The morning after the golf tournament, we flew to Denver to spend some time in Colorado with the Cardon's.
Sara had a picnic ready for us, so as soon as Tom had a chance to check out the Cardon's beautiful new home in Parker,
we loaded into the van and drove to Dinosaur Ridge.
We had a picnic right next to the dinosaurs.
Leah thinks she needs to do whatever Lucy does
After checking out the gift shop, we loaded onto the Dinosaur bus to check out the dinosaur fossils.
Colorado was the location of all sorts of prehistoric creatures-- from
dinosaurs like Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and the mighty T-Rex, to saber
toothed tigers and woolly mammoths. The Denver area lies right on a
fault line so it saw TONS of action way back when the earth was formed.
You get to walk right up to the over 300 preserved dinosaur tracks right
in the mountain wall.
It was very interesting learning about all the fossils
and Colorado's geologic history.
Right by Dinosaur Ridge is world famous "Red Rocks" Ampitheater.
All sorts of musical acts aspire to perform at Red Rocks.
We checked out the museum and saw this display on my
favorite teenage musical artist,
John Denver
It's a beautiful setting
Unfortunately, they were setting up for a concert,
so we didn't get to see the stage.
That night we ate dinner at a fantastic hamburger joint
that won " Denver's best burger".
The hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes were all so delicious!
I had "The Popper," which had cream cheese-stuffed jalapeno poppers, chipotle mayo, and avocado with truffle fries.
Tom had a burger with barbecued pulled pork
and we split a peach milkshake.
Oh my, it was yummy!
Leah thought so too!
It was fun going to Sara and Jon's ward on Sunday.
Afterwards, Jon barbecued steak and shrimp on the grill and we enjoyed root beer floats and rhubarb pie fresh from the garden.
Sunday evening, Jon built a campfire, so we told campfire stories, and sang songs and roasted marshmallows.
Grandpa even jumped over the campfire for old times sake.
Monday we shopped at the outlet malls in Castle Rock and had lunch at Manna.
Believe it or not it is a restaurant in the Castle Rock Hospital.
A Hospital?!? It sounds kind of crazy-- but they had great reviews
online and we'd heard they have really good food! Their menu boasts that they
use only organic, fresh, sustainable foods, so we decided to give it a
try. The menu was great-- definitely more fru-fru and foodie than Tom
is used to, but my Sara and I loved it. We both got the bagel sandwich,
which had honey smoked salmon, heirloom tomatoes, avocado cream cheese,
and bacon. YUM!
Monday after school, Sara and Jon went for a night out.
That left Tom and I to hold down the fort.
We ordered pizza for dinner, watched a movie and put the kids to bed.
We got them off to school on Tuesday morning and then took
Leah to Waffle House for breakfast.
Yes, Colorado has Waffle Houses (Tom was so excited!)
Tuesday after Sara and Jon got home, we spent the rest of the day running errands, getting one of the best
pedicures EVER,
taking care of dental work, (Jon filled a cavity and did a crown, it's so nice having a son in law for a dentist)
and making freezer jam with
fresh raspberries. Tom was even able to work in a round of golf. It was a busy day!
Wednesday after getting the kids to school,
we drove into Denver to check out the Molly Brown house.
I've been fascinated by the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" ever since seeing the musical while I was in junior high.
Sara and I loved our hour long tour with a very animated tour guide.
Grandpa took Leah on a walk while we toured the Molly Brown house.
This is the Church of the Immaculate Conception right around the corner that Molly Brown helped fund in 1911.
There was no shortage of Pot shops in downtown Denver.
They were on every corner.
We stopped for some Voodoo donuts.
What a quirky place, but they make yummy donuts!
Sara knew of a foodie hole-in-the-wall place
for lunch called Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs. Their menu boasts
crazy sausages made with duck meat, rattle snake and pheasant, elk,
buffalo, you name it, they have it.
We weren't too adventurous, but the hotdogs and sides were delicious!
Where the Rockies play
Where the Broncos play
After lunch, we dropped Tom off at a golf course in Englewood.
We headed back home to pick the kids up from school and to complete a
few more projects
Wednesday night we flew home to Boise, but before we left we went to Maggianos for Italian food.
The best thing on the menu is this delicious chocolate mousse cake.
Zachy gets pretty excited when he sees that chocolate cake!
We had such a fun visit to Colorado.
We can't wait for our next visit!
5 comments:
I'll keep this short and to the point: COME BAAAAAACK!!!!!
What fun Colorado adventures! I loved reading them and seeing the pictures.
What a great post! I love all your photos, and your header is beautiful! :)
Love your header pic of your cute grandkids! What an action-packed trip you had to Colorado with the Cardons! You did so many things together and it looks like you enjoyed some amazing food - I'll bet your grandkids were so tickled to have you there!
That sounds like such a fun and yummy trip! You did so many fun things and visited some very interesting places. I don't know much about Molly Brown, so visiting her home sounded like it would have been very intriging. A Waffle House in Denver - wow - they have everything! I love all the cute pictures with you and Tom with your cute grandkids!
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