Despite the late night, I was up and at ‘em at 7AM. I did have a massive headache, which was cured with a lot of coffee, eggs, and biscuits with aforementioned delicious green chili pork gravy. Since Rocky Mountain National Park was closed and the Estes Park area was still recovering from the floods the week before, the plan for today was to head up the Poudre Canyon Highway to find a trail to hike. While my knee wasn’t feeling 100 percent, I did not want to squander a chance to spend some time in the mountains.
We hit the road around 9AM, after meeting up with my other coworkers who were staying at the nearby Homewood Suites. It took about 30 minutes to reach the Poudre Canyon Highway, and just a few miles down the road we lost cell phone signal competely. Ordinarily, I would flip out because I hate being disconnected from the grid. But that provided the perfect setting to enjoy the natural beauty: without distraction. While I had left my crappy little point and shoot camera, my friend had brought his excellent Canon along, which was perfect for capturing our adventure today. He was kind enough to let me share some of his handiwork with y’all.
Our first only hiking trail we attempted was reached a little after an hour of driving. We had company in the form of ecology students from Colorado State University. They seemed rather engrossed in their work, so we pressed on and were rewarded with this nice view.
On our way down, we stumbled onto this patch of cactus. I found that rather interesting because I didn’t think cactus were native to the area. Regardless, it seemed to hold just fine in the colder climate.
Next, I saw something that really that really made my blood boil. We had stumbled onto someone’s old campsite complete with many shotgun shells strewn about and a partially destroyed book. Is it really that hard to clean up after yourself?
The trail was rather short, and we were back to car in less than an hour. The Poudre Canyon Highway begins at approximately 5,000 feet of elevation and slowly winds up the mountain. At approximately 8,000 feet, we began to see the effects of the snow storm of the day before. At 10,000 feet, there was at least a foot of soft white powder. Between the snow, trees, and mountain peaks, the entire drive was literally post card perfect. In fact the snow even made an outhouse photogenic.
First sign of snow
Photogenic outhouse
Winter wonderland
We drove for about three hours (due to a couple of photo op stops) after leaving the trail. The entire ride was nearly silent as we were mesmerized by the beautiful scenery, only punctuated by one of my coworkers, who had worked in Denver for a number of years, murmuring “why the hell did I move.” That’s a fantastic question.
After we cleared the mountain range, we were fast approaching the town of Walden. My coworker who had lived in Denver had been through the town a number of times and recommended a local eatery, the Moose Creek Café, as a good place for lunch. It was just like many small town restaurants in Texas, except there for the liberal use of antlers in the décor. I chuckled as the menu listed “Rocky Mountain Oysters” as the specialty item. A friend of mine back home, told me I had to try them. I didn’t realize he was pulling my leg until I Googled it. I am of Chinese decent, so I’ve eaten a lot weird crap. But bull testicles… I have to draw the line there.
The other local delicacy on the menu was an elk cheese burger. It was perfectly edible, though definitely not great. But it was something I couldn’t easily get back home, so it was a good choice. After lunch, we took a stroll down the town’s main street which was all of two blocks.
The ride back to Fort Collins was a bit quicker as we didn’t stop to take pictures. We stopped at our respective hotels before meeting up again at the Funk Werks brewery for a few flights of beer. Funk Werks specialized in Belgian saissons, blondes and ales. It was another tasty choice, though the crisp beers were probably better suited for the summer drinking than in the fall
Our coworkers called it a night at just past 7PM, while my friend and I hit up some of the bars near Colorado State University. It was good time, and a perfect way to cap off a long but fun day.
On Sunday Funday, we did our duty as Americans and sat our butts down, on a bar stool in this case, and watched football. My beloved Saints were taking on the Chicago Bears at 11AM, so I headed out myself to Buffalo Wild Wings to catch the game as my coworkers were dragging. While I usually dislike going to chains, BWWs is consistent and has NFL Sunday Ticket on many screens, guaranteeing I will be able to watch the game of my choice. Cold beer, a beautiful cool sunny day, wings, Saints football, and the mountains in the background… Life is good. After the Saints had the victory at hand, I closed my tab and headed to in beautiful downtown Fort Collins to meet the rest of the gang at the Cooper Smith Brewery to drink more beer and watch the Denver Broncos take on the Dallas Cowboys.
After I nursed a couple of Cooper Smith’s excellent October Fest brew, I got adventurous and decided to try their Green Chili Beer. When I ordered, the bartender asked if I wanted a tall or a 8 ounce glass. Of course I wanted a tall. The bartender followed up with, “Are you sure?” (In hindsight, that should have been my first clue a tall was a bad idea.) Of course I am. Ok… It was delicious, and I could feel the green chili’s trademark slow heat building on my taste buds. However, my stomach felt like it was on fire after I downed half of the glass. So what did I do next? Finish the rest of the glass, of course. #Horribleidea. I could probably replicate the way my stomach was feeling that day by swallowing gasoline washed down by lit match. Needless to say that was my last beer of the day.
After the Broncos took a seemingly commanding 35-20 lead, my dejected Cowboys fan coworkers decided to head across the street to try another brewery. Which didn’t have a TV. What kind of bovine feces is this? It’s 2013, after all. So I kept an eye on the game for us on my iPhone, while the guys grabbed flights for themselves. While it good, it certainly wasn’t memorable as none of us remember the name of the place. But here’s a picture of the flight anyways.
I got caught up with our conversation, and didn’t check my phone again until the guys finished up their flights. Holy crap! The Cowboys came roaring back and just scored a touchdown to narrow the gap to 41-38. So we hurried back to Coopersmith to catch the fourth quarter of what turned out to be an exciting shootout. The Cowboys fell heartbreakingly short at the end with the final score of 51-48 in favor of the Broncos. My coworkers were quite dejected. I’m not going to lie… I did take some pleasure in their disappointment, as it’s a great day whenever the Cowboys lose.
With the wind knocked out of their sails and work early the next morning, we called it a day.
Buried in work, the week flew by and it was Thursday before we knew it. With a travel day on Friday, we decided to head out to another brewery Thursday evening. As we had really enjoyed their 90 Schilling brew, we hit up the Odell Brewery.
Odell Specializes in IPAs, which I was excited about because I like hoppy beers. Unfortunately, most of the beers were way too hoppy even for my tastes. All of the beers we tried that night were certainly better any of the mainstream swill, though the bar is set pretty low in that regard. Since Odell closes at 6, we took the party to The Mayor of Old Town for some more delicious local brews and a tasty dinner. It was perfect way to end what was the most fun assignment of my young career.