Denver Art Museum

After safely dropping Vickie at the airport around noon, Lynn and Jamie stopped by the Denver Art Museum on the way home. We mainly saw traveling exhibits. Most of the permanent collection is in the North Building which is undergoing a renovation program for the next few years. We did see some of the old masters scattered throughout these more modern exhibits, but only a fraction. Armed with some ice cream money Vickie gave us, on the way home from the art museum we hit Jing Restaurant again. This time we sat on the bar side; as great as ever. All the photos are here.

Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer

Landscape Photography. This artist buried photos of Hawaii and let things
seep into the photo for a few weeks.

Drawn to Glamour: Illustrations by Jim Howard

Ganesha: The Playful Protector

The North Building is in the back, being renovated.

Stampede: Animals in Art

There are 56 piglets following.

Bar side at Jing.

Jamie's favorite self portrait to date using a unique
mirror in the Jing restroom.

The fried cauliflower was outstanding,
as was the dip for the grilled artichokes.

Hospital Food - Redefined

Our waiter at Jing Restaurant (bringing Vickie in from the airport last week) told us about a hospital "cafeteria" in Castle Rock (about 25 minutes north from our house). It's called Manna Restaurant, very apt name, and is located in the Castle Rock Adventist Hospital. Very unassuming decor-wise, but the food was fabulous. And we understand that's the kitchen for the hospital, too, everyone gets their food from this kitchen. OMG! Step aside, green jello. Now a trip to the Castle Rock outlet mall (the shoppers love it!) will be interesting for the non-shoppers as well. Didn't look like they had a bar (we didn't ask) - I guess that's reasonable for a hospital. We'll be back! Tips and donations are used to benefit health inspired wellness projects within the Castle Rock community. Did I mention the pricing is fantastic, too?!

Snuggled in our booth it felt like we
were the only people there.

There are seats that view the kitchen.

Wood Oven Queso: local cheeses / pepper jelly / pepitas, $7

Grilled Haloumi: rocket / heirloom tomato / mint / pomegranate molasses, $6

Whole Roasted Artichoke: sauce pierre / lemon balm / grana padano, $8

Romanesco Cauliflower: romesco / fennel agrodolce, $3.
I missed a pic of the Fried Brussel Sprouts: nuoc mom caramel, $3.

Whole Roasted Radishes: chimichurri. Surprisingly good, a little kick. $3

Boston Maple Steak: crostini / arugula / tomato compote / onion / balsamic / shaved parm, $15

Lemon Cake. We had a scoop of espresso gelato as well. $5

On the Market side was a window into the pizza oven.

Castlewood Canyon with Vickie

This is the site of a dam failure that caused the largest flooding event in Denver history. The water was 15 feet high surging down Cherry Creek. The Castlewood Canyon Dam was built to create an irrigation reservoir 32 miles southeast of Denver. More about the dam. Castlewood Canyon State Park (Wikipedia). All Jamie's photos from today are here.

Remains of the dam above.

On top of the dam.

Ute Prayer Trees at Fox Run

It took Lynn a while to convince me that the Ute tribesmen had modified these trees. That they weren't just natural oddities. But check out this video. We were at the Fox Run Regional Park just a few miles up the road from our house. All our photos from the day are here. We really weren't sure what we were looking for or at today - so we've got to go back. Besides, we only covered about 1/3 of the park (weather was threatening and we did get rained on a little).

Brother Luck & Art on the Streets

Colorado Springs has a fairly vibrant downtown, and this evening Lynn, Jamie, Aunt Vickie, and her friend Susan enjoyed a delightful meal at Four by Brother Luck (he was on Top Chief) and then a stroll through downtown looking for and enjoying Art on the Streets. Some of the art pieces we found were from previous years and/or permanently displayed. All the photos are here.

A fabulous bit of smoked trout salad.

Rotating the interior dial caused flashing lights and music!

We found two Old English Sheepdogs!

"While we live, let us live."

New favorite chocolate store: Cacao Chemistry.

Jing and Aunt Vickie

We picked up Aunt Vickie at the airport tonight and stopped at Jing Restaurant on the way home. Something of a shot in the dark based on a website supposedly listing the 12 most unique restaurants in Denver. Well, Jing's turned out to be fantastic. We might have to try some of the others...

Unique decor.

That's water running down behind the bar (which is in the other room). It's
actually running "outside," between the two rooms.

Kobe on the Rock. Dip and cook (quickly) on the very hot rock.

Bone-In Filet (Jamie).

Miso Seabass (Lynn). THE BEST. On a huge menu, it's been the most popular
dish for over ten years. It is fantastic.

Colorado Lamb Chops (Vickie).

Bathroom door when locked.

Bathroom door when unlocked. Very cool. Nitrogen is involved.

We forget what it's called, but CHOCOLATE.