Anyone who knows me well enough knows that Denver, Colorado is my favorite city on this planet. I will one day live there.
The first question anyone asks when I go to Denver is "Did it snow?" A very common misconception. The truth is that Denver is clear and sunny over 300 days a year. If it does snow, it usually disappears within a few days rather than linger for weeks or months.
My company for this particular trip was Andrew "Westy" Westhafer. A Denver Broncos fan, he was the perfect fit for this particular trip.
The first night was spent exploring the downtown nightlife which is best in LoDo or the Lower Downtown. There's literally a place for everyone here.
The 16th street Mall - an outdoor mall so clean that I swear you could eat off of the sidewalk. Free busrides all day long.
Denver has its own
Red Rocks Amphitheater
For those of you who haven't heard or seen, this is very likely one of the most beautiful things to see in this country. Top 10, if not top 5.
It's so big, here's a model to scale
That doesn't nearly do it justice though, a view from one of the parking lots
A stage carved into the mountain...if you look closely, you can see Denver in the upper right corner
My visit this time around was a bit colder
My live performance w/ a under-capacity crowd of 1.
Year after year, Red Rocks won the "Concert Venue of the Year" award until it won its 10th straight award and the committee just decided to rename the award the "Red Rocks Award" and allow all of the other venues to have a chance.
If you think I didn't have tickets 3 rows back last summer for a Journey and Def Leppard concert, you are very mistaken
One-armed drummer
The downtown Convention Center seems to have a large bear peering in
The Well-Fargo building, aka "The Cash Register." Notice how the windows are cut at the edges of the building
Another example of the clean 16th Street Mall - Chess anyone?
Buffalo Bill's grave
Dinosaur Ridge - Where some stegosaurus once went for a walk
Performing arts center downtown
Another installment of "What the **** artwork in Denver
The Denver Art Museum
Some cold birds
One Mile above sea level at the Colorado State Capital
Home of the National League Champions
The Horse on the chair in front of the Library
The Mecca of NFL Football, home of the Denver Broncos
The Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado
Bottom left
My I.D. didn't work at the Coors Brewery, so I was an "exception."
The largest single site brewery in the world
The Coors Brewery tour is the best of Coors, Budweiser, or Miller
They own more brands than one might think including Killians, Blue Moon, & Keystone
Rocky mountain water
70% of beer sales are in Coors Light, aka "The Silver Bullet"
Enemies to beer: Heat, Light, and Age. Meaning Corona in a clear glass bottle is terrible for beer. Meaning pay the extra $1.00 for the cold charge at your local distributor. Meaning don't drink old beer.
Check out some of these classics:
There's more varieties of Blue Moon than you'd think
No Kidding
Those large cement slabs are removable
Coors breakroom. Each employee is allowed 2 free 12 oz beers every day. If the employee is having a particularly bad day, they can go to the "wellness center" for two more.
What a funny little town
Bike rack?
Greatest franchise ever
The challenge of Denver: to try Rocky Mountain Oysters. Yes the name is very misleading. There are no oysters in the Rocky Mountains. These, my friends are the family "jewels" of buffalos. I'm not even going to comment on the experience as I ask that all of the readers step up and give these a try...
Someone get this guy a jacket
Our rent-a-car ruining what could be a nice picture
A classic
Dinosaurs and chickens
Well, I almost forgot...this is the NBA tour; and one of the most exciting franchises is up next!
Welcome to the Pepsi Center - home of the Denver Nuggets
The statue above the entrance
Electrifying touch
You touch the balls on this projection screen and they move depending on your motion
Pepsi center ball is visible until gametime
Full court
Conditions outside led to a late-arriving crowd
Newscast
Many name brand eateries in the arena, but I choose to go with the "spud"
Alex English and other Nuggets' heros
Mr. Artest
J.R. Smith
The team entrance music was the beat to "Murder was the Case" by Snoop
What luck, it's 80's night
Westy's poster - which is missing a key cost thanks to the generousity of the Nuggets
Jump ball
Allen Iverson from the line
For the first time ever, I saw 'Melo play without the headband
Ahhh, the crossover
Carmelo Anthony to A.I.
Anthony Carter with the breakaway
Halftime show consisting of Tone-Loc
Fireworks and all
Rocky, the mascot
During the game, someone came down and called out, "Who's the superfan?" It was Mark Randall, former Nuggets player and now newscaster and Nuggets' community ambassador.
Kenyon Martin, or K-Mart. Great to see him healthy again.
'Melo in the corner
Francisco Garcia with the ball during the "Key (Bank) Quarter" or 4th quarter
I couldn't understand this one...late in the game, George Karl stood removed from his team during a timeout
Before the final possession for the Kings, which they botched and the Nuggets won.
Marcus Camby leaving the court
Another win for the NBA tour
Would love to wake up to the Rocky Mountains everyday:
Thanks to Andy "Westy" Westhafer, Dave Morrow (GPS), Deb Dowling, Jessica Martin, Ashley Swope, Mark Randall, Tone Loc
