Rio G.

I ditched work today to spend the am with Joey, a good friend of mine, and his pups at the Rio G. River. It was definitely the best decision I've made all week. There's something pretty damn perfect about the whole set up.



Graffiti under the bridge.

Pumpkin Carving

I went to parents' for some post-Denver fun (aka laundry) and I talked 'em into carving pumpkins.

The carvers - mom, me, and Kate.
Dad supervised, grabbed some shots, and provided his Leatherman and mad skill.Finished product.

Almost a week in Denver

Kate and I left Monday morning and headed to Santa Fe to (hopefully) finally eat at Tecolote, a breakfast place we've made several attempts to try. That didn't work out so well, apparently they're closed on Mondays.We made it to Denver right at six hours with two stops in Trinidad (one for gas, one for food). We didn't waste much time before hitting Old Chicago for happy hour ($2.5o Boulder Beers and 1/2 off appetizers). Our friend Chloe met us at the hotel and we headed to the area of our concert. Two bands opened up for Tegan and Sara, Girl in a Coma and City and Color. Girl in a Coma wasn't quite what I was expecting but City and Color was very enjoyable. Tegan and Sara played an excellent set, this just might've been my favorite of their shows.

Tuesday we went to Fort Collins to check out the New Belgium Brewery, again. We sampled four beers, including "Giddy Up," an espresso infused beer... pretty interesting. This time we opted to do the tour which was really neat, something I would definitely recommend to anyone going to New Belgium. After the brewery we headed to Loveland to hang a bit before dinner with my Aunt Jan at Biaggi's. Aunt Jan brought her daughter Danie, Danie's husband, and daughter with her. It was great to see Aunt Jan and Danie again and meet Danie's husband and daughter. Food and company were great.

Wednesday we tried a new place for breakfast, The Market. This was just the sort of place I had been searching for in Denver. After breakfast we went to the gigantic REI, just for kicks. Post-REI we headed to Boulder to check out Boulder Beer. We had a Hazed and Infused and went on the tour, pretty neat but not as fun as New Belgium's. After the tour we got a sample trayand were very thankful that we shared one, there was no way we would've been able to each finish one (and still be able to drive). After the brewery we headed to Fort Collins to visit Kate's sister.

Thursday we checked out a coffee bar (picked up lunch across the street and brought it back and played scrabble) and went to Tattered Cover Book Store and Twist & Shout (an indie record store).

Friday we went back to Tattered Cover and Twist & Shout for some more music purchasing, back to the coffee bar where we met up with Chloe and Cera and headed to Dave & Busters for some game playing. We took a break from D&B for Kaki King at the Bluebird, it was wonderful and we got to meet her afterward. We skipped out on the headliner, The Mountain Goats, and headed back to D&B.

Saturday we returned to Albuquerque... sad day.

This trip might not have been the best idea for a few reasons...
1. I missed out on getting to hang with my aunt and uncle while they were in town.
2. My love for Denver has grown eminesly and I have even more of a desire to move there.
3. I have a new-found love for Fort Collins and am now considering the posibility of living there.