I spent the beginning of July in Colorado, visiting Casey's family and seeing what all the fuss was about. Now I'm spreading the fuss. Colorado is beautiful and I'm glad we were there to experience the warm and the rain.
We got in on the 29th and spent the day with a driving tour of downtown Denver and indulging in some good Thai and Indian food. The following day, we drove out to visit Casey's grandparents and continued on to Morrison, where the Red Rocks live.
Gigantic red rocks sporadically jut out of the ground. A famous music venue, appropriately named Red Rocks, was built in a natural amphitheater made by these giants. We toured the area before walking around for a closer look.
The following day, Casey and I drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park to go camping and to see the Rockies. We camped out for a night, taking a few day hikes and toughing out thunderstorms.
The first hike we took followed a fast flowing river for the majority of the trail. Playing with my new camera, I took advantage of leaving the shutter open a bit.
Unfortunately, I failed at the "face detect" self timer. The function is supposed to recognize when a new person enters the scene and looks up. I guess the camera was more interested in the beautiful scenery.
On our second day, we hiked to a few lakes. This one was earlier in the morning and we got some really good light. The things we saw were so spectacular and breathtaking. It really is the best way to see Colorado.
Another lake, this time with a guy fishing. I think Bob Ross would be proud of this scene. The camping trip was awesome. We made a fire with only six matches. It still counts, even though the thunderstorm put it out half an hour later. We saw nature's best and enjoyed being free of buildings and cars.
Speaking of which, Denver is a really cool city. The architecture is a cool mix of close-to-hyper-modern and, what I think is, late 19th century detail. I enjoyed walking around and seeing the old and the new, well integrated.
For some reason, this alleyway/breezeway really caught my attention. It looks better in real life. If you ever see this, you just near the corner where The Tattered Cover is, a cool, independent bookstore and local favorite.
Another iconic spot in Denver is this guy. I think its pretty cool and would like nothing more than to never see this actually happen with live animals.
After exploring the city, we met up with the family for an awesome baseball game - my first professional game (at least that I can remember). SF Giants vs The Rockies. I subtly cheered for the Giants, not being much of a baseball fan, where as Casey's sister and her boyfriend boastfully relished in the Giants win, 11-8.
We saw a double rainbow too. Something I'm somewhat familiar with and didn't expect to see in Colorado. It was an amazing sight.
After the game, being the day before the 4th of July, there was an awesome fireworks show. It really was an experience to see fireworks in a stadium, almost 50,000 full, celebrating independence day.
Luckily my camera also has a fireworks setting. I got some good ones.
Thanks for the game Brad and Carol!
The fourth was somewhat mellow. The kids got food together for a family get-together to celebrate Casey's parents anniversary and so the family could all see each other. All night time activities got thunder stormed out. But the following day was nice and sunny, perfect for an outdoor family lunch.
We spent our last day checking out some last sights and having a picnic in the park.
One of those sights was the old rubber factory. It is such a cool, industrial sight and I needed to get some pictures of it before I left. After that we went to Washington park and ate some sandwiches, followed by a walk around the lake.
And in it.
Ironically, we saw more wildlife here than we did in the Rockies. That's not saying that there wasn't as much in the Rockies, they just probably weren't as willing to show themselves.
Squirrels! Such weird creatures.
Just as a closing, if you ever visit Denver, there is an awesome ice cream show on the corner of Ohio and University called Bonnie Brea. Needless to say, we had more than a couple visits.
It is 24 x 24 in., just like the last one.
Gigantic red rocks sporadically jut out of the ground. A famous music venue, appropriately named Red Rocks, was built in a natural amphitheater made by these giants. We toured the area before walking around for a closer look.
The first hike we took followed a fast flowing river for the majority of the trail. Playing with my new camera, I took advantage of leaving the shutter open a bit.
Unfortunately, I failed at the "face detect" self timer. The function is supposed to recognize when a new person enters the scene and looks up. I guess the camera was more interested in the beautiful scenery.
On our second day, we hiked to a few lakes. This one was earlier in the morning and we got some really good light. The things we saw were so spectacular and breathtaking. It really is the best way to see Colorado.
Another lake, this time with a guy fishing. I think Bob Ross would be proud of this scene. The camping trip was awesome. We made a fire with only six matches. It still counts, even though the thunderstorm put it out half an hour later. We saw nature's best and enjoyed being free of buildings and cars.
Speaking of which, Denver is a really cool city. The architecture is a cool mix of close-to-hyper-modern and, what I think is, late 19th century detail. I enjoyed walking around and seeing the old and the new, well integrated.
For some reason, this alleyway/breezeway really caught my attention. It looks better in real life. If you ever see this, you just near the corner where The Tattered Cover is, a cool, independent bookstore and local favorite.
Another iconic spot in Denver is this guy. I think its pretty cool and would like nothing more than to never see this actually happen with live animals.
We saw a double rainbow too. Something I'm somewhat familiar with and didn't expect to see in Colorado. It was an amazing sight.
Luckily my camera also has a fireworks setting. I got some good ones.
Thanks for the game Brad and Carol!
The fourth was somewhat mellow. The kids got food together for a family get-together to celebrate Casey's parents anniversary and so the family could all see each other. All night time activities got thunder stormed out. But the following day was nice and sunny, perfect for an outdoor family lunch.
One of those sights was the old rubber factory. It is such a cool, industrial sight and I needed to get some pictures of it before I left. After that we went to Washington park and ate some sandwiches, followed by a walk around the lake.
And in it.
Ironically, we saw more wildlife here than we did in the Rockies. That's not saying that there wasn't as much in the Rockies, they just probably weren't as willing to show themselves.
Squirrels! Such weird creatures.
