Denver area Visit with Cousins!

Pike's Peak: #30 of 53 mountains over 14,000 ft in Colorado

The trip to Denver was really pretty.  The Rockies are really spectacular; whether one is in Alberta or in Colorado.  There are 53 mountains in Colorado that are over 14,000 ft in elevation and have 300 ft of "topographic prominence"... meaning that the base elevation is at least 11,000 ft elevation.  By way of comparison, the highest peaks in Alberta are just over 12,000 ft, but the base elevation is much lower, giving the appearance of much larger mountains.







It is a difference, and a similarity, that both John and I love about Alberta and Colorado...










Saturday (April 8^th) we drove up to Boulder, CO to visit with cousin Julie, Todd and their boys, Ryan & Caleb. We visited Todd at Avery Brewery, where he’s been working the past year or so.  He gave us a tour, and we had an amazing lunch, including samples of several of Avery beers.  The food there is to die-for, and the beer selection is large and is really good (!)

Caleb, Todd, Julie, Dawn and John - at Avery's Brewery

John with cousin Julie and her son Caleb

Dawn & Julie - enjoying the sunshine and astro-turf grass patio at Avery's.

Kim and Eric at Zota's

Julie and Todd had tickets for a concert that night to celebrate their anniversary (we were shocked they didn’t want us to help them celebrate! 😊) so we met cousin Kim and her hubby Eric, who drove us up to Pine (Valley?) in the mountains.  We had a great dinner with them at Zota’s – a mountain diner – then they took us to one of their fav bars: the Bucksnort Saloon.  People attach dollar bills all over the walls and ceiling, and it’s just a super fun atmosphere. We had given Kim and Eric a $Cdn $5 bill a few years ago, and we found it attached to the ceiling near the bar area, signed by all 4 of us. Cool!!  I think it’s the only Cdn currency in the place.  The live band that night was great, and we just had a really great evening with Kim and Eric.

John, Kimmie and Dawn at Zota's

The dollar bills at Bucksnort's Bar...

Eric, Kim, John, Dawn, Julie and Todd on top of Mt Sanitas

Sunday (April 9^th) we met both cousins and families near Boulder to do a hike up Mount Sanitas. The views were really expansive, and the hike itself was really fun – mostly all up then a bit of a scramble hike back down… a nice remembrance of our Utah scramble hikes. 

I just love that there are so many hikes and biking trails within 15 minutes of our cousins’ houses in Boulder and Highlands Ranch (Littleton), CO.  The lifestyle is so active and healthful in the Denver area.  I love it.

Monday (April 10^th) we took our truck in to Costco to have the tires rotated and restocked our trailer with food… we were running pretty low!  The cats had a great day exploring and getting tuckered out. They had spent the past couple of days alone in the trailer and they were ready for adventure!

Atop of Mt. Carmel

Tuesday (April 11^th), John and I went for a mountain bike ride around the Bear Creek Lake park. Eric had recommended the trails and we decided to do one of the loops – up Mount Carmel.  Well, we couldn’t have been farther from the trailer at the far end of the “loop” when John’s chain broker.  I had a spare chain in my panier, but unfortunately, no chain tool (!) so John tried to install the thing using a pair of rusty pliers and sheer hand strength.  Unfortunately, the chain was not the right size and John’s choice of gears to get back home with were very limited, but he got to ride (versus pushing the bike all the way back UP the mountain and down) so we were feeling pretty lucky…   We got within about ½ a mile of the trailer (we could SEE it!!) and my back tire blew.  That is the OTHER tire; not the one that blew in KodaChrome State Park in Utah.  Really??  I bought new tires in Loa (but not new inner tubes).  So I walked my bike back to the trailer and John coasted with his chain slack and almost dragging on the ground. We were a sorry sight, I’m sure.

Dawn and Mia

John showered and tried to get most of the bike grease off his hands, then we headed to Kim & Eric’s for dinner.  Kim made an amazing dinner (as always! She went to Chef School, don’t you know!) and we enjoyed our evening with them very much.  Her Siamese cat, Mia, is starting to come around and get used to me… she’s the first cat that’s ever been a challenge for me, but she had definitely been a challenge – for 5 years!!! So happy that I can finally be in the same room with her and she doesn’t run and hide.

Wednesday (April 12^th) we were back at Costco, getting the lug nuts tightened on the truck, then we headed to Kim & Eric’s again – this time with a sack of laundry and both bikes!  John worked in Eric’s workshop in the garage (with Eric's bike tools) to fix our bikes, and we washed enough clothes to get us home.  It’s been a while between laundry facilities, and we were very appreciative to have access to Kim & Eric’s.

Julie and Todd came from Boulder for dinner and Kim put on an incredible spread – from crab and baguette appies with brussel sprout chips – to grilled halibut with pesto zoodles (zucchini noodles) and cauliflower mash.  And grilled Caesar salad with proscutto.  OMG… great dinner.  We had such a lovely evening with lots of food, fun and laughter with all the cousins.

Todd, Julie, Kim and Eric (with Francesca)

John and Dawn

Todd and Julie

The Girls (cousins!!)

The Boys (Outlaws!)

It’s definitely spring in the Denver area.  We saw such lovely trees and bushes in full bloom; we wondered what spring is shaping up like in Calgary.  I imagine it does not look like Denver!

But we're on our way home now... whether or not it is Spring!!