem to be quite popular out here - i approve) as we relaxed and played a goofy trivia game they had.

floor to ceiling decorations

we continued on our mini road trip all the way to boulder. our friends had of course been before but our primary destination was the dushanbe tea house. if that name doesn't sound terrible southwestern it's because the tea house itself is from tajikistan. it was built, dismantled, sent to the US, and rebuilt here in a process that took several years. as soon as i read about this spot i knew we'd have to make a trip to visit. it did not disappoint - every inch of the tea house was elaborately decorated - carved and painted ceilings, beautiful glazed tilework, detailed embroidered textiles hanging on the walls, carved wooden screens. even the tiled tables were beautiful. we ended up sitting outside under some growing vines and next to a tiny stream. the teas we chose from their extensive menu were delicious - courtney particularly loved her tangerine cinnamon tea. so much so that she and i both bought a few ounces. i can't recommend this spot enough - what a gem! we spent the rest of our time in boulder strolling along the pearl street mall, a pedestrian area much like charlottesville's downtown mall. we popped into a bookshop and people watched for a bit before deciding to make our way back to denver.

cats & books, seems like heaven

the next day we were on our own as our friends headed to work. courtney generously let us borrow her car so we were able to visit some spots a little further afield. before we did that, though, we walked to the nearby retail area, also called pearl street. it was no more than a ten minute walk but we passed two little free libraries and lots of lovely flowers along the way. we popped into a coffee shop for some iced coffees and then had a delicious (an enormous) smothered breakfast burrito to start the day. from there we headed on our way. our first stop: denver cat company. yes, we drove to the other side of town to visit a cat cafe. if you're unfamiliar with the concept it's basically what it sounds like. for a small fee you're able to have a drink, read a book, and play with one of the many cats that stroll about the facility. the cats are all up for adoption so of course the goal is to find homes for them. but in the meantime people like us can get our cat fix. until i can get JR to give in and let us get a cat, this it the best i can do. we had fun playing with the younger ones but the older ones seemed to just want to be left alone to sleep. still, a fun outing.

golden's table mountin

our next destination was golden, a town about a half-hour west of denver. we knew we had made it to golden when we saw the towers of the coors plant up ahead. that and table mountain seem to be the trademarks of the town. it's a neat old mining town nestled in the mountains with a nice river going through the middle of it. a friend had recommended the sherpa house so we figured when in rome.. eat at the nepalese restaurant. JR sampled some tasty (although not very spicy) south asian dishes from the buffet (our favorite was yak vindaloo) and i held out for momos complemented with masala chai. feeling quite stuffed, we walked back down the hill and along the main street just as a big storm cloud rolled in. the sky looked quite dramatic as we drove out of town.

flowers again

on the way back we'd hoped to stop at dinosaur ridge, a spot that had fossilized dinosaur tracks and had been the site where many fossils had been discovered. unfortunately just as we got there the rain really started coming down. we didn't think a walk out to the ridge would've been much fun so we skipped it. we drove by red rocks on our way back to town, although we didn't get much of a look at it from the road. once we were back in town we had just enough time to pop by washington park and enjoy the gardens as the last of the drizzle passed through.

mayan marquee

after courtney & mike were off work (which tends to happen earlier in colorado - apparently people like to get off work early to enjoy the outdoors, how novel) we met them at a speakeasy. i have to say it was pretty authentic - it was set up to look like a bookstore, williams & graham, complete with a staircase hidden behind a faux shelf. the menus themselves looked like books and we treated ourselves to some old fashioned cocktails - sazeracs and old fashioneds. from there we planned another spot from the '30s - this one was an old movie house. i love when old movie theaters are still used to show films. we sneaked in some burritos from a nearby place, got some colorado beers, and enjoyed a movie about improv comedians. all in all, a lovely way to end our day.

one of my faves in the ab ex show by sonia gechtoff

the next day was devoted to exploring denver. we started with a breakfast on pearl street and then took the light rail into the city. seems like a pretty good system, from what we could tell. we got off in the center of town and made our way straight to the denver art museum, or DAM if you will, a much anticipated stop on my part. we spent several hours there, and could have spent many more. the collection itself was impressive - from east asian and south asian to art of the american west and pre-columbian works of art. there were two wonderful exhibitions up - an exhibition about dance and one highlighting the women of abstract expressionism. and throughout all the galleries they had wonderful interactive touches that made my museum educator heart very happy. i could go on but chances are museum geeking out is probably not why you're reading this post. once we tore ourselves away (we didn't even see it all!) it was several hours later and well into lunchtime. just outside the civic center had set up a food truck court which suited us perfectly - we got to try a bit of everything, including korean beef tacos, parmesan aioli tater tots and a caramel churro. cheap, quick, and at a table with a nice view of city hall.

time for a cold one

from here we thought we'd walk to our next destination. that turned out to be a longer walk than expected and by the time we got there - about 30 or 40 minutes later - we were quite a bit sweatier. overall, though, denver's weather and its lack of humidity was really lovely. our destination was the buckhorn exchange, one of the oldest bars in the city and the first to be issued a liquor license. why it was so far from the center of town we never did figure out. this spot was great - from the horned animal heads lining the walls to the saloon doors, it really did have that old west feel. we got some great drinks (at happy hour prices!) including some sarsaparilla and JR's new favorite, the simple yet tasty buffalo bill - just apple juice and bourbon! for the prices and the setting, we agreed it was worth the walk. buuut we were definitely ubering to our next stop.

how much more denver can you get?

back into town, we made it to the history colorado center (is it just me or does that sound backwards?) where we were meeting up with courtney and mike. and it just happened to be courtney's birthday! we were there for a history buffs and booze program but also managed to get into the museum for free. this meant we could see the awkward family photo exhibit which made courtney ridiculously happy. it was hilarious and culminated in a photo booth with equally hilarious props which we of course made use of. the program itself was.. good but man was that speaker dull. no stage presence whatsoever, eesh. we made a hasty exit and headed toward a cidery, courtney's choice, naturally. we elected to sit inside which ended up being a great decision since about 10 minutes later the skies opened up and didn't let up for several hours. we holed up and sampled our cider flights as we played a tense game of pictionary - boys versus girls. we had a ball playing (the ladies won, of course) but agreed that the ciders weren't the best. then on to delicious burgers for the birthday girl and finally back home after a long but lovely day! we hated that we weren't going to catch up with courtney & mike after our trip up to the parks (they'd be gone by then) so we opened gifts and enjoyed each others' company for the last night.

it was a quick trip to denver but i really think we packed a lot in. next time we'll hopefully make it to a few more house museums.. and of course back to the art museum!