Yea, There Are Sand Dunes In Colorado…Big Ones

So as mentioned in the earlier ‘teaser’ post, we decided to take advantage of my four-day and head out of town for two days/one night. When Mary Jo was here a couple of weeks ago, we though hard about venturing down to the Sand Dunes, but ultimately decided that we didn’t have the time to make the trip happen….it’s a 4.5 – 5 hour drive each way, therefore requiring two days. Well, when Ahna and I started talking about heading out of town, there was already the draw to the Dunes in place.

We booked a bed-and-breakfast sight unseen and departed for the trip yesterday around noon. For some reason or another, Ezra wasn’t taking to sitting in the car very well and the 3 hour drive to Salida quickly (or slowly, depending on perspective) turned into a 5 hour trek. We stopped there for dinner since the town that our bed was in doesn’t have any restaurants and headed out for another hour drive south. If you have never been to that part of the state – you are missing out. It has the highest average elevation of the entire Rocky Mountain chain with something like 15 peaks over 14,000 feet; and they all dramatically drop all of the way down to the valley floor (a 6,000 foot drop) – no foothills.

We had decided on the Sand Dunes for several reasons including the photo opportunities…so finding a place close to the Dunes was essential, especially if I wanted to hit it up either at sunset or sunrise. The problem is that there were no hotel rooms available in either Alamosa or Salida (since it is Labor Day weekend and there are no other towns within hours), so we looked down the B&B path. We ended up settling on a place called Willow Springs Bed and Breakfast located in Moffat. Moffat is a town that is about 30 miles from the Dunes and has a population of just over 100 people according to the last census. No restaurants, no gas stations, no stop lights…but great views of the mountains from the front porch.  It wasn’t the best B&B that we have stayed at and our room was really simple: a full bed and a sink; the bathroom was shared at the end of the hallway. The food was really good in the morning and we met some really nice people during breakfast – including a woman that could talk (and did) nonstop for an hour about her family. We are on the fence as to if we would return to Willow Springs, but the price is certainly attractive: $65 in high season for the room that we had. Ezra did great, spending the night without complaint in his travel bed.

We got down there just in tim to check in, say hello, and head down to the Dunes for sunset shots. The weather included lots of rain that afternoon and lots of clouds still lingering around during sunset, so I was a little disappointed with the lighting. However, there was about 3 minutes where the sun broke through some of the clouds resulting in some pretty cool photos. Also in the morning hours over sunrise at the B&B, the clouds provided some amazing light. There was a common theme between the two photo shoots: mosquitos. I got bit at least five times and killed at least 8 mosquitos on my legs – during the sunrise alone. Argh, I still itch.

We went back to the Dune in the morning and did a little hiking around. It’s really fun to do there since there are basically no rules: hike wherever you want, do whatever you like, and play as long as you wish. People bring kites, snowboards, skis, sleds, and everything in between to have fun in the sand. The downside is that it is really tiring to walk in for any period of time. We did our best for a while, climbing on the lower portions of the dunes and jumping off of the edges. Of course it filled up our shoes with lots and lots of sand. 

After the Dunes we stopped for a short hike at Zapata Falls; but were not able to go all of the way to the falls because you actually need sandals (or an extra pair of shoes) to walk up the creek; so we enjoyed the lower and smaller falls. After that we started the trip home, which was a lot easier than the drive out but still took about 4.5 hours. We arrived home early in the evening and just enjoyed being together at home for the night.

A Quick Hello From The Road

The three of us decided to head out of town – just for one night – and we came down to Moffat, Colorado and the area of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. More on all of this later/tomorrow, but here are two pictures: one from sunset at the sand dunes and the other from sunrise at the bed and breakfast. 

“We Are A Better Country Than This”, “Enough” updated: 11am

Outside of the first line that Obama said (I will accept your nomination to be President of the United States), that was easily my favorite line of the night. I had the unique and special opportunity to spend the day down at Invesco Field at Mile High on the historic day of Obama’s acceptance speech. If you remember from a previous post, I was able to acquire one ticket through my state union’s office.

The day started early with several things going on at home (getting Ahna’s car to and from the shop for belt replacement, finding a place to go tonight, and general things to do around the house). I left to meet up with Adam (he is a good friend from work and our newly elected local President) for lunch at 11am at Govnr’s Park in downtown Denver. We thought that we would try to stuff ourselves with some food and drink before paying stadium prices; as well as attempt to figure out how we were going to get to Invesco. Remember: a sold out stadium was expected – with no use of the stadium parking lots. 

We enjoyed the perfect summer day, some good food, and settled on a plan to leave my car on the street near the restaurant and to take his car to a potential parking spot 3 blocks away from the stadium….it worked. Adam works part time for a private ambulance company that has a ’station’ near Invesco Field, and they allowed us to park there. The short drive and then shorter walk to the stadium allowed us to get there at around 1:45 and head for security. 

Unlike a lot of other stories that you might hear (including one in a second), we had a great experience in security: 3 minutes total…including the line. The secret? There wasn’t one, just get there early – like they suggested. Some friends of ours were not able to get down there as early as we were due to work commitments, and ended up spending almost 3 hours in the security lines (pictures of those lines are somewhere below). 

Once inside we found our seats (section assigned, but seating was first-come first-served within that section) and waited for the opening act….which was surprisingly one of my favorite bands: the Yonder Mountain String Band! They only played four songs, but did an amazing job…they said that in the 10 years together as a band, this was the ‘coolest thing that we have ever done.’ Several more musicians, many more speakers, and lots of walking around later, the heart of the evening began. PS, in the middle of all of that stuff, we were able to meet up with Joel, who was working there in IT support of the press. We hung out for a while and heard stories of his week at the DNC before he had to head back off to do more work. 

The first big speaker of the night was Al Gore, who gave a rousing speech that obviously focused on the need for environmental change from the White House. Not long after that Joe Biden made a surprise appearance, then Dick Durbin did the intro to Obama. There was a really well done video as a brief overview of Obama’s life…then he simply walked out on stage. No intro from the loudspeaker, no spotlight, no screaming intro speech…just walked out. Of course the already amped crowd lit up – they say that more than 84,000 people were there.

He walked out and said that he accepted the nomination of the party, and I got chills and tears thinking about the historical significance of what just happened. It was amazing, and I think that I could have left then. But there was an amazing speech still to be told: my take on it was that it was exactly what needed to be said. Things that people could wrap their arms around, things that countered future McCain questions, things that defined what he was going to try to do and how he was going to do it. 

I challenge anyone that is not an outright Obama supporter (independent, undecided, Republican) to watch the speech and tell me why you won’t vote for him. Here is another take on it.

It was an amazing day/evening/night that nobody will soon forget. I felt honored to be there and disappointed that I couldn’t share it with Ahna and Ezra. It was the kick off to one of the most important elections in our nation’s history, and it was the most historically significant event of our generation. Oh, and it provided lots of photos…

Ed. Note: as I am writing this post, news sources have confirmed that McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. While my initial reaction (and justifiably) was that this means that no matter what happens, history will be made in this election with a woman or minority being placed into the highest office….I think back to a conversation that I had with a Women’s Studies professor at VCU when Elizabeth Dole was rumored to want to run for the Presidency. The gist of the discussion was that even though great progress would be made on many fronts, she would still be the wrong person for the job. Period. Don’t vote for someone just because they are a minority to a female…it does the entire push for diversity injustice. My second reaction to the announcement is: how could they make the case that Obama isn’t qualified, but that Palin is? To quote one of my favorite movies (Tombstone): “apparently his hypocricy knows no bounds.” 

Update, 11am: Two things…the first: I forgot to mention that my car was ticketed for a parking violation near the restaurant – it’s a $25 bummer. The second thing: my latest reaction after watching McCain’s intro speech for Palin, and while holding Ezra during that speech, was one of amazement that Ezra will grow up only knowing that anyone can get elected into the White House. It’s not only a white man’s club anymore.

I guess one more thing: for those who diametrically opposed Hillary (especially for those that lucked out when she wasn’t nominated and therefore didn’t have to admit that you didn’t want a woman in office), how does the nomination of Palin sit with you?  (Ed Note: I’m not in any way suggesting that all/any of you feel this way, but I have heard the conversations and I know that there are people out there who wouldn’t have voted for someone just because they are a female or black or both….and won’t admit it publicly.)

As always, the photos are mixed up (WordPress’ fault, not mine), so bear with them.

You Wanna Get Something Called A Bumbo?

Ahna had seen one of these the other day while at a friends house, and remembered that she had heard about them before…they are seats that allow babies to sit upright on their own, as long as they can have good head control. We swung by the store and grabbed one for Ezra…and he seems to like it – he sits in it great and loves to stare at the world by himself. 

Speaking of staring: within the last week or so, Ezra has found that a world exists below his head…he has been fascinated with everything ‘down,’ especially colorful shirts or patterns. He also is continuing his obsession with stuffing his hands into his mouth and seems to be starting the trend of exploring new objects with his tongue. 

Here’s a couple of pictures of him in his new chair.

Fire Department Photo Dump

I received these pictures yesterday from the department’s photographer – Tim Tonge. They are from a lightning-strike fire two weeks ago, and from mass decontamination training (as with all of the pictures, they are scrambled up).

Tornado In Castle Rock, 5:30pm

It seems as though a tornado sets down in Castle Rock about every four years or so (at least the frequency of the last few have indicated this is a trend). The last time that we saw one here was the day after our wedding – four years ago. Well, time was up today. Ahna and I were watching some TV (with Ezra sleeping in my arms) when my Dad called….”there is a tornado in Castle Rock, just north of you.” What the? Sure enough, we flip channels and see a live feed from a news helicopter, then I ran outside (your supposed to do that during a tornado watch, right?) and saw the huge funnel cloud just about two miles north of us. The touchdown appeared to be just a few hundred yards from the firehouse that I work at, so I am really interested to see what the guys have to say in the morning. About 15 minutes after that tornado dissipated, another on set down just west of us by about a mile. At this time, it appears that there was little damage and no injuries in either tornado. Crazy. 

Here are some pictures (taken in Castle Rock) from the news and from people who sent in photos to the news sites.

Pool Play

We wrapped up a busy day, yesterday, with a nice dinner at my parent’s house with Don and Sonja. The evening was full of stories and fun, as well as a bunch of lightning that at times seemed to be within feet of the house.

Before dinner, we took Ezra to the pool for the first time. The original goal was to go to the indoor pool at the recreation center…but as luck would have it, it was closed for it’s annual maintenance and cleaning. So we headed to an outdoor public neighborhood pool. It served the function of having a temperate wading pool, but the sun made it a little more difficult to handle Ezra (since we were trying the entire time to keep him out of the sun). 

The first time that he got into the pool he was comfortable and did great – for about 45 seconds. Then he started to get a little anxious (not sure if it is from the wet clothes, the sun, the water, the wet diaper, or the water itself) so we took him out and took off his shirt. He continued the discontent through the second attempt, which left us with no other option but to pack it up for the day. By the way, he fell asleep in the car ride home. 

We are already looking forward to another trip to the pool – this time indoors and with a little more planning around his awake time.

What The…? A Second Post Today?! A Trip To The Pepsi Center

Yup. 

We had the opportunity today to visit the Pepsi Center during the Community Open House Event. I happened to be watching the news a few weeks ago when they announced that the first 5,000 people to get tickets for today’s event would be allowed to get a special sneak peak at the transformation that the venue has undergone. Luckily, I got on-line, grabbed the tickets and made it in before they sold out – just hours after becoming available (sold out is a relative term, since the tickets were free). 

Originally I had gotten the three tickets for Ahna, Ezra, and I…but after realizing that Ezra probably didn’t need a ticket, Mary Jo was able to come along. We got down there during our alloted time period and got into the line that had formed outside of the Pepsi Center. I have to hand it to them, the event was very well managed and there was virtually no line of any significance…especially since there were 2,500 people trying to get in at the same time (two time slots available). Once inside, we snaked our way around the concourse level – with a ‘tour guide’ (ie: someone who leads a group of people down a defined walkway, doesn’t say anything at all, then tells us when it is time to go) – and eventually into the arena area. If the pictures don’t suggest it, it was very impressive and really cool to see. 

We decided that we would try to go to some of these type events just to have some involvement and understanding of the convention. Forget for a moment that we are supporting Obama, it’s really exciting to have a history-making event in our town. For that it is important enough to expose ourselves and Ezra to as much as time and money will afford. 

In one of the pictures, you will see the CNN Grill…they rented out a restaurant (Brooklyn’s) for an entire month and renamed it and re-plastered it with their propaganda. Oh, and you’ll notice some of the more reputable news sources on TV today (read: we didn’t waist camera space on Fox News)

Ponce De Leon Would Be Proud

As the ebb and flow of days go, yesterday was the yang to Wednesday’s ying – it was a lot more sublime and relaxed. Mostly. Ezra, Ahna, and I met with Pastor Kevin from our church in the morning to start the conversation with him about raising Ezra in the religious way that we are hoping for. As we expected, he was extremely receptive and very open…even commenting about what a wonderful opportunity this was for the congregation as a whole. Apparently there is another couple that are also members at St. Paul’s that are in a similar direction as us; and we hope to meet up with them sometime in the near future. 

Following the meeting, we took Mary Jo and Ezra to Watercourse Foods for their first meals at the all-vegetarian restaurant. It’s always refreshing to go there and enjoy such a large selection of foods that are friendly to the non-meat eaters – it must be tough to always be limited to a choice of pasta, salad, or garden burgers when going to most eating establishments. 

For the first time in over a decade, the city of Denver has turned back on the fountains in City Park. While we are a little confused as to the message it sends (a lot of water use during a drought, which is why they turned them off in the first place) by a city deciding that the DNC is more important that the water use; we did take the opportunity to drive down there after lunch and snap a few pictures. Unfortunately, the fountain that is in the center of the lake at the park was already having some maintenance done to it, so we only got to see one of the fountains in action. 

On the drive into town, we saw a brilliant new billboard by Denver Water…something they are calling a ‘floating billboard.’ I found a picture on-line to show it to you since we didn’t stop to get a shot of it…but we found it a little duplicitous to be promoting this message on one end of town, and to be wasting water in a fountain on the other end of town. 

Where All The Children Are Above Average

What a crazy cool, long day. We started the events off with a trip up to the mountains. Mary Jo isn’t known in these parts (or any parts really) as the most likely to enjoy a trip on a mountainous road, but she wanted to get up into ‘them there hills’ and do a little fear-facing along the way. We settled on a trip to Breckenridge, which is all interstate and a short trip down a smaller road….but no high mountain passes without guardrails (we’re saving that for next time).

The drive up there was great: no traffic, easy driving, beautiful scenery, and nobody was scared in the car. I think that it went a lot easier than some of us had imagined and we were treated to some snow-capped 14′ers along the way. If you have never spent much time in Colorado, the time when the mountains look their toughest is when they have a little snowfall on the peaks, giving them a Himalayan effect – just like yesterday. When we arrived in Breckenridge, we headed up to the Peak 9 drop off area because Ezra needed to eat and we needed some seclusion to do that. While Ahna and Ezra enjoyed their time together, Mary Jo and I wandered around the ski lifts and the ski run immediately next to them. We talked skiing and lift riding, and did a little wandering around. 

For lunch we went to a local/tourist favorite (it’s a strange place that is a heavy attractant to both of those groups) called Downstairs At Eric’s. Here’s another one of those moments that we never noticed before: it’s called ‘Downstairs’ because it’s in the basement…fair enough…but there isn’t an elevator because it’s old enough…which makes it a little tougher with a kid and stroller. We managed, but it sure would have been nicer. Following lunch we simply wandered the streets and the shops until it was time to pull anchor and head home. 

This is where the story gets frustrating. It’s a singular frustration that consumed 1.5 hours….paving on the east side of the Eisenhower Tunnel…which lead to a back up that took 90 minutes to cover about 5 miles. Normally that would have ended the stress, but we were trying to get home before heading up to a concert at Red Rocks (!) to exchange clothing and grab blankets. The entirety of the time delay resulted in Ahna driving home (and making great time) and us having just about 40 minutes before needing to head out again for the evening. We had hoped to allow Ezra to stretch out a little more, but he was doing okay and we had to get to the show (the tickets where under my name at will call). 

You might be wondering what rockin’, jammin’, dancin’ show we went to…well, it was Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion. It’s a little on the ’subdued’ side of the rock show spectrum, but Ahna and I agreed that it might have been one of the top five shows that we have ever seen. Both of us (and now Ezra) grew up listening to A Prairie Home Companion on the radio and to this day we enjoy finding it on weekend public radio. So when we heard that he was going to be in town at the same time that Mary Jo was here and my folks weren’t traveling, we had to go (it really would have been the cat’s meow if Dave where here….so perhaps we all will have to catch the show in St. Paul sometime). They were on the Rhubarb Tour, which is essentially the show without the live-radio recording – and more than 3 hours long. All of the stories and the songs where there; and I think the highlight was watching the impromptu story telling between Keillor and Fred Newman (the sound effects guy).  

On top of the great show, it was wonderful to introduce my parents, Mary Jo, Don, and Sonja to Red Rocks. We couldn’t have asked for a better evening, and even the moon made a dramatic appearance in the sky line roughly halfway through the show (the moonrise was red). After being to lots of rock shows at Red Rocks, it was a little strange to be there with the crowd last night: there was a great mix of dreadlocks, Grateful Dead t-shirts, 30-something hippies (like us), and older folks. Because of the type of show, the audience was deathly silent – so much so that any peep from Ezra made people from five rows turn around and look. When I went to the restroom, I was the only one in there….a very far cry from the lines and crowds that the others shows have had. It was weird but really neat. The show was close to being sold out, but there was enough room for us to spread out a little and lay Ezra down for a quick nap. He really enjoyed all of the sights and sounds of his first Red Rocks experience.

We opted not to bring in the camera with us since we had a handful of other stuff, so these images from the camera-phone will have to suffice (if you look really closely at the night shot, you can see the red moon rising on the horizon). There are also three pictures from Breck that are mixed in.