Day One Hundred and Forty Four 5/24/11

Darts

This picture was taken late night/early morning/last call in Greenfields at the end of the birthday night celebration. It is always nice to end a night of fun with a Guinness and a game of darts.

I played this song on the jukebox.. i don't know why.  

Song of the Day:

Europe - The Final Countdown

http://youtu.be/9jK-NcRmVcw

Day One Hundred and Forty Three 5/23/11

Sushi

We finally hit Wasabi for some sushi in Belmar for Jeff's birthday, which is Lakewoods 'downtown,' and on Mondays it is happy hour all day, so we did it up for next to nothing. It's also nice cause you can take one short bus ride up there and then drink it up all night. We also hit Baker Street Pub and then back down to Greenfield's.  Remember this song?

Song of the Day:

Jesus Jones - Right Here Right Now

http://youtu.be/7z6dxQVhE8o

Day One Hundred and Forty Two 5/22/11

Clear Creek

So a friend from High School was in town and we met in Golden and it was the first time I ever went downtown Golden and it was so cool. There are foothills on either side so it's in its own little world. We went and had lunch at The Blue Canyon Bar and Grill and it had great food. It was a nice day so it turned out to be more of a biker bar town since it's a town on the way out west to stop and have a beer at. 

Haven't been to the Coors Brewery yet... we will see about that one. Maybe if my dad ever makes it out here I will take him. Apparently people tube with beer down this river often,  not that is something I will do.

Song of the Day:

Dave Matthews Band - Smooth Rider

http://youtu.be/PLihu5CJvzU

Day One Hundred and Forty One 5/21/11

Rapture

Something crazy is suppose to happen today, religious beliefs. Anyway, it is warm and windy in Lakewood and if for some reason, something does happen, I have lived a good life and seen a lot in 35 years. If nothing happens, have a nice day and remember to live the life that you love and be a good person, cause you never know what can happen.
And Happy Birthday to my brother Ross!

Song of the Day:

Pearl Jam - Oceans

http://youtu.be/4WOk7UNAvOw

Day One Hundred and Forty 5/20/11

Pho

mmmm... Pho, one of my favorite things to eat. It is amazing and there are plenty of places around Denver to get amazing Pho. 

Pho is a Vietnamese soup that is a staple of Vietnamese cuisine and culture. The word pho sounds close to the sound "phuh" to English speakers and the "ph" is said as the /f/ sound. Of course, in Vietnamese, the proper pronunciation must be said with the accurate fluctuation of high and low tones of voice. Many Vietnamese people eat pho for breakfast rather than as an evening meal. Pho can be made in more than 20 variations, but always has either a flavorful beef broth or a chicken broth base.

Pho is thought to have been first created in northern Vietnam in the early 1950s. The Vietnamese Communist government actively closed pho restaurants in favor of restaurants they could own. The quality of the government-run pho establishments was considered poor and Saigon, in South Vietnam, became a popular area for pho restaurants.

Song of the Day:

My Morning Jacket - Into The Woods

http://youtu.be/FzFCyhRcQ1Q

Day One Hundred and Thirty Nine 5/19/11

Yugla at the OBX

Last year at the OBX we met some nice fella's and one guy Matt ( http://matthewbrush.com/ ) is a photographer and had my brother Ross as his subject that day. He sent me these photos that he took. I think they are great. I know it is odd that my brother has that tattoo on his chest, but it is just Ross, and i don't love him any less for it. He is a great brother and would give you his shirt off his back if you asked him.

Song of the Day:

Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows

http://youtu.be/yG5e1oaen-M

Day One Hundred and Thirty Eight 5/18/11

OBX 2007

It has been raining here for a week, so the blog pics are not being taken because I don't want to have a picture of the rain, everyone knows what that looks like. So Here is a picture of Dakota and the Sunset at the bay on the Outer Banks, NC in 2007. 

Song of the Day:

Alice In Chains - I Stay Away

http://youtu.be/NvCmwNdfTWg

Day One Hundred and Thirty Seven 5/17/11

Double Rainbow

What does it mean? It is hard to see, but it was there. It was raining and storming on the west side of my building and shooting rainbows on the other side. It's kinda funny cause I actually said today to someone 'it's not all rainbows and unicorns ya know' and then look what happens. I have heard of these common rainbows but this is the first I have seen. Rainbows are pretty cool, and maybe one say I will find then pot of gold, but for know, I will live my life the way I know best, no gold, but a smile on my face.

Song of the Day:

Double Rainbow - Auto Tune Remix

(I could not resist)

http://youtu.be/6g0yZDMBXiE

Day One Hundred and Thirty Six 5/16/11

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

This amazing place is located 16 miles northwest of Golden, Co and has a wide range of scenic hikes on more than 12,000 acres. You can ride your bike, ride your horse and camp in the park.The trails run from moderate to most difficult. We took a trail, Horseshoe/Moderate, up and then Black Bear/most difficult back down. It was a 5 mile hike all together and it was all in the deep woods and reminded me of PA foliage. 

Song of the Day:

The Smiths - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want

http://youtu.be/DMQbzLrvwlE

Day One Hundred and Thirty Five 5/15/11

Greenfields

Greenfields is the local watering hole where you can play free pool on certain nights and catch some pretty diverse bands. This High Energy Rock N Roll cover band, AKA, was different to say the least. It was one of those bands that was like a train wreck, you didn't want to look or listen, but at the same time you could not keep your eyes off of them.

Song of the Day:

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Tuesday's Gone

http://youtu.be/ysP_X_CmE_s

Day One Hundred And Thirty Four 5/14/11

Santa Cruz, CA

Since it has been Rainy McGee in Lakewood, Co I will have to post some more of my fav pics from my past. This picture was taken after KP and I drove from Portland, Oregon to Santa Cruz, CA and had an amazing bonfire on the beach while the sunset. yes, a sunset. I love them and I would have it the pic of the day everyday if I could. KP and I ended up driving up to San Fran and then all the way up the CA and OR coast that week. It was something I have wanted to do for along time and I did it last summer. 

Song of the Day:

Kings of Leon - The End

http://youtu.be/Gqtif_AFBvc

Day One Hundred and Thirty Three 5/13/11

Friday The 13th Sunset

It's always a given that a CO friend will send me a picture of a sunset, sunrise or some crazy clouds. This sunset is from Aurora, a town east of Denver that has a nice view of the sunset behind a lake. 

Song of the Day:

Dave Matthews Band - Funny The Way It Is

http://youtu.be/Gwi4KpI_MgE

Day One Hundred and Thirty Two 4/12/11

Green Charlie

Remember this tree? It was completely bare last time I saw it, but all the rain we are getting is finally letting the parks get green and it is really pretty. I am kinda bias growing up in PA, so I know what spring colors are like, but they do call it Colorful Colorado here for a reason I guess. 

Song of the Day:

Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf

http://youtu.be/oOg5VxrRTi0

Day One Hundred And Thirty One 5/11/11

Fish

This was my first fish painting I ever did. I have done many since, I have sold many since, I have gave away many since. I haven't done any fish paintings in awhile. I need to get back on the fish paintings, cause I enjoy painting them the most. My song of the day will not be a Phish song. because I don't like that band. 

Song of the Day:

Air - Playground Lover

http://youtu.be/grb6KAxo3uY

Day One Hundred And Thirty 5/10/11

Softball Tuesdays

Yep, I got the opportunity to join in on a softball league, thanks to Kyle and Brandy, and I took it and tonight was our first practice and it was great. We have an awesome fun team! Wish us luck!

Song of the Day:

Ok Go - Here It Goes Again

(this is a bad ass video btw)

http://youtu.be/dTAAsCNK7RA

Day One Hundred and Twenty Nine 5/9/11

View From Mount Falcon

I think that Mount Falcon has gotten at least three pictures in the Blog so far. We hiked up to the Castle and back down, making it a 6 mile hike altogether and I can't believe the first time i did this hike with Typer and Niobe there was snow on the ground, because without snow it kicked my butt. It is a really cool hike and besides the bikers, it is peaceful and pretty. At the top there are plenty of different views, and how can you not want to see a view of the Rockies. They are beautiful. 

Song of the Day:

My Morning Jacket - Off The Record

http://youtu.be/Mo9aDh7jeTQ

Day One Hundred And Twenty Eight 5/8/11

Happy Mothers Day

Song of the Day:

Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly

http://youtu.be/xb-Nacm-pKc

Day One Hundred And Twenty Seven 5/7/11

On His Own On Frisco Street

Poor Hawk, we watched this guy get harassed by some crows for about 20 minutes, and it didn't look like a good ending. This was a point where the hawk took a break in a tree, but the Crows were still dive bombing him like the planes did with King Kong, and we all know how that ended. Wish I could have protected this beauty, but sometimes nature needs to take its course. 

Song of the Day:

Belle and Sebastion - Another Sunny Day

http://youtu.be/8CPLNyopyOg

Day One Hundred And Twenty Six 5/6/11

Indian Writing On Friday

Probably one of the coolest things I have seen was the Indian Writing on the canyon walls in Moab. At first it was hard to find for some reason, but once you got your eye on the right part, you could see so many different little drawings. I am guessing this is the chief, he was bigger, in every way, than all the other hunters. 

Prehistoric Native Americans made petroglyphs and pictographs. Petroglyphs are pecked into rocks. Pictographs are images painted on rock, usually with a crude stick or brush or the fingers. The "paint" was minerals, blood, ash, charcoal, crushed plants or a mixture of these.

We also hit an area where there were dinosaur tracks in the slabs of the canyon, and drove to Jug Handle Arch. Then we headed back to Frisco. It was an amazing week in an amazing place with amazing company. Dakota was a trooper the whole time and I have to give thanks out to Jeff for being a great tour guide and filling the days with laughs and great memories. 

Song of the Day:

Amos Lee - Windows Rolled Down

http://youtu.be/qDOcbMic6mI

Day One Hundred And Twenty Five 5/5/11

Bridge On Thursday

Thursday we hit a hiking trail down the river from us called the Negro Bill Canyon Trail and it is a two mile hike into the Canyon where it leads you to the Morning Glory Bridge, which is the picture of the day.

It was a really fun hike through the canyon of cottonwoods, willow trees, streams, boulders and sand trails. The weather was nice, but hot and we felt the sun beaming off every part of the canyon that day. But Dakota had a blast jumping in every swimming hole he could. 

 Negro Bill Canyon is named for William Granstaff, an African- American cattleman who ran his cattle in the canyon in the late 1870's. Although some have sought to rename the canyon because of a perceived derogatory stigma associated with the name, Ronald Coleman, an African-American professor of history at the University of Utah, urges the name be kept since it clearly recognizes the contributions of Utah's African-American pioneers.

Since this day was Cinco DeMayo, and we already had breakfast burrito's, we decided to keep it going and have Margarita's and Fajitas back at the camp.. This was out last night in the campsite, so we enjoyed it as much as we could. 

Song of the Day:

Talking Heads - And She Was

http://youtu.be/YgSVTdAtNYE 

Day One Hundred And Twenty Four 5/4/11

Wednesday On The Colorado River

Wednesday we decided to hit some rafting on the Colorado River and I am not going to sugar coat it, I was pretty nervous the whole ride. Rapids to me are scary and I am not an experiences rafter, so not only was a nervous wreck about my own well being, but I also had Dakota in the raft and was really worried about him. But all said and done, I am glad that I did it and looking back it really wasn't that bad at all. I was just cold from the water hitting me and the wind that day did not make it any better. I would say the worst rapid was a class 3 and the water temp was about 45 degree, but that is only an educated guess. After we rafted we headed back to camp, hit up the 3.2% Bud Light and cooked some Shish Kobobs, which by the way were amazing and I am still patting myself on the back for that  meal. 

Here is some info on the liquor laws of Utah. 

Utah has modernized its liquor laws. Adults of legal age can order and consume beer, wine and hard liquor at bars, pubs and restaurants and other establishments throughout the state. In the past, a private club membership was required to enter bars. That requirement  has been eliminated. Mixed drinks and wine may be ordered with food in most restaurants from noon to 1am, and beer may be ordered from 10am to 1am. Patrons may be served at their tables or in waiting areas. Taverns and beer establishments sell beer from 10am to 1am. Beer may be purchased without ordering food and is sold on draft and in bottles and cans. Beer sales "to go" are also allowed. but not in open containers. Packaged beer is available at supermarkets, grocery and convenient stores, the maximum alcohol content is 4% by volume or 3.2% by weight. packaged liquor  wine and heavy beer "to go" are sol at state liquor stores throughout Utah.

Song of the Day:

Poi Dog Pondering

http://youtu.be/4ZELhd6oDek

Day One Hundred and Twenty Three 5/3/11

Tuesday In The Sand Flats

Tuesday morning I headed into the small town of Moab and hit the grocery store and was able to see some of the sunrise hitting the Canyons. When I got back to to camp we made breakfast and got ourselves ready for a nice hike through the San Flats. We drove all the way into the desert area and ended up hiking the Porcupine Rim Trail which took you all thew way over to the Negro Bill Canyon which over looked the Colorado River and the Canyons on the north side of Utah. After the 5 mile hike we headed back to our campsite and cooked some burgers, enjoyed some Margarita's, played some Bocce Ball and once again enjoyed the sun setting on the canyons and then watched the stars slowly come out and enjoy the night with us.

This is a picture of Dakota chillin in a hole in the side of a canyon. Here is a great site to find out more about the Sand Flats.

http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/sand_flats.htm

Song Of The Day:

Tom Petty - Don't Come Around Here No More

http://youtu.be/h0JvF9vpqx8

Day One Hundred And Twenty Two 5/2/11

Monday In Utah

We packed up Carlos early monday morning and headed west towards Utah. The drive through Colorado was a first for me and mind blowing. Colorado is a beautiful colorful state and is always nice to look at. When we got into Utah it was obvious we were in another state, the Rockies were gone and there was red Canyons everywhere. We took the scenic route on 128 and creped our way into the Canyons deeper and deeper all the while following the curves of the Colorado River. When we arrived in Moab we searched for a camp ground and after some unlucky spots, we found our spot the South Big Bend Campground. Our view was amazing, with huge canyons on each side and the CO river as our close neighbor. After unpacking everything and setting up the huge tent without a glitch, we built a fire and sat back and relaxed with some Red Stripe Pounders and cooked sausage dogs over the fire. My favorite part of that whole night was being able to finally see what the stars looked like with the red Canyons and dark sky. The sky was breathtaking and there were millions of stars. It was a great first day of an amazing vacation.
This is a picture of our campsite and our view.

Song of the Day:

Dave Matthews Band - Tripping Billies

http://youtu.be/vsUuYkMHV4w

Day One Hundred and Twenty One 5/1/11

Happy May

So I ended up loses some pictures I took for the blog. I don't know exactly what happened, but I lost Sunday pictures and half of the ride through the Canyons in Co also. I am super bummed about it but I don't know what I can do about it. So I am just going to post a picture that means a lot to me. Even though it is not taken on this day, doesn't mean it isn't a rockin picture that deserves to be posted. 

I went to Alaska 5 years ago this month and it was an awesome trip.

This is a picture of  Aialik Glacier in the Kenai Peninsula off of Seward Alaska. We took a whale watching tour out of Seward and were able to view this amazing glacier. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever put my eyes on.

Song Of The Day

Gomez - Get Miles

http://youtu.be/wPs9BsJPEcQ

Day One Hundred and Twenty 4/30/11

Elderado Springs

Brittany moved here from PA and has already been able to get out and experience Colorado and she took this picture on a hike and I love it. I can't wait to show her all the cool places I have already been!

Song of the Day:

Nirvana - Aneurysm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvwqSMRtoSI

Day One Hundred and Nineteen 4/29/11

Contrast Clouds

  

Song Of The Day:

Sublime - Santeria

http://youtu.be/qe6uwUn-qmM