High-tailing it out of New Mexico, we blazed a trail through Colorado to Longmont and the home of Ron and Imrie, Stacey’s uncle and aunt. Immediately upon entering, we watched the Patriots lose to the Broncos; a glass (or two?) of wine, some homemade mac ‘n cheese, and a piece of apple crisp definitely helped ease the pain. Amy, Stacey’s cousin, also joined the party and kept things lively with her hell no’s (by the way, a shameless plug for her: she is enjoying baking, so if you’re looking to buy her any gifts, some baking books or cool kitchen supplies would be awesome…).
The next day, we were off to explore Boulder and the surrounding “hills”. Three blocks and one conversation later, we both realized the same thing: this is the place for us. We popped into a very cool looking store called Topo Ranch; Steven, the co-owner, gave us some great tips and free swag. After lunch at his recommendation, Mountain Sun Brew Pub, we took a jaunt through the historic district and then up the road into the mountains. We know we’ve said this before, but this was a scenic drive! We took tons of pictures of the meandering rivers and jutting peaks before winding our way down to Lyons, the home of Rock ‘N River. Now a winery and spa, it used to be a bed and breakfast and trout farm run by Ron, Imrie, and Stacey’s grandparents. It was fantastic to visit the place that helped inspire Stacey’s love of Colorado.
Before heading home, we had to make a stop for the opening day of the new Oskar Blues Brewery in Longmont, an installation that features good beer and a silo painted like a beer can. ‘Nuff said. Back at Ron and Imrie’s, Galen whipped up a perfect autumn meal that delighted everyone (see Memorable Meals page and Featured Recipe page), and Stacey mixed up some chocolate chip cookies for already-stuffed bellies. It was a good night of eats, laughs, and conversation.
After a leisurely breakfast, we roused ourselves enough to ride our bikes to the local disc golf course, which was situated on four blocks of ponds and trees, with kids skipping school for a smoke (the high school was right across the street). Hole one: played it safe. Hole two: also safe. Hole three: not so much. Galen attempted two drives because the first one landed in the middle of the pond; the second was also pretty darn close to being in the pond: it hit the rocky edge perched three inches above the water. The rest of the game was great for Stacey, though Galen did learn the intricacies of his one remaining disc he brought with him. At the end of game, we decided to check out downtown Longmont, which had a couple classics: the rock shop where the owner showed us her collection of heart rocks, the thrift store where the proprietor lorded over all in his captain’s chair, and the pizza parlor where every table featured a different game. Longmont surprised us!
That night, we met Brian, Galen’s cousin, and Heather at Dark Horse, a college pub with random western-inspired paraphernalia, lots of games, and…world famous trike night. Although we didn’t enter the race, we did ride the trike and decided we need our own. Needless to say, we will be going back to dominate trike night. Oh, yes, it will be done. It was the first of many fun evenings we will be having in Boulder because…we’re going to move here! Catching up with Brian, chowin’ on cheap burgers, drinking dark beer on a cold night, and shooting some pool and playing darts all made for an enjoyable time.
Although Ron and Imrie repeatedly mentioned that we could skip the rest of our road trip, we decided to move on, but reassured them that we would be back. Thanks, Ron and Imrie, for welcoming us with open arms, for the wonderful company, and for the encouragement and support. We look forward to many future dinners and laughs.
Next stop: Austin (by way of Taos, Placitas, NM, and Texas…many many miles of Texas).
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