The Mile High City

A week after we visited Wyoming, David and I were back in the air and headed to Denver.

David traveled non-stop last fall for work, and I tagged along as much as possible. Because my birthday fell on the same dates as his Denver trip, we decided to celebrate together in Colorado.

David arrived in the Mile High City earlier in the week, but I had to be in the office for meetings, so I flew in on Thursday evening after work.  David picked me up from the airport in the rental car and we headed to dinner.

I’d read up on Denver’s best eats beforehand, and was craving a burrito from El Taco de Mexico when I landed.  El Taco is a hole-in-the-wall in downtown Denver known for its cheap burritos.  The green chile smothered pork burrito is its best seller, so for only $6, I stuffed myself full of marinated pork, cheese, and green chile sauce.  The taqueria definitely lived up to all the hype. 

On Friday, David and I worked remotely from our hotel next to the Denver Convention Center.  It was such a beautiful day outside that we decided to have brunch on the patio of the nearby Denver Biscuit Company.  The DBC was started after the success of Denver’s first gourmet food truck, the Biscuit Bus.  The owners decided to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant off Colfax Avenue, once dubbed ‘the longest, wickedest street in America’ by Hugh Hefner.

The weather was perfect.  I had packed mostly sweaters, thinking it would be chilly in the mountains in October, but Colorado was experiencing an Indian Summer.  As we sat outside, sipping sweet tea, and waiting for our meal, the family next to us exclaimed, ‘I can’t believe we’re eating outside in shorts in October!’  They were so happy.  We had to laugh because back in Texas, everyone is in shorts, enjoying the great outdoors through December

Meanwhile, our biscuits arrived!

I ordered the crowd favorite, the Franklin, with buttermilk fried chicken, bacon, and cheddar smothered in sausage gravy.  David opted for the DBC Club, which was a lot like mine but stacked with lettuce, tomato, and chipotle ranch instead of gravy.

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel and worked for the rest of the afternoon.  And I managed to make a quick trip downstairs to the gym before my birthday dinner at Acorn.

This contemporary American restaurant is located inside the Source in Denver’s River North District.  The Source is a reclaimed foundry from the 1880’s, converted into a gourmet market full of restaurants and epicurean retailers.  Acorn was named one of America’s Top 50 New Restaurants by Bon Appetit magazine in 2014. 

The menu changes weekly, and features sharing plates.  Of course, we ordered way too much.  Our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs, especially after eating those giant biscuits earlier in the day.  But we wanted to try a lot of different options, so we went with the fried pickles with green goddess aioli, the kale and apple salad with candied almonds (which was one of my favourite dishes of the night!), the tomato braised meatballs, and Mediterranean mezze platter.  And then I had to order a cocktail and dessert.  It was my birthday, after all.

On Saturday, David and I visited Estes Park for Elk Fest.

Before leaving town, we stopped at Habit Doughnut Dispensary for some delicious, creatively-flavoured doughnuts and coffee.  After satisfying my sweet tooth, we started our two-hour scenic drive along Colorado’s Fall Foliage route from Denver to Estes Park.

We drove from Denver to Golden, then north to the quaint mountain village of Nederland. 

There, we stopped for lunch at an Italian deli.  We took our sandwiches to-go and parked at an overlook to eat, taking in the breath-taking scenery of snow-capped mountains and lush, green valleys dotted with bright yellow Aspen trees.

When we arrived in Estes Park, we were greeted by dozens of elk.  It’s funny that we’d never seen an elk before visiting Wyoming, and within two weeks, we saw hundreds across Wyoming and Colorado.

It was still rutting season, so the males were loudly calling out to the females.  And just like in Yellowstone, they preferred the manicured lawns and perfect turf of the local golf course.

On the drive across Colorado, we listened to the UT/OU football game on the radio.  I warned David that we were going to turn it off if it was going to put him in a bad mood, so imagine my surprise when we turned on the game during the second quarter to discover that we were winning!  We arrived in Estes Park just as the Longhorns clenched their victory over the Sooners!

Even though I wasn’t in Texas, I still had to show my school spirit with my Longhorn shirt and horns up!

After we walked through town, admiring the elk, we visited the Stanley Hotel.  This historic hotel hosted a very special guest back in 1974 … Stephen King!  King and his wife were the only people at the hotel that night.  After being served dinner in the empty dining room, they went to bed in Room 217.  Stephen had a dream that night that inspired his famous book, ‘The Shining.’

Because it was October and the Stanley is known for its eerie association with ‘The Shining,’ the hotel was preparing for its annual Halloween Masquerade Ball.  It would be so fun one day to stay there and attend the ball.  Guests lucky enough to stay in Room 217 are gifted with a copy of the book, and can watch ‘The Shining’ on a continuous loop via the hotel’s creepiest movie channel.

We escaped from the Stanley and drove just a short distance to Rocky Mountain National Park.  This was the year of National Parks for David and me.  After visiting two in Wyoming, we came away with an annual park pass that allowed free access to all national parks across the US for a year.  (We felt very special as we skipped ahead to the ‘VIP line’ and presented our passes.)

We discovered this grove of Aspens just inside the entrance to the park

We parked at the trailhead to Bear Lake.  The looped trail is only about a mile, so it’s accessible to everyone, making it one of the park’s most popular attractions.  We arrived late in the afternoon, but found plenty of available parking as people were beginning to leave.

Although the lake is named Bear Lake, a black bear siting in the Rockies is very rare, as there are only about 30 bears known to inhabit the park.  Grizzlies were wiped out by hunters and no longer reside anywhere in Colorado.  We didn’t know this at the time, so as we decided to hike deeper into the woods, I felt very unprepared without our trusty bear spray.  I proceeded to talk David’s ear off to make as much noise as possible, so we wouldn’t accidentally stumble upon a bear and spook it.

Starting our walk in the woods...

We wanted to extend our time in the park, so we decided to hike from Bear Lake to Bierstadt Lake, three miles away.  Then we got a little lost and ended up hiking another two miles to the shuttle parking lot instead of back to the trailhead parking lot.  Altogether, I think we hiked over six miles that afternoon! 

I began to panic a little, hoping we would make it back in time before it got too dark.  I didn’t want to be alone in the woods at night, but then we met a nice couple that showed us the way, and offered to give us a ride in their car if the shuttle was no longer running.  When we arrived, there were other groups waiting at the bus stop, so we thanked them for their offer and waved goodbye. 

The shuttle dropped us at our car just as the sun was beginning to set  

We drove back through Estes Park and then opted for the faster route to Denver on the freeway.  We didn’t want to be driving through winding mountain roads in the dark after a long day.

On the way back to the hotel, we grabbed a quick dinner at Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs. 

The owner, Jim, was a repo man who ditched his job to make hot dogs for a living.  I ordered the elk jalapeno cheddar dog with the ‘classic’ cream cheese / caramelized onion topping.  It was really good, but I felt a little sadistic eating elk after observing them up-close-and-personal earlier in the day.  After a few bites, I gave up and finished our vegetarian sides of biker baked beans and fried mac and cheese instead.

By Sunday morning, I was hungry.  After checking out of the hotel, we had breakfast at Rosenberg’s Bagels.  While we waited for our food, we watched the employees make bagels.  It was crazy how fast they could spin them into shape.  The bagels were delicious and satisfying.  We were fuelled up and ready for another hike.

We drove to Littleton, about 30 miles outside Denver, to visit Roxborough State Park.  This park reminded me of the red rocks I’d visited on a trip to Colorado when I was younger.  But unlike Garden of the Gods or Red Rock Amphitheatre, visitors are not allowed to climb on the rocks at Roxborough.

Instead, David and I did a quick two mile hike through the park, admiring the rock formations that interrupted the landscape.  From there, we drove to the airport and flew home.

I had a great birthday weekend!  I love that I was able to celebrate the start of my early thirties in beautiful Colorado with my adventurous husband.

Happy birthday to me!

Wyoming Wedding Weekend

When Terri announced she was getting married in Jackson Hole, David and I jumped at the chance to spend a long weekend in Wyoming, celebrating with friends and exploring a beautiful part of the country. 

The wedding took place in early October, which was the perfect time to visit Jackson.  It was between peak summer season and the beginning of winter ski season, so we felt like we had the place to ourselves.

As we flew into Jackson Hole, and the plane began to descend over the desolate landscape, the jagged peaks of the Grand Tetons suddenly sprang into view.  The plane got closer and closer to the gigantic mountain range before David and I realized that the airport is situated inside the Grand Teton National Park! 

After we landed and picked up our rental car, we drove to Persephone Bakery for lunch.  This popular café in the center of Jackson is known for its delicious, rustic food prepared by its French-trained owner.  We ordered a couple of sandwiches, and a hazelnut tart for dessert. 

Following lunch, we checked into our hotel around the corner, the Snow King Ski Lodge.  Although it was between peak seasons, the lodge was fully booked, so David and I were offered a complimentary upgrade.  We happily accepted and checked into a huge condo complete with a living room, small kitchenette, two bathrooms, and king-sized bedroom.  It was more than enough for just the two of us!

From our home base, we set off to explore Jackson! 

Jackson is a small town centered around a picturesque square adorned with elk antlers.  Each season, the elk shed their antlers and local boyscouts collect them to sell as part of their annual fundraiser.  Elk are plentiful near Jackson, as there is an expansive refuge off the main road.  It wasn’t cold enough for them to migrate to the refuge just yet, but we were told we could see them in Grand Teton and Yellowstone.

We window-shopped and grabbed a couple of cups of ice cream from Moo’s Gourmet Ice Cream before driving to Grand Teton to watch the sun set behind the stunning mountains.  We set up our camera outside the Chapel of the Transfiguration, a quaint church erected for the dude ranchers of the area.

After snapping some photos, we roamed around the park, observing the herds of elk.  As we arrived at the end of the day around dusk, the park was free to enter, so we decided to take advantage and stay for as long as we could before our dinner reservation.  Early October is mating, or rutting, season for elk.  So before we spotted them, we heard the males and their mournful calls to the females.

Dinner on Thursday night was at Trio, a restaurant known for its new American menu.  I ordered a bowl of BLT soup to warm up.  For dinner, David and I split the bison steak and waffle fries with bleu cheese fondue.  For dessert, we indulged in the cast iron s’mores.

Once we finished eating, we met up with Katie and Dave, who flew in that evening from Houston.  We ordered drinks at a local bar aptly named The Local.  Or at least, David, Dave, and I did.  Katie wasn’t drinking because (drumroll) … she announced that she is pregnant!  We are so thrilled for them, and can’t wait to meet Baby Zoe in April!

We toasted to the soon-to-be family of three, and then headed off to bed.  The Vollmars were tired from their long travel day, and David and I had an early start scheduled on Friday.

David and I planned to spend all of Friday exploring Yellowstone.  We downloaded our favorite tour guide, GyPsy, to help us see everything there is to see.  You may remember GyPsy from my Maui blog.  We had so much fun with the app on the Road to Hana in Hawaii that we decided to download him again for this trip.

With only one day to visit Yellowstone, we were up and on our way to the world’s first national park before sunrise.  We stopped at Pearl Street Market on the way out of town and picked up enough food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the road.

We watched the sun rise over the Grand Tetons, and continued driving along Jackson Lake to Yellowstone.  

The drive took a couple of hours.  Once we arrived at the park entrance, we switched on GyPsy and he guided us along a circular route of the park, with our first stop at Old Faithful.

Because of the season and weather, the park was nearly empty.  Katie’s parents had visited just a couple of weeks before, and their stories of traffic on the roads and crowds around the park’s highlights were the complete opposite of what we experienced.  In fact, it was so eerily quiet that as we were driving away late at night, I actually wished for more cars on the road to make me feel more comfortable driving through the pitch black darkness with wildlife around every corner.

GyPsy taught us so many interesting things about the park, with the greatest being that Yellowstone is positioned atop a mega volcano, and contains more than half the geysers of the entire world.

So many geysers!

The park is incredibly diverse.  We drove from the South entrance through the geyser basin to Old Faithful.  The landscape in this area of the park seems like it belongs in Dante’s Inferno.  The ground literally looks like it is on fire, with steam rising from vents scattered around the basin.  Friday was also a cloudy, misty day, which only increased the amount of moisture swirling in the air. 

We timed the explosion of Old Faithful just right, and arrived a few minutes before the geyser went off

GyPsy told us that we had to stop inside the Old Faithful Inn to see the log lobby.  The Inn was built in the early 1900s and is considered the largest log structure in the world.  The lobby looked amazing, with flights of log stairs intersecting the various floors of the hotel.  I felt transported back to the days of Teddy Roosevelt and the Wild West.

From Old Faithful, we drove to the Grand Prismatic.  We were told by multiple people to hike from the Fairy Falls parking lot to the hill overlooking the Prismatic, and climb it for the best view.  So we did, ignoring warning signs instructing us to stay on the path to avoid slippery falls or bear attacks.  David and I had purchased bear spray, so we were confident we’d avoid a wild animal attack. 

When we got to the top of the hill, I was disappointed to discover that the hazy weather nearly completely obstructed our view of the Grand Prismatic.  Below is a picture from the day we visited and a picture from Terri’s visit earlier in the week.  Oh, well.  It’s a good excuse for a return visit some day!

My photo

... and Terri's photo

We continued to drive north to Mammoth Hot Springs, and the park’s headquarters and main visitor center.  From geysers to hot springs, the scenery drastically changed again.  Suddenly we were high in the mountains surrounded by massive boulders.  The springs bubbling up filled the air with their sulfuric smell and heat.  We began to see herds of bison (and heard horror stories from GyPsy about animals falling into the springs and boiling alive), and even spotted a lone wolf! 

David and I were kicking ourselves for forgetting our camera’s long-lens, as we didn’t even think that visiting Wyoming would be like taking an American safari.  It was only after we arrived that I learned about the Big 5 of the American West (grizzly bear, moose, wolf, bison, and elk) and realized that my chances of seeing these animals were much higher than I expected!  By lunchtime, we’d already checked off 3 of the 5 on the list!

The elk in Yellowstone love the manicured grass of the park’s headquarters.  We found this guy just taking a nap in the middle of a lawn.  He was so still at first we didn’t think he was real, but as I approached (as David yelled from the car, ‘You’re WAY too close!’) he lifted his head as a way of saying, ‘Hello,’ and probably, ‘Okay, now back it up a bit, lady.’

After driving through scorched land from past forest fires, and viewing a petrified tree and ancient geyser cone, we had a decision to make.  We were approaching the turnoff to Lamar Valley, where we were told we would see the most wildlife in the park.  But we were also told that there would be no way we could take this detour and still have time to see the rest of the park in just one day.  They underestimated us.  Little did they know that David and I are incredibly efficient world travelers that plan far, far in advance.  So we turned off, deciding to spend 45 minutes in the valley.  If we didn’t see anything by then, our time was up and we’d turn around.  We still had to stop at Tower Falls and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone before the sun set in a few hours.

Within ten minutes of entering the valley, we came upon the largest herd of bison we’d seen yet!  I found myself transplanted to the past again, observing the bison against the majestic backdrop of the plains and distant mountains. 

They came closer and closer until they began to cross the road.  We got stuck in a bison traffic jam for about twenty minutes, finally getting brave enough to get out of the car for some up-close-and-personal photos with the American buffalo.  It was really cool, and we were immediately glad that we’d decided to fit this part of the park into our trip.

On our way out of the valley, we noticed a ton of cars parked along the side of the road.  We knew from our safari experiences that a lot of parked vehicles meant a really cool animal up ahead.  We pulled over and discovered everyone was watching a grizzly bear on the hillside.

The bear was so enormous that we could spot him with the naked eye, even though he was incredibly far away.  We borrowed a pair of binoculars from a very nice couple to see him in more detail.  After watching him for a few minutes, I was happy that he was far, far away.  He was huge, and I couldn’t help but think of how terrifying it would be to stumble across a grizzly alone in the woods.

Next stop was Tower Falls, named for the large boulders shaped like towers that overlook the waterfalls.  We only spent a few minutes there, as it began to rain and the temperature dropped quickly.

The rain had let up by the time we reached the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  We stopped at Artist Point on the south rim of the canyon to get a better view.  We saw the iconic view of Yellowstone Falls and the river cutting through the rock.  It was so beautiful.

The coolest part of the day was on our way back to the parking lot from Artist Point, where we saw a little black bear just strolling along.  We had seen him on our way out to the point below the path, but he was mostly hidden in the brush, scurrying for grubs.  We watched him for a while, but he was too obsessed with finding his next meal to even acknowledge the crowd above him.

But we were patient and on the way back to the parking lot, we stood on the path above him for many minutes, waiting for him to make his move.  Finally, he decided to explore another area and began to make his way up the embankment to the parking lot.  There were children walking right in front of him, but their parents quickly pulled them aside to let the bear pass.  I wasn’t at all afraid of this bear.  He was so small and cute compared to the intimidating grizzly we’d seen earlier. 

Suddenly we heard a siren and a park ranger drove up, warning us all that we were way too close to the bear and we needed to get in our vehicles and leave.  So we did, and it was perfect timing anyway as the bear got spooked by a passing car and scrambled back up into the woods.

We ended our day at Yellowstone on that high note, and headed back to Jackson Hole.  Little did we know that the most exciting part of our trip would be the next morning!

Since we had time before the wedding on Saturday, we decided to take a hike through Grand Teton that morning with Katie and Dave.  Terri had recommended that we hike Taggart and Bradley Lake Trail instead of Jenny Lake, as Taggart and Bradley are less crowded.

On the way to the trailhead, David and I spotted a pronghorn antelope grazing in the tall grass just off the road.  GyPsy had told us the day before that the antelope is actually the second fastest land animal in the world, after the cheetah.  Katie and Dave were in the car behind us, following us, so we didn’t want to slam on our brakes for a photo opp.

The only animal left on my list was the moose, which Anna (who lived in Wyoming) told me would be very, very hard to see.  She had only seen one before, but it was in Jackson.  So I convinced everyone to wake up a bit early and do the hike in the morning, when the chances of seeing wildlife are greater.

Snake River early in the morning 

I should be careful what I wish for.

We were the only hikers on the trail.  We had only been hiking for about fifteen minutes and hadn’t even made it a mile before we found ourselves in a dense wood.  

David was up front and suddenly stopped.  He pointed to a large animal in the trees in front of us, and then quickly motioned to back up as it was coming out towards us.  At first, I thought it was a large deer because it didn’t have antlers.  But I quickly realized from its size and shape that it was the elusive moose!  At first I was so happy, but that happiness quickly turned to fear as we all realized the moose was angry and coming towards us … before we knew it, it started charging us, running towards us down the path! 

We scrambled up the small hill to our right and tried to make ourselves as thin as possible against the skinny trees.  Dave pointed out that it’d be better if the moose had antlers, because at least he’d get stuck in the branches if he decided to come after us.  The moose stopped right in front of us and turned the opposite direction, moving up the hill to our left.  The way it quickly scrambled up that hill made us all realize how foolish we were to think running up a hill would do us any good.  Moose may be big and awkward, but they are fast!

We waited a few moments and debated going back to the parking lot and calling it quits, but decided to carry on with the hike.  The moment we took a step back onto the path, the moose came around from behind us!  He was determined, and scary as hell!

The moose had flanked us, and blocked off our exit.  There was no choice but to carry on.  We stepped back onto the path for the second time and started walking.  David took out his bear spray, although we weren’t sure how effective it would be on a moose.  We were worried that we’d have to use it and instead of incapacitating the moose, the pepper spray would just make him angrier.  I’d complained earlier about wasting $50 on bear spray when I was sure we wouldn’t need it, but David assured me it was an insurance policy and part of our travel expenses.  Now I couldn’t believe the spray was actually out with David’s hand on the trigger!

David and Yoda with their trusty bear spray just a few moments before the drama started 

We hadn’t walked for more than two minutes when David stopped us again.  We peered into the trees and saw a female moose and a male with huge antlers!  Later, we read that moose attacks are most likely to occur when young are near, or during mating season.  And moose mating season happens to occur at the same time as elk mating season, in early October.  It seems we had stumbled upon a potential romantic encounter between these two, and the male was not happy.

This time, we called it quits and took off for the trailhead.  Katie and I started having a very loud conversation to warn the rude moose that we were on our way back and he’d better not attack us.  Meanwhile, David turned around and snapped a very blurry photo of the antlered moose just to prove this ludicrous story. 

We weren’t done hiking yet, though.  We still had hours to kill before we needed to head back and get ready for the wedding, so we drove further into the park to Jenny Lake.  This trail was much more crowded, so we felt a lot safer.

We hiked a few miles in the gorgeous scenery to a waterfall and then back around the lake.  

We heard some big horned sheep in the hills around us, but we didn’t see any more animals.  That is, until we were driving to the wedding and saw another moose walking along the side of the road!  Anna could not believe that we saw four moose in one day!

Needless to say, we were very, very hungry after our morning adventures.  We headed to St. Genevieve, a historic Main Street restaurant featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  We warmed up inside the renovated cabin with burgers, reuben sandwiches, and sides of mac and cheese.  The diner is known for its candied bacon, or ‘pig candy.’  So of course we had to try it.  And of course, it was delicious.  A few hours later, we were enjoying St. Genevieve again, as they catered the wedding! 

The wedding was so much fun.  We hung out with all of our old college friends, including David’s roommate from junior/senior year, whom he hadn’t seen in about eight years!

The wedding ceremony was totally Terri’s and Charlie’s style, and took place in his parent’s backyard.  The weather held up for most of the ceremony, and even though it rained a little, it looked really cool to see all of the umbrellas pop up around the couple.

There was a lot of singing and dancing.  At one point, Terri serenaded Charlie to her favorite ballad, Celine Dion’s ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.’  Toward the end of the night, the DJ played ‘Time of My Life’ and Anna and David were inspired to recreate the famous Dirty Dancing lift.  Amazingly, they pulled it off without any injuries!  When the neighborhood noise ordnance kicked in, the shuttles arrived back at the house to bring us into town to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.  There, we hung out with the local cowboys and cowgirls, listening to live music and admiring the décor, a collection of western memorabilia including saddle bar stools and stuffed animals.  

The next morning, we all managed to make it to brunch before saying goodbye to Wyoming.  We had an amazing weekend, full of adventure and romance, beautiful scenery, good food, and great friends!