Mile high in Boulder

First taste of the Rockies
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My Goodness, what a difference a state makes. Steve and I left the “good life” state on Tuesday morning and drove another five hours into “colorful” Colorado. While Nebraska was amusing, you can’t deny that it stinks of cow shit and its flatter than a pancake. Crossing over the state divide didn’t provide much change in landscape initially but the moment the Rockies appeared in the distance, we were blown away.

Boulder is a beautiful town at the foot of the Rockies and we arrived to 80 degree weather. After sitting in the Prius snacking on road food for days, we agreed that we should take our fat asses for a hike up the Flat Irons. Oh boy. Now, I count myself as a lady in decent shape and we all know that while he aint the sharpest tool in the shed, my boyfriend looks like an Adonis. But I came to realize pretty quickly that speed walking through the streets of Manhattan does NOT prepare you for hiking up a mountain whose base is already a mile above sea level. I almost died up there. It also didn’t help that a fellow hiker warned us to “be careful for the mountain lions roaming around up there” WHAAAAAAAAT?!! I’m afraid of a house cat but a mountain lion!? Oh no. So now every rustle of a tree branch and I launched into the throws of an anxiety attack. I can’t begin to tell you the number of pictures that got trashed because I had some terrified look on my face or my clenched muscles made me look like a line backer. But Steve willed me forward and after about an hour an a half, we reached the Royal Arches which looked over all of Boulder. To borrow from Tina, it was breathtaking.

“be careful for the mountain lions roaming around up there”

Approaching the hike up the Flat Irons
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After our rugged afternoon, returning to the comforts of the Bradley Boulder Inn was a pleasure. Steve booked us a room in this old Victorian that looked more like a cozy home than a hotel. There was a beautiful great room with a fire place and a kitchen area that served home made breakfast kieshes, breads, muffins, fresh fruit, yogurts and granola every morning. We had a fire place in our room which was put to great use the following evening as the weather turned from 80 degrees on Tuesday to 40 and snowy on Wednesday!! “So it goes in Colorado”, said the locals. However, that night we were able to take advantage of the good weather and headed to a restaurant called Sherpas which served authentic Nepalese and Indian fare. Walking to the restaurant, we agreed that such a healthy afternoon should only be followed by a nutritious yet delicious dinner choice. You can imagine our surprise when the sampler appetizer plate came out entirely deep fried. Never ones to offend, we ate it up like dutiful little sherpas and it was delish! The only real snag in our dinner was a bit of crude yet necessary dentistry performed tableside. Unfortunately the tiny bit of metal which sits behind my four front teeth acting as a splint, decided to wiggle loose over the last few days. Even worse, by the time we sat down at Sherpas it was hanging half off and poking my lips and tongue each time I moved my mouth!! We were tucked away in a corner so I doubt we had too many on-lookers. Regardless, I yanked that puppy loose and enjoyed the sweet relief once it was fully off. Now Steve can enjoy even MORE chatting!

Managing to smile through my huffin and puffin
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As I mentioned earlier, Wednesday’s weather didn’t hold up as nicely as Tuesday’s so Steve and I tucked ourselves away in the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. Sent piecemeal from Boulder’s sister city Dushanbe in Tajikistan, the teahouse is a beautifully crafted place with hand carved and hand painted ceilings and walls. It was so wonderful that we sat down for a snow day’s compulsory three hour lunch.

Boulder is undoubtedly the best stop over so far. It has great weather (sun AND snow) with the best landscape for outdoors activity. The city is teeming with great restaurants and bars and it’s clearly a very creative community that holds the arts as a top priority. Next stop is Salt Lake City, Utah where we’ll no doubt have some issue with the state liquor laws. But let’s be honest, where there’s a will there’s a way.

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Steve is out working his ass off, so he is concerned that he hasn’t had the chance to contribute sufficiently to this entry. Apparently he has some issue with my flatulent behind and habit of nodding off. You can expect to hear from him a bit later on so stay tuned for more to come today! And we’ll DEFINTIELY fill you in on the adventures of Mormon haven Salt Lake City tomorrow.