Queen City of the Plains

The Mile High City, Denver, Colorado, is the Queen City of the Plains.

A Taste of Colorado

@ATasteofCO Celebrating it's 32nd year in 2015, Denver's Taste of Colorado is good family fun.

500,000 people make this four-day Labor Day Weekend festival jubilee the place to be in Denver. With 50 area food establishments, 275 marketplace artisans and vendors, six stages with all sorta of music and entertainment plus educational programs promoting the diverse cultural and western heritage of the region!  No admission fee!

The prices were not bad. I remember it being more expensive. You definitely get your monies worth. Even the 'taste' portions are large. The ice cream scoops were huge!

Originally named Festival of Mountain and Plain, it was established in 1895 as a carnival. Closing in 1902, and, after many years, it was brought back to Denver in 1983.

Taste of Colorado has something for everyone. And the food is amazing. The vendors selling wares are good as well. It's just great times all around.

Bring an empty stomach. You'll be glad you did. Try something exotic. You'll be really glad you did.

Big Bone Room

It has bones and such at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Bear cub wanders the big city

DENVER, CO -- An amazingly rare sight in Denver, a bear cub was seen in the area of Evans Avenue and Colorado Boulevard Monday morning August 24, 2015.

It was glimpsed wandering throughout the neighborhood during the day according to police; easily climbing fences and onto shed rooftops.

Around 10pm there was a commotion in the quiet University Park neighborhood. Spotlights, police lights and people were milling about the streets.

Denver Police had responded and it was determined that the bear had hopped a fence and was hiding in the backyard brush and trees of a house on South Monroe Street.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife were called.

Russ Dale, who confirmed the location of the bear in his backyard, said, "The beastie was chilling in the fenced-in area all tired like. Our eyes met. I saw the tiredness gnawing at it's bear mind."

The bear was tranquilized with a 3 drug cocktail via a CO2 powered dart gun at approximately 11:41pm after a trap/cage arrived on scene. Since it was not a threat, had wandered out of it's habitat and not caused problems, the bear will possibly be relocated to an area around Deckers, Colorado.

It was a little bit of excitement in the city!

Pacific wildfires make for Denver poor air quality

Wildfires in western states are the cause of the smoky haze in Denver Colorado. However the smoke makes for spectacular skies.

Adieu Griff's

Griff's Hamburgers, a piece of Americana in Denver for 50 years, is permanently closed. :(

Sunrise in Denver

Good morning Colorado!

Herbal Medicine Making. It's fun!

Call me Geppetto Wildcrafter! Weee for herbalism, botanical medicine/crude medicine! Watch out for that wily herbal alchemist! Yes yes! I have become very fascinated with the wildcrafting arts. Wildcrafting is the harvesting and collection of plants for food or medicine purposes. Herbal alchemy was used for healing purposes and I am focusing on the healing. Call me healer. Drink this tonic.

I am throwing together a medicine “bag” containing 4-ounce hexagon glass jars. Each jar will contain an herb or plant. It will be my homemade herbalist kit! I like learning.

I will get a few things for starters, as basics, a small foundation: peppermint leaf, catnip, slippery elm bark, rosehips, chili flakes, lemongrass, comfrey root, yellow mustard seed, burdock root, damiana leaf, elderberries, dandelion leaf, fennel seed, Hawthorn leaf/flower/berries, rosemary leaf, lemon balm, calendula, kava kava root, skullcap, Echinacea, saw palmetto berries, ginkgo leaf, valerian root, epimedium leaf, yohimbe bark and horse chestnut.

I’ll cure what ails ya yo. I’ll concoct herbal remedies that will relieve stress, and other things like anger and depression, including adding vitamins and nutrients to the body. I’ll whip up some herbal tinctures and salves and infusions and ointments! I’ll wrastle up some curative shit! I’ll use beeswax and lavender oil! I’ll do the practices of the ancient guilds of alchemists proud.

The kit will have the essence of the following flowers: California Wild Rose, St. John’s Wort, Scotch Broom, Scarlet Monkeyflower and Holly.

I’m not joking. I’m serious. I will become quite learned in alternative cures. It’s good stuff to know. Right? I think so. Right? Yes. Why not? Yes. Drink this tonic.

I need more stuff cluttering my brain. Call me Geppetto Wildcrafter.

Elite VIP Hour at Yelp's Merry Marrakesh

Bellies were dancing. Food and spirits were flying into bellies. Belly laughter. Henna on bellies and legs and feets and hands and faces. It was a scrum of goodness for the mind, senses, spirit and belly.

It seems as if each and every Elite Yelp event tops one another. This go around was a Yelp Elite VIP Hour at Yelp's Merry Marrakesh fantastic jubilee of awesome at Space Gallery. The venue is top notch. The perfect space for an event.

DJ Savior Breath knocked out the tunes with flair and wonder as usual.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar with Colorado beef and toasted buns made the taste buds sing. Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs: wild boar-alicious! Americatus New-World Italian caters if you need it! My belly was full. I needed beverages and the like.

Oh my...beverage galore. The spirits were aplenty! Summer Snow Colorado Shaved Ice piña colada was yums. Not a snow cone yo. Shaved ice! Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka mixed with lemonade was a refreshing summer treat. After three or four you'd not even know the season anymore. Fall is neigh.

Each and every local food and drink provider came out to dazzle. And dazzle they did. I am filled with knowledge about each business, because I ask question after question, and will call upon them in the future whilst entertaining.

Thank you to all who made this event happen. It was truly a night to remember. It was good for the soul. And belly.

Find Summer Snow Colorado Shaved Ice and have the piña colada flavor. You'll be glad you did.

Pluto Time - Denver, Colorado

530a Denver Colorado Pluto Time 07/01/15 at the State Capitol. It was the moment when the illumination matches that of high noon on Pluto.

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/plutotime/

Paris on the Platte - Denver, CO

Paris on the Platte at 1553 Platte St. in Denver is closed. I miss it. It was once the oldest coffee house in Denver located in the heart of LoDo Confluence Valley.

Paris was one of my old haunts from the high school days in the early 1990s. It basically remained the same over the years, save a few minor differences.

There was always sub-par artwork for sale from paintings to sculptures to pottery displayed on the walls. The food and coffee were first-class.

I enjoyed this laid back coffee house. It was open late although I preferred to go there during the day when I was older.

Many ghosts of the past are present there. I could sense it in the air and in the walls. I could almost feel myself regressing into my former, high school nerdy self while sitting in the back room shortly before it closed permanently. I wanted to wear a beret for some odd reason. I heard Ween in my head.

Many late-night hours were spent at Paris in my stoned youth playing chess, hanging out with friends, writing stories, smoking clove cigarettes, drinking café Mexicana, café Fantasia, looking at crappy books in the bookstore and doing all of the pretentious coffee house things a wayward youth did in the early 90s.

Paris was a nice alternative to Starbucks and one cannot go wrong with supporting local businesses in lieu of corporate, on every corner, coffee slag.

I always ordered café Fantasia, grub chips and salsa (red onions and cilantro made this homemade salsa oh so good) and a Ruben sammich on marble rye.

Every time I visited I kept expecting to get accosted by black clothed/hooded Goth kids while I was trying to keep from spilling the full of chunks salsa down my front. Goth kids were rarely seen in these modern days but I dribbled the foodie stuff all over myself as usual. I try to be graceful but to no avail.

I miss Paris. It was good times.

Taco House Not Closed Permanently

My family's favorite restaurant, Taco House at 1390 W. Littleton Blvd, has been closed since April 14. It may be closed but it's not permanently closed. That fills me with joy.

I reached out to find out what happened.

"It's a mess over there," said Taco House owner Dora D’Andre, who rents the building. A mid-April spring snowfall turned a roofing repair project in to a nightmare. The restaurant flooded with 3 inches of water. It is in the process of remodeling.

I was shocked to see it closed. Dread warshed over me. For over 50 years the family-run business has provided delicious Mexican food out of the mid-century almost historic building. Is it deemed historic yet?

The prominent yellow brick restaurant, on Littleton Blvd between Broadway and the Historic Downtown Littleton district, has fed 4 generations of my family.

What needs to be done to reopen is a large task. The City of Littleton red flagged the recognizable, old building and is requiring all of the electrical to be redone to bring it up to code.

"We will reopen," D’Andre said adamantly, "Hopefully the end of July; as soon as construction is complete."

Yes!

Broken trees in Denver

Broken trees at Observatory Park due to the Mother's Day winter snow storm that brought heavy wet snow and winds to Denver.

'Bout Those Eggs

I'm all about those eggs, 'bout those eggs. All deviled!

I'm bringing eggy back.Go ahead & tell them skinny bitches Hey!

Motown: The Musical Hits Denver

A scrum of adventure in the Denver surrounded me on opening night of Motown: The Musical.

Impeccable timing made for a flowing chain of fun events. I departed the Colorado light rail station and rode the mass transit fantastic down to the Convention Center. From there, pre show vittles were a necessity. There was an approximate 10.23 minute walk to Yard House on the 16th Street Mall.

Happy hour jubilee awaited with great appetizer and drink specials. Moo Shu Egg Rolls and vampire taco® deliciousness ensued.

Once the belly was full it was off to The Buell Theatre, where the line seemed overwhelming. Checking with the Will Call box office, I was instructed where to go to pick up the tickets. And to achieve this I was to maneuver through the line, pushing my way stealthily to the front to retrieve my ticket. I did this swiftly, much to the dismay of people in the line. Wow. Simple. Amazing. My journey through the line was quick and painless. This truly was a Yelp Elite event and I had zero problems with gaining access. I saw a few familiar faces as I waded through the lines of humanity.

The show was great. I have seen many musicals at DCPA. This ranks up there as one of the best. The production was fantastic and it was obvious the cast and crew has this show down to a science. From the acting to the dancing to the scene changes to the lighting to the music ... all was superb. The audience seemed to enjoy it, as there was singing along, vocal grunts of joy, clapping, whoops and hollers throughout the performance.

Overall the experience was super. The vocals were sometimes drowned out by the music but if anyone had even a small knowledge of the music that didn't matter one bit. Motown: The Musical was a delight and I am sure the production will do well here in Denver.

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL
Mar 31 - Apr 19, 2015
The Buell Theatre
MUSICAL

Footers Catering - Denver

Was there as a Yelp Elite. It was a 'Cater and Compete" event.

Footers Catering has it where it counts. Since 1981, Footers has catered countless events with great quality and service.

After a visit to Footers, to see them in action, I was struck by the culture around the business. It was exceptional! It was fun! The employees, including owner Anthony Lambatos, were knowledgeable, friendly and way beyond helpful.

The facility was clean, beautiful and expansive. The "Awesomeness" room had a popcorn machine, basketball and ping pong action.

And the food: uniquely delicious.

From the vanilla maple glazed sweet potato fries with bacon salt to campfire bites (a great take on s'mores) to cheesecake lollipops to Dr. Pepper braised beef short rib sliders to a mac & cheese station with delicious toppings like spicy buffalo chicken nuggets, crumbled bacon, fried onions, diced tomatoes and more, the menu left me stuffed beyond capacity. Each item was carefully prepared and the quality showed in both appearance and taste.

Add in Hors d'Oeuvres of bacon wrapped dates stuffed with smoked almond and bleu cheese, some salmon and goat cheese appetizer deliciousness, and it all made for a more than impressive meal.

When in need of catering services in the Denver area I will, forevermore, go to Footers Catering for all of my needs. Try them out. You'll be glad you did!

Taco House rules

I have been going to Taco House for over 30 years.  I believe the store on Littleton Boulevard in Littleton, Colorado is the best out of all of them.  I travel quite the distance for the meal.  They have good food, friendly staff and a homey atmosphere.  The prices are reasonably priced.  The menu is filled with a large array of foodie goodness.  Taco House has been in the Denver Metro Area for over 50 years. 

I come from the old school "All You Can Eat," so I've had my fair share of this "Colorado Mex" over the years.  I get the same thing every time.  I even take my mother there for Mother's Day.  My whole family loves the Taco House.  Many forsake it.  I think those forsakers are crazy and wrong.

Support local businesses and give Taco House a try.  You'll be glad you did.

"Christmas in the Park" Denver helps homeless

DENVER - Feeling the holiday spirit? Many had it this Christmas Day in Downtown Denver as volunteers brought tables to Civic Center Park and laid out items to hand out free to the homeless.

Coats, hats, gloves, socks, blankets, sleeping bags, backpacks, unmentionables, toiletries and food were among the unexpected gifts given to about 650 grateful people who lined up smiling with glee whilst carrying blue bags filled with the much-needed loot.

I hope these Denver grassroots events will grow in popularity in the future. Volunteering is amazing, no matter what your faith. All was good. Merry Christmas.

Handsome hobo living in the past

Are there hobos anymore?

Sometimes I crave the romantic wayward hobo life and would cheerfully be one who, in order to find work, clumsily flip on freight trains to travel the nation whilst shabbily dressed in my best glad rags. That’s right I know the hobo lingo. I will use hobo jargon judiciously in this piece as I am filled with a hodgepodge of hobo history. I shall let my hobo spirit soar.

My hobo name is Sir Railcar McRussdum. Don’t confuse me as a tramp. I am a hobo.

I scoff at using shopping carts to carry my belongings as they are impractical when leaping aboard moving trains. My bindle is proudly slung over my shoulder, made from the finest gaudy patchwork blanket and tied around the end of a lavish mahogany stick etched with symbols of my creation and unknown origin. In it I carry the essentials:  MP3 player, extra changes of underclothes, peppermint patchouli soaps, biscuits, a smallish cask of bathtub gin and a picture of my family. My beard grows wild. My road stake is 75 US dollars, for emergencies. I hide that cash in a special place. 

In Britain I would be called a “rough sleeper.” I prefer “hobo” thank you.   

I am the best mulligan mixer ever because I have the finest recipe for Mulligan Stew consisting of beef broth, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, mystery meat, spices and herbs.  Hobos abound chuck a dummy at my stew. I only share my stew with acronym B.O.T.H., the “Brotherhood of the Hobo,” and none other. So don’t even ask for a bit of my stew unless you know the secret hobo handshake and can interpret the cryptic wall signals scrawled in crayon or charcoal.

I spread misinformation of the hobo code, for security purposes, so that nobody can horde my safe zones around the country. I’m a sinister hobo, an infamous hobo and a hobo who doesn’t play by those wacky hobo rules. I create my own hobo code! Many long to know my enigmatic hobo code. 

I like the word hobo. Maybe I will name my firstborn Howard Hobo Dale if it’s a boy and Glenda Hobo Dale if it’s a girl. The possibilities are endless. I could name them Hobo only, just like celebrities Bono, Madonna and Cher.

Sir Railcar McRussdum, me, will be the most famous hobo of all time. It could happen. I would be the keynote speaker of “Hobo Days” at the National Hobo Convention in Britt, Iowa. Perhaps I could star in a hobo reality show like “Dancing with the Hobos,” “Survivor: HoboTown,” “CSI: Special Hobo Unit,” or science fiction classics the likes of “The Bionic Hobo,” “Flash Hobo” or “This Island Hobo.”

Yelp's Silent Disco Skate Party