B-52 Bomber

From the museum’s website:

“Housed in our historic 150,000 sq. ft. 1930′s-era former Air Force hangar, Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum maintains a collection of over four dozen aircraft and space vehicles. Highlights of the collection include a rare B-18A Bolo, five of the Century-Series fighters, an RF-84K Thunderflash Parasite, an Alexander Eaglerock built in Colorado and a Star Wars X-Wing fighter. Wing Over the Rockies is the only place in the world outside of the SAC Museum in Nebraska where you can also see a B-1A Lancer.”

The museum is open Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

But is closed on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day.

Star Wars fans of Colorado should note that they have a “life size” X-Wing fighter on display though it was not there the day of our visit so I do not have any photos of it.

To stay up to date with Wings Over the Rockies be sure to check out their Facebook page for all the latest details on happenings at the museum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ntt9MvZpqs

The museum also has space and rocketry exhibits as well.

“The space technology exhibits at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum include models and displays demonstrating spacecraft and missile technology both historically and in the future. Explore the science of spaceflight with our interactive exhibit and experience the adventure!

Our Space Station Module started life as Martin-Marietta’s mock-up for a proposed space station entry to be called “Freedom.” The original proposal was for an American-only space station. The concept was later changed to include Russia and the European Space Agency and became known as the International Space Station. Martin’s entry into the proposal race was rejected and ultimately found its way to our Museum.

We also have an Apollo Command Module boilerplate. This is a full scale replica which was used by NASA to develop and test capsule retrieval procedures and train astronauts for the Apollo missions to the moon.

Anchoring the south-east corner of Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum’s main floor is an actual interstage skirt from a Titan IV rocket. Lockheed Martin built Titan IV’s to launch large National Defense payloads into earth orbit. A Titan IV was also used to launch the National Aeronautical and Space Administration’s (NASA) Cassini probe to the planet Saturn.

There are an assortment of scale models ranging in size from a table-top diorama of a moon base to a sixteen foot model of a Titan II launch vehicle as well as several hands-on exhibits demonstrating some of the conditions encountered in space.”

So be sure to put Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space museum on your Colorado must visit list!

The General Palmer is located in downtown Durango close to the train station where the Durango Silverton Railway departs. As you can see in this video I shot from the second floor balcony of the train leaving the station:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGjdMNNN17k

The hotel is decorated in a Victorian theme and offers many quaint features to make your stay a memorable one. The old fashioned manual elevator that guests operated was one of my favorite things.

My wife’s favorite part the stay at the General Palmer Hotel was the teddy bear waiting for us in our room.

The General Palmer Hotel Has Much To Offer

Overall the hotel really works to pamper its guest and yet remains very affordable. Here are some other amenities you’ll find at the General Palmer Hotel:

TURN-DOWN SERVICE: High quality service includes complimentary bedside chocolate by Astor Chocolate.

EXTENDED CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST: an assortment of delicious breakfast choices every morning to get you going, such as organic, coffee, tea, juice, cranberry scones, granola, cereal, yogurt, fresh muffins baked daily and more.

PARKING: Free off-street parking is provided for all guests.

FREE WIRELESS AND BUSINESS CENTER: For guests requiring internet access they offer free wireless plus a business center to assist you with additional needs while away from your office.

MEETING ROOM: There is a meeting room that will seat about 15 available after 11:00 am.

SECURE SAFE: There is a secure safe available for valuables. Just ask at the desk.

COOKIES: Yes cookies. Warm and freshly baked cookies are available for guests in the lobby of the General Palmer Hotel.

We can highly recommend this hotel. Don’t just take our word for it, check out the hotel’s listing on Trip Advisor to read what other guests have noted about the property.

Odell Brewing Small Batch Festival

The Odell Brewing  Small Batch Festival returns to Fort Collins Colorado on May 26, 2012 from 3 – 7 PM.

There will be a huge selection of Odell beers on tap and beer tokens will cost $4 each and will be good from one beer. There will also be food and live music by Musketeer Gripweed, Constitution, and Justin Roth.

It is suggested that you ride your bike because parking will be limited.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu0p8gW7uCY

Telluride Colorado is a little oasis, boxed-in on three sides by 12,000 – 13,000 foot peaks, plays host to over twenty unique festivals each year ranging from popular live concerts to absolutely nothing at all.

Each Summer, thousands of people flock to the jagged San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado in search of their own unique celebration. Bluegrass, Wine, Yoga, Jazz, Mushrooms, Film, Arts and Blues… just to name a few. And on the one weekend when there’s absolutely nothing going on in town, there’s even the infamous “Nothing Festival” to keep you busy.

Welcome to Festival Capital, USA. Welcome to Telluride Colorado.

Haven’t been to Telluride Colorado? The town was founded in 1858 after gold and silver were discovered, Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank here, Nikola Tesla selected the site to build the world’s first power plant, hippies re-settled these lands in the 60’s, skiing arrived in the 70’s, real estate agents invaded in the 80’s, Tom Cruise, Oprah and Oliver Stone call it vacation, Tim McGraw wrote a song about it and on Memorial Day Weekend, this small mountain town kicks off one of the most anticipated festival lineups in the nation.

2012 Telluride Festival Season:

Mountainfilm in Telluride (May 25-28)
Telluride Balloon Festival (June 1-3)
Wild West Fest (June 4-9)
Telluride Heritage Fest (June 8-10)
Telluride Bluegrass Festival (June 21-24)
Telluride Wine Festival (June 27-July 1)
Telluride Musicfest (June 27-July 8)
Telluride Plein Air (June 29-July 5)
Fireman’s 4th of July Celebration (July 4)
Telluride Playwright’s Festival (July 5-13)
KOTO Doo-Dah Concert (July 8)
Telluride Yoga Festival (July 12-15)
Telluride Americana Music Fest (July 18-21)
Telluride Compassion Fest (July 18-22)
Telluride Cajun Festival (July 27-28)
Telluride Jazz Celebration (August 3-5)
Chamber Music Festival (August 8-19)
Telluride Mushroom Festival (August 16-19)
Telluride Festival of the Arts (August 17-19)
USA Pro Cycling Challenge Stage 1 Finish (August 20)
New Festival *TBA* (August 25-26)
Telluride Film Festival (August 31-September 3)
Telluride Blues & Brews Festival (September 14-16)
Telluride Horror Show (October 12-14)

Thanks Telluride.com for this year’s festival run down!

About Telluride.com
Telluride.com is owned and operated by Telluride Alpine Lodging- the longest-standing, locally-owned and operated lodging company in the Telluride region. Offering a wide selection of hotel rooms, vacation homes and condominium rentals in both Telluride & Mountain Village, Telluride.com is the only place to look to find the perfect Telluride vacation rental.

(Article discovered on PRweb.com)

Royal Arch Hike Boulder Colorado

Trails can be accessed from a number of trailheads on the southwest side of the city. I chose a moderate loop hike to visit Royal Arch, where I was told I’d get a spectacular view of Boulder and the Flatirons, as well as see the only natural arch in the Front Range.

Sometime mid-morning, I filled up my Camelbak and headed out the front door of the Hotel Boulderado, on my way to Chatauqua and the trailhead for the 4 mile roundtrip Royal Arch hike. (My choice to walk to the trailhead from our hotel, added an additional hour and a few miles to my hike.)

From the time I turned off Pearl Street, it was a steady climb. Once reaching Chatauqua and the actual trailhead, the trail begins as a gravel fire road and once turning on the Royal Arch Trail about halfway to the summit the trail got increasingly rocky and steep, with a lot of large rocky steps.

One warning, when you reach the high point on the trail, you are not at the Arch, there is a brief but steep decent followed by another brief, but steep climb to the Arch itself. It will only take 15 minutes or so from the top and the view is amazing, so don’t be tempted to stop at the top – keep going. I just wanted to warn you to avoid the small stream of curses I uttered under my breath upon arriving.

Overall this was a beautiful hike, a beautiful combo of meadows, Ponderosa pine, with an amazing view of Boulder from the top. You’ll be kept company by a good number of fellow outdoor enthusiasts, as well as soaring hummingbirds and maybe even some friendly deer. Since hiking this trail, I’ve see this hike appear in this month’s issue of Backpacker as a “best hike near Denver/Boulder”.

On a sunny Memorial Day Sunday, Daryle and I decided to jump in the newly acquired car for a trip up the road to Lyons, CO. Having not visited previously we weren’t sure what to expect, except that there would be a classic pinball arcade and a few mountain trails. What we found was an uncrowded hip artsy town with a friendly feel and a relaxed vibe.

At the turn of the century, Lyons was one of the largest stone producing areas in the country, famed for its unique red sandstone which was in demand worldwide and is still visible in many of the cliffs around town. Today, Lyons draw comes more from its music, arts and outdoor offerings. In the past it has frequently been overlooked as travellers rush through on the way to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, but over the past year, Lyons has really come into its own. With a variety of aesthetic improvements, including new sidewalks and a number of businesses changing hands, the town of about 2,000 seems to be headed in a new direction, one you will want to stop by and experience.

Lyons is perfectly situated just into the mountains, at the confluence of the North and South St. Vrain Rivers and within an hour’s drive of the major northern front range metropolitan areas, Fort Collins, Denver, Boulder. You’ll find several blocks of art galleries, antique shops, restaurants, clothing, souvenirs, as well as some specialties like handmade bamboo fly rods from Michael at South Creek Ltd who has been hand building custom fly rods for over 30 years.

On the west end of town, the St. Vrain Market has been under renovation since last August by its new owners Neil & Connie who we met just outside the store. They invited us in to peruse their rows of basic grocery staples mixed with a generous selection of local, organic and natural choices, including a meat counter, fresh-baked breads and abundant fresh fruits. This is the place to pick up some provisions for a picnic.

Also on the west end of town sits Cilantro Mary, a restaurant with a fun bright Central American color scheme and bright fresh flavor to match. Located in the Historic 1881 McCallister Saloon building this establishment is also under new ownership. Since taking over in April, owners Wayne & Debbie Anderson, have developed a relatively small, but tasty menu, that stresses organic, local ingredients and farm fresh eggs. We visited for brunch and along with a few cups of steaming coffee tried the lemon sour cream griddle cakes served with locally produces agave syrup and the homemade blueberry cream cheese scones with passion fruit curd.

Both were really wonderful. I’ll be honest I was a little unsure what to expect from passion fruit curd, but it turned out to be the perfect moist and tangy complement to the best crusty, fruity scones I’ve ever had. (We didn’t have time to come back in the afternoon, but I couldn’t help but noticing the fresh squeezed juice and agave nectar house margarita on the menu.)

Down the street we passed an option for a lighter breakfast at the bustling Barking Dog Café, a coffee shop serving a full coffee menu as well as bagel sandwiches, deli-style lunch sandwiches and homemade baked goods from the Buttercream Bakery just next door.

After brunch, we headed 3 miles west of town on Hwy 36 to the Ciatano Winery which turned out to be not just a chance to taste some locally produced wine, but to stroll the grounds and relax with a glass of wine in hand. The winery is actually part of the rustic Rock n’ River Resort, which includes the La Bellezza Spa and several lodging options including a romantic private cabin. You are even invited to grab a picnic basket & blanket, purchase a bottle of wine and some food from the deli case and head out for a picnic. The grounds include several small trout fishing ponds, wooden bridges, a small water wheel and several resident geese. If you prefer to sit and sip wine overlooking the ponds, there are also a deck and patios and for cool evenings a large fire pit.

We headed back to town and just a mile to the south found the Heil Valley Ranch TH, with access to 14 miles of rolling packed dirt trails perfect for hiking, mountain biking or trail running. Even on Memorial Day weekend, we found the trails peaceful and uncrowded. Two miles in from the trailhead we ran across a large shaded stone picnic table with a view of the valley – we highly recommend a picnic hike to this spot. Most of the trail is not shaded and could be hot in the summer. If you prefer to mountain bike and didn’t pack your own bikes, several cycling stores in town would be happy to rent you a bike. (Dogs are not allowed.)

Back in town after our hike, we went to check out a unique attraction, Lyons Classic Pinball, a building with several small rooms, all filled wall-to-wall with over 40 pinball machines, classic through modern. (Open Thur thru Sun)

Having worked up an appetite hiking and playing pinball, we moved next door to Oskar Blues Grill & Bar (Lyon’s oldest brewery) where we tasted all of their brews and grabbed a burger. (We recommend the BB King Burger, a burger with bacon, BBQ sauce and cheese.) Besides some pretty decent beer and burgers, Oskar Blues is also home to a video arcade with over 20 classic arcade games from the 1980’s, including Dig Dug, Qbert, Frogger and Tron complete with black lighting and fluorescent paint. The games are even retro-priced and a turn still costs just a quarter. We spent a few dollars and called it a day.

As we headed the car east, we were reminded that even an 8 hour getaway can be refreshing. It’s not about the distance, but the state of mind and Lyons was a town where we picked up a vacation vibe despite the proximity.

This year the race was held on March 3rd and 4th so we packed up the car and headed to Leadville on the night of the 3rd in order to experience our first dogsled race. I was also looking forward to seeing the town of Leadville in the winter.

We were able to find lodging for the weekend via CouchSurfing.org which helped both with the budget and with the location. On the morning of the 3rd we headed out to the Mt Massive Golf Course where the Mount Massive Mush was taking place. We arrived just in time to see some of the 6 dog teams starting their race.

And it was just as exciting to see the teams cross the finish line.

Before I went to the Mt Massive Mush I just thought of dogsled racing as the event with a large team of dogs pulling a musher on a sled. But there are many different types of teams as well as different types of dogs. Some teams are purebred and some are mixed. You can see the break down of the event and the race results here. (PDF)

And there is also ski joring which is when a racer is on skis and not a sled and pulled by a dog or dogs. (Or a horse but that is a different event and a different post.)

All in all it was a great event and well worth the trip to Leadville. The local Lions Club served food and beverages all through out the day in the golf course’s pro shop which also served as a warming shelter though it was pretty warm that weekend.

I took hundreds of photos and shot some video and I am working on getting them uploaded to the web. If you are a racer that was at the event and you’d like some photos please do get in touch.

Empire Colorado

After dropping our bags at the historic Peck House we walked down through town in search of dinner. We first stopped by Jenny’s Restaurant but there was no menu posted so we kept walking. Next stop was the Hard Rock Cafe (Which we suspect was called that before the other well known chain.) but again no menu posted so we kept walking.

At the end of town we found Tavern 1860 and decided to roll the dice there. Inside was your standard mountain town watering hole with locals seated at the bar watching the Bronco’s game. We decided to join them.

I had a sirloin steak with fries and Joyce had a BLT. Both could be labeled standard bar food, not bad but not anything you’ll write home about. But I will add they were a great value with both of us having a meal and a beer for less than $20.

On the walk back to our room the sidewalks were in the process of being rolled up and it was just around 8 o’clock. Hopefully some of the shops will be open in the morning to help us know a bit more about what Empire has to offer. We’ll be sure to let you know if we find any hidden gems.

I believe that breakfast is a critical component to your day and its important to start off on the right foot. In Estes Park there are a couple ways to go. If you are looking to start slowly sipping a latte by the river, Kind Coffee on the eastern end of town is your place Their coffee is fair-trade, shade-grown and is roasted just up the street. With a location on the eastern end of the Riverwalk, you can meander along the river or past the shops while you savor your wake up drink.

If you are ready for some real food, two places that are popular with locals and visitors alike are Molly B’s at 200 Moraine Ave and Big Horn at 401 W Elkhorn Ave. On our first morning in Estes, we visited Molly B’s and it quickly became a hands-down favorite. This super-friendly breakfast spot offers a creative breakfast and lunch menu, including burritos, omelets, huevos rancheros, and several benedict and croissants dishes, as well as waffles.  On our visit, I chose the one of the house specialties, Crepes Benedict and Daryle had the strawberry waffles. The crepes and waffles are made daily in house and the morning we visited both pumpkin granola and fresh strawberry waffles were on the menu. These were some of the fluffiest and tastiest waffles we’ve ever eaten. In addition to great food, the atmosphere was small-town friendly and comfortable.

Another spot that came highly recommended and our choice on our second morning in town was the Big Horn where we found one of the biggest selling points was that you can enjoy breakfast while they pack you a lunch from their deli. A perfect choice if you are planning to head out hiking, snowshoing or just driving. The menu here was less creative and more straight-forward traditional, eggs, bacon, pancakes, hashbrowns and waffles. The service was friendly and the food was good, although not surprisingly, the waffles particularly, paled in comparison to our previous day’s experience.

and award-winning microbrews,

the creators of which just happen to be oh so close to the bike path, making a bike ride and beer tasting a near perfect warm weather date.

If you are lucky enough to live near one of the paths or you enjoy a longer ride, its always nice to bike home on this one. If you are starting farther away and need to park and ride, I suggest Lee Martinez Park on the north end of town as an excellent starting point.

From here you can make the ride portion of this day any length you want. Its only a little over a mile to the brewery block from here and there are also some single track trails along the river that are fun. If you’re looking for some serious exercise you can take a 10 mile (one-way) ride on the Poudre River and Spring Creek Trails to Cottonwood Glen Park. If you are in the mood for a hot weather treat, the trail swings dangerously close to Dairy Queen on the way (just west of the underpass at College Ave).

By now you will have worked up a good thirst and you have a selection of venues to chose from. These days you have four brewery choices – the standards, New Belgium Brewing and Odell Brewing Company, have recently been joined by The Fort Collins Brewery who relocated just up Lincoln Ave and the newly opened Funkwerks who took over Fort Collins Brewery’s recently vacated space farther up Lincoln.

New Belgium is probably the best known outside of Fort Collins and has the fact that tastings are free working in its favor. However, we find that particularly on sunny Saturdays, it is a little crowded. You probably won’t get to sit down and there is no outdoor seating. Our longstanding favorite is Odell’s.

Besides the fact that we just like their beer, (5280 agrees by the way, awarding Odell’s 3 of the 6 spots in their limited edition 5280 Six Pack) Odell’s tends to be a slightly more orderly and relaxing experience. You will pay $4 for your taster tray, but the money goes to good local causes through the Charities of the Month program and you are more likely to have a chance to sit down and relax. If you are lucky you can even score a seat outdoors on their patio.

They have live music on Wednesdays from 4-6  and while you can drink any of their standard brews here, you can also take advantage of the opportunity to order a taster tray of experimental brews from their pilot system, some of which are not available anywhere else.

The pilot menu on our visit