Colorado

Mile High Fun

by Ingrid

What’s not to love about this time of year?  The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and the wildlife babies are just too darn cute not to photograph.Canadian GeesewildflowersWith Breckenridge and the Continental Divide in the rear view mirror, we pulled into Chatfield State Park (southwest of Denver) for our two-week stay.

The lower elevation met us with warmer temperatures…. aaahhh!  That didn’t mean I was ready to replace those flannels sheets with the cool cotton sheets on the bed just yet, considering the temperatures and rains were still on the fickle side.  The inclement weather even caused some flooding at the state park.

Our first week in the Denver area whizzed by with the aid of friends and family.

Red Rocks
MonaLiza and Steve on the left – Al and me on the right

First up was reconnecting with RV buddies, Mona Liza and Steve from the blog Lowe’s RV Adventures.  Enjoying pizza and beer at Woody’s Pizza in Golden was the perfect place to catch up.  The next day we managed to work off some of those calories with a little hiking and stair climbing at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater.

Red Rocks
Me gazing out over the Red Rocks Amphitheater.
wildflowers
Mona Liza and I stop to admire the wildflowers

It was a quick visit with ML and Steve since they were ready to embark on their summer tour of the Great Plains States.  They are on a quest to visit all 50 states and after 3 years of full-time travel, they are getting close to completing that quest.

country western concert
Ashton and me at Mile High Stadium for the Luke Bryan Concert.

Country western concertAnd then there’s the real reason behind us spending June and July in the Denver area; our daughter.

Between our travels and her crazy work schedule, it’s been nine months since we last saw her.  I do believe that’s the longest we’ve ever gone and she’s been sorely missed.

As a belated Mother’s Day gift, she surprised me with a girl’s outing that included a Luke Bryan concert.  I’m not much of a concert goer, but I’m up for anything that includes spending time with my daughter.  We had a great time along with 50,000 of our closest friends.  The line up of entertainers for the Kick Up the Dust Tour included; Dustin Lynch, Thomas Rhett, Randy Houser, Florida Georgia Line, and Luke Bryan.

Concert at home of the Broncos – Sports Authority Mile High Stadium
Concert at Sports Authority Mile High Stadium – home of the Broncos
Luke Bryan Concert
getting rained on at the concert
Luke Bryan
concert goer enjoying a Beer

 

Between you and me, I don’t feel a need to attend another concert anytime soon, much preferring time hiking in nature with a lot fewer people.  I did notice I was in the audience minority – less than 10 percent of the concert goers that evening were in the 55+ age group.  Perhaps those of my tender years were attending the U2 concert, who were also playing in town that night or better yet…. in bed in their comfy cocoon by 11:00 p.m. instead of still out on the town partying past one in the morning 😉

I hate to admit it, but this gal is no longer in shape to keep up the pace of a 25 year old.  But I did give it the ole college try.  That said, the past week has had me lying low fighting a cold, recovering from my Mile High fun, and getting caught up on my blog reading.  Oh, and inhaling lots and lots of chicken soup!Canadian Geese

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime: Comfort Classics, Freezer Food, 16-Minute Meals, and Other Delicious Ways to Solve Supper!

63 thoughts on “Mile High Fun”

    1. Thanks for stopping by. Yep, the air is running and reminds me of Phoenix. I’ve never seen Chatfield Res so full and closed on the west side…. yikes. Water is running fast this year. My son graduated from CU so I spent many a weekend visiting Boulder 🙂

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  2. I got such a kick out of reading your description of your evening at the concert. Although I would love to hear the music, I can’t imagine dealing with the crowds and late hour at this point in my life. Getting old(er) is really no fun! I’m just glad it was worth it to spend time with your daughter. I hope you are finally starting to feel better.

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    1. It was a fun night but boy am I out of shape for late night shenanigans. I think I find watching entertainers on TV more enjoyable. The surroundings are a lot more comfortable lol. I think I’m finally winning on the health front – thank you 🙂

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  3. Okay I read this earlier and as I was commenting poof… Wifi went away! So if I commented already… Well it’s not because I am losing it!
    Denver Fun=Daughter Fun! Woo Hoo!

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  4. The baby ducks have grown up, they look almost like adults now.

    I quite liked going to concerts when I was younger, but now… being with that amount of people around stress me out 🙂 There is a time for everything. But I’m glad you had fun, even if it’s not your cup of tea 🙂

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    1. These days, I think it’s more about the people I share an experience with than the actual event. So it was a wonderful day even though I’m not fond of those crowds.
      Aren’t those baby geese adorable?

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  5. Hope you have kicked that flu into touch, Ingrid.
    Those Canada geese (if that’s what they are) are the cutest!
    Now I do love a good live concert, but I’ve never done a mile high Denver one 🙂

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    1. Yes, those are Canadian Geese. Aren’t they the cutest? The concert was an event and I love spending time with my daughter, but I don’t feel a need to attend another concert anytime soon 🙂

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  6. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been sick with a lingering cold :/ and RV bound by the rain. We have had way too much rain here in Michigan also with more rain predicted for every day this week! Ugh!! Makes it very hard to enjoy the great outdoors, and when it does stop raining I have to go out and weed, weed, weed the flower beds. LOL I hope things start to improve and you can get in lots more hiking and time with your daughter! It’s fun to have a mini-me, isn’t it?? Whenever my daughter and I go out together, we get told we look so much alike, also. 🙂 Although my daughter is way prettier than I am.

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    1. Summer colds seem to linger putting a real damper on having fun and yes I love having a mini-me and like you, I think my daughter is way prettier than me. We sure have fun together.
      I’m hoping that MI weather improves by the time we visit the UP in late August and the mosquitos will have hopefully moved on as well. I bet that garden/yard of yours is looking mighty fine 🙂

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  7. Will be on the Eastern Shore for 4 weeks but heading out to Colorado when time is up. The weather sounds interesting; I guess I need to be prepared for all of it, right? And thanks for the campground referral! I made note of them. Glad you enjoyed your visit. 🙂

    Nanny

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    1. Yep, it’s all about elevation and dressing in layers in Colorado. It could be 80 degrees in Denver and an hour away in the mountains be 60 degrees with snow still found in spots. Talk about diversity 🙂

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    1. I’ve learned that it takes a LOT of shutter snapping to hopefully get a couple of nice shots when it comes to bird photography. I’m always thrilled when I capture a good one. Enjoying our visit with daughter very much. The end of July will be here before we know it and the trek to IL will start 🙂

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  9. How nice that you got to meet up with Steve and MonaLiza for a pizza catch up and a little hike. Sorry we were down the road and couldn’t make it in time. I am sure is was wonderful to back with Ashton again after such a long time. It has been six months since we’ve seen Jessica, which is our longest time apart, so we were very excited to have her finally arrive the other night. I know how important our daughter time is:) Yes, sitting outside in the damp and later hour probably didn’t do much for your cold but I understand how special the time was:) Hope you are on the mend with rest and soup. Please do take care of yourself:)

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    1. This cold is lingering and kicking my b*tt. That’ll teach me to go out half the night with someone thirty years my junior LOL. I know it’s tough not seeing our daughters for such an extended time. So I love whatever time I can grab with Ashton. Enjoy your visit with Jessica 🙂

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  11. Great post and great photos once again! Red Rocks was on our agenda to see last year right after our flight landed in Denver, but spending two hours at the stupid rental car desk on Saturday morning when they ran of our cars pretty much cancelled that plan. Sure hope to make it there soon, and I would *love* to attend a concert there. Glad you are back in the area to spend some quality time with your girl!

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    1. Tim McGraw will be playing at Red Rocks in September and we were contemplating getting tickets but I don’t think it’ll fit our schedule. We also enjoy hiking the Trading Post Trail at Red Rocks and would highly recommend that trail even to flatlanders. Something to keep in mind for a future visit 🙂

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    1. Lately it sure feels like it could be England or the Pacific NW. I can’t believe how much it’s rained in Colorado the past 6 weeks. It’s kept us RV bound 😦

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  13. Hah. Your idea of how to spend time and what time to go to bed sounds suspiciously like my idea of how to spend time and what time to go to bed. I would not have lasted till 1.00a….they would’ve been carrying me home while I slept! Am glad you had a good time and hope you are on the mend now….

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    1. Had a great time, but by the end of the night I was dragging and half a sleep. Thank goodness I wasn’t driving and we took the light rail. I won’t be doing that again anytime soon 🙂

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  14. The last concert Den and I attended was John Mellencamp and it was just great! I do love country music though and time spent with a daughter is always a plus! Not sure if you like theater, but my 3 YaYas and I saw Menopause, The Musical in Aurora and it was just fabulous..Only a few brave men in the audience, it’s best to go with girlfriends..

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    1. I’m not sure why, but I’ve never been into concerts or live theater with the exception of seeing Second City. I remember seeing some now heavy hitter comedians just starting out at Chicago’s Second City. But hey, I’ll take any time with the daughter that I can 🙂

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  15. We are not much of concert goers anymore either. How wonderful of your daughter to surprise you with tickets. Hope you are now feeling much better.

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  17. Steve said Im such a poser 🙂 My response was, are you kidding?, those concert goer pretty ladies and the landing geese took the thunder away from me!
    I hope you feel better now and the weather there also improves.

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    1. This cough is still lingering 😦 And we could never take your thunder away LOL. Ashton was disappointed she didn’t get to visit with you. So next time 🙂

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    1. Yeah, I was pretty thrilled with that last shot. I now keep my shutter priority set to a high speed so I can quickly snap those moving birds 🙂

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  19. Beautiful pictures! I had no idea Denver is such a wonderful place. Thanks for the virtual tour! Have a great weekend 🙂

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    1. Denver is a great city surrounded by exceptional scenery. We spent a lot of time exploring the city last summer and enjoyed ourselves very much 🙂

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    1. Well, we have a great reason to visit; daughter. It is a fun city with a lot to offer and stunning mountain scenery nearby 🙂

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  22. Great shot of the landing geese. We stayed at Chatfield last year and thought it was great – will do the same this time. Thanks for you help offer for our trip and I would appreciate your suggestions for things non-hikers might do around Grand Junction – up to a couple of hours away. We like scenic drives, unique towns, unique shopping (the girls), historical sites and good local restaurants.

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      1. The Russian Princess does Orange Therapy several times a week, but it’s always in studio. I wasn’t aware they did an outdoor version. Awesome!

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        1. It’s up to a trainer. There’s one trainer at her studio that likes to do Red Rocks once a month and it’s a freebie session. Thus, Ashton always takes advantage of it.

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  24. Really lovely photos, Ingrid. I espec. like the landing Canadian Geese in the last image — I love that moment when they come in to land, and you captured it perfectly. Also, you and your daughter look so alike — it’s great! 🙂

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    1. Thank you Jet. Folks seem to do a double take when Ashton and I go places together. We’re never sure what to make of the looks. I was thrilled with that last shot – I managed to get both geese in focus which has always been a challenge for me 🙂

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  25. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard were playing three nights at the Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels while we were staying at Crane’s Mill on Canyon Lake. We decided we didn’t want to be the only ones over 60 in the crowd and we didn’t want to drive back on those curvy roads after dark! Sitting around the lake was much better! But I’m glad you got to go and have a fun time with your daughter.

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    1. I’m with you and would’ve been equally happy to sit around a campfire visiting. But a 25 year old is still looking for a level of excitement and that’s ok. We really enjoyed our time at Canyon Lake even with the unpleasant weather we experienced.

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  26. Wonderful pictures. Thanks for taking me there. Denver and its surroundings are a place to go. I know since a cousin of my sister’s lives there.
    Have a great day,
    Pit

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    1. We spent most of last summer in Denver as well and discovered a lot of fun things to do. It’s a lovely city. This summer we’ll focus on things in the foothills to the west of the city 🙂

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