The Animals, They Came In By Twosies, Twosies

Saturday April 5, we decided to go to Denver, by way of sightseeing. When leaving Loveland, we passed the neatest store. It has been there for over 100 years. My grandmother, upon hearing the name, told my Mom that she didn't think Mom talked that way.

There is a Dam Tower (upper left of the picture) to look at the Dam, and the Dam Shirt, one of which I purchased. One of the sales girls was wearing Bear Feet slippers. They look comfy, don't they?

I have wonderful friends who live in Ft. Collins. I used to live there, when I was small. I don't know what it was, but I had a feeling that we would be too busy, so we would pass going to Ft. Collins, and go directly to Estes Park. My mother was not happy to know that I had not taken DH to see the friends in Ft. Collins. My friends (actually Mom's friends, who had been my babysitters when I was little) were anxious to meet DH, but we were driving West instead of North. Don't get angry with me, there is more to the story.

I really am not happy that we skipped showing DH around Ft. Collins. The joke was that when I was a child, I was riding home from church with a college student that was coming to our house for lunch on a Sunday. She was asking me (I was 3 or 4 years old) all sorts of questions. She asked me where I lived, in relation to the mountains. I apparently stared at my shoes, wiggled my toes, and thought about it for a long time. Then, I replied, “The Toe-Hills.” She was going for “foothills”. I could have seen if the nice neighbor lady still lived next door, and I wanted to show DH the school I went to for Kindergarten. Alas, we didn't have time.

The first thing I saw in Estes Park was the Estes Ark. It is a boat-shaped building on the edge of town. I convinced DH to stop, and we shopped. I bought a measuring stick that is one cubit. For the American in me, it is 18 inches. The measurement of a cubit, if I am remembering right, was the distance between a grown man's elbow and fingertips. I love the last plank on the sign.

We went on to the Visitors Center, and looked around. We used the time to plan our shopping, and call our mothers. We then walked along the Big Thompson River, sneaking into little shops along the River Walk. If you ever get the chance, this is a great way to spend a lot of a day, and you get exercise and fresh mountain air. Just be careful, because some people get Altitude Sickness. I guess if you are used to low altitudes, the thin Mountain air is sickening, especially if you are exerting yourself walking up and down the hills to shop. This is the Big Thompson River, near the Visitors Center in Estes Park. That big hunk of rock in river on the right was actually a heart-shaped stone, and I took a better picture of it for Niki. I couldn't exactly get it out of the river to bring to her... so I settled for the next best thing.

We grew to be hungry, and we started looking for options. Dairy Queen! No, they don't have the chicken fingers I was hoping for. No, I don't like hotdogs. Subway! No, I worked there for over two years, and the smell of wheat bread yeast that lingers in the air may be attractive to some, but it sickens me. That looks like a Burger joint! No, it is a bar with food. Finally, we happened upon a cute little diner at the farthest end of our walk. We settled on Penelope's. There was a sign (and it was printed on their cups!) that they had been voted the best Burger in Estes. We ordered and sat down to eat. After only a bite or two, a man walked past me, looking for a place to sit, or maybe in search of the bathrooms. I did a double take. I said to DH, “That looked like Steve.” When I looked back to the front of the store, I saw Steve's dad.

The world is small, and shrinking every day. I did see Steve, his lovely wife Kristi and their two beautiful children, as well as Steve's parents. These are the friends we had thought about visiting in Ft. Collins. If Dairy Queen had served Chicken, if Subway had not been a former job, if we had driven to Ft. Collins to show DH the “toe-hills”, we would have missed these dear friends. Although, I could have shown DH where their house was. I don't have pictures of them, because the camera was in the car, at the other end of town. It was just too heavy to carry while shopping. I didn't figure I would need to take pictures of the shops, at any rate. They might have gotten mad at me.

We wandered back to the car, refreshed by our walk, our food and our visit. We then went to Boulder, and the Pearl Street Mall to shop some more. I had my sights on only one destination: Into the Wind. This is a kite shop that my Dad found when he was in his kite building phase. I went there, and did not buy a kite. Somehow, that is just wrong. But I got dice to add to the collection, and we bought a Frisbee with their logo printed on it. The mall is at least three blocks long, and cars can go across it, but prohibited along the length of it. There were street performers every so often. I heard guitar and bagpipe music. I saw a man up on a very tall unicycle, who was juggling firey bowling pins. There was a group of men, drumming and dancing. They were very strong, and agile. There was a group that stood on a corner, and played guitars and sang. They called themselves The Curb Feelers.

We left Boulder, and drove to Denver. We went to Casa Bonita for dinner. Now, everyone who heard this had their own reaction. Suffice it to say that our main purpose was NOT food, though I believe the food is pretty good. There used to be a one in Tulsa, but it closed over two years ago. The one in Denver was better, anyway. Two stories high, with a dive show, a 500 lb. Gorilla (didn't see him, and was sorely disappointed!), and so many places to explore. When I was small, I used to scream at the puppet show. I was afraid of masks. Huge Gorillas, the dancing puppets, and the mysterious Gypsy fortune teller in a box all freaked me out. They still do, even though I am older, wiser and braver.

More to come soon!