51 Hours in Colorado

51 Hours in Colorado
September 28-30, 2012

Lisa is my partner in shenanigans.  We manage to get ourselves into wacky predicaments that are nothing less than totally random and highly hysterical.  Her move to Colorado didn’t change that- Denver is just one non-stop flight away out of Akron Canton Regional Airport (CAK) on Frontier, the cutest of all the airlines.  I left on a Friday morning around 6:30am and arrived at the Denver International Airport (DEN) around 7:30am, the difference in time zones making a 3-hour flight seem like a mere hour- it is like I traveled in time.  Or maybe time traveled with me?  Anyway, Lisa and her girls Skylar, Tierney and Justice drove up cheering and whisked me away on what was to become one of the most non-stop, whirlwind weekend trips of my entire life. 

I could see the mountains in the distance and took in the landscape in the morning light but really, the very first Colorado sight I saw was a giant field full of prairie dogs.  Hundreds of prairie dogs.  And one rabbit.  The peculiar thing about this was that the field was really more of an undeveloped lot between a movie theater and retail shops in a busy commercial part of town.  The prairie dogs had just made it their own, peaking their little heads out of their holes or boldly standing up on end with an air of claim over the plot.

After we dropped the kids off at school, Lisa and I headed toward Denver.   Lisa said she wanted me to see a Denver traffic jam- I was kind of ambivalent about this plan.  I mean, you see one traffic jam, you’ve seen them all.  It was a lot of traffic.  We detoured onto side streets and were soon involved in a haphazard high speed tour of the city.  We zoomed past the US Mint, the Art Museum, Mile High Stadium and an amusement park right in the middle of the city (that’s pretty cool).  

 

Lisa offered up several options for afternoon activities.  We chose Red Rocks Park based on its close proximity to Denver- it turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip.  We started the excursion by climbing 386 steps to the very top of the Red Rocks Amphitheatre.  We toured the museum, made souvenir pennies and, bound to get into some sort of hijinks, did the chicken dance to the cheers of roadies setting up the stage for a show that night.  From there we set out to do a little hiking.  I was instantly enchanted by the vista of rock formations, wind torn trees, cacti and other desert foliage.  Lisa and I climbed up the trail stopping to scope out secluded spots with great views.  On our way out of the park we stopped at the Trading Post to take in even more totally spectacular views and shop for little things.
 

By the time we were done exploring Red Rocks we were famished and headed into the laidback little town of Morrison, CO to find a place to eat.  We chose the Blue Cow Eatery based on the quirky sign and the 100% buffalo burgers on the menu.  We relaxed on the covered back patio and enjoyed our juicy burgers.  After lunch we browsed a few of the shops in the area.

After picking up the kids and going to the grocery store, we headed back into the city to enjoy a little night picnic with Lisa’s friend Nicole and her family on the bank of the South Platte River in Commons Park.  We walked around the busy restaurant and nightlife district of the Highland neighborhood, then crossed the Denver Millennium Bridge pretending that we were playing a real life game of Frogger as we mimicked dodging the cars passing below.  We rode free public transit into the downtown area to explore a little more.  It was in the late night/early morning hours before we made it back to the hotel to crash.

Just a few hours later we were up for another whirlwind day of adventure.  After breakfast we packed up the car and headed north toward Estes Park in the Rocky Mountain National Park.  We were on a mission to see elk.  Lisa and I had talked about the elk many times while planning our trip.  If nothing else was planned, we knew we wanted to see elk.  It was a must!  We kept our eyes peeled as we drove along the mountain road winding higher into the mountains.  Alas we saw no elk on our drive up.

Estes Park is nestled in between towering mountains.  It has a rural, intimate village feel but with the restaurants, shops, arts and culture of a larger community.  We’d just happened to pick the weekend the Annual Elk Festival was going on but we had something else on our agenda first.  Being the end of September and nearing what I like to call ‘haunted season’, I was pretty stoked to hear that Lisa had planned for her two older girls and me to take a tour of the Stanley Hotel, the very place that inspired Steven King’s horror novel ‘The Shining.'  

We had a little while to wait before our tour started so I enjoyed one of my favorite pastimes, having a drink at the hotel bar.  There’s just something about a fancy hotel bar and the Stanley Hotel’s was especially grand with carved dark wood, a selection of fine spirits displayed on lighted shelves and a 37-foot stone top bar.  I had an amaretto sour at the bar and a second taking in the vast mountain views from the large front porch of the hotel.  The Stanley Hotel tour combined the history of the area and the buildings with the fabled stories of ghosts that inspired a book and movie for a tour that was just a little bit spooky.  Little things that might usually go unnoticed like orbs in a photograph or candy dropped in a stairwell may be a message from the afterlife in this historic landmark. 

We recharged with a picnic on the hotel grounds, then walked into downtown to explore the Elk Fest.  Elk Fest was pretty awesome!  I mean, it’s the Wild West out there- we got to check out teepees, chomp on jerky and watch Native American dances.  We explored the town shops and galleries to wind down the day. 

We still hadn’t seen any elk which was kind of an issue so we drove around the area, up and down mountain roads just hoping we’d come upon some meandering along.  We had a few false sightings- as it turns out, Colorado deer are way bigger than Ohio deer.  Lisa and I made our way toward a rushing stream to see if we could catch a glimpse of anything.  We did not see any elk- however, we did spot some mighty big, very clawy paw prints.  As the light dimmed, our chances of seeing elk diminished.  We were pretty bummed as we drove out of Estes Park.  The car was quiet.  I was beat. 

Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement in a field to my right.  I looked over to see three elk frolicking through a meadow.  I start to scream, Lisa starts to scream, we both pretty much start flipping out at the sight of these giant creatures running through the grass.  We cheered and tried our best to get at least one decent photograph.  Alas, the light was bad, the distance far- still, I got a blurry image and an absolutely amazing memory of my first elk sighting.  That’s all we needed to energize for the final leg of our evening- enjoying a delicious curry chicken & rice dish prepared by Nicole’s husband Jon.  It was a great way to wrap up our day!

We ate breakfast at the airport on Sunday morning before saying our goodbyes.  We’d packed so much into the short time we’d spent together and were already planning another visit as we munched on mini hash browns.  It was a crazy couple of days and we made the most of every minute.  We hiked rugged mountain paths and downtown streets.  We toured a music venue that’s hosted many historic concerts and a historic hotel that hosts many spirits.  We shopped and picnicked and saw wild animals.  The one thing we didn’t do was sleep. 

Tour de Donut 2012

Tour de Donut 2012
Arcanum, Ohio
September 7-9, 2012

I don’t know about you but a bike race that combines a 32-mile jaunt through scenic western Ohio countryside and eating giant glazed donuts sounds like an absurdly amusing way to spend a day!  When I heard about the Tour de Donut from Jason, a high school/biking friend of mine, I was so in- I mean, biking and donuts are two of my favorite things!  I convinced my sister Jo, my main sidekick in all crazy active endeavors, to join me and we made a weekend of it.



The atmosphere on race day was charged.  The weather was dismal, crowds of bikers jammed together at the beginning of the race and we witnessed some close calls and one collision with pretty harsh injuries.   But the weather cleared, the pack thinned out and the ride, at least to me, became a calm and leisurely journey along rural roads through beautiful farm land around Arcanum, Ohio.  I don’t aspire to win any of these events- I’m in it to experience them at my own pace.  I chatted with a lot of fun people including fellow Warrior Dashers, a pair of teens completing the whole ride on little BMX bikes and a dad that was doing a tandem ride with his young son.  

The object of the race is to achieve a final race time not only by pedaling your heart out but also by eating donuts at two designated donut stops along the race route.  For each glazed donut consumed (and kept down), five minutes is deducted from the final time.  The more donuts you eat, the better your final race result.  But, you still have to ride many more miles on a stomach full of heavy gooey doughness so strategy is the key.  Those were some giant, puffy, delectable donuts!   Total donut tally:  Heather-3, Joanna-2.  If only we’d been able to stuff down 12 donuts and earned coveted and prestigious spots in the Dozen Club.

 

As it turns out, Joanna had never had Skyline Chili- we stopped there for lunch and enjoyed tiny chili dogs and Greek Salad, then headed back to our hotel, the Drury Inn & Suites Dayton North.  My experience with Drury Inn has always been good and this property was no different. 

After soothing our achy muscles in the hotel hot tub we decided to drive south to the Miamisburg Mound, a burial mound likely built by the Adena Culture around 1000 BCE.  Our directions weren’t the best and we were aimlessly driving in the general vicinity of the mound when we saw it- that is a seriously big mound!  It is like you expect it to be big but are still shocked by just how large it really is.  We marched our way up the steps to the top, took in the view and then headed back into town for dinner at El Toro, a Mexican restaurant within walking distance of our hotel.  All I remember was ordering a Cadillac Margarita- that was a seriously big drink!  We just relaxed for the rest of the night and got an early start toward home the next morning.  We were a little tired and sore but we’d earned one of the coolest event t-shirts ever and shared memories of our very first bike race- the Tour de Donut 2012!

 

(*Donut photo taken by Gretchen Miller- Thanks!)

Warrior Dash 2012- Ohio II

Warrior Dash- Ohio II
Clay's Park- North Lawrence, Ohio
August 25, 2012

My third Warrior Dash experience was the best yet- not only did Joanna complete it with me again but our younger sister Megan also took part.  To top it all off, we also ran the Dash with our great friend Keith.  We’d had a very dry summer and this year’s course was nowhere near as muddy as previous years but there were plenty of water obstacles and a lot of climbing- our kinda Dash.   I can’t wait until next year!

Ohio Day Trip- The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail: From Bikes to Canal Boats

The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail:  From Bikes to Canal Boats
Akron to Canal Fulton, Ohio and Back
August 19, 2012

Steven has been my go-to guy for all things outdoor recreation related.  Although we’ve known each other since high school, it is really a mutual love of outdoor activities that brings Steven and I together.  We spent our summer hiking around the MetroParks, kayaking area canals, lakes and reservoirs and biking sections of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, a multipurpose recreational trail that stretches more than 100 miles from Cleveland into Amish Country. 

One of our most eventful excursions was a spur of the moment, 40-mile ride from Akron to Canal Fulton, Ohio and back.  This included a recently-completed section of the trail that I had yet to ride.  The trail goes over a floating bridge, beside the canal, through a tunnel, into wooded areas and along the Tuscarawas River with some particularly scenic sections featuring wildlife or remnants of the canal locks.  It is also a little hillier than other sections of the Towpath Trail but nothing too strenuous.

There are many restaurants to choose from in Canal Fulton.  We decided to grab lunch at Oser’s Dairy & Deli on Canal Street.  We enjoyed eating our sandwiches and sodas at the lunch counter and indulged in a little ice cream for dessert- we figured we’d ride it off.

 

Steven and I once went hiking and ended up in a 28-foot canoe singing traditional French fur trapper songs so it is not too much of a stretch to imagine that we might end up on the St. Helena III ($7/pp), a horse-drawn replica canal boat depicting the typical vessel used to transport goods and people along the canal in its heyday.  It was a leisurely 55-minute ride up the canal listening to a guide fill us in on a brief history of the area and the canal era.  I think we both got into the nostalgia of the time and were convinced that being a canal-boater must have been a pretty sweet gig.

The ride back to Akron was fairly quick- storms had developed through the afternoon and we were pushing it to make it back between squalls.  The ride north into Summit County is generally uphill and the gradual climb and fast pace made for a good workout at the end of the day.  Conversation with Steven is never dull and that section of the trail offers scenery and history with just a little bit of heart-pumping incline- a great way to spend the day.

The Grape Escape- Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

The Grape Escape
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
August 17, 2012

It is difficult to describe what transpired on the wine train- partly because it is hard to find the words to adequately explain the mayhem and also because I’d had a lot wine.  What I can say is that when we boarded our coach class train car at the Boston Mills Station, people were quietly chatting amongst themselves and when we got off we were wearing fake mustaches, Mardi Gras beads and glostix.  The atmosphere inside the train car went from subdued to roaring within two glasses of wine and things only got more frantic as we worked our way through the five wine selections paired with unique food dishes prepared by a local caterer.  Liz, our main server, worked us up into a frenzy with her playful ribbing and zany attitude.  Gentlemen wearing buttoned-up collared shirts started joking about threesomes and getting flashed.  Little old ladies got a little frisky and out of hand.  I believe I laughed for about 2 straight hours.  It was wild and crazy and a total blast!

The Gathering at Chaffee's

The Gathering at Chaffee's
Girard, Pennsylvania
July 27-29, 2012

I took these three pictures at The Gathering at Chaffee’s:

 

 

Draw your own conclusions.

Seriously, it is was a cool time watching bands (including my fave The Stagecoach Robbery), eating moonshine-soaked cherries, doing shots with a nomad, having FREE spaghetti dinner, dancing around, getting down and grooving. 
 

 

Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail

Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail
Between Lisbon & Leetonia, Ohio

It is no coincidence that I made an effort to bike as much as I could this season and the summer of 2012 turned out to be one of the BEST ever.   With the help of websites like Traillink.com and recommendations from friends, Meg and I explored a few new trails including the Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail which runs ten miles between Lisbon and Leetonia, Ohio.  The Lisbon Trailhead has nice indoor bathrooms, vending machines and lots of parking.  The Leetonia Trailhead has Porta-potties, a gazebo and lots of information about the trail displayed.   

The Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail, which is a section of the larger, yet to be fully completed, Great Ohio Lake-to-River Greenway, was our find of the summer.  The path is paved, mostly shaded, fairly flat and very scenic- we rode past old farms, babbling brooks, a covered bridge, even a decorated Christmas tree.  But the very best part is that the highest elevations (still easy climbs) are in the middle of the trail, between miles 4 and 6, so no matter which end you start at, you’re going to be coasting down on the ride back.  Ahhh, what a relaxing way to wrap up a leisurely bike ride!

 

Dennison Railroad Festival- Dennison, Ohio

Dennison Railroad Festival
Dennison, Ohio
June 16, 2012

My sisters and I love a good local festival. We’ll happily celebrate a town’s pride in their strawberries, potatoes or pumpkins. They’re just our thing so when we heard that The Stagecoach Robbery, a local band we’d grown to adore this summer, was playing for FREE at the Dennison Railroad Festival we were so there!

Dennison was founded in the 1860s purely out of the necessity of the railroad. Located on the most direct route between St. Louis and New York City, it thrived as a hub of railroad activity. The influence that the railroad had is still proudly exhibited in the community. The Dennison Railway Depot is a National Landmark. Restaurants have train-centric names. An entire train, caboose and all, is situated in the middle of town. Community pride in the history of their area is evident everywhere you look.

As with just about every other excursion of the summer, Meg and I had such a blast! After walking through the Fun House, we made our way to the Ferris Wheel which remains to be one of the best fair rides of all time. The ride operators let us ride around in circles for like 30 minutes. When we returned for another ride after dark, they let us on for free. How cool is that!

We were at the top of the Ferris Wheel when The Stagecoach Robbery started their first set. We made our way over to the stage, a flatbed railcar used for performances, fair food in hand. We spent the rest of the evening attempting to dance it all off. Stagecoach is awesome like that- you can’t just stand there and listen, you have to move. In a moment of sheer genius we decided to dance in the caboose located right beside the stage. We had a perfect view of the entire band while we boogied. I mean really, how often do you get to dance in a caboose?

Dennison can throw a party! We’ve been to a lot of festivals and this one was a little rowdy and extra friendly. We met John’s dad, a girl gave us high-fives as she walked past while we were dancing, we got a shout out from the band- it was pretty awesome! At the exact moment that the band was singing about a freight train, one actually blew through town and everyone cheered. Dennison loves their trains and they throw a great celebration.

*All photos, except for the caboose, courtesy of the lovely and talented Ms. Alice Coutts- thanks, doll!

Sister Trip- An Afternoon in Columbus/ An Evening at Tribal Connection

Sister Trip
An Afternoon in Columbus
An Evening at Tribal Connection Music Festival
May 12. 2012

I’ve tried unsuccessfully several times to recap our recent weekend trip to the Columbus area. I’ve just been having trouble coming up with the words to convey the kind of amusement that we have on these excursions. Fun has a way of finding me and Megan. We can turn a series of random events into an extravaganza of excitement.

We started the day rolling around in money and it just got better from there. I’m not exactly sure where the idea originated but before leaving for our fun-filled day in Columbus, we decided to ‘make it rain’ with about a hundred $1 bills. We had such a great time throwing the cash into the air and letting it shower down on us, laughing hysterically and posing for pictures. That comical diversion set the tone for our entire day.

We found a hula hoop lying in a parking lot as we walked to the North Market- of course, we were thrilled! Awesome groundscore! The North Market (59 Spruce St.), an indoor bazaar of produce vendors, patisseries, international and specialty food stores, offers many scrumptious selections but alas, we’d had breakfast at the hotel and picked up only a few pastries.

 

As we made our way up High Street into the Short North District a couple of boisterous gay guys stopped us to tell us we were looking good. This was about the third time that day that either or both of us had been complimented. We were feeling pretty awesome! We reluctantly turned down the guys’ proposal to be their zombie brides in the annual Zombie Walk parade later that day and set out to see a few of murals in the thriving artsy neighborhood by following a walking tour of the area.

There are so many eclectic little shops in Short North. We spent a little time shopping for vintage clothing and home items at Flower Child (989 N High St.), browsing high-end clothing at bargain prices at Savvy on a Shoe String (13 W 1st Ave.) and looking at jewelry and other accessories at Substance (783 N High St.). We stopped at Wine on High (789 North High St.) to peruse the bottle selection and have a glass at the upstairs wine bar. We were very disappointed to see that the bar didn’t open until later that afternoon but the gallant owner of the establishment said he was happy to run upstairs to pour us a few glasses of wine. We very much appreciated the effort and were quite pleased with ourselves- we may not be the kind of chicks that close down a bar but we’re certainly the sort of girls that get a bar opened for them.

I’d seen a feature on Sugardaddy's (11 East Gay St.) on a Food Network show ages ago so we were very excited to check out what all the talk is about. Basically, Sugardaddy's produces the most mouth-watering brownies and blondies ever. Several options to choose from made it hard to make our final picks and we each walked out with a few varieties.

At the Topiary Park (Town Street & Washington Avenue) we saw someone that was either an actor performing a moving monologue or a total nutcase flipping out. Still, the garden was a lovely spot to sit and relax a little.

We’d wanted to eat at Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace- who wouldn’t want to eat at a place with that name- but there was a large crowd surrounding the door, we were starving and decided to find a place in the German Village, a stop we make on every Columbus trip. We’re German girls, we LOVE German Village. As soon as I saw the sign for Olde Mohawk (821 Mohawk St.) I knew it was the place for us- upscale pub food, cozy atmosphere, great service. We had a delightful time!

After following a walking tour of German Village, we decided that we were beat and headed back to the hotel. We still had a big night ahead of us. As we pulled up to the Marysville Hampton Inn, we saw a helicopter sitting on a flat trailer in the middle of the parking lot. Megan and I eyed each other, asking the unspoken question- should we jump on this helicopter? We decided against it.


 

Our last destination was the Tribal Connection Music Festival, the event we’d planned our whole weekend around. We were there to see Waterband but The Stagecoach Robbery stole the show. While we sat on the hill listening to Waterband play, Meg and I were compelled to move as soon as we heard Stagecoach’s groovy guitar. We danced the night away with friends we’d met up with that evening, watching fire dancers and hula hoopers illuminate the night.

The hotel pool area was closed, the lights were off and the water glowed blue- it was too inviting not to spend a few minutes doing cannonballs into the pool and basking in the comfort of the hot tub after a crazy night. Megan and I had declared that this summer was going to be the best ever and this day was the perfect kick-off to months of fun!