Decompression Anniversary

Tracy: It seems like a life time ago, it seems like yesterday. But exactly a year ago today our brave warrior survived brain surgery. To mark the occasion we had cake and reminded ourselves God is Good - always. #chiariawareness #chiarimalformation #chiarimalformationawareness

Cripple Creek

Nana and Papa took a little anniversary overnighter to Cripple Creek, a mere hour-twenty from our house. We had a late breakfast on the way at our new favorite French spot, La Baguette. We got up in the world by the time we hit Cripple Creek, to 9400 feet or so. A few menu items here start with "2-mile high" (close enough). Upon arrival we went directly to the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad for a 40-minute round trip out toward the gold mining areas and back. Live steam, coal fired! We're staying at the Hotel St. Nicholas, built in 1898 by the Catholic Sisters of Mercy as the first dedicated general hospital to serve Cripple Creek, Colorado, and the surrounding area at the height of the 1890's gold rush. We love these historic places! Next door to the railroad is the Cripple Creek District Museum, well worth the $8/ea. Three levels of interesting artifacts and three or four out buildings: assay office, miner's cabin, prostitute's cabin, etc. We blew $5 in the Double Eagle Casino as we wandered town, but I'm glad to say we spent over three times that amount on fudge. Lunch/Dinner was at Rudy's (as in Rudolph) in the Christmas Casino and Inn. The casino is small, comparatively, and Rudy's is tiny, 4 tables. But good burgers and dogs. We think there are a couple higher-end food places in town, but they're not open mid-week. We drove through the town's cemetery where the most notable occupant seems to be Dr. Susan Anderson, "Dr. Susie," who was a real-life Dr. Quinn Medicine Women. Definitely a gambling town with a smattering of museums, very few shops, and a train ride. There is the Butte Theatre, generally very active, but nothing we could see while here mid-week. There probably are hikes, tours, etc. out and about from town, but we didn't chase those down. Tomorrow morning is breakfast at the hotel, on to Victor, and work our way home. All the (cellphone) photos are here.

Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad.
Very narrow, less than 2 feet.

Hotel St. Nicholas. That green, second-level porch is off our room!

At the Cripple Creek District Museum

Christmas Casino

Sunset over Cripple Creek

Cripple Creek from the train.

Hotel St. Nicholas

Double Eagle Casino and Hotel. We had a mid-afternoon refresher here.

Labor Day at the Pool

Great family day at the pool for Labor Day. A few glimpses...

Oh, wait. Miniature Golf was a little earlier in the weekend

The crowd gathers to hoot and holler for AJ.

AJ kicking his ducky across the pool

On to the greased watermelon relay with AJ...

and Matteo.

Fina goes for the belly flop championship.

And wins a little, green, rubber lizard!

Nothing like ice cream and accoutrement to end the day.

School in the Woods Overnight

Sleeping under the stars tonight. Literally. This is AJ's carpool group having just been dropped off this morning. We pick them up tomorrow at noon. Hopefully we'll grab a pick-up comparison shot as well.

Before.

After.

La Baguette

Thanks to our car dealer paperwork friend, we found this very authentic little French cafe/bistro just off Garden of the Gods at N. Chestnut, La Baguette. Check it out some time. Very good food, very reasonably priced, wonderful atmosphere; loved it.

The Piano Guys

Papa, Nana, and Sam grabbed Matteo a little early from school today and headed for Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison (just west of Denver) to see The Piano Guys. What a venue! What a show! But first, we stopped at The Fort for dinner. Robob took Lynn and I and Trevor and Tracy there over 30 years ago. Rattlesnake was still on the menu back then; tastes just like chicken. It's been a couple years since they've had rattlesnake; hard to keep a steady supply for how much they need if it's on the menu, per our waiter. This may have been where Robob developed his love of peanut butter jalapenos. Anyway, great dinner. Our plates included bison, elk, quail, and a lamb t-bone (new to me, very good). Got the cookbook. Then on to Red Rock. We were just as thrilled as two years ago when we were here with Matteo for the Piano Guys. At one point, Steve (cellist) gave a shout out to all the kids learning instruments. Matteo raised his hand and we cheered him on! Unfortunately, tonight they chased us out at intermission for a severe weather alert, advised us to seek shelter in our cars. Figuring at least an hour delay, we headed home (was a school night, after all), listening to Piano Guys all the way, of course, including their new album, Limitless.

The Fort

Peanut butter-stuffed jalapenos.

Red Rocks entrance ramp from the South Lot. (It's not really that steep.)

Tried to get some lightning in the shot; no luck.