Why I Like Colorado

So this morning, we woke up early for our presentation at the 9th annual Colorado State University Diversity Conference. It was quite early, but no matter. After all, this was the whole reason that Jenée and I flew all the way out to Colorado.

Our session was surprisingly well-attended by a number of VPs from the university, some faculty, and even a few brave students who'd woken up early for our session. Michelle had given about 10 of them special wake up calls this morning.

We were able to finish everything we wanted to cover and had time left over for Q&A. It was highly successful, and in terms of everything we wanted to accomplish on this trip, it was a success in every way. The folks at CSU are so excited to get a Dream Project of their own off the ground, and we're so glad to be working with them.

Michelle and Laura took us out to lunch across from the campus at a nice little restaurant called Rainbow. It was pretty good. I had a nice sandwich and french onion soup. Delicious. Even the squirrels nearby thought so.

After that, we went our separate ways, and Jenée and I met up with Juwon, who had attended our session, and Alfred, a freshman whom Juwon has been working with. It was so great to connect with these guys, and they are definitely doing some big things at CSU.

Jenée and I decided to cap off our Fort Collins experience with a quick visit to the New Belgium Brewery where they brew Fat Tire among other beers. It was fun! Plus you get two free beer samplers.

Andrea met us after that, and then we headed on the hour plus drive towards Denver International Airport. On the way, we stopped at Johnson's Corner, a world famous truck stop known for their cinnamon rolls. We got some for the road.

Right in the parking lot too there was a man selling fresh peaches. Andrea and Jenée both bought some, but I didn't want any. The man seemed shocked that I didn't want any and was so kind as to say, "Here, have one to go. Catch!" That was extremely nice of him. He had some good peaches too; he let us taste some.

The flight went very smoothly. I watched State of Play again and chatted it up with the man sitting next to me. He was a software engineer from Seattle, who had just visited Bismarck, North Dakota, for business (not pleasure, he was adamant about stressing). We had a great conversation about travels. Turns out, he's a one million mile member for United, so he's been all over the world.

Since we were sitting in first class (my dad was so kind as to upgrade us), I had a few glasses of white wine. I'm really liking wine now ever since I returned from Greece. Also, the gentleman next to me recommended getting a brandy and Bailey's mixed on the rocks. It was quite strong, but tasty. He did say to never get more than two as they're quite potent. :P

It's good to be back in town, and I have to say this past week was a great one. I got back from Greece, the Huskies beat USC, I headed off to Colorado, and I finished my Fulbright application. Colorado was a beautiful state. I hadn't seen much outside of Denver until this trip, and I liked what I saw. All in all, very successful and productive.

Time to plan more travels tomorrow. Until then, toodles.

Sam

Visiting Wyoming and a Colorado Rockies Game for the First Time

This morning, Jenée and I woke up fairly early, considering we didn't have to be anywhere. But we woke up and, after breakfast with Andrea, drove north toward Wyoming.

I'd never been before, so this was a fun first trip—the first of several firsts today. The drive from Fort Collins, CO, to Laramie, WY, was pretty scenic. There were plenty of rock formations, sprawling plains, and a bunch of white-bottomed antelope. Plus, very few cars, so plenty of opportunities for photos.

We stopped at Medicine Bow National Park and walked around a short trail. The area where we stopped had some pretty amazing rock mountains! We had no clue how they were formed as they looked like someone had stacked these huge boulders together. Plus they looked really smooth.

Funny sign at the park entrance..."bring an ax or chainsaw..." (second from the bottom).

Jenée trying to crack a rock.

The forest looked pretty awesome. Definitely very beautiful. Lots of America left for me to explore.

After a short stroll, we were hungry, so we headed for the capital of Wyoming, Cheyenne. We stopped in the city, which has a population of a little more than 50,000 people (more than Buford, WY, which we passed...the sign said, "Buford, Population 1"). We asked some random people where a good place to eat was, and they suggested Sanford's Grub & Pub. It was so good!

Check out the Cal football helmet above the tons of beer taps.

I had a Gilligan's burger, while Jenée had one with onion rings and ranch in it. I got Cajun fries with mine...they were deeeelicious! For dessert, even though we were both stuffed, we had fried oreos with ice cream. That was sooo good! Man, good food, but probably not the healthiest.

We had to head back to Fort Collins after that since we had to drive another hour from there to Denver for the Rockies game, so we headed home, worked on our presentation a bit, and then headed out to Denver. The weather on our way back from Wyoming didn't look all that promising.

But once we got closer to Denver, the weather seemed to clear up. It was still brisk and chilly, but at least it wasn't raining. We parked and headed to Coors Field for the Rockies game against the San Diego Padres. I'd never been to a Major League Baseball game outside of the dozen or so Mariners games I've attended at Safeco Field, so I was really excited to go.

I took a ton of pictures once we got inside. Coors Field is very similar to Safeco Field. Apparently, Safeco was modeled somewhat after Coors. I think they ought to copy the fountains in center field and replicate that at Safeco. That was awesome!

Fountains! They're shooting high because the Rockies just got introduced.

Back to normal.

Right next to the bullpen too.

Nice view of downtown Denver.

The view from our seats. We were only a few rows below the row of purple seats around the stadium designating the one mile above sea level mark.

We stayed in our seats in the upper level along the third base line for the first five innings, and then since it was getting pretty dang cold, we decided to head down, grab another beer (yes, we had one already), and just stand behind home plate. That was pretty awesome. We saw the Padres load and then unload the bases, when one of their players, who had already hit a home run in the game, hit a bases-clearing double to right center field. Pretty nice piece of hitting.

The bases are loaded...and then cleared on the next pitch. Woo! Or boo if you're a Rockies fan...

After finishing that beer (much worse than the first one, which actually tasted good), we decided to hit up a pizza place three blocks from the stadium with some of Jenée's friends/family. That was fun. We watched the rest of the game on the big screen TV there. The Rockies were losing 6-2 when we left, and they ended up losing 6-3 so we didn't miss all that much. We had our tickets and hands stamped for re-entry anyway in case anything exciting happened, so we could run back into the stadium. :P

Dinner was nice, and it was fun meeting Steve and Laurel. We left the pizza place pretty full and actually right as the game ended, so the timing was perfect. We headed back to Fort Collins after that, and an hour later, made it home. Tiring day...I bet Jenée was more tired since she drove the whole time. At least, I napped a bit.

Tomorrow morning, we have our Dream Project presentation and then have the whole afternoon before flying back to Seattle in the evening. We may visit a local brewery. Colorado sure has some good local beers. I've been impressed.

Anyway, it's late, and I have an early morning. Time for bed.

Sam