A slower pace, sort of

Today, it’s just Caroline and I. And today, I lived up to my trail name. It was the nerdiest of days yet!

This morning, Caroline and I drove out to Red Rocks Amphitheater. What I didn’t realize when I agreed to go there, is that there are a LOT of stairs. I lost count of how many from the parking lot to the top of the venue, but suffice to say, I got a good workout today.

The venue is breathtaking, with views of the Denver skyline behind the stage area and the red rocks looming 300 feet on either side of the seating area. Although the visitor center was closed, we were able to visit the Trading Post, which houses history of the development of the amphitheater as well as the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. It was fascinating to read that concerts have been going on at the site as far back as 1906, although it was a rudimentary stage at best. And while I never equated Colorado with ‘music history’ the area has drawn big name acts for almost as long.

After a little music nerdiness, we drove over to Dinosaur Ridge for some old school (no pun intended) nerd moments. Dinosaur Ridge is where the first stegosaurus discovery was made in the late 1800s! And it is home to so many fossils and dinosaur tracks that are so easy to see from the walking path. Feelings of insignificance bubbled up again as I looked at these tracks made millions of years ago, when this part of Colorado was underwater.

After a morning of learning, we drove to Golden to have lunch. We had a very tasty meal at the Old Capitol Grill and Smokehouse. Even this building provided learning experiences…this was once the Capitol building when Golden was the capital of the Colorado Territory. There’s still a safe from the early days!

We walked off our lunch by browsing the shops downtown and walking the trail along Clear Creek. We caught a glimpse of the enormous Coors plant, and even saw some brave souls floating in the rushing water of the creek.

Around 6:30 pm we drove around to pick a location for some sunset photography. Shooting the sun sinking behind the mountain proved to be challenging, but it was pretty nonetheless.

Back we drove to Louisville and, for the second night in a row, we had to fight off “Miller moths” in the house. These critters apparently migrate through Colorado every year, but this year, they are hanging around due to the smoke from the Canada wildfires. Thanks, Canada. Last night, we were frantically trying to swat the erratic flyers, and when that didn’t work, we started spraying them with hair spray in hopes it would weigh down their wings so they couldn’t spaz around. Tonight, we bought flying insect spray, and sprayed frantically at them until they slowed down enough to swat them. I think both Caroline and I pulled a muscle on that swatting action.

Here’s to a hopefully moth-free sleep, and another day of adventure tomorrow!