Vine St Pub

  • October 25, 2008 7:50 am

A former-field cohort of mine was in town this week which created the perfect opportunity to get out and go have a pint somewhere! I was a party a few weekends ago and someone recommended the Vine St Pub which is, coincidentally, on Vine St in downtown Denver. The place is rather small but cozy feeling with lots of table scattered around and exposed ducting on the ceiling artistically painted with green creepers and vines. As promised the micro-brew beer was fantastic and they had a few on ‘nitrogen pour’ which made them nice and creamy like a Guinness mmm. We get some hummus, some burgers and another round of beer while chatting about nothing and getting caught up on life; all in all it was fantastic. Finally we get the bill and toss down a credit card to cover the charge which is ~$50. The waiter comes back, he’s got on a Che hat and trendy hip stripped shirt, he says “sorry man, we don’t take plastic here. We’ll do cash, or cheque or there’s an ATM in the corner.” He gestures over to the corner and then adds “or if you want you can mail us a cheque if you don’t have one here”

I look at my friend, he looks back at me, we look at the waiter who just shrugs and replies “I dunno dude, the place is run hippies” and then he dissapears for a minute and returns with a self-addresed, pre-stamped envelope and tells us to “just stuff the tab in there with your cheque”!

I’ll definitely go back there, any place where they let you mail in a cheque is a great place in my books!

Adventures in Bureaucracy

  • October 19, 2008 7:43 pm

Well it’s official, I have my shiny new Colorado Driver’s license now… oooh … aahhh wow!

Let’s play a quick game where we compare it to my old one

Frankly, neither picture is terribly flattering… and what I lost in jowls I gained in forehead, yikes!

I know that it’s cliche to hate the DMV, it’s just one of those targets we can take pot-shots at and feel good about and let me tell you, I can see why! The process started back in the summer with a trip to the local Driver’s License office, which wasn’t so bad really, except that they closed at 5 and I managed to sneak in at 4:47 and really piss off the guy behind the counter! It was all standard forms and paperwork and showing documents which was followed by the clerk saying “ok, you’re good to go…. to the central office”. Turns out that becuase I am an “alien” I have to go through a Homeland Security check before they can issue me a driver’s license; which wouldn’t bother me so much if I hadn’t already had 2 done previously! Yup, #1 was for my entry visa into the country, #2 was for my Social Security Number and both of those were required to apply for my driver’s license. Ah the glories of government eh? But frankly what else can you expect from an entity that is run by the Department of Revenue!

So off I go to the Central office (open M-F from 9-3:30 but closed 12-1 for lunch) which requires taking the afternoon off in order to meet their crazy hours and after getting stuck in traffic, getting lost on big streets, getting lost on little streets, finding the way and finding the correct door I arrive promptly at 2:51 and am told that they take their last ‘client’ at 2:45. It’s not often I’ve wished for the ability to turn green and smash things, but I definitely did that day! A few weeks went by as I cooled off and fought the urge to smash and I popped back into the same central office, which did I mention is in a really sketchy part of town? No? Well it is…anyway, I proceed to the front desk for direction and am given a slip of paper that reads #722 and I kid you not the counter is at 680! I wait for an hour and read my book and watch as the counter reaches up to 704, at that rate they’ll be on lunch before my number is bloody called! So I decide to get up and leave for another day only to see the counter I need is empty, and strangely doesn’t have any numbers by it. I walk up and ask the lady if I’m intruding and if she could possibly help me out even though my number isn’t for a while, she cocks her head to the side and grins… I don’t need a number to see her, I’ve been waiting in the wrong line for over an hour!! Yeah… so she takes my papers, stamps em, signs em and hands em back; total elapsed time < 45sec. She tells me a letter will arrive in the mail and then, yes, and then I can go back to the original office and get my license. Bloody gov’t. The letter arrives a week later and I go back, pay the man my $23 and voila, nothing to it! (c:

Next challenge: license plates for my vehicles

Difficulty: Emissions tests,  VIN checks, metric to imperial conversion (I think I just died a little inside) and then we’ll see how many gov’t offices I can hit!

On a different note, I had a great weekend. Went out mountain climbing yesterday up Quandry Peak which is one of the easiest 14ers around, it’s a nice hike though and a  great excuse to be outside (c: Then a party at a co-worker’s place with a lot of friendly people and an all-around good time. Today since the sun was out and the sky was blue I went for a motorcycle ride out to Idaho Springs and then up “Oh my God Road” which was fantastic. Some of the ski hills are open already so maybe next weekend I’ll get out to the slopes (c:

2008-10-18 Quandry Peak

  • October 19, 2008 7:01 pm

Quandry is another classic 14er, it’s straightforward and offers great views! I’d definitely recommend it. The weather this weekend was amazing, sunny skies and warm days with only a slightly chilly breeze to keep me cool. One definitely advantage of late-season hiking is the lack of crowds; even with my super late start I only saw maybe 10 people compared to the 10,000 I’d expect to meet in July or August.

First view of Quandry

Final ridges to the summit

Looking down on the Blue Lakes (honest, that’s their name!)

Continental Divide Summits

Me at the top

Cool Clouds!

Looking back at the peak on descent

 

Shoulder Sesaon

  • October 5, 2008 2:27 pm

Shoulder Season: that time of year that isn’t winter and isn’t summer. From the travel industry, this time of year is characterize by low fares, unpredictable weather and mud; there is almost always a lot of mud!

Strangely this weekend I actually didn’t feel like going out hiking, weird I know! I took my temperature and even considered visiting a doctor but in the end I think I got a good solid dose last week down in the Weminuche and I’d had my fill for a while.  The weather for this weekend was forecast to be nice on Saturday and then rainy and cool on Sunday so Saturday I decided to go for a motorbike ride (since I can’t say completely away from the mountains…). With the weather cooling down I figured it might be my last chance for a really good ride this season. I set off around 9am for Steamboat Springs which is a roughly 3hr ride north and west of Denver. Steamboat has an (apparantly) amazing ski hill and some really cool terrain so I wanted to go have a look and see what it was all about. When I left Denver the temperature was showing ~18C on the bike, which is a great riding temperature but as I turned off I-70 onto Hwy 40 it was clear that the rapidly rising elevation was going to change things just a little! By the time I hit Berthoud Pass at just over 11,000′ the temperature reading dropped to 5C and I was cold!

On the other side of the pass is a town called Winter Park with a ski hill and village and a great little cafe where I stopped for some breakfast and a cup of coffee to try and get some of my long-lost warmth back! Just off mainstreet the Mountain Rose is a small place with seating for maybe 20 at the most, they have great coffee and good food and a cozy atmosphere that as far from chain-restaurant as you can get.

After warming up and filling up I hopped back on the bike and aborted the ride, it had only warmed up to 8C and I couldn’t really fathom another 2hrs to Steamboat and another 3 back, it really would have been a miserable ride! Bah, shoulder season!

On the other hand the trees are exceptionally pretty this time of year and they light up the entire landscape. Here are some pictures I took along the road to Guanella Pass which runs past Mt. Bierstadt and the Sawtooth Ridge (of hailstorm infamy)