DEPARTURE DAY: FRIDAY
We found a great fare with Southwest Airlines from Detroit to Denver for late April, and couldn't resist. I had barely finished writing up the El Paso/Albuquerque trip then it was time to head off to the airport again. Life as jet setters can be pretty demanding some months. This time we took only carry-on luggage, saving us time on arrival and on our very late return to Detroit. The best part was the direct flight: no need to change planes like our last trip. A measly three hours gate to gate and the worst part is over.
Our departure was scheduled for 8:10 pm from North Terminal in Detroit. We had to get through bridge customs and across Detroit at rush hour. As expected, customs took forever, but when our turn arrived it took less than a minute. I like flying out of the North Terminal, but it has no Michigan craft beer. In fact, it has no craft beer. We did find a good Middle Eastern counter to order some good food, though. We left about thirty minutes late, but as we had no headwind tonight we would arrive on time, or a bit early.
The weekend before our departure the Denver area had been hit hard with tons of heavy, wet snow. So glad we missed that. Our temps were supposed to reach the 60s and mid 70s, except for departure day, which looked cold and miserable (it was, too). We packed summer clothes, no gloves, traveling light.
We rented from Budget, and there was a lineup at 10:30 pm. We waited about half an hour before finally getting our car. But we scored a VW Jetta, so there was no learning curve for us!
Our Jetta rental, from Budget in Denver.
The interior is bright, with lots of windows overlooking a busy street. They have an interesting beer board.
I had The Dreamer and the New Age Lovecraft. The last one was really good!
Pints Pub, downtown Denver. Most of their 300 whiskies are shown.
Another view of Pints Pub, Denver.
Our hotel was on the exact opposite side of Denver from the airport. We were in bed before midnight, but we had rolled our watches back two hours, so it was 2 am old time. A long nap was in order. The hotel was a bit eccentric, devoted to a dinosaur theme. Skeletons have been found at Dinosaur Ridge, not too far away.
The lobby of the Best Western Denver Southwest Hotel.
Internet photo.
SATURDAY IN DENVER
Each morning there was a museum docent on hand to talk about dinosaurs. Pretty cool! However, I wasn't in Denver to brush up on dinosaur facts. I was in search of craft beer. My first stop was Fiction Beer Company. I had high hopes for this one (as I do for all craft breweries), as their literary theme seemed attractive. The bar is built atop hardcover books, and they have a lot of books on shelves at the back of the airy pub. However, 98% looked so dull and uninteresting, with mostly modern pulp authors churning out mass media crap, that looking through the books was quite depressing. So much for the atmosphere. Still, they had beer.
Lost Highway Brewery, Denver. My designated driver is shown.
Hitting the best brewery of the whole trip on the 2nd one visited is a pretty awesome piece of luck, though everything afterwards had to be scored against it. Lost Highway, near downtown, was an incredible brewery, with guest taps as well as their own superior beer. It had a suitably divey atmosphere, a friendly barman, and beer that just wouldn't quit. Though fairly empty early in the day, I have no doubt this place gets very crowded in the evening. I wish I could have made a 2nd visit here to try several more, and retry I few I already had. Out of five beers that I tried, two were just short of perfection, two were perfection, and one was better than perfect. The first two were O.G. Colfax Porter, and Golden Ghost. The two perfect ones were Grave Robber Quad and Professor Plum. The final one, and the best of the whole trip, was their 4th Estate Belgian Chocolate Stout. Words fail me, but tears come to my eyes when I think about Lost Highway.
Nearby was Pints Pub, though we had a long cafe stop first. This place is a bit of a poseur, purporting to be a British style pub. Let's just say it tries a bit too hard. I've yet to visit a pub in England with a red phone box inside (with a cash machine). Anyway, they had home-brewed cask ale, which was why I was here. Cask ale is always my first choice at any pub that offers it. England has had years to perfect it, and I've had some pretty good versions in the USA, too. Let's be kind and say that Pints' version is drinkable; just. They had two cask ales, a Lancer IPA and a Dark Star Brown. This is one of those times when I wish I'd tried a draught beer instead. Well, with over 300 whiskies and Scotches, perhaps a wee dram of something instead. One of the cheaper offerings was Laphroig 10 Year Old Scotch, but I'm not paying $12 US for a shot. Yikes! Time to move along.
After dinner, and nearly back to our hotel, we stopped in at Caution Brewery. They had a cask ale! It was pretty good! Their Mandarina IPA cask version was nearly perfect! Very enjoyable. Their Card Your Mom (Cardamom Belgian Style Saison) was so sweet that I couldn't even drink it! Alcopop. Their Fez Foreign Extra Stout was pretty bland, but it did have a chocolate taste. I tried to go back Monday night for more of their cask ale, but they are closed on Mondays.
It was close to our hotel, and they had cask ale!
Earlier in the day we had visited a number of used bookstores, in search of some very obscure sci-fi titles. We struck out, but wandered in some pretty fun areas. One of the stores was also a cafe, and had old fashioned pinball machines! I got my photo taken with a real robot!
Mutiny Information is a bookstore, cafe, and pinball
hot spot. And they have a robot!
We had lunch at a little hole in the wall joint called Handy Diner, a vegan restaurant that is unique. Deb had a breakfast burrito, and I enjoyed a vegan burger with mashed potatoes and gravy, along with a cup of tea (I don't just drink beer, you know; not like some people). Food was good, it was pretty cheap, the place is a dump, but who cares when you're on a vacation. It sure beats cooking it yourself. Best of all, one of the light rail lines ends right across the street. There is lots of parking, too. We ate dinner at Whole Foods, near our hotel.
Because Deb was on this trip, too, we had to visit a lot of coffee places. Deb doesn't like beer--(OUCH! I just got punched on the arm). Actually, Deb loves beer, but because of meds she takes, no alcohol is allowed for this Irish gal. Anyway, she is now a micro coffee roaster (Seven Little Blackbirds Coffee NanoRoasters), so we visit great cafes and roasteries all over the globe (well, North America and England so far). First thing this morning we tried Bloom Cafe and Roastery, then came Mutiny Information, then Quince Essential Coffee (our favourite cafe in Denver). And that was all before I even got to a single pub! Lastly came Pablo's, behind the State Capitol building. That, my friends, all adds up to a fun day. Here is a cultural photo for you to enjoy, if you don't like coffee, beer, or robots.
Denver State Capitol Building. Several of our pubs and cafes were near here today. There is a lot of real gold on the dome.
SUNDAY IN DENVER
SUNDAY IN DENVER
Actually, we left Denver on Sunday, choosing to go for a drive deep into the Rocky Mtns. We set our goal as Vail, Colorado's biggest ski resort town. Of course there was a cafe stop before we headed uphill. Bear Valley Coffee wasn't far from our hotel, and Deb enjoyed an almond milk cappuccino.
The drive to Vail from Denver along Interstate 70 is an eye-popping adventure from start to finish. A few ears are popped, too. It begins civilly enough, with green mountains in front and white ones further back. There are two tunnels, and two high passes to get over, and a lot of winding, hair-raising road in between. For serious mountain lovers this road is killer! Amtrak's California Zephyr follows a similar route, at much slower speeds, in daylight. We are already looking into it. One of the worst punishments a mountain lover can be hit with is having to drive through extremely scenic country. There were very few places to pull over and look around.
As we climbed, the temperatures dropped. We had started out in Denver at around 56 F at 10 am. By the time we hit the high pass it was down to 28 F, and snowing and blowing like you were in a different continent! It was certainly an adventurous drive. The photos cannot possibly show how beautiful it really is.
The first of two tunnels encountered on the way to Vail, CO. This one is pretty short.
Snow was blowing off the high peaks (some over 14,000'), and we eventually got high enough to be affected by it.
The second tunnel is the Eisenhower Tunnel. It is way the hell up there, over 11,100'. It is also really long. It was freezing up here. We stopped at an unheated rest area, which was still nearly buried in deep snow. Google this tunnel; it has a fascinating history.
WOW!
It was a relief to reach Vail! However, the ski season had ended and the town was nearly deserted. There was a cafe open, so Deb did not despair. Yeti Coffee was waiting for her.
Deb and her friend, "Harvey." Downtown Vail.
Outdoor seating in Vail, CO.
The view from our lunch spot in West Vail. The Vail Ale House had a great in-house veg burger, made from lentils and beets. Deb had an Asian salad. I had an above average Bonfire Saison to help wash it down. A bonfire would have been nice--it was cold up here!
After lunch we turned around and headed for home. The weather had cleared up, and we had completely different views heading back east. There is so much summer hiking to do up here. I have a feeling we will be back often. That's the west side of the Eisenhower Tunnel coming up upon us.
There are a number of small resort towns between Denver and Vail. Coming home we stopped in Frisco, which had Rocky Mtn Coffee Roastery. We had delicious coffee!
Frisco also had the enormous Backcountry Brewery and Pub, with real live topo maps on the wall for decoration!! I had a rather bland Belgian Stout (???), and a perfectly good Breakfast Stout.
Come back for Part Two, where we undertake a big hike in Denver, then go for more coffee and beer!
Mapman Mike
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