Where To Go And What To Do In Colorado!

Ever since we got out to Colorado my mom has wanted to go to a rodeo. Today we went to the Greeley Stampede – Giddyup!

We go to Greeley about noon and as we expected, it was much like a county fair. Corn Dogs, mean-on-a-stick, lemonade from the food family, and a ferris wheel, tilt-a-whirl and midway from the carnival family. Before we could try any of the food, Tara and mom had to buy cowboy hats. Once the hats were firmly strapped on their heads, we followed our noses. Having not eaten much all day – we sampled plenty of skewered meat. I had a couple of corndogs, mom had steak-on-a-stick and Tara had pork-on-a-stick. It was delicious.

Once we had a full stomach, we headed over to the stadium. The rodeo started at about 1:30PM and it was a fast moving event – much faster than I expected. There were several different events culminated by the Bull Ride. I think we all came away from the rodeo extremely impressed by the talent of the buck-ing cowboys, but weren’t terribly pleased with the treatment of the cattle in the roping events. I guess it’s a good thing PETA wasn’t there – some of the handling of the livestock was non-sensical in my opinion.

As soon as the cowboys were done riding the bulls, some daredevil/BMX riders took to the air and put on a spectacular show of gravity defying leaps. Those guys were definitely insane!

We couldn’t leave the grounds without first getting our funnel cake on – to heck with the diet! They were delightful in every sense of the imagination. A pretty good day all around. Sidenote: the organizers of the stampede are not as photo friendly as many events. Several times we heard that one could take as many photos as they want, but public display of said photos was prohibitted. With that in mind, no Flickr photos from today. Instead I created a special gallery that will probably fly under the rader a lot more than Flickr would.

Click here to see gallery

I’m definitely glad we went – it was a LOT of fun. I’m not sure I would go again though because as I was processing over 1000 photos from the day, I really noticed how poorly some of the animals were treated.

{ 0 comments }

About six weeks ago, I decided to buy tickets to the Colorado Rockies vs Tampa Rays baseball game at Coors Field. At that time, the Rockies had the worst record in baseball and the Rays were in last place. Fast forward to today. The Rays started playing like the defending American League champions and the Rockies have won 11 games in a row, clawing their way back in to playoff contention. Today they met at Coors Field.

Tara and I were excited because we both like going to games and we’ve never been to a Rockies game. On the way to the park, Tara realized that this wasn’t a domed stadium – and it was raining! We got to Coors Field about 90 minutes before the game and wondered around the park taking in all the sights. I’ve only been to 6 or 7 major league parks but this is the nicest I’ve seen by far. To top things off, tonight was $1 hot dog night!

Lucky for us, the rain subsided just in time for the opening pitch. I had brought our Coolpix point-and-shoot with me and snapped off some photos throughout the evening. The visiting Rays jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The final score was 12-4 in favor of our old home team. The Rays knocked 5 home runs in the contest. Basically, it was never close.

That didn’t stop Tara and I from having a great time at the game. The food was spectacular (check out that “Rocky Dog”!), the stadium was gorgeous and the company was second to none. Throw in the fact the game was played outdoors – the way it was meant to be played – and it was a pretty darn good night.

Panorama of Coors Field

Another Panorama of Coors Field

(Click on image to see larger photo on Flickr)

{ 0 comments }

We woke up early this morning – like 4:30AM early – and made the 75 minute trip up to the Rocky Mountain National Park. The weather was perfect, the company was well-behaved and the photography was pretty darn good. A great day!

First we stopped at Bear Lake and took several photos of Hallett’s Flat-top across the smooth surface of the lake. At over 9700 feet above sea level, there was still plenty of snow around and it was actually kind of chilly.

After we got done at Bear Lake, we headed over to Sprague Lake. I’ve been there several times in the past and was hoping to get another great reflection shot but unfortunately, the wind started kicking up and the lake was full of ripples.

We got in the car and drove up Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Center. Measuring just under 12000 feet, this is truly tundra conditions! The wind was howling, there were banks of snow 8, 10 and 12 feet deep! Despite this – the photography opportunites were phenomenal – including a pretty decent panorama (below)

We were all getting hungry so we decided to head back down the mountain – one last stop though. Horseshoe Park. The importance of this site probably isn’t well known outside the state of Colorado. In 1982, a devastating flood occurred When the Lawn Lake Dam broke unexpectedly at 5:30AM. The water from Lawn Lake sped down through Horseshoe Park before sending up to six feet deep water through the town of Estes Park, CO. Several people were killed. The flood created an alluvial fan of debris at Horseshoe Park. While this is definitely a sad day in the history of Colorado, the geological outcome is quite spectacular. More information can be found here.

Finally, on the way home we stopped at Five Guys Burgers. We’ve heard good things about the burgers and fries and if it’s good enough for POTUS, it’s good enough for us! Maybe not the best burger I’ve ever had – but pretty darn good!

Bonus! We arrived back at our humble abode in the midst of a hail storm. Luckily there were no tornados in the area – but there was a covering of hail throughout the backyard. Needless to say – Sidney the Beagle was NOT happy.

Click to see full sized panorama

(Click on photo to see full sized image on Flickr)

{ 1 comment }

I woke up early this morning and headed down to LoDo – the Lower Downtown Historic District. I spent about 90 minutes walking around and getting familiar with the area, taking pictures along the way.

We’ve got a full weekend ahead of ourselves so it was nice to get out and have some time to myself before we start with chores, shopping and sightseeing!

(Click on photo to see full sized image on Flickr)

{ 1 comment }

Wow, I can’t believe we’ve lived here for two months already! It was brought to my attention (ok, several times it was brought to my attention), that our friends in Florida have still not seen where we live. So, after work tonight I took the camera out and spent a few hours taking and processing photos of our new home!

Much to Tara’s chagrin, it’s called a Colorado Ranch. This four-level style is very common in Colorado. Needless to say, it looks nothing like a typical Florida Ranch house.

You enter the home and are greeted by hardwood floors on the main level of the house. The main level includes the living room, kitchen and eating area. The kitchen is a huge upgrade to what we’ve had in the past and Tara did a spectacular job setting this level up.

Down a half flight of stairs is the family room, laundry area and bathroom. The family room includes a wood burning fireplace and this is where Tara spends about 95% of her non-working hours. Apparently, we got lucky here. Woodburning fireplaces aren’t allowed in new construction.

From the main level, up a half flight of stairs to the bedrooms. The upstairs has two guest rooms and a master bedroom. One of the guest rooms Tara has converted to her office. The second guest room is technically still a guest room but I’m slowly sinking my talons into it as a place where I can escape too. The guest bathroom is fairly typical, but nicely udpated.

The master bedroom is humungous by our standards. It includes a 3/4 bath and a walk-in closet. Out our window we are able to see the front range and Rocky Mountains. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating when I took this pictures. Trust me – there’s a 14,000 ft tall mountain out there called Longs Peak!

One of the features of Colorad (for me at least) is no more St Augustine grass!!! The fenced backyard is of decent size and has real grass! We have a large deck off of the main level with our patio furniture and grill, and a smaller, lower deck a half flight of stairs off of the upper deck. From the upper deck, we have clear views of the mountains and the open space right next to our house. I was chastised this evening because I didn’t have any photos of the wonderful flower garden that Tara and my mom have been working diligently on in the backyard. I promise, I’ll get some pictures up of that soon.

But wait – I said four levels didn’t I? Well, down a half flight of stairs from the family room is the basement – approximately 500 sq ft. This is where my mom lives! She’s in the process of upgrading that area. Her kitchen was installed last week and rumor has it she might get her own door soon – currently she’s putting her dogs out via a ground level window!

So, that’s the big tour. We really like the house – it’s by far the nicest house/neighborhood that Tara or I have lived in. It seems like we’re close to everything but it doesn’t feel like we’re living “in a city” at all. Drive 30 minutes to the west and we’re 10,000 feet above sea level in the snow capped mountains. I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re looking forward to living here for many years!

(Click on image to see full size photo on Flickr)

{ 1 comment }

What a busy weekend! We started things off by watching Star Trek on Saturday morning (great movie btw). Neither Tara or myself were happy with our footwear on our last hike so we stopped and got some new trail gear. Later that afternoon I went for a couple mile hike at the Mesa Trailhead. I managed to find a really cool black and white photo of a solitary tree/landscape as well as some wildflowers.

Sunday morning we got up at the crack of dawn and went to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. We ended up taking the Racoon Trail – a 2.5 mile loop in the northwest corner of the park. What a beautiful trail! Unfortunately, the first half was all downhill. That meant that the second half was mostly all uphill! Quite a workout – we treated ourselves with a trip to…

The Mardi Gras Casino in Blackhawk! The penny slot machines were brutal to us but Blackhawk is a unique little town nestled in the mountains about 45 minutes from our house – this could be trouble!

Finally, we drove the the canyons on US 6 to get home from Blackhawk – complete with three tunnels and rock climbers! Clear Creek Canyon was spectacular and I think I might have found a couple of spots to try my luck at trout fishing as well!

All in all a great weekend in our new home state!

(Click on photo to see full size image on Flickr)

{ 0 comments }

Wow – what a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon! My friend Chad called me on Saturday morning and told me that there were some MRA (Motorcycle Racing Association of Colorado) races at Pueblo Motorsports Park. With that in mind, Tara and I got up Sunday morning and took the two hour drive to Pueblo for some racing fun!

I’ve been to NASCAR, Busch Series, ARCA, SCCA and Indy car races in Florida, Georgia and Wisconsin. I’ve never been to a motorcycle race before so this was something new for me. It took a couple of laps for me to get the hang of things but I ended up with over 1800 images, of which 950+ are still on my hard drive. =)

The interesting thing about MRA and Pueblo is this isn’t the big leagues of superbike racing. Don’t get me wrong, these guys take it VERY seriously, but it’s more like a training ground for some exceptional young drivers. As such, the track rules are pretty lax and I was able to get really close to the action.

Added Bonus: Tara and I talked to many people at the track and we have some email addresses of friends of racers – they’re going to get a nice surprise in the form of some really nice hi-res photos from the track!

On the way home we stopped at an authentic 50′s drive-in called Cy’s. I’m sure Tara is going to have a post about it but let me just say – the chocolate milk shake was awesome!

(Click on photo for larger image on Flickr)

{ 2 comments }

Actually, you are looking at a black-tailed Prairie Dog! One of the wonders of Colorado – specifically right outside our house – is the prairie dog. There are hundreds of them right outside our window!

Tara and I went for a walk on Sunday morning and I took my camera with me. We saw plenty of prairie dogs and our none too observant household dogs (a beagle and a sprinkler spaniel) didn’t so much as notice one!!!

Bonus picture from our deck this evening – the clouds gave way at sunset to a great dusk/silhouette of Longs Peak. Longs Peak is one of the “Fourteeners” – peaks with altitude over 14,000 feet. Being the dedicated photographer I am, I got off my chair, went 15 feet to the deck and snapped off four shots. Life is rough….

(Click on photo for larger image on Flickr)

{ 0 comments }

One of the benefits of working for a company that is involved in the markets is when the market is closed – so is the office! Today is Good Friday and as such, the markets were closed. Tara and I woke up early and headed out for a hike!

I decided to take T and the dogs to the Mesa Trailhead. We ended up on the Homestead Trail and soon found ourselves ascending about 500 feet up the side of the foothills. Both Tara and the dogs were real troopers and we only had to take a couple of breaks. We made it about a mile in to the trail before deciding to turn around and head back – no sense killing ourselves on our first hike! We ending up spending about 2 hours hiking this morning – not bad for Floridians!

Sidney, Sammy and Tara are all taking well deserved naps right now. Hopefully they get up soon – I need to go to Home Depot!

(Click on photo to see full sized image on Flickr)

{ 3 comments }