Farmgirl In...Colorado

Thanks to another database training for work, I had the privilege of going to Colorado again!

Every time I go there, I love it!

Here are some pictures from my trip.  

Day 1...a trip to Mt. Evans, immediately after landing.

Do you see the elevation?

My recommendation....

don't go to the highest road in North America within a few hours of landing in Colorado.

We all got dizzy.

There wasn't enough time to adjust to the new altitude.

Next time, or for you to take note,
don't make the trip up the highway until you get use to the elevation.
After getting off an airplane and getting the rental car, this was our first destination.
The higher up we went, the worse it got.
My sinuses hurt, and so did my ears. 
I got a little dizzy if I moved too fast.
So I just took it nice and slow.
It was weird.

But the scenery and views were awesome!

  

   

 

 

 There are even some fun little critters that pose for you.  :)

 

 

How can you not enjoy Colorado with the beautiful scenery it holds?!

Colorado - Tours

Today was a day of tours. This morning, we started out our day by heading down to Golden, Colorado. This town is a ways west of Denver. Golden is the home to MillerCoors.

This is also the home to the biggest brew house in the country. Here's a copper kettle outside of the tourist area.

After leaving Golden, we headed north to Boulder. After cruising by the University of Colorado and through town, we finally made our way to SleepyTime Lane....the home of Celestial Seasonings. However, this tour didn't allow any pictures once we left a certain room. So, since I didn't have my camera out, I forgot to even take pictures of the outside of the building. Oops.

Once we had our fill of all the tea smells, we returned back to Fort Collins. We went to one of the newer breweries here...New Belgium Brewing.

One of the most popular beers made by here is Fat Tire. While on the tour, we learned where the origin of the 'Fat Tire' name came from, as well as why bikes are so popular with this brewery. (If you want to know about it, ask me sometime.)

I think this was probably the best tour overall...for all the free things we got, as well as the detailed information we got on the tour. Throughout the tour, there were 5 different beers that we could test, as well as a 'token' to try another kind once we were through with the tour. We also got a unique bottle opener, and were even able to send a postcard that they would mail for us. If you know me, I'm not a beer drinker. But, I did try 3 of the beers......and it confirmed that I still don't like beer. Nothing wrong with that though.

The best part of all of these tours that we went on today.....they were free! We just had to get there. If you'll be making a trip to Colorado any time soon and would like some more details about the tours, let me know. Some are just show up, but one was a scheduled tour.

If you would like to see more of the pictures I took today, head over here to check them out.

Tomorrow....Cheyenne, WY! Cowgirl Up!!

Colorado - Mountain Time

Yup....Mountain Time as in the time zone. Mountain Time as in we visited the Rocky Mountains at Estes Park.

Two of my colleagues and I rode up in this tram type of ride to the top of one of the peaks. It was just beautiful.

Here are some pictures from around the top of where we 'landed'. This first picture, I was facing west. For some reason, no matter how I tried to change my camera, this is how the picture would turn out. But, it's starting to grow on me.

Now here I am facing north in the next picture. I'm guessing it's the way the sun is shining and the clouds in the sky

The next picture is along the road to Estes Park. We pulled over on the way back down the mountain and took a few pictures.

If you have yet to go to Colorado or anywhere else to see the Rocky Mountains, please add that to your 'to do' list. While in or around the Estes Park area, we saw 3 vehicles with ISU plates, and rode down in the tram with 2 couples that had kids that graduated from ISU. I guess when you travel around in an ISU suburban, you stick out. Oh well. At least we get to see and breath God's amazing creation.

Colorado - Kitchen Delight

While on our lunch break during our training today, Jessica and I decided to stop by this store that looked a little scary from the outside. Well, not really scary...just not very welcoming. At least not yet. They are doing a big renevation of the front of this building, and had lots of plywood and plastic sheets all over the front and right inside the store, with a little walkway for the door. The place is The Cupboard.

Oh, how looks can be deceiving. When I walked inside this store, my heart just sighed. The colors, the tools, the food, the accessories. It was amazing.

Here was some very fun and colorful pottery. I happened to get the little red spoon rest that is on the 3rd row from the bottom. It will look great in my kitchen. I can't wait to use it. Probably the only piece of Fiestaware I will own.

Cake/cookies baking or decorating in mind? Try out some of these fun flavors or even the wide range of sprinkles.

Once I finally made my way to the back of the store, these lovelies were there to greet me.

And here is Jessica styling one of the amazing aprons. Do you notice the little cream cloth hanging off to the right of the apron? This was a very clever idea. It's like a towel on the apron. It is attached by a button on the apron and a loop on the towel. Love it. This way, instead of always washing the apron, just have a couple of little towels and rotate washing those. Mom....maybe we could do this with my potential apron? :)

Saving the best for last.......

Just looking at these things make my heart sing. Which one would I get? Either the bright red near the end or the very light blue.

Unfortunately, we then had to go back to our training. Since....that is why we are out here. But what a way to end the lunch break.

Kitchen Delight!

Colorado - Flea Markets

This past Saturday, I drove myself out to Colorado for a work training that we have this week. I love the scenic drive. However, this time it took a little longer than normal, since I had (well, I still have) a hip that didn't enjoy the long ride.

Sunday I had time to myself to bum around the area until I had to head to Denver to pick up my colleagues. I had seen some ads and information about the flea markets/antique stores, so thought I'd hit those up. As many of you 'junkers' might know, flea markets are very seldom air conditioned. They are just usually big buildings, with lots and lots of areas and stuff.

But let me back up to Saturday morning. When I left Iowa around 8:30am, it was about 55 degrees out. When I finally arrived to Fort Collins, CO around 6:30pm, it was about 92 degrees. (I remember seeing the thermometer a little higher, but I'm trying to forget that.) So on Sunday, the temps were in the upper 80s again. So that made for a very hot day of junk hunting. I did have a few fun finds. But I'll post about them later...once I'm home and put them to use.

Here are a couple of the stores that I visited.

If you are ever in the Fort Collins area, I would highly suggest that you take a good day to visit all these stores. I would have spent more time, but it was just too hot.

Oh, and how about some shots of my fun hotel room....

The Armstrong Hotel in Old Town Fort Collins.