Palmer Park

This past Sunday we finally, intentionally, did a hike out of this book. Like reviewers on Amazon.com state, if you had to find your way solely out of the book, you might spend a fair bit of time feeling distraught, but luckily the Templeton Trail is well marked. (Finding the beginning had us scratching our heads for a minute or two, but that's all.) We ended up doing the trail in the opposite direction than the guide suggests, so maybe that is an unfair review.

Beautiful views of Pike's Peak were everywhere

The trail system in the 730 acre park (just under 3 square km) can be viewed here. It's the largest park within the Colorado Springs city limits. William Jackson Palmer used to own the land, and sometime after founding this fine town, he donated it. Come check it out!

Never mind milk and cookies, this year leave Santa a chocolate-chip cookie dough cone

The local ice-cream shop is ready for Christmas!

There's something unusual about an ice-cream parlour being not only open in December, but also decorated in such a festive manner. What flavours do we think are a big hit at this time of year? Candy Cane Swirl? Cranberry? Ice-creamy potatoes and gravy? What would you sell if you were an ice-cream purveyor?

T.G.I.F... M.B. – Light vs. Dark

In the eternal struggle of Light vs. Dark, Dark wins this battle.

Here we have two completely different beers, sampled last Friday, at the Colorado Springs establishment called Thunder & Buttons. I had been reluctant to enter this pub, but it turns out it's very cute and cozy.

We tried two beer (one each) Winter Warlock Oatmeal Stout and Upslope Lager. We could not have chosen two more opposite drinks. The pale-beer lover of the two of us enjoyed the upslope immensely, but I would have preferred a glass of water over that tinted weak tea.

• What kind of beer? Winter Warlock Oatmeal Stout. Says the website: Chock full of highly roasted barley malt and 100 lbs. of flaked oatmeal, the Warlock is a dark and satisfying winter elixir.
• Where is it brewed? Bristol Brewing Company, right here in Colorado Springs.
• Alcohol content? 6.0%
• Tasters' rating? G for Grand! This Warlock cast a spell on me. >Giggle, snort< Come on, it's the Christmas season, allow me to bring out the cheese! 

Got Your Goat?

I was biking home today, and went to take my usual short-cut through an empty lot everyone in the area uses to access the little park that our street butts onto, when I saw the gaping holes in the fence were fenced over. As I emerged guiltily from the empty lot, two people walking by (with cameras) said hello to me and told me not to hurry away because the goats were coming.

"Goats?" I asked.

"Goats."

So the couple's neighbours invited me into their house (which was halfway ready for American Thanksgiving - more on this holiday later hopefully) and took me to the back deck and pointed over the fence, where, many goats were nibbling daintily. Families in this neighbourhood rent goats once per year to eat all the noxious weeds and keep the risk of winter grass fires down. The goats are from Wyoming and they travel the country to provide this service, at the rate of $3 (US) per day. This is real, people. I HAVE SEEN THE GOATS!

Deer on the Porch

This was a few weeks ago, but not an uncommon occurrence

"I opened up my eyes to see
A land of sunny rocks and funny trees
I guess (Yes,) I'm on the moon again
A heavy earth exchange a lighter breeze
Got no coat and got no money
A pair of tennis shoes to last through May
A crater for an outdoor pool
A few good cats to help me pass the day"

Porch by Widespread Panic (a band I've never heard of before)

The deer down here are Mule Deer, not White-Tailed Deer. From my super scientific observation, the Mule Deer have slightly chunkier bodies, big long donkey ears, and of course, no cute white flag tail. To me this gives them a more ungainly and dopier appearance. Which makes them both more and less cute at the same time.

T.G.I.F... M.B.

Tasting Grand or Ickily Formulated Microbrewed Beer

Coconut Joe & College Football.
(I didn't really watch the football.)

• What kind of beer? Coconut Joe. Coconut Coffee Stout.
• Where is it brewed? Papago Brewing, Scottsdale Arizona. (A suburb of Phoenix.)
• Alcohol content? Not listed, but it felt substantial.
• Tasters' rating? You may be squinching your noise up in suspicion, but I assure you, this hearty beer deserves its G for Grand! Strong stouty taste (reminiscent of the Half Pints Stir Stick Stout) with a toasty little coconut undertone. Yum! Even Mr. Prairie, proclaimed coconut hater, smiled after his sip.

Phoenix, Arizona

Cactus, cactus everywhere!

Some friends from home were visiting Phoenix for a few days, so we jumped on a cheap flight from Allegiant Airlines and stayed with them. Allegiant is one of those airlines with very few frills, rush seating, $2.00 soft drinks, but enjoys the added bonus of using a smaller airport in Phoenix, which is a relief when you're new somewhere!

All cacti are succulents,
but not all succulents are cacti!

The first thing we did, upon arriving, was visit the Desert Botanical Garden. A little expensive, I thought, (free if you're in the military though, at least on Remembrance Day [Veteran's day here]) but it turned out to be huge. There are many different kinds of cactus, by the way. 

Cactus skeleton

After viewing the cacti, I saw my very first live NHL game, for $20. This included a free drink!

Petroglyphs, department store Chinese Murals, Frank was a man of many inspirations.

The next day, we visited one of Frank Lloyd Wright's estates, Taliesin West, (Tally-essin) where we enjoyed the 1-hour panorama tour. What did we learn? Frank's summer home was not a very polished place. It was made in the late 30's, out of whatever building materials he could find cheaply, by him and his students, as a testing ground for his ideas.

Can't find work? Start your own school, train architects,
and have them build you a  home, just like Frank did!

For all of that, it was still a very impressive site!

Mr. King, I understand you so much better now.

I think these storm sewers could inhale anything they wanted from us.

I can totally picture a creepy clown lurking under there, can't you?
*Shudder* I know I'll be hovering very far above the toilet seat when peeing for the next little while.

T.G.I.F... M.B.

Tasting Grand or Ickily Formulated Microbrewed Beer

Even a sepia filter could not save my terrible photography

• What kind of beer? Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown Ale. With a touch of pure maple syrup.
• Where is it brewed? Idaho Springs, about 100 miles from here. 
• Alcohol content? 4.5%.
• Tasters' rating? G for Grand! Not too sweet, not too strong, not too light. Just nice!

Emma Crawford Memorial Coffin Race

Happy Hallowe'en!

On Saturday, we observed one of the coolest events I've ever seen a town put on. Manitou Springs is close to Colorado Springs, and about a 7 minute drive (or a leisurely 26 minute bike ride) from home. It's the town where I do a lot of yoga.

Emma Crawford was a real person, who died young, and whose request was to be buried upon Red Mountain. Eventually her coffin was washed down into town, and now this event is commemorated by annual coffin races. There was also a hearse show.

Some interesting rules taken from the coffin race application form:

• Each participating team will provide four runners (pushers) to propel the coffin. At least three of the four runners must be in direct contact with the coffin at all times during the race until the coffin has come to a complete stop after crossing the finish line.
• Each participating Team shall provide one "Emma" to ride in their coffin. All Emmas must wear a helmet during the Coffin Race.
• The race is approximately 585 feet (195 yards). (That's 178.3 meters according to google.)
• SPECIAL NOTE: Nothing is to be distributed to the crowd by any participant in the parade. Doing so can create safety hazards for the racers and will result in disqualification. The parade will flow more smoothly if you will keep your entourage to under twelve people.
• Each coffin must have 4 firmly attached wheels, attached in such a manner so that coffin will roll on all 4 wheels when propelled down the race course. Wheels are not to exceed 8" in diameter.
• Functional steering mechanisms are prohibited.
• Coffin race officials may disqualify any coffin if they feel it is dangerous.

Next year, I'll remember my camera!

Snow

Snow covers fall leaves

Seasons change cause reflection

All life is fleeting

Garbage

One of the stranger notions I have encountered here in lovely Colorado Springs is how one's trash makes it from their house to the landfill and/or recycling depot. Back home, you pay some taxes, and once a week or so, someone shows up and takes your garbage and recycling away. You don't consider it too much, until you have a giant something-or-other that needs to be hauled to the dump.

Here, you have to pay someone yourself to do it. A quick search in Google shows us that you have your choice of no fewer than nine (9!) waste removal companies, ten if you count "Hauling by Steve." So, on our street, Wednesday is garbage day for some people, Thursday for others. Some cans are fetched in the back alley, some in the front lane. Some take recycling, some don't. I still can't wrap my head around it.

Love privatized liquor, not so crazy about privatized waste removal.

Delayed Posting of Itinerary Items #4 - #6

Well, now that I have created a month's worth of suspense, and the trip we took in early September is a complete blur, let's see if I can finish recounting it. I'll attempt a highly efficient summary.

4. Wednesday. Drive to the spot where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico intersect. Take photos.
5. Something something.
6. Friday - drive to Santa Fe and camp there for one night, coming home Saturday.

4 Corners Monument - where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico converge.

Best part: Standing in 4 states at once!

Worst part: There's really nothing else to do there.

Lesson learned? Use the bathroom before you arrive, if possible.

Rating? 3 outta 5 stars. If you're in the area, you really must go. But don't plan to make a day of it.

#5 - Something Something
Well, we managed to do it all folks.

Angel Peak Scenic Area

Angel Peak Scenic Area was certainly scenic. To summarize: you can camp here, for free, but there is no water source. It's a little eerie, because there is a lot of oil drilling going on in the area, and you can hear the distant whine of the machinery. We won't mention the guy all alone in the VW van that wouldn't even make eye contact with me when we walked by his campsite. Creepy! But it's beautiful, definately worth a picnic stop, and you can hike out to that middle structure on the above picture. If you're a real daredevil, you can possibly even slink your way over to the structure on the far left.

After cruising away from Angel Peak, we tackled the highly vibratory washboard drive into Chaco Canyon. This was worth making Mr. Prairie's car lose several years of life in one day.

Ruins in the Chaco Culture National Historic Park

• Best part: It's between camping right next to actual ruins, the wonderful free guided tours, and seeing petroglyphs!
• Worst part: There's no water in the campground. But you can get some from the nearby visitor center.
• Lesson learned? Bring a dust mask for the drive in, and make sure your shocks are in good shape.
• Rating? 5 outta 5 stars. We stayed one night, could have stayed 2 or 3!

Taos, which was also listed under "Something Something" was a town that we visited on our way home from Santa Fe.

#6 Santa Fe

I don't have any amazing pictures of Santa Fe, but the fact that it has a street with this name is a nice summary!

Santa Fe was brilliant. We camped at a fairly decent campground on Route 66 called Rancheros
which was about a 15 minute drive from downtown. There is a Spanish-style plaza downtown, a pretty good history museum, lots of booths for the Zozobra festival that was going on while we were there. We at a lot of food there, and it was all amazing. Of particular note were two places near to our campground: Harry's Roadhouse and Real Food Nation. Yum. I think I'll go cook dinner!

T.G.I.F... M.B.

Tasting Grand or Ickily Formulated Microbrewed Beer

This is a "growler" which contains 1 half gallon of beer (1.89 l)

We tried 3 of these fine people's beers - Raspberry Wheat ale, Colorado Trail Nut Brown Ale, and this growler of Lightner Creek Lager. The restaurant is tasty, and the brewery is powered by wind! At last, one can enjoy delicious goodness and be good to the environment at the same time.

Lightner Creek Lager

• What kind of beer? Light fluffy easy to drink great for a day of camping beer.
• Where is it brewed? In Durango, the only place to buy it. 
• Alcohol content? unknown, probably not too much though.
• Tasters' rating? G for grand!

Itinerary Items #2 and #3

• Monday morning... go to the hot springs in Pagosa. Shower.
• Monday afternoon... drive to Mesa Verde National Park. Camp two nights, hike, eat.

The springs...
Not too much to say about them really. This is the place to go because there are all kinds of pools to soak in. All the warmer ones are pretty smelly. We had gone in the winter too, and I think it's more fun in the winter actually. It's pretty expensive but there are free showers and they'll give you free shampoo and soap if you ask for it.

Mesa Verde National Park

Cliff Palace (left) was a short downstairs walk, while Balcony House (right) required a climb up the fun ladder in the centre. Ancient Puebloans occupied these cliff dwellings at the end of the 12th century / beginning of the 13th.

• Best part: The $3 guided tour of Balcony House.
• Worst part: We could have stayed for another day or two to see all the sights and sites.
• Lesson learned? The hiking for the guided tours isn't very grueling, you probably don't need to carry a pack with a litre of water in it when it's overcast.
• Rating? 5 stars! (outta 5)

This place was great! The Morefield campground had free showers with hot water, potable water taps at the campsites, you get to pick out your own site to camp in (reservations are advised) and beautiful views were everywhere.

Seeing and learning about Cliff Palace and Balcony House from the guides was well worth it, even if the hiking wasn't of the thrill seeking sort. We had a bit of that ahead of us yet.

1918 km and 4 Showers Later

We are back! I am experiencing that post-travel let-down, you know the one, where you instantly wish to go somewhere again or at least thoroughly relive the previous adventure for a few days after having a sleep or two in your own comfy bed.

Since the former isn't an option right now, we'll have to setter with the latter. Let the reliving begin!

Itinerary Item Number One:

Attend Pagosa's Four Corners Folk Festival. Drive down Thursday evening, stay until Monday morning.

The main stage was in a tent with 1200 seats pre-set up

• Best part: The music! The beer was pretty good too.
• Worst part: The dust. They watered the main roads every day but it was still a sneezefest.
• Lesson learned? If you're set to camp in the "vehicle free" area, do arrive during the time period when the shuttles are operating.
• Rating? 4 stars! (outta 5)

One of the keys to enjoying this festival, for us, was to not expect this festival. The scale is a lot smaller, but the music was still really good, and not having as many places to be kind of reduced the "stress" of trying to decide what workshops to attend... hey... there was only one workshop tent, and the workshops had names like  Fiddle or Guitar and people showed up to the tent with their fiddles and guitars! In the first workshop we watched a bit of, the band had to pause for a while to teach people some minor barre-chords.

Unlike the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Vehicle Free Camping area was a tiny area.

When we bought our 3-Day Pass with Camping, I assumed that, like our Winnipeg Folk Festival, tons of people would be camped in this Vehicle Free area, and a few less tons in an RV area. The reality though, was that the majority was in the Vehicle camping area, maybe because they all needed to take their stand-up basses up the mountain somehow. Every "picking circle" we came across seemed to have its own stand-up bass!

The Main Stage

The bigger surprise for us, was the proximity of everything. About 30 steps from where we camped, we could see the festival site, and what I thought at first was the beer tent. As it turns out, this is actually the main stage, and it was set up with chairs so that you didn't have to get rained on in the late afternoon. You also didn't have to carry around your chair (not that it was so far to carry) but some sort of bum pillow might be advised. The other really great thing about camping right on top of the festival ground, was that you could go back to your campsite and have a meal, and still hear the bands play! It was a great experience.

Road Trip!

Today I begin the preparations for our road trip to southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico, with a foot thrown into Utah and Arizona for good measure. How are they coming along?

Ukulele for acting cool at
the Four Corners Folk Festival?
Check!

Copious amounts of granola? Check!

Gear for 9 nights of assorted camping styles? Check-ish...

Itinerary? I thought you'd never ask!

1. Attend Pagosa's Four Corners Folk Festival. Drive down Thursday evening, stay until Monday morning.
2. Monday morning... go to the hot springs in Pagosa. Shower.
3. Monday afternoon... drive to Mesa Verde National Park. Camp two nights, hike, eat.
4. Wednesday. Drive to the spot where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico intersect. Take photos.
5. Something something.
6. Friday - drive to Santa Fe and camp there for one night, coming home Saturday.

Now's your big chance to help with Item #5, "Something something." We have two unclaimed nights, and a few options:

• Chaco Culture
• Angel Peak National Recreation Area
• Taos

Vote for your favourite above!

T.G.I.F... M.B.

Tasting Grand or Ickily Formulated Microbrewed Beer

 

Extra points for a very cute label

I gotta be honest here, I probably wouldn't care how this particular beer tastes, I am so taken in by the title and advertising concept. Mass transit... this beer is for people who are proud take a bus? A Volkswagen bus? In the 60's? OK, sure I'll drink you!


Mass Transit Ale

• What kind of beer? Medium body ale based on the "Amber Style" according to their website.
• Where is it brewed? Right here in Colorado Springs. Within 6 miles of home.
• Alcohol content? 5.1%
• Tasters' rating? I give it a big G for Grand! Mr. Prairie, he begs to differ, citing it as not too special. However he concedes that it's good with food.

My hands are burning!

Over the past week I have learned why recipes are always telling you to apply rubber gloves before preparing jalapeños and other hot chiles. If you disobey, you will have hot burny fingers like I do. The only distraction will be the firey dish you have concocted.

From this

To this!

Today I amused myself by trying to find a likely recipe for Green Chili. After googling "Colorado Green Chili Recipe" for a while and not coming up with anything consistent, I tried New Mexico Green Chili Recipe. A little cross-referencing later, I settled on this one. I modified it heavily, omitting the extra 3 serrano peppers (thank God) the bacon fat, using vegetable stock instead of chicken... actually it's probably better if I list what I did do.

Prairie's First Attempt at a 

Vegetarian Colorado / New Mexico Style Green Chili

Ingredients:
9 roasted green chiles, diced
1 tbsp canola oil
1 med yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp flour
2-1/2 cups vegetable stock
6 new potatoes, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 small can of chick peas (Garbonzo beans here!)
2 tomatoes, diced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

If you need to roast your own peppers, do so first. Don't forget to wear latex gloves or oil up your hands. You have been warned.

Next, dribble the oil into your favourite chili pot or soup pan. Toss in the onion and garlic, cook until translucent. Coat in flour, stir. Add the vegetable stock, potatoes, carrots, and chick peas. All the vegetables should be mostly covered in broth, if there's not enough, add a little water. If there's too much, maybe add another little potato or some other root vegetable you've got rattling around in the bottom of your fridge. Add the spices. Bring to a simmer for 15 minutes or so. Add the chiles and tomato, and simmer for another 1.5 hours.

My result was deliciously spicy. Almost too painful to eat but not quite. Great with bread.

Monday's Bike Ride

 

This chained fence is actually an invitation to come onto the trail! (Just not for cars)

There are a great many bike trails in Colorado Springs. I attempted one, but didn't want to climb back up it, so I meandered back through town instead. I got a little lost at the end.

p.s. the iPhone application I used to trace a map while biking is pretty spiffy. And free. How I feel about the GPS people being able to find me so easily, I'm not sure.

T.G.I.F... M.B.

Tasting Grand or Ickily Formulated Microbrewed Beer 

 

 

Coffee and beer, two of my favourite beverages....

 For those of us that may have had the preconception that America was a world of 3% Budweiser, it turns out to be incorrect. There are many small local-ish breweries, with varying concoctions. We are on a mission to sample them.

On the right:
Yellow Kite Summer Pils

• What kind of beer? A Handcrafted german-style pilser says the label.
• Where is it brewed? Right here in Colorado Springs. Within 6 miles of home.
• Alcohol content? 5.25%
• Tasters' rating? I for Icky. Totally drinkable, but too hoppy to be as refreshing as promised.

On the left:
Ellie's Brown Ale

• What kind of beer? Lab tested (heh) beatiful deep russet brew is dominated by a chocolate... says the label
• Where is it brewed? Boulder, Colorado. Within 2 hours of home.
• Alcohol content? 5.5%
• Tasters' rating? G for Grand! Just like the label says, beautiful, dark, sweet, yum.

Windfall

I'm sitting in my pyjamas, listening to the thunder, planning where to put away all my junk now that it has finally arrived, and daydreaming about future road trips. In fact I'm getting so excited about the upcoming days, I am already forgetting about the super-fantastic Saturday we just enjoyed.

My boyfriend spent a considerable amount of time chatting up these guys.

First, we returned to the farmer's market to learn that it was also Founders Day. This meant even more market stalls than last week (your usual trinkets and Avon dealers, plus some unique finds - the handcrafted wooden birdhouse shaped like a moose was my favourite) as well as people dressed up and doing historical things (some civil war re-enactors, and Victorian dancers.) The civil war guys wanted to outfit me in a hoop skirt and a bustle.

After that, we noticed it was getting nice and hot so it was time to refresh at Seven Falls. Maybe it wasn't so cooling, as we first climbed hundreds of stairs and then hiked to "Inspiration Point" but it was beautiful. Worth $9? Definately!

Colorado Springs is off in the distance!

Our farmer's market finds. Yum!

Food!

The most delicious activity we did on the weekend was visit the Old Colorado City Farmer's Market.

It's every Saturday from 7 am to 1 pm, and I can't wait to go again this weekend. For $9 we got a basket each of tomatoes, zucchini, and yellow squash, and some crazy awesome cinnamon honey for another $6. And this being the south (or is it middle?), there were all kinds of salsas and tamales for sale. I haven't ventured into the world of tamales again here, since discovering that they aren't all corn filled like I originally thought and was surprised with one full of beef!

The other awesomely yummy thing about the farmer's market is that it's situated across the street of my favourite non-franchised coffee place in Colorado Springs. Although I have yet to check it out while they have performers.

My next food related task? Find out more about the green chili and make a vegetarian version.

While I would cite this weekend as a general success (elements of Clean Sweep, human interaction, yummy breakfast) it was low on the Colorado Tourism front.

Note the glowing halo from above.

Enter Tinseltown, USA. This American movie theatre shamed our humble Silver Cities with its whopping 20 cinemas, outdoor ticket windows manned by real humans, giant semi-reclining leatherette seats, and 3-D Harry Potter part 7-3/4. The movie was up to the franchise-standard, although the 3-D aspects may not have been worth the extra $3.
And the theatre itself? It has a hard time measuring up to the one I attended in Manchester where we booked both our tickets and our seat assignments online. In 2002. North America, we have a ways to go yet!

Starbucks

That's right, I said it! When I initially learned of Starbucks, I wasn't too crazy about it, thinking their coffees tasted funny, and preferring my own Canadian Second Cup and Tim Hortons. However, the company has grown on me over time. Now I've had Starbucks beverages in 3 of the following 4 countries:

• Canada
• The United States
• England
• Peru

If you're thinking the 3rd country was England, no dice... it was Peru! Is consuming Starbucks in different countries the yuppie equivalent to having McDonald's all over Europe as I did when I was 23?

Nonetheless, since arriving in Colorado Springs, and probably until my coffee maker arrives (hopefully unscathed) I begin my weekdays with a 15 minute walk downhill, followed by a coffee at Starbucks (it's cheaper if you bring your own cup!) and some people watching. This morning there was a Venus Flytrap on my table.

Camping at Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Well hello there! For my inaugural post to this blog, I submit this past weekend's trip to Golden Gate Canyon State Park, which is just over 2 hours northwest of Colorado Springs.

The views were breathtaking!

• Best part: Black Bear Hiking Trail
• Worst part: My ludicrous fear of killer mountain lions
• Lesson learned? If you're going to arrive after 6 pm, bring lots of $1 bills
• Rating? 4 stars! (outta 5)

The trip turned out to be a roaring success, after a moderately rocky start. My stuff hasn't arrived yet, so we had to rent a tent that isn't very hiking friendly. Then we discovered that we missed the boat on reserving a site at the two campgrounds in the park. We decided to go for it anyway, stopping a few times (a stove, then beer, then Starbucks at my insistence...)

When we finally arrived at the Park at 6:20 pm, we discovered it was all closed up. We found an envelope for a vehicle permit, but we couldn't find anything to self-register for a campsite! After a little panicking, we found a Park Ranger who was in the midst of some sort of allergic reaction (possible wrong line of work?) but who was nevertheless kind enough to find us the very official clipboard of registration for the backcountry sites.

How was our site? (Deer Creek #19, if you're curious) It was great! Garbage-free, had a flat tent-sized pad and was nestled into a forest.

The best part of the excursion however, was the hiking the next day. On the recommendation of the Park volunteer who we paid our outstanding $3 to, we started with the Black Bear trail and came back down on the horseshoe trail. In theory this was only 4.6 miles (how many km is that? Ah... 7.4) but it was pretty exhausting! We had lunch at the top of the trail, which was the best sandwich in the world, found at this lady's blog. After finishing up with that, we tackled our second hike the Raccoon trail, but it wasn't very challenging and the best views of the mountains were from the trailhead!

All in all, a very nice first weekend in Colorado!