Mouse Update!

So we decided, after some deep thought, that we would buy some mean traps. Unfortunately these little guys have outsmarted us with the nice traps and its time for them to go. We laid down four traps and put some nice pieces of cheese in them and then we waited.

Well, the cheese didn't work. For days the traps went untouched. We decided to put some tasty cookies on there for them. How could they resist, right? Right! They didn't resist but in the morning not only were all of the cookies gone but none of the traps were set off!! These are some serious secret agent mice were dealing with. Personally I think Evan might be just messing with my head, making these mice seem like little 007s as some weird practical joke. Either way, the hantavirus is still a threat to us in our household. If you don't know what hantavirus is, pretty much its huffing toxic mouse jenkum. If you don't know what jenkum is, ask Donny Walsh.

The battle continues. We might get a cat, which is cool because I like cats. We set up a camera to catch these little guys and check out what we're dealing with. Repel gear?! Unbelievable.

Red Rocks Rally

Just when I thought I had seen the last of the gorgeous Red Rocks amphitheater for the season, I caught wind of one final event at the amazing venue.  I couldn't believe it.  My wish had been granted!  One final show to get inside and rock out before old man winter arrived.  The show was sure to be a ton of fun with a line-up that included Kid Rock, Rodney Atkins and the one and only ........ Mitt Romney?

So it turned out the final Red Rocks event of the season would be a political rally.  Less than 24 hours after the debate in Boca Raton, Romney would be flying to Colorado to rally his supporters.  Not exactly what I was hoping for but I'll take it.  The event was titled the "Victory Rally with Mitt, Paul and the GOP Team".  I agree, the title is a bit premature but you have to admit confidence is an important trait for any candidate to have.

I'm sure my Democrat followers have probably closed this webpage, quit following the blog and  have thrown their computer against the wall by now with the image of me cheering and shouting in support of Mitt Romney in their heads but hear me out.  I had very little political motivation for attending the rally.  When have you ever had the chance to go to a political rally and see the potential future President of the United States in person?  I've never had the opportunity and I don't know when the next chance will come.  Especially if I end up back in CT where the state's 7 electoral college votes make up roughly 1.3% of the 538 total and always votes Democrat.  The rally was also intriguing because there would be good music by B list stars in one of the best amphitheaters going and best of all it was free.  Why wouldn't I go to the rally?

So last night my roommate Alex and I headed to the Victory Rally.  Traffic was crazy.  It took us an hour and 45 minutes to travel what should have been 20 minutes.  It didn't help that the Secret Service had blocked off the main exit ramp to Morrison, the town home to Red Rocks.  After maneuvering through the traffic, taking some strange back road, parking, hiking up the trail to the venue, and waiting in line, we were in.  Problem was we did not expect the commute to take as long as it did so we were late and had missed the Kid Rock and Rodney Atkins (we did see Kid Rock get escorted away on a golf cart while waiting in line though).  Kind of a bummer but we still were able to see Paul Ryan speak as well as Mitt Romney's full speech.

The speeches were good and the crowd was into it, just like one would expect.  There was plenty of cheering and clapping in agreement as well as a few "Mitt, Mitt, Mitt" chants.  Alex has been to plenty of concerts at Red Rocks in the past and had never seen parking so full and the amphitheater so packed with people.  I was happy I was able to attend and even get within a few feet of Governor Romney.  He was headed my way, going down the line shaking hands and kissing babies when suddenly one of the members of the Secret Service turned him back toward the stage.  So close, almost touched him!

                                  (The image in the crowd is the "C" on the Colorado state flag)

Do I think Mitt is a great business man? Yes.  Does he know how to throw a rockin' rally? You betcha! Do I think he has a shot at winning the the election? Sure.  I still think Obama has the edge though.  Romney had a ton of support at the rally and according to one local poll he is in the lead in Colorado but there are other important swing states such as Florida and Pennsylvania that will be major factors in the election.   Whatever your preference, Romney or Obama or Ron Paul, make sure you do your civic duty and vote!

Manic Monday in the Mountains

Today was Monday which means, as you all know, back to the ol' grind.  The weekend has come and gone and now its time to get serious again.  So it was back to exploring the Rockies and looking for the best trails to hike and sights to see.

Eric and I left the house in the afternoon and headed West into the mountains.  Our mission: head further West than we had yet and find a good hiking trail leading to a beautiful mountainous view.  It was a daunting mission but we accepted.  We chose Genesee Park trail using one our maps we recently purchased at REI but honestly we had no idea if it was a good one or not.  In Colorado there are a ridiculous amount of trails, wildlife reserves and state parks that make finding the best ones very difficult.

After driving down Interstate 70 into the foothills of the Rockies we pulled off exit 244 for Genesse Park.  (The view from the off-ramp was probably top 5 off-ramp views in the history of off-ramps)

There was a plaza right off the exit so we stopped for directions and some advice on local hiking trails.  A kind gentleman working the floor of the shop pulled out a map and gave us a hand full of great hikes in the area.  Genesee Park was not one of them so we ditched our original plan and went with the ski shop squire's new favorite spot, Centennial Park.  Once we arrived at the park we decided to give a trail called Mayhem Gulch a try.

Mayhem Gulch involved very little mayhem but I suppose it was technically a gulch.  For those of you wondering a gulch is a "narrow and steep-sided ravine marking the course of a fast stream" (don't feel stupid we had to look it up).  The hike was about 2.5 miles one way but when we got to the top we weren't overly impressed with the view.  It was nice but to our right was a steep hill with a trail leading around it.  Since our mission from the start has involved finding the best mountainous views we decided to step off the beaten path and hike up it.  It wasn't easy and it took some serious maneuvering but we eventually got to the top.  You be the judge if we accomplished our mission.

On the way down we met a man who lived in the area and was just going for an afternoon hike.  He had been living in Colorado for over 20 years and had hiked a vast majority of the area.  He rambled off some parks to visit and when I pulled out our map he pointed out even more.  He also had some great information on ski mountains and season passes.  Thanks kind old man hiking alone!




P.S. What the hell CNN?!  Make a list of the top 25 Blogs and leave us off it?  Must have just been a classic news outlet slip-up, I'm sure we'll be on it next year.

http://techland.time.com/2012/10/22/25-best-blogs-2012/

The "working" man and a day hike to the BEAR's LAIR!! (said in scary tone)

So I have accomplished the unthinkable and got a job. I am a door man or "bouncer" at Brother's bar and grill in downtown Denver. You are all probably laughing at that statement because "Eric is a puny, little sally girl who couldn't kick Elmo out of a bar". However, here in Denver the mind set is so different that the bar hires smaller guys along with big ones to create a less intimidating atmosphere. But also I would like to add that I am quite the feisty fox when it comes to wrestling so I am able to hold my own when that mammoth of a man decides to smash a bottle over the bar tender's head. Anywho, its a pretty sweet job. I work two nights a week and that is all. I have reversed the normal week from a two day weekend to a five. Perfect.

Enough with work. After exploring the inner workings of the city for the past few weeks we decided to finally get out a little bit into the mountains and explore the Colorado wilderness. We went on a little day hike over to the Bear's Lair which was pretty cool.. We did our own trail blazing and found ourselves with a great view of the mountain ranges and rivers that surrounded. The snow has begun to fall in  the mountains so the ski season is about to be upon us!! If anyone is looking for a Colorado get away this winter PLEASE let Evan or myself know. We would be more than happy to accommodate and host any of our friends or family!  Hoping for a big winter followed by big water in the spring!

Here are some pictures from our little trek. Cannot wait to get our hands on some more dirt!

Three Blind Mice? more like bunch of fakers with 20/20

As we sit on our somewhat decent couch and I eat my Cambel's New England Clam chowder for breakfast, we hear a slight rustling coming from the corner of the kitchen. All of a sudden I see two MICE scurrying across the floor. Now I know what you're thinking:, like everyone does,  "Oh some mice! How cute, kind of gross, need to be taken care of but how cute!" That's what I thought at first too.

We first discovered we had a few mice about a week ago and let me tell you, these mice might be the boldest, smartest, sneakiest mice that I've ever dealt with. (Living in a cave for the past two years I have dealt with many creatures of all intelligence ranging from Freddy Raya to some Einstein like Squirrels). This battle, however,  has gone on for awhile now and the roomies and I are getting our asses handed to us!

Evan went out and bought some "nice" traps so we could catch them without killing them. The first trap we put down we got one in seconds! I took it outside to the front yard and set little Fifer go but completely against all knowledge that mice have poor sight and are stupid, this mouse b-lined right for the house and snuck right back into his hole! I wasn't really upset, more impressed by this little guy.

Now, mice aren't really supposed to come out during the day because humans are around and its light out and they usually don't like to be seen. Not our mice. These little suckers taunt us. They scurry in and out of all rooms at any point in the day as if saying "Were smarter than you and you can't catch us. This is our home". I set up a trap today. We left for home depot and when we came back, one of the traps was gone! As if the mouse saw it, defused the situation, and carried it back to his hole!!! Couldn't believe it. Not only did we not catch him but he stole our trap!

Stay tuned for updates on these "mouse and the motorcycle" esque mice and the war over 3415 W Evans Ave.

Sidenote: It being Friday and all, we got a little caulk on our hands and "Bob the Buildered" the hell out of the broken window in the back. Not quite how Mr. Sauve would like Evan to fix it but it should hold for the winter!

The Four Hour Power Hour

        This past weekend Eric and I had the good fortune of attending the Great American Beer Festival.  Big thanks to Lindsay for getting us a second ticket! We attended the 5:30-9:30 session on Saturday evening, the final session of the festival.  Some quick facts about the festival:

                 - 3 Day festival
                 - 49,000 attendees
                 - Annual event held in Denver each year
                 - 2,700 different beer samples
                 - More than 580 US Breweries

        It was something else.  Picture Grand Central Station but everyone is happy and drunk.  Being our first beer festival we didn't know what to expect but our enthusiasm for beer and pretzels helped us fit right in.  After getting our wristbands and free sample glasses we were off and running.  Well it was more of a jog but it was a marathon for sure.  Too many beers, too little time.  Some notable quotes were, "Ok, on to the next one", "That was pretty good, can I try that one now", "No time lets go!", "Only an hour left, time to get serious" and "We JUST went to the bathroom man!"

        The Exhibit Hall in the Colorado Convention Center, 584,000 square feet, was filled with tables and tables of breweries who had at least two beer samples each, usually more.  The breweries were split up by sections of the country (Midwest, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest etc.) and Eric and I made our best efforts to visit each section.  You know your festival is serious when you have your own smartphone app, something that came in handy as we wandered the floor and tried to decide where to go next. The sample glasses had a 1oz line on them signifying how much beer you would get per sample.  Some gave you more and some were a bit stingy and gave you less.  My first impression was "this isn't going to be nearly enough" but it was plenty. 

        I began the festival with the intentions of keeping track of how many samples I tried and rating each sample.  This did not happen.  After reading the scamatics of the different beers a brewery offered I would point at a pitcher, the person behind the table would poor, I'd give a one-word rating to Eric and repeat.  Most of the time I would try multiple beers from the same brewery, take a side step to the next brewery, point, drink, rate.  This went on for the whole night.  I lost track of how many I tried after 3.  At first I tried to write down the beers I liked the best but this became too time consuming and tedious so we just took photos of the beer descriptions that we found noteworthy.  Its funny how we took more pictures near the end of the festival than at the beginning. 

        Some favorites included the Hazlenut Brown Nectar (Gold Medal Winner in the Specialty Beer category) of the Rogue Brewery which Eric met one of the owners of the night prior, Mountain Mama Helles of the Lone Tree Brewery and the Spicy Blonde Holiday Ale of the Morgantown Brewing Company.  Looking to get me some Spicy Blonde around Christmas, smooth and delicious with a ginger bread after taste.  Also was fortunate to have gotten a few free samples of the Sam Adams Utopias, a beer aged for up to 16 years with an ABV of 27% and priced at over $150 a bottle.

        Next time we are definitely making our own pretzel necklaces.  A good pretzel necklace separates the beer festival vets from the rookies. We saw them all around the festival and were immediately jealous. Like the lion's mane in the jungle, the bigger and brighter your pretzel chain the more respect given.  And don't think that pretzel necklaces are limited to just pretzels.  We are talking string cheese, bagels, Funions, whatever you want.  I think I'm going to start wearing pretzel necklaces more in my life.  Just seems practical.

Overwhelming toothpaste

Has anyone ever taken a second to look at how many options for toothpaste you have?! The simple task of finding a paste to prevent cavities and improving dental hygiene can be quite daunting. After about 5-7 minutes of stupification and astonishment I finally chose a crest with way too many labels. Good luck to all in your quest for the clean tooth!!

Shout Out! I got a ring, it says E.L.E.!

So we headed to Orlando for a few days after Gainesville to see our best buddies Nick, Scott, Tim and Doug. Orlando was awesome thanks to our fantastic hosts. I also got to see my cousin Ian which was one of the highlights of the trip. 

I would like everyone to appreciate the family and friends that you have. To have good friends and family in this world is one of the most special things and sometimes can be hard to find. Evan and I are truly blessed with the friends and family that we have. Thank you so much for everything and I love you all. 

Next reunion has to be in Denver. Please come visit so I can return the hospitality and show you all a great time!! This picture pretty much sums up the trip. Keep doing what you guys are doing. You're an inspiration to all of us. Hang ten boys!!!

CHOMP CHOMP! Wait, what happened?

So for the past few days we have been too indisposed to post but let me tell you all that it was a crazy scene in Gainesville this weekend as the #10 Gators defeated the #3 LSU Tigers, or wildcats as the swamp scoreboard would call them.

First off I would like to have a huge shout out to the entire Wolk family. It was amazing seeing all of you. Dr. Wolk ran the show, just as any boss man would, so thank you again for everything. To Ben, Roya, Ansley, Zach, Wesley, Wesley's friends, Marshall, and of course Colby and the beautiful Christina (sorry if i spelled any of those wrong)  thank you for showing us one of the best times that we have had in awhile!!  You are an amazing family and I cannot wait for the next time we are all in contact. Mad props to momma Wolk!!!

In any case we had a wild time hittin the Salty Dog, or as we came to call it "The splattoon" or "Sparky's", this weekend and now, after an impromptu departure at 4 AM, we find ourselves sitting in the Orlando airport waiting for John's bro and our best friend Nick to awaken and come retrieve us. It could be a few hours and we don't look good but at least were not the bum sitting in the glass cage down the hall!

After this weekend we might have to fly back for the Florida vs South Carolina game in two weeks!! BTW check out my boy John Brow rockin the big boy beard!!

Thank you Paul for so kindly bringing us!

Shout out! Big truck!

This is the biggest, coolest truck I've ever ridden in. Props to Ryan for this beauty!

Also shout out to Colby, Ryan, Austin and Paul for letting us crash at their place. This place is a zoo. 12 people are gonna be livin here for the weekend along with three dogs. Love it. 

The President comes to Denver and we leave?

A few months ago Evan called me and said that he wanted to go to the Florida vs LSU game in Gainesville. The next day he booked tickets out of Denver on Wednesday Oct 3rd. We didn't know we were moving to Denver yet but we knew that we had to be there on that day. Works out that we ended up moving.

So, after our first week in Denver, moving in and searching for jobs, we decided to take a vacation to go see our buddy Colby in Florida. Best part was our other best friend John booked tickets too so the four locos were gonna be back at it!

So now we are in Florida and the weekend is going to be pretty sweet. Gangnam style came on at the bar last night so I think that's a good sign!

Turtle love.

Red Rocks Your Socks OFF!

Last night we headed over to the Red Rocks music venue for Macklemore headlined by Big Gigantic.  We didn't really know who either of them were but it was one of the last shows of the summer so we figured we'd give it a shot. Let me just say this off the bat, this could very possibly be the best place on earth. It is an outdoor theater where they have carved stands into the rocks. The sight is absolutely breath taking even when your just tailgating.

Now we didn't actually go into the concert because we are two broke jokers fresh out of college but what we did was an incredible experience in itself. After mingling in the crowd of tailgaters for about an hour, our roomy Alex took us on a journey. We hiked up some extreme terrain behind the rocks for about an hour and perched ourselves on the top of a small mountain where we got a view that could change ones life. The Red Rocks theater, with the entire city of Denver and all its glory in the background. A full moon rising topped the cake and we enjoyed the show for free with some other extremists that made the hike as well.

The night was full of surprises but the quote of the night is as follows: "EVAN!!, Do NOT pick up the rocks, they are in fact cacti!!" Jokes on me for trying to do a Monty Python impersonation clicking together two stones. Both of us ended the night with some prickly hands but with a nice show from a hoola hooper hotty!
These pictures just don't do justice to the beauty and magic of this place. If you have the chance to go, take it without hesitation and see for yourself.

Sidenote: The way that subway makes their sangiches is upside down! Might be just me but its frustrating! The meat goes on the bottom and then the veggies!! (At least that's how I like my sangiches) You would think that one of the most famous sangich grab n go places should be able to get it right. Do better subway.