Thursday, October 1, 2009

Mountains, beer, and mountains of beer


It was chilly and windy when we woke up yesterday. I ran inside the Walmart and played Wii for about a half hour while Nikki slept in.
At 9:15 I woke her up because we had important business to attend to. A 10 am tour of the Anheuser Busch factory in Fort Collins, CO.
It's kind of neat to see all the time and care that goes into getting you drunk.
We saw the old carts used to deliver the beer, and the Clydesdales used to pull those carts.
And here's a picture of some of AB's more premium brands.
After the tour we got to sample some of AB's beverages. I must say, there's not much better than a flight of beer at 11am.
Afterwards we drove through the Colorado State University campus. Nikki wasn't impressed, so we didn't stay long. Then we drove to Boulder.
By then the winds had picked up and driving was a little rough for the Dod on the expressway. Luckily it wasn't far.
In Boulder we located a Borders and were able to swap out our incomplete atlas for a new one. After copying our information over to our new atlas/scrapbook a couple sitting next to us asked us if we were traveling. We relayed our story to them and they told us that they were also travelers. In fact, they had been splitting their time between their RV and a sail boat for the last 12 years.
It was great chatting with them and trading information so we can keep in touch and possibly meet up in SoCal later on. They imparted some of their road wisdom to us and for that we are very grateful.
By now it was getting close to evening, so we decided to find a place to bed down for the night. Dark clouds were rolling in over the mountains, and the wind was not letting up. So we drove right into those darn mountains.
After a quick tour we located a quaint little lodge set next to a stream. It was perfect. The fresh mountain air was like heaven with a little bit of pine.
It was leftover fajitas and a much needed shower before settling in.
In the morning we ate a free continental breakfast and set out for the Colorado University Campus in Boulder.
The campus was beautiful and I found an excellent record store while Nikki found the Meow Meow, a boutique which had hand bags made out of Archie comics. If you didn't already know, Nikki is nuts for Archie comics. And the bags were half off, so of course she bought one.
After lunch in the Dod we hit the road again, setting our course for Denver.
After locating the cheapest all-day parking lot we could find, we set off on foot to explore the city.
Then we found this giant blue bear trying to break into a bulding.
We mostly toured the 16th street walking mall, which runs the length of the downtown commercial district.
Then we looked for the bar that had the cheapest happy hour specials. We found 1.50 drafts and half off appetizers at a mexican restaurant just off 16th street. We gorged ourselves on nachos and then stumbled back to the Dod.
After a little mix up leaving Denver, we finally made it to our home for the evening, yet another Walmart.
However, after tonight we'll be sleeping underneath a real roof as we shack up with our friends Laura and Wes in Colorado Springs. And according to Laura, we have a heck of a weekend ahead of us. But for now, good bye from Colorado.


p.s.
We were finally able to get our pictures developed from Devil's Lake. So, as promised here they are.


























5 comments:

  1. Hey Nikki & Chris,

    Sounds like you guys are having lots of fun. We're enjoying following you. Thanks for the neat pics and for sharing your adventures. Take care out there. Love, Karl & Cheri

    ps you can pickup toilet paper at wal-mart restrooms(Karl's remark, not mine)

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  2. relating to beer and giant things, i went to big buck last night for homecoming! [ha, we didn't get any beer though] our group was HUGE! i'll call later and tell ya more about it, and i'll definitely try to send some photos when i get them

    darin

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  3. Greetings from Aunt Kiki and the Family xoxo

    Thought I'd send you a couple of recipie's for your travels.
    From an old Girl Scout Recipe book I just found.
    Chip 'N Dip Chicken...
    6 meaty chicken breasts or legs
    dash salt
    dash pepper
    1 8 oz carton of chip dip
    1 1/2 cups crushed potato chips

    Season pieces of chicken with salt and pepper. Spread each piece of chicken generously with chip dip and roll in crushed potato chips. Place two servings on a 12x18 piece of foil and wrap. Place on wire rack 2-3 inches above the glowing coals or charchal. Or you can wrap in foil package and cook directly on coals for 20 min on each side. Just cover the chicken good in foil and it should be delicious!

    Love ya!!
    xoxo Aunt, Kiki xoxo

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  4. Pigs in a skin...

    1 pkg heat and serve sausage
    8 medium potatoes

    Core potatoes, insert one sausage. Cover with foil, bake in coals for 40 minutes.

    sooooooooo good!!!

    xo Aunt, Kiki xo

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  5. “What is the feeling when you're driving away from people, and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? -it's the too huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.””

    Peace, Brad Smith Posen.

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