The house that Elway built

I have been spending more time learning the bike trails around Denver.  Trails is a misnomer, more like mini-interstates for cyclists.  These are scenic arteries that one can ride without fear of getting t-boned by a SUV.  One route is beside a creek and is sunken in between two one-way streets.   Ironically, I am more wary of on-coming biker traffic than anything else.  This fear and the fact that I am the only joker (besides the most seriously mentally ill, homeless people) that doesn't wear a helmet, I have taken to protecting my melon in a brain basket.

On my last tour, I visited the house that Elway built, aka. Invesco Field.  For my non-sports enthusiast followers, this is the home field for the Denver Broncos.  I have driven past this stadium over a dozen times in a motor vehicle and have been itching to go down and take a closer look.  Yesterday I did exactly that.   The main entrance has statue figures of wild broncos stampeding up a stream towards the stadium.  To me this type of sculpture is high art.  It is breath taking to behold.  

If this isn't cool then I am a horse's...

In the Modeling Biz this look  is called 'Blue Steel'.  I learnt that from Zoolander.

Never has still art felt so alive to me.

At the top, Alpha Bronco and I practiced our conflict resolution skills

Musing by the waterfront near the stadium

Relocated or Dislocated

I successfully made the move a couple of nights ago to the new side of town.  I say successfully because I am here.  It was not efficient.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I anticipated having to stop frequently due to my radiator problems.  I did not anticipate how long a hot diesel engine takes to cool down when parked.  The ten mile trip only needed 3 stops but took 5 hours.   It takes about an hour and a half per stop for the engine temp to slip below 130 degrees, a temperature I felt good enough to continue.  I learned that the heat dissipates faster from around 200 degrees to 150 degrees than it does for it to go from 150 to 130.  I arrived at my destination at 4am.
Now I am in a new area and attempting to learn the area.  Locating places to get online, refill water and where to overnight.  Being closer to the city makes parking a little more challenging.  The upside is that there are more conveniences.  For example, the Starbucks,my favorite place to get online, stay open to 11pm versus 9pm at my previous location.  Finding a place to overnight will be an exercise in trial and error.
This is one of the things about my travels that I am thankful for, even when I am not always excited by the prospect.  It prevents me from becoming too comfortable by forcing me to continuously test myself.   It isn't that I have an allergy to being comfortable but I do have a phobia of complacency.
Now, to see what kind of interesting employment opportunities Denver has to offer.

On the Move

Ever since I have come to the Denver area I have been residing in the southern most side of town.  Tonight, I am moving.  My destination is an area more central in Denver.  The bus radiator issue has not been resolved yet.  Which will make the trip that much more interesting.  I can run the bus for maybe 15 minutes at a time before the temperature reaches critical levels.  I anticipate having to stop 2, maybe 3, times before I reach my new home.  I will wait until the wee hours of the morning when the temperature is the lowest and traffic at it's lightest.
This is a good move.  I will be within cycling distance of virtually everywhere I want to be downtown.  And speaking of cycling, that is my newest, favorite way to commute.  I haven't seriously ridden a bike since I was a kid.  Mainly, as one author noted  "because of growing up in the south where it was believed only pinko, commie, bedwetters traveled under their own propulsion, I risked decapitation by baseball bat from a moving pickup truck."  In Denver, you ain't nobody if you don't have at least one bike.  My bike came courtesy of Bryan, the guy whose house I stayed at in Eastern Colorado.  He picked it up at a yard sale for me.  It is the best gift I have received in some time.  I have been utilizing the light rail, which allows me to bring the bike onboard.  Then, I get off at the appropriate station and bike to where I want to be.  Besides the convenience factor, I can't help feel a little smug about the health benefits that my new mode of transportation provides.  Dan even gave me a lock to accessorize my bike.  Leanne tried to give me a helmet, but the helmet was nicer than the bike, and that just wouldn't do.  I may change my opinion in the future.  City cycling has some definite hazards that I never faced on backwoods trails as a kid.  Denver traffic.
So tonight I move and my commutes around town become easier.   I am still lovin' me some Denver.

Water balloon/Capture the Flag Battle

I find myself looking for any way to enjoy the outdoors in Colorado.  Even alternative ways.  After a day of playing volleyball in Wash Park a group of people told me about a water balloon fight that was to happen at another park at 8pm.  I was tired and sunburned but after main lining a caffeine infusion I decided that it might be fun.  It turned out to be great fun.  I channeled my 15 year old inner child and ran around the park carrying a man bag (yes, I am that secure with my manliness) filled with water balloons.  We played a version of capture the flag where you 'tag' the opposing team by pegging them with a water balloon.  My bag of balloons allowed my team to reload without running back 100 yards to where the bulk of our arsenal was kept at home base.  This proved to be a key strategic advantage as we implemented an offensive attack.  I can only imagine what visitors to the park that evening thought as they witnessed us lobbing water balloons at each other while wearing fashionable neon glow sticks around our necks, foreheads and limbs.  They probably thought we were gang affiliated, clearly a gang with ties to the underground rave scene.

The weapons cache

 Game face

 Armed and Dangerous

 My team

 Strategizing

A victory celebration

Group photo

I really do enjoy finding these spontaneous moments of simple pleasure.

An interesting young man

I've got to be honest, it has been difficult for me to blog lately. Not because I have been too busy but because I have not been motivated to write an engaging post.
I continuously meet interesting people, the single favorite aspect of traveling that keeps me inspired. You may notice that my pictures lately contain more than just myself and my pets. The multitude of interesting and diverse people that I meet make my life interesting. Someone that comes to mind immediately is a fellow I met that I sort of envy. He is young, entering college this fall. He seems to have wisdom beyond his years. I met him because he is friends with my friend, Leanne's daughter. His name is Sam. I barely know the guy but all I had to do was to see his car and know he was one interesting fella.

Mountains on one side...

Desert landscape on the other.  Trunk held down with cord only enhanced the character of this car.

Ninjas adorn the trunk.

Sam and Amy Caroline

From what I gathered, he decorated the car prior to a recent road trip. He had friends and strangers alike personalize it with autographs and quotes. Even an officer of the law signed it after pulling him over and giving him a verbal warning.
Sam was his class Valedictorian, is a black belt in one of the martial arts and will be attending Harvard in the fall. All of that is great resume stuff but talking to the guy and seeing his car told me volumes more about who he is as a person. There is not an ounce of pretension in his being. Clearly he is intelligent but more importantly I believe he possesses an internal passion and drive that will make him successful at whatever he chooses to do. This will be a guy to watch for in the future. His life is destined to be interesting.

Picnic in Style

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In my last post I made mention of going on an impromptu picnic.  The best kind of picnic.  I decided to do a little research on how to make such an endeavor more efficient.  It is amazing the products available now to take all the vital necessities to enhance your outdoor dining experience.  Check out this site that makes the coolest stuff for a romantic picnic.  Not only can you buy the traditional basket but you can also get all the accoutrements,  like folding chairs and tables.  
I am use to stuffing things into my handy old traditional backpack, the one that carries my laptop to the library and my workout clothes to the gym.  Not the best method for toting wine bottles and bread...unless your like your bread really flat.  The insulating qualities of my current bag are non-existent.  That all can be remedied based on your desires by choosing from a myriad of these picnic baskets.
Perhaps my favorite, because of my active, manly lifestyle is the picnic backpacks.  They contain everything you need...Utensils, beverage thermos, glasses, plates, even the requisite picnic blanket.  The fact that it can be strapped to your back means you can hike to the most out of the way scenic places to dine in style and class.  I favor this type because it means I can be romantic while still retaining my guy card.
It is good to know that these types of options are out there.  So go ahead, buy that bottle of Bordeaux, pick up the chunk of Brie and go hike a 14'er.  Picnics are no longer relegated to city parks.

Interesting weather and some sightseeing

Yesterday turned out to be one beautiful rainy mess.  I love a rainy night.  I was able to watch as the storm developed over Denver.  I thought I might be witnessing a potential tornado forming.  It dissipated shortly after taking this photo.

It is comforting to know that my local library has this...just in case.

A friend wanted to surprise me with an outing.  The rain caused us to have to change plans several times but a picnic and a bottle of wine on top of an overlook in Golden, Colorado turned out to be perfect.   The drive up was an adventure of sorts for me.  The roads were wet, the drop-offs steep, the driver distracted, the passenger white knuckling his camera.   Good times.

I used this photo op as an excuse to put my feet on terra firma for a few minutes.

We passed by the place where I watched fireworks earlier in the week.  One of the coolest firework viewing places I have ever been.  It is on top of the Mesa in the distance.  A group of us hiked up a trail (which was officially closed) filled with switchbacks and loose rocks.  The hike and the top of the mesa were better than the actual fireworks show.   The mesa also overlooked the Coors brewing factory.  I will be making this hike again soon.

As I mentioned before it was a rainy night which was great.  It didn't impair the view too much.  Here is Golden at night from our parking vantage point.  It was spectacular and it is exactly the kind of hidden treasures that I like discovering here in the Denver area.

I have been fortunate to find so many cool people that enjoy the things I do.  But as they told me, I am in Colorado, most people like doing things outdoors.  Awesome!

First Tent Camping in Rockies Part 2

After my monumental hike earlier, we all return to camp to get some grub in our bellies.  We are also awaiting the arrival of new campers that are to be joining us.  This would be Kristen, her dad, Reuben and two of her friends James and Erica.  This new group enlightened me to the ways of the vegan.  More on that later.

First thing we had to do was to show them how spectacular watching the stars from the parking lot was.  It seemed colder this night than the previous.  I was also more tired.  And the group was smaller.  It was good all the same but I retired to my tent by 3:30am in a vain attempt to get some quality sleep.  My slumber was better than the sleep I got the night prior.  I woke up in a better mood.  Not being a morning person I mumble and stumble out of the tent and enter the fire pit area with all the grace of a drunken bull.  My hair doing gravity defying tricks to humor my fellow campers.  I shake the cobwebs from my brain in a record 30 minutes.   This day was going to be a little more subdued and blissfully relaxing.  Everybody, except the new people, were leaving this morning.  I was the only person from the original group to stay.

James and Erica are a married couple who are some of the most different people I have ever met.  I mean that in a very good way.  They are strict vegans and fitness fanatics.  Pretty cool combo.  They turned me on to some incredibly delicious vegan food.  I won't even attempt to recreate the words of the foods I ate, I could barely pronounce them, much less spell them.  I do remember that virtually everything was gluten free.  I have never hunted gluten but it must be a very unhealthy animal because the vegans really made sure it didn't sneak into their food.  I had a preconceived idea of what a vegan ate...tofu burgers, tofu hot dogs, etc.  In fact, the only vegan food I knew was tofu and rice cakes.  They learned me alot this past weekend.  Like pretty much any vegetarian food that tries to pretend to be a meat substitute almost always tastes bad.  You have to make completely original meals.  They influenced me so much that I will attempt to change aspects of my diet to see if I can notice a difference.  This will take much planning on my part because I am pretty sure that everything I currently put in my mouth is not kosher.  Fortunately, James informed me that I should only give up certain foods at a time to keep my goals achievable.  He suggested dairy products first, milk, cheese, eggs.  Supposedly I would see and feel the most benefits from this change.  This alone will be a feat of great magnitude for me.  As long time followers know, eggs represent a bulk of my quick, easy and cheap meals.   At least he didn't suggest that I start with the most difficult ingredient for me to abstain from: Sugar.
Here Erica and Kristen prepare something healthy...While Sam and Tom dine on bacon.

Kristen and her dad also practice a vegan diet although not as strict as James and Erica.  They gave me decaf coffee with coconut milk and stevia.  They used almond butter on their sprouted grain breads.  I drank some horrible concoction called Kombucha with a main ingredient called mother, a mushroom like item that ferments in a carbonated mix and leaves a stomach churning sediment at the bottom of the glass bottle.  I was also fed some wonderful homemade salsa and hummus.  It felt very appropriate to be eating like this in the heart of nature.  My only regret being that the trip was too brief.  I have so much more to learn.

Being a lover of the fire as I am, I always jumped at the opportunity to bring down firewood to make sure that we had an overly adequate supply.  Sometimes these outings required bringing the wood from a mile away, since closer spots had long been picked over.  It was an opportunity to work on my balance and upper body strength.

 Our group also had a little fun playing on logs that had fallen across the miniature river.  Yoga was a common theme (except for my De La Hoya impersonation and Reuben's graceful crane)

And there was always time for a little R&R.

As we were getting ready to leave we spied these little nymphs prancing through the forest.  They spoke not a word, but gestured and flitted around with gay enthusiasm.

Here is a video of my fairy encounter.  

First Tent Camping in Rockies Part 1

I am going to make this post while I still have most of the weekend fresh in my mind.  My mind is foggy now due to sleep deprivation exercises I practiced all weekend long.  You know you are having a great time when you don't even want sleep to interrupt it.  Even if you want to go to sleep the excitement is coursing through your veins like adrenaline preventing sleep from happening.  That's how good this weekend was.

A small group of us ventured up into the Rockies for a little camping getaway.  I rode up with Tom and Sam.  I brought along Nala and a friend, Rebekkah (aka Bekky, Bekka, lifesaver) watched Miss P.  The drive was a little over an hour and the holiday traffic was virtually non existent.   We found the camp site that Amanda, Alyssa and Ian had staked out for us the day before to make sure that we would have one for the busy holiday weekend.   It was primitive camping at its best.  A large parcel of forested land a few dozen feet from a stream.  The stream was either an anorexic river or a bloated creek.  It had a strong flow and several small falls that made falling asleep a little easier.  The water was about one degree over freezing.  You could not leave your foot in it for more than 30 seconds due to the extreme coldness.
We had at one time 5 different tents set up, ranging in size from 5 person down to one man.  The central gathering spot was around the fire pit.  All eating and most socializing in camp was done around the fire pit, whether there was a fire burning or not.
The first night a group of us hiked back down to the parking area and set our sleeping bags in the flower petal position.  This allowed for conversations to be heard by all while viewing the stars.   Here is from the 12 o'clock postition...Sam, Amanda, Alyssa, Moi, Leanne and Tom.

I was trapped between Leanne and Alyssa.  Who ended up being bad influences and keeping me in the parking lot until the sun came up with their in-depth conversation skills.

The next day, after only about 4 hrs of restless, sun filled sleep, everybody is chomping at the bit to go hiking.  I temporarily lost my camera and everyone was gracious enough to give me about a half hour to search for it.  They understood the importance of the camera to me and had already gotten use to me pointing it at them frequently.

 It was a moderately active hike, mainly because it was one continuous incline.  Then at the timberline, where the alpine zone started, the lack of oxygen became very noticeable.  It was amazing.  We went from doing strenuous hiking at a decent pace to short 50 ft walks at an even slower pace.  The trade off was that the view improved drastically with every step into alpine country.

Alyssa adding bandannas as sleeves to protect herself from the sun.

 I was surprised at the amount of snow up here.

 Part of the group...Karen, Daniel, Tom, Sam, Alyssa, Amanda and Nala

 Sam and I swap out.

 Nala really impressed me with her endurance.  But she has paid for it since.  Three days later she is walking around gingerly.  Notice she uses every chance we stop to lay down.  I felt the same way.

 I've got the whole world in my hands...

Here is some video to demonstrate the best way to spit.  Proud times...



More to come later...