Blizzard

The photos can't describe the massive amounts of snow that fell this week. I finally got my first snow day so did most of Denver. The city has hundreds of cars buried under snow drifts in the middle of freeways and city streets and more snow is expected. We would have been stuck in the apartment for 3 days if it wasn't for my new 4wd SUV. Driving around town was like driving in an SUV ad where they show the car barreling through an open field of snow. Over 24 hours 2 feet fell and the wind caused there be snow drifts up to 6 feet deep in our apartment complex. I'll have more photos of the aftermath once the sky finally clears up.

Snow Freaks and Weather Maps

Keystone and Copper mountain opened this weekend, so I decided to do a solo trip to get a couple of runs in before the masses invaded with their snow fever. I barely got four runs in before I ran smack into a 45 minute line filled with snow freaks. I must admit, I've beome one of them too because I'm constantly looking up weather maps posted online and forecast my own weather. If it smells like crap, Denver gets snow. If there's a cold front in Montana, I'll have to wear a parka to work for a couple days. Granted, I'm still an amateur because I never experienced real weather or seasons in my life down in Southern California, but I've been learning fast from my coworkers who grew up in the area. Right now all the ski areas in summit country are about 1 foot (or one good storm) away from being completely open. For now, I'm glued to this map showing a cold front developing over Montana and am praying that it mixes with precipitation in the northwest.

Southern California and the Return Trip

Here are some shots from my visit home and the trip across the great expanse of Utah back to Colorado. The 70 east across Utah really is one of the great drives in the country with all the view points that look over massive canyons. The lake shot is the only one I have from Southern California after a boating attempt at Castaic Lake. I was revived by enough innout/sushi/cotixan until my return in winter.

Moab, UT

Moab is one of those places where photos will never do it justice, you just have to go there. Here are some shots from the trip.

First Ski Day Logged

This was the scene from the parking lot of Arapahoe Basin that I arrived at early Sunday morning. They opened just three days prior with only one run of the man made stuff, so I couldn't resist heading up to take a couple of turns to say I skied in October. It was the first lift to open in North America this season and was packed with die hard skiers and borders from Denver making space tight on the single open run. As can be seen from the photo, we were delighted with a surprise dusting the night before to soften up the machine groomed hardpack that had been hanging around from earlier in the week. Only an hour away in Denver the weather was sunny and warm with fall colors in full season. As can be seen in the photo, the local birds were taking full advantage of the feeder on the balcony.

Museums, Moab, and Southern California

The museum was incredible this past Sunday. I'm a huge fan of modern architecture when it blends in with its surroundings, so this new piece of the Denver Art Museum came together fabulously. Also, it turns out my second favorite pub of Denver is right next door to make the modern art all the more appreciated.

As for Moab the trip is set in stone and I'll be heading out there next weekend. It's part of the reason I've been out trying to hone my skills on the trails around Denver. I'm driving the stretch to Moab with my coworkers, then from there I'm driving solo straight to my parent's house outside LA. I'll be in town for a week on my fall break, so you might hear from me when I'm out there.

New hot spot in town.

The new hot spot in town is the Denver Art Museum's new building designed by famed architect Daniel Liebskind. For the opening weekend they have it open for 35 hours straight for free, so I went to check it out this evening. Surprisingly the earliest ticket to check it out was 3:30am, so I'm here writing this blog instead. I'll be back with more photos and an impression of this new hot thing in Denver tomorrow afternoon when I get inside the thing.

Inner City Biking

Turns out I have a bike path near where I live. I looked up its route and discovered that it heads straight to downtown, so I made a trip there to the REI flagship store to pick up some goodies. Sadly the trail is a little long and circuitous to do any pub outings on wheels. It's definitely a pretty trail following Cherry Creek, then the Platte river right through the city below traffic.

Almost Fall Colors for a Ride

So there I was on Thursday and Friday imagining skiing and sliding down snow for the whole weekend. The mountains did get over 2 feet of snow, but sure enough by Sunday it was sunny and 70 degrees. I made use of the beautiful storm aftermath to hit up my favorite ride near the metro area, Indian Creek.

First Snow of the Season

Here's a photo of Breckenridge this morning. The mountains got their first serious dump with up to 2 feet of fresh pow. Don't forget I live only an hour from this town for those of you interested in coming out to visit. I was planning on going mountain biking tomorrow morning, but it looks like I've got the white stuff to contend with. Maybe I'll find a hill and a tube if the snow level drops low enough for the metro area. At the very least we're expecting a couple flakes tomorrow morning outside the apartment.

Trip to Aspen

As shown in this first photo, the trip out to Aspen early Saturday morning brought a pleasant surprise, snow! We've been having some cold weather lately and the leaves are starting to turn, hence the trip out to Aspen to check out the nightlife and do some mountain biking. Having visited many ski towns, I must admit that I wasn't that impressed with the world famous Aspen. It could have been the fact that I wasn’t skiing, but the town seemed more like a place to live than one to visit on vacation. I prefer the plethora of bars, restaurants, and younger crowd that towns like Whistler, Breckenridge, or Tahoe have. Posted below is a chronicle of the trip via photos of yours truly since I wasn't arming the camera too much. Note there aren’t any photos of the town because they can easily be found on google. The first photo is right before the departure on our odyssey through the Snowmass Mountain’s trail system with the next shot of the fall leaves on the trail. The last few shots were taken on the road back to Denver with the first showing off the local rock climbing. The next 2 shots were taken at the 12,000ft Independence pass where I froze while wearing my biking gear.

Scottish Breakfest Tea

This is a recommendation for those out there who like that smoky smell of scotch. Scottish Breakfast tea has the brilliant "offness" that defines the libations produced in the bog landscape of Scotland from the burning of peat. I'm not trying to say this tea is like sipping on a bog, but it definitely has a hint of smoky flavor that makes it oh so tasty. If you're in to coffee without massive amounts of cream, odds are you'll like it. I recommend the Peets’ variety of the tea since it’s easy to access. Japan is my next international stop, but is anyone up for a trip to Scotland?

Waffles

A very Barron tradition on Sunday mornings is to heat up the waffle iron, slap in some batter, brew some coffee, and grill up the waffles while watching Sunday Morning, and read the Sunday paper. Not that I recommend every part of this tradition, but since I'm about to head out to Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond, it felt appropriate to be domestic and post this recipe.

Waffles
2 cups Bisquick
2 tbs. oil
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1.5 cup buttermilk
(mix together and slap on a waffle iron)

Rocky Mountain Backpacking

Well, I've finally started a blog to post what's going on out here in Denver. The move was awesome thanks to the great scenery of Utah and John helping out by driving the moving truck. To the left are some photos of the Rocky Mountain National Park from a recent backpacking trip with John and Rob when they came out to visit. I love it, the park is only 2 hours away!