Rose Lice: August 2018

Friday, August 31, 2018

The top of Colorado Springs’ Cheyenne Mountain is about to open to the public for the first time after eight years of preparation.

Cheyenne Mountain State Park hoped to host a soft opening of the new Dixon Trail by Friday but was delayed because the trail system was not quite ready, said Mitchell Martin, park manager. The soft opening should be soon, though, followed by a grand opening in October, he said.

The park, which opened to the public in 2006, and the city bought most of the land on the top of the mountain in 2009. Volunteers began work on the upper trail system in 2011.

Roughly 100 years ago, the top of the mountain was a homestead, Martin said. It had been privately owned until it was incorporated into the park.

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An art party like no other: Temple Tantrum’s weird, wild plans for Labor Day weekend

Dierks Bentley’s flip phone has a Denver number and more things we learned ahead of his Seven Peaks Music Festival

Country music star Dierks Bentley is a thrill junkie.

The 42-year-old, multiplatinum singer-songwriter often goes days without a good night’s rest, playing back-to-back shows on the adrenaline rush encouraged by fans and his love of performing.

“I’m probably the worst sleeper in all of country music. It’s unbelievable. I sleep less than anyone in my band or my crew,” the Phoenix native said over the phone from Nashville last week. “I get maybe four or five hours a night. I used to just get hammered every night on the road and pass out. And then when I stopped drinking that much I started realizing, ‘Maybe I’m not such a good sleeper on my own.’ “

As the father of three boys, aged 4, 7 and 9, Bentley may have slowed down in his partying, but he has lately found himself turning to other high-stakes (if longer-term) pursuits to get his fix.

Take his new album “The Mountain,” which was released on June 8. Bentley recorded his ninth full-length album at Telluride’s Studio in the Clouds, inspired by the beauty of the Centennial State he has long visited, has numerous family members in, and in which he maintains a vacation home. Or his Seven Peaks Music Festival, which debuts Aug. 31-Sept. 2 outside the 2,700-person town of Buena Vista, about two hours southwest of Denver. That’s the big one.

“My buddy Brian O’Connell with Live Nation has started a few new festivals before, but there’s still a lot of risk in doing this,” Bentley said. “We’re managing that as much as possible, but it’s still risky — which is fun. I love that element of failure being possible. It’s like making a first record. That’s where all the good stuff is.”

The Live Nation-produced event is an experiment in country music’s draw to a relatively unpopulated swath of the state, featuring performances by pop-country, bluegrass, roots and Americana notables Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne, Clint Black, Sam Bush, Kiefer Sutherland (yes, that Kiefer Sutherland), The Cadillac Three, Elle King, Dan + Shay, Travis Denning, Del McCoury Band and many more.

While Denver music fans have long welcomed archetypical jam-band Phish to the Front Range for its three-day camping-and-music extravaganza at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Seven Peaks — named after the fourteeners visible from the private, 277-acre ranch where it’s held — is far more of a gamble. Bentley said he’d be happy if 10,000 people showed up the first year, although the event is designed to draw about three times that.

We caught up with Bentley about why he almost gave up on the idea, and why he’ll be in the crowd as much as on-stage at his festival.

Q: I see you’re calling from a 720 (Denver) area code. Are you in town?

A: No, I got a flip phone with a Denver number. I’m kind of transitioning away from my smartphone, I’m just so sick of the thing. And I thought, “I want a Denver area code” because I believe in the power of manifesting your goals, like making something your password that you’re aspiring toward, and having it be something you look at every day constantly so it will lead you there. One day I’ll be out there, but for now I’m in good old Nashville — traffic and bachelorette parties everywhere.

Q: What is it about Colorado you want people to know about?

A: It’s not just the festival. For me, it’s a nostalgia thing. I’m from Arizona and used to spend a lot of time going up to the Four Corners on my way to Durango. My parents had a place in Purgatory, kind of a little cabin. We all slept on two pull-out couches and spent every Thanksgiving and Christmas and spring there. There were $25 season (skiing) passes, which was great. And I’ve still got a lot of family up there — a cousin down in Creede, a sister who went to CSU, a sister-in-law in the mountains. I grew up with blue skies and a mountain in my backyard.

Q: And you miss that?

A: I left home, went away to school when I was 14, and came to Nashville when I was 19. I’ve been out here for 25 years. Sometimes my wife will find me out in the backyard, regardless of the weather, in a foldout lawn chair trying to find the sunset through the trees. It’s no substitute. I’ve just reached a place where I’ve had enough success, and as a pilot I feel like I can be a little more mobile. My kids are pretty happy in school here so it’s a constant struggle with that. I would just prefer to be there. But I can’t be, so it’s like, “All right, well there’s some other options for more time out there.” And I’ve been clearing my schedule for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival every year and making that a priority.

Q: Does that offer a break from your usual touring schedule?

A: It was just so inspiring. When I’m away from the road I don’t pull my guitar out of the case too often, but the electricity and energy in the mountains was just crazy. And my wife was like, “You should go out there and do some writing or do a retreat.” So I did, which was a hard thing to do because I try to spend as much time at home as possible between (tour dates). Then I started thinking, “How can I spend even more time out there?” So I made (“The Mountain”), and now this festival. All under the guise of work.

Q: Seven Peaks is a brand new festival in a state with no shortage of major, long-running music festivals, including Grand Junction’s Country Jam. Are you worried about drawing people, particularly with things you can control like weather?

A: Boulder gets 300-plus days a year of sunshine. I know that because I recently looked at schools there. And it’s different out here (in Nashville). The weather just socks in and you can’t even find any definition in the clouds. It’s just gray. But in the west, stuff rolls in and rolls out. Seven Peaks is definitely rain-or-shine, but the weather’s just so nice in Colorado every August. It’s still 95 degrees in Nashville and humid here.

Q: Was it hard finding the right spot for this?

A: We were out there for awhile talking with different sites. Phish does something every year at that soccer stadium, and yeah, that might be cheaper and we could use their stage, but it doesn’t feel like Colorado. I mean, you’re asking fans to come from all over the country — I was just playing New York the other day and there were people holding signs saying “We’re coming to 7 Peaks!” — and you want them to be able to see the Rockies. Then we looked at some polo fields that had infrastructure that were a little closer to the Front Range, but it was like, “Nah … .”

Q: You really want it to have a Colorado “feel.” What does that mean to you?

A: Luke (Bryan) does the Crash My Playa festival, which is on a beach. You’re not like inland 5 miles, you’re actually on the beach down in Cancun. So this needs to be in the mountains. But I gave up on it for awhile because we couldn’t find the right place.

Q: What revived it for you?

A: I was making the record and looking for any excuse to get back out there, and the timing was just unbelievable: Brian (O’Connell) called back and said “I found the spot!” And he sent me these pictures with Jed (Selby), who owns the land. He’s built the infrastructure, he’s had another festival (Vertex) there before, and it’s surrounded by these 14,000-foot mountains. So I had to go see it for myself, and I’ve been out there three times so far. I went out once just to go walk around and look at everything — these bridges that can support cement trucks, the camping fields where he’s already had a rock-picker come through and pick up all the rocks. I love this guy and his attention to detail! It was meant to be. I wasn’t going to do it unless it was the exact right spot, and this is it.

Q: What have you learned from other festivals you’ve played?

A: The location itself has to be worth the trip. But you also have to have the right team. We just had a planning meeting the other day, and you look around the room and realize it’s all my guys from my tour, who are the guys who will be stage-managing the Whiskey Row stage, or the Somewhere on a Beach stage. We’re going to have a pond that has water cycling through every 24 hours, and there’s actually sand around it. That’s going to be a DJ stage. But it’s really about the fans, and having that attention to detail for them. If we put on a festival and people don’t come, it’s not going to last. So having things like twice as many Porta Potties for the girls as for as the guys, ice widely available, good signage, and access to parking and camping — that’s all I really care about.

Q: That and recouping the financial investment, I’m guessing.

A: I haven’t even thought about the financials for me or when I get paid. Very early on I was like, “How do you want to look at this? As something you can make money off of or something that’s successful?” And I’m doing this because it’s a fun idea. I know Live Nation’s in it for money, which his good. Money makes you work hard and put your butt into it. But for me it’s about people walking away and going, “Wow, that was an awesome way to spend my Labor Day weekend. I loved that Dierks was out and about everywhere in a golf cart. He got onto every stage and sang with every band and he was also out in the campgrounds joining in on impromptu jams. He was so accessible.” That’s what I want.

Q: What else makes this festival different than others in the state?

A: DelFest (Del McCroury’s Cumberland, Md.-based music festival) provided a lot of inspiration, in terms of both how he runs it and how the fans have really made it what they want it to be. Del’s up there playing in suit and tie, and most people in the audience are wearing tie-dyes and noodling. I’m hoping for that for Seven Peaks. Bring in a country audience, bring in a bluegrass audience, but let them make the traditions. I love ’90s country, so that’s going to be involved in there, too, but we’ll see what that brings out.

Q: I noticed Del gave you some advice in a Rolling Stone article about Seven Peaks: Get ”at least 16 hours of a sleep a night.”

A: Which is hilarious. I saw his advice but it’s not going to happen. I have a game plan for what I’m going to do, and how I want this first year to go. All the people (performing) this year are my friends, and it’s a big trust thing the very first time you do this — asking fans and friends to place their trust in you. We’ve got all these people coming out from California to Canada, people I’ve collaborated with on records or on tour, and I’m going to get up and sing with everybody? Sleep’s not really going to be in my future.

If you go

Seven Peaks Music Festival. Country, roots, bluegrass and Americana from Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne, Clint Black, Sam Bush, Elle King, Del McCoury Band and others. Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at 14822 County Road 350 in Buena Vista. Tickets: $215-$999 for festival passes; $125-$200 for camping passes, sevenpeaksfestival.com

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Ask Amy: Employee frets about overdue job change

Traffic Report: Power Players Discuss Current Trends, Personal Outlooks

Internet traffic is the lifeblood of e-commerce, attracting audiences for advertisers seeking to sell their products or services and for publishers providing a platform for displaying these ads.
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Boulder Beer on Walnut to transform into Squared Pizza + Beer

Boulder Beer on Walnut, a Pearl Street Mall brewpub, will soon become Squared Pizza + Beer, a Detroit-style pizza restaurant.

While the establishment will be transforming its menu and overall concept, it won’t be changing hands.

Frank Day, founder of the original Old Chicago in Boulder, remains the owner and Boulder Beer Co. will continue to run a seven-barrel brewing operation at Squared Pizza + Beer.

“We’ve been consulting and facilitating the brewing side,” Boulder Beer president Jeff Brown. “The restaurant will still provide an opportunity for small-batch research and development for the brewery.”

Boulder Beer’s primary brewery and pub location at 2880 Wilderness Place will not be affected by the changes at the Walnut Street establishment. The Walnut location will close Tuesday to allow for kitchen modifications and decor changes, according to Brown, before reopening Sept. 10.

Read the full story at dailycamera.com.

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Boulder Beer on Walnut to transform into Squared Pizza + Beer

Boulder Beer on Walnut, a Pearl Street Mall brewpub, will soon become Squared Pizza + Beer, a Detroit-style pizza restaurant.

While the establishment will be transforming its menu and overall concept, it won’t be changing hands.

Frank Day, founder of the original Old Chicago in Boulder, remains the owner and Boulder Beer Co. will continue to run a seven-barrel brewing operation at Squared Pizza + Beer.

Read the full story at dailycamera.com.

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Thursday, August 30, 2018

Stinky corpse flower ready to bloom at Denver Botanic Gardens. That means you have one day to get over there.

Amorphophallus titanum, the stinky corpse flower, is expected to bloom tonight at Denver Botanic Gardens.

“It is starting to open right now,” said Erin Bird, a gardens spokeswoman.

It will likely take about three to four hours for the bloom to fully open and fully stink, Bird said.

The gardens will stick to its regular summer schedule tonight, with the last entry for people already in line to view and smell the corpse flower at 8 p.m., Bird said.

On Friday, the gardens, at 1007 York Street, will open early for members at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. for non members to take in all of Stinky’s odorous goodness.

Viewing of the corpse flower is included in admission, and visitors should anticipate a wait to see the bloom.

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Mediterranean haven with 100-seat patio opening next week on 18th street in Denver

A Mediterranean haven will emerge in downtown Denver’s concrete jungle Tuesday, Sept. 4, when Kevin Taylor’s restaurant group unveils it’s newest concept: Mila.

This 6,000-square-foot eatery, located in downtown’s Denver Place, will welcome guests with a sleek, coastal color scheme and a creative-yet-classic execution of Mediterranean-inspired cuisine.

Executive chef and partner Austin Cueto, a veteran of the restaurant group, will offer an array of dishes including house-made pastas like Pork Shoulder Bolognese; pizza with spicy lamb sausage, goat cheese, fennel and rosemary (yes please); fresh seafood such as the Roasted Branzino with with toasted farro, baby beets, peas and saffron lobster brodo; along with salads, crudo and more. Signature dishes include Pork Belly Porchetta with Israeli couscous and oyster mushrooms, and a harissa lamb burger with cured tomato, bibb lettuce, feta and red beet ketchup.

Cueto, who most recently served as executive chef at Kevin Taylor’s at the Opera House, has spent more than a decade with the KTRG, formerly fulfilling the executive chef role at Restaurant Kevin Taylor and Palettes at the Denver Art Museum. He has also led the culinary department of the Denver Art Museum’s catering and events.

Mila hosts a 16-seat bar, 48-seat wine cellar ideal for special events, and a 2,000-square-foot outdoor patio with 100 seats. The space offers a bright escape with distinctly urban views.

Dinner will be served Monday through Saturday, as well as lunch service Monday through Friday, beginning Sept. 10. A happy hour menu will be available from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday. The restaurant will be closed on Sundays.

999 18th St, Denver, 303-228-0770; miladenver.com; Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 5 p.m to 10 p.m., Sunday: Closed, Happy Hour: Monday-Friday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

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Hacienda Colorado’s first downtown Denver location to open mid-September on 16th Street Mall

“Mountain Mex” cuisine is coming to downtown Denver.

On Tuesday, Sept. 4, the 20-year-old chain Hacienda Colorado will open its sixth location in The Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel.

Eager consumers may enjoy their Hacienda favorites, from wrapped burritos to the popular chile rellenos, along with a variety of exclusive new items in the historic I.M. Pei Tower. The massive location, which will displaying traditional, rustic elements updated with a modern twist according to a release, will offer lunch and dinner with indoor and outdoor seating.

Hacienda’s 11,600-square-foot interior will have 288 seats, while diners may also enjoy an al fresco experience on a 1,900-square-foot flowing patio that overlooks the 16th Street Mall.

“We’ve taken traditional recipes and updated them with a distinct Rocky Mountain twist,” Hacienda Colorado founder and CEO Tim Schmidt said in the release. “We’re from Colorado, and we’re here for Colorado.”

In addition to made-from-scratch tortillas and tamales, Hacienda will also offer eleven signature sauces and a list of 40 tequilas. The casual, family-friendly restaurant adds another option to The Sheraton Downtown Denver’s culinary offerings, which currently include Yard House and 16Mix.

Hacienda Colorado will open downtown on Tuesday, Sept. 14.

1550 Court Street, Denver; 720-549-0556; haciendacolorado.com; Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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Hacienda Colorado’s first downtown Denver location to open mid-September on 16th Street Mall

“Mountain Mex” cuisine is coming to downtown Denver.

On Tuesday, Sept. 4, the 20-year-old chain Hacienda Colorado will open its sixth location in The Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel.

Hacienda’s 11,600-square-foot interior will have 288 seats, while diners may also enjoy an al fresco experience on a 1,900-square-foot flowing patio that overlooks the 16th Street Mall.

Hacienda Colorado will open downtown on Tuesday, Sept. 14.

1550 Court Street, Denver; 720-549-0556; haciendacolorado.com; Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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Peach pizza? Palisade produce perfectly at home outside the dessert menu at these Front Range restaurants

Like most exquisite creatures, peaches’ beauty is short-lived. The last harvests of Palisade peaches are making their way east to the Front Range, meaning we’re on the clock when it comes to savoring their fleeting sweetness, their meteoric juiciness, before it all dries up.

Last year, the Western Slope produced more than 10,000 tons of the fuzzy, pitted fruit, which translates to about $21 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So, yeah, we’ve got some peaches to use up.

You’ve probably already bought your fair share from farmers markets, roadside stands and grocery stores, but the best way to enjoy the state’s best crop is by letting Colorado’s best chefs have at ’em.

“Palisade peaches in particular are something I look forward to every late summer because they truly are exceptional and easy to use in multiple ways,” said Nadine Donovan, executive pastry chef at Vesta restaurant.

She uses them in a few different dishes, including her must-try Buttermilk Pie with Drunken Peaches.

Using the sweet fruit in dessert is a no-brainer, but many chefs are putting them to work in savory dishes as well. (Think peach pizza, risotto and tacos.) Here are some of our favorite peach dishes to try right now before they’re not so, well, peachy.

For the perfect post-dinner treat — or post-breakfast, because why not? — grab a scoop of Frozen Matter’s Palisade Peach Cobbler ice cream. And if you really want to live your best life, pair it with a shot of bourbon, because Frozen Matter has a liquor license. Yes, an ice cream parlor with a liquor license. Feel free to take a moment to dream up all the creamy, boozy possibilities. 530 E. 19^th Ave., Denver, 720-600-6358; frozenmatter.com

The beer and sausages at Euclid Hall are nice and all, but the Peach Cheesecake with almond praline is where it’s at. Grab a slice at the Larimer Square tavern now. 1317 14^th St., Denver, 303-595-4255; euclidhall.com

The Bindery pairs its House Sausage with spiced pickled peaches, red onion and bitter greens. Once you try these tangy suckers, you’ll want to put them on everything. (Check out Chef Linda Hampsten Fox’s recipe for pickled peaches at the end of this article.) 1817 Central St., Denver, 303-993-2364; thebinderydenver.com

I don’t know that you can fully experience peach season until you’ve eaten Pizzeria Lui’s The Peach Pit pizza. Topped with local peaches, prosciutto, mozzarella, pistachio, ricotta, spicy honey and arugula, this is a peach pie of the savory sort. 5380 W. Mississippi Ave., Lakewood, 303-922-3202; pizzerialui.com

The RiNo outpost of Los Chingones is wrapping up pickled Palisades with panko fried snapper, fennel slaw, chili-orange vinaigrette and charred poblano aioli in a taco. 2463 Larimer St., Denver, 303-295-0686; loschingonesmexican.com

Nadine Donovan is one of Denver’s finest pastry chefs, so you’re definitely going to want to see (and of course taste) what she does with the state’s sweetest ingredient. Head to Vesta for her Buttermilk Peach Pie, with vanilla buttermilk custard, cornmeal crust, drunken peaches and wild blueberries. Or make it yourself with the recipe, below. 1822 Blake St., Denver, 303-296-1970; vestadenver.com

The tableside Palisade Peach Melba at Jill’s Restaurant is like getting dessert with a show. First, the peaches and raspberries are sautéed in brown sugar. Then they’re flambéed tableside with Leopold’s Blackberry Whiskey. (Yay, fire!) Finally, it’s all plated with house-made mascarpone ice cream, whipped cream and toasted almonds. 900 Walnut St., Boulder (inside the St. Julien Hotel), 720-406-7399; stjulien.com/eat-drink/jill’s-restaurant-and-bistro

The Palisade Peaches & Cream appetizer at Esters might be just what you need to fill the aching void in your life. Or at least the void in your stomach. Peaches team up with burrata, heirloom cherry tomatoes, arugula pesto and crushed pistachios for a tasty plate of void-filling goodness. 1950 S. Holly St., Denver, 303-955-4904; estersdenver.com

How ’bout a peach sandwich? Boulder’s Cured packs Morton’s Orchard Palisade peaches, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and basil on a baguette in its Peach Caprese sandwich. 1825 Pearl St., Boulder, 720-389-8096; curedboulder.com

Two words: Peach Risotto. Two more (and a fancy + sign): beast + bottle. Served with turnips, capicola and fontina cheese, this unexpected combo needs to be eaten to be believed. 719 E. 17^th Ave., Denver, 303-623-3223; beastandbottle.com

Knock out your fruits and vegetables for the day with Brider’s Peach and Feta Salad. Made with corn, zucchini, quinoa and honey-almond vinaigrette, you’ll be like a living, breathing super food after eating it. 1644 Platte St., Denver, 303-455-3084; denverbrider.com

Lots of spots have peachy cocktails on the menu right now, but The Way Back’s may have the best name. The Resting Peach Face blends peach and orange blossom vodka, crème de violette, lemon juice and lemon soda with fresh Palisade peach puree. 3963 Tennyson St., Denver, 970-682-6888; thewaybackdenver.com

And here are some recipes, should you find yourself with extra peaches and are feeling creative:

Pickled Spiced Peaches

From Linda Hampsten Fox, chef/owner of The Bindery. She uses them with a sausage dish at the restaurant, but they’re great on sandwiches, with ice cream or just straight out of the jar.

Ingredients:

1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks, each about 4 inches long
5 star anise
4 pounds of peaches, pitted and cut into quarters

Directions:

Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and star anise to a boil and then turn down to simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sugar dissolves and spices are infused. Let cool.
In a nonstick skillet over medium high heat, sear the cut side of each peach quarter. They have enough natural sugar that after a minute or two the peach starts to char and caramelize. Remove to a rack and let cool. This is important so the peaches don’t steam and they remain firm.
Place the peaches in a sterilized jar. Cover the peaches with the cooled pickling solution and spices. Cover with a clean lid. Refrigerate. The peaches just get better over time and will last 4-6 weeks refrigerated.

Buttermilk Pie with Drunken Peaches

From Nadine Donovan, executive pastry chef at Vesta.

Ingredients:

For the cornmeal crust:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornmeal
¼ cup granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1 cup butter, cold
¼ cup + 2 tbsp. water, ice cold

For the vanilla buttermilk custard:

1¾ cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar, divided
1 vanilla bean
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp. corn starch
2 tbsp. water, cold
2 tsp. gelatin

For the drunken peaches:

4 ripe Palisade peaches
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
½ cup Leopold Bros Small Batch Whiskey

Directions

Cornmeal Crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are combined. Cube the cold butter into ¼ inch pieces. Add to the dry ingredients in the food processor and pulse again until the butter reaches pea-sized pieces. While pulsing a final time, add the water to the top of the food processor until shaggy dough forms. Transfer dough to the counter top and bring together with hands. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes. Once chilled, return the dough to floured counter. Roll into a circle and line a nine-inch pie pan. Trim edges and chill again. Place the pie pan lined with dough and pie weights in the oven and bake until lightly golden brown, approximately 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

Vanilla Buttermilk Custard:

Slice the vanilla bean in half. Using a paring knife, scrape the seed out of the pod. Place the vanilla pod and seeds in a medium saucepot with ½ cup of sugar and buttermilk. Over low heat, warm the buttercream. Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water. Set aside. Whisk together the egg yolks, corn starch and remaining ½ cup sugar. Slowly whisk warm buttermilk into egg mixture. Return all to the saucepot and cook until mixture thickens. Add gelatin, mix again. Strain the mixture and pour into cooled pie crust. Let set for at least 3 hours, or overnight before slicing.

Drunken Palisade Peaches:

Place sugar, water and Leopold Bros. Whiskey into a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool. Slice Palisade peaches and place in cooled whiskey. Let marinate for 30 minutes. Garnish each slice of pie with drunken peach slices.

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Peach pizza? Palisade produce perfectly at home outside the dessert menu at these Front Range restaurants

She uses them in a few different dishes, including her must-try Buttermilk Pie with Drunken Peaches.

And here are some recipes, should you find yourself with extra peaches and are feeling creative:

Pickled Spiced Peaches

From Linda Hampsten Fox, chef/owner of The Bindery. She uses them with a sausage dish at the restaurant, but they’re great on sandwiches, with ice cream or just straight out of the jar.

Ingredients:

1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks, each about 4 inches long
5 star anise
4 pounds of peaches, pitted and cut into quarters

Directions:

Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and star anise to a boil and then turn down to simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sugar dissolves and spices are infused. Let cool.
In a nonstick skillet over medium high heat, sear the cut side of each peach quarter. They have enough natural sugar that after a minute or two the peach starts to char and caramelize. Remove to a rack and let cool. This is important so the peaches don’t steam and they remain firm.
Place the peaches in a sterilized jar. Cover the peaches with the cooled pickling solution and spices. Cover with a clean lid. Refrigerate. The peaches just get better over time and will last 4-6 weeks refrigerated.

Buttermilk Pie with Drunken Peaches

From Nadine Donovan, executive pastry chef at Vesta.

Ingredients:

For the cornmeal crust:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornmeal
¼ cup granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1 cup butter, cold
¼ cup + 2 tbsp. water, ice cold

For the vanilla buttermilk custard:

1¾ cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar, divided
1 vanilla bean
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp. corn starch
2 tbsp. water, cold
2 tsp. gelatin

For the drunken peaches:

4 ripe Palisade peaches
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
½ cup Leopold Bros Small Batch Whiskey

Directions

Cornmeal Crust:

Vanilla Buttermilk Custard:

Drunken Palisade Peaches:

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Restaurant Review: Beirut Grill serves familiar, if much too mild, Middle Eastern flavors

2 stars (out of 4)

Denver’s dining scene shed its meat-and-potatoes moniker years ago. More recently, the Mile High City has become known for its farm-to-table ethos — and a plethora of cuisines that, like many of our newest residents, aren’t from around here. There’s the surplus of poke eateries; the popularity of pan-Latin eats; the endurance of ramen. Right now, though, diners are thinking about slightly drier climates as Middle Eastern food steps to the forefront with two big restaurant openings on the horizon: Alon Shaya’s Safta and Ash’Kara from beloved local toque Daniel Asher.

The modern eateries are sure to increase people’s cravings for hummus, tahini, shawarma, and falafel. Luckily, the Denver metro area has a long history of solid Middle Eastern restaurants. Their strip mall locations and modest interiors aren’t hip or #gramworthy, but they’re consistent and satisfying.

Among them is Beirut Grill, which opened in 2006 in Englewood. At this quiet restaurant, everything is made from scratch and is inspired by the traditional bites of Lebanon’s capital city. Many dishes need spicing up, but the ample menu is familiar and easy to navigate even for Near East food newbies.

Vibe: Understated. Beirut Grill is located in a strip mall (its neighbors include a nail salon, physical therapy office and gym) off of South Broadway and West Hampden Avenue. The restaurant’s jewel-toned booths and wooden chairs surround glass-topped tables covering intricately woven textiles. Arabic music plays over the speakers and colorful lanterns hang from the ceiling. These small touches add life to the otherwise nondescript dining room — a necessity at slower times.

Hits: If Beirut Grill does one thing especially well, it’s dips. You can actually taste the eggplant in the earthy baba ghanoush ($6.95), while the parsley- and paprika-speckled hummus ($6.95) is silky and tahini-heavy; you’ll want to capture every last dollop with a spoon. Start every meal with an order of either but know that a side of pita and hummus also accompanies most entrées.

The eatery is also known for its savory pies ($2.95). Thick dough boats (which need a couple more minutes in the oven) are filled with your choice of cheese, spinach or lamb and served warm. The spinach version tosses the greens with onions, walnuts, olive oil and pomegranate sauce for a tart, crunchy appetizer. Another successful starter is the bowl-sized yellow lentil soup ($4.25); the spices are nicely layered and make for a flavorful, if thin, broth.

Ful medames, a traditional vegetarian Lebanese dish, is billed as an appetizer but is better suited as a main course. Called simply “fava beans” on the menu ($6.95), it’s a stew-like combination of the legume, diced tomatoes, olives, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. Eat it on its own or swipe chunks of pita through it.

For a broad taste of the menu, order the King Combo ($17.95), a massive platter of non-skewered chicken, kofta, lamb and beef kabobs, shawarma, falafel, a duo of salads and dips, a grape leaf and rice. The best of the offerings is the kafta, a redolent blend of ground lamb and beef tossed with onions and parsley. The rice-stuffed grape leaf was lemon-y and tomato-y and balanced out the meat-heavy plate. (A vegetarian combo, $13.25, is available for herbivores, but the disappointing falafel — see below — are the star ingredient.) For a slightly smaller meal, the char-broiled chicken kabob ($13.95) is juicy if plain and lacking the onslaught of spices we expect with Middle Eastern-style meats.

Misses: The pitas, made by hand, are thinner here and more tortilla-like. While they work just as well for scooping up hummus or bits of shawarma, we missed the more common, puffy rounds.

Take a pass on the falafels ($5.95 as a side; $12.95 as an entrée). Though the tough exterior gives way to a fluffy, herb-forward filling, and we enjoyed the nuttiness of the sesame seeds sprinkled on top, the chickpea patties arrived nearly burnt and were too crispy to enjoy.

In both the chicken and lamb-and-beef shawarma (each $13.95), the meat was shredded much too small to retain any spice or pull any flavor from the rotisserie. The ratio of rice to meat and vegetables was also off; the kitchen would be better off serving one or two less scoops of rice on each entrée plate.

Dessert (all $2.45) isn’t worth the extra calories. The baklava is sweet and heavy on the honey, which we like, but the dough is undercooked and missing that characteristic crackle. Namoura, a traditional, semolina-based Lebanese treat, is dry and pulled no flavor from the nuts, lemon juice, or floral syrup typical of the dish.

Drinks: The fragrant, hot mint tea ($2.95) pairs with everything on the menu and comes with free refills, though those looking for a caffeine buzz will prefer the strong Arabic coffee ($2.95). Beirut Grill received its liquor license in May, so there are now a handful of wines ($7 to $10) and mostly Colorado brews ($5) on the menu, too. Sodas and a variety of juices ($2.95 to $3.95) round out the liquid offerings.

Service: Service at Beirut Grill is more transactional as opposed to a conversation between diner and server. Your water will be regularly filled, and the staff can explain unfamiliar dishes, but that’s the extent of it. And that’s just fine. Because dishes arrive quickly, and it’s easy to flag someone down over a fallen fork or to request more pita.

Bottom Line: On the spectrum of Denver-area Middle Eastern restaurants, Beirut Grill is a middle-of-the-pack spot. It offers all of the eats to satisfy a hankering for Near East food — as well as some lesser-known offerings — but the dishes don’t provide the depth of herbs and spice that makes us crave those foods in the first place.

Price: Appetizers and salads ($2.95 to $6.99); Sandwiches ($6.95 to $8.95); Entrées ($12.95 to $28.95); Desserts ($2.45); Drinks ($2.95 to $10)

Fun Fact: Owner Pedro Bernal is from Central America, but he learned the basics of Middle Eastern cuisine at the now-closed Colorado Boulevard location of Damascus Grill.

Beirut Grill

203 W. Hampden Ave., Englewood
303-781-0808; beirutgrill.net
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily
Reservations: Accepted
Parking: Lot

Star Rating Guide: Ratings range from zero to four stars. Zero is poor. One star, satisfactory. Two stars, good. Three stars, very good. Four stars, excellent.

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Robert Redford, Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone among stars headed to this year’s Telluride Film Festival

One of the globe’s most significant and singular film festivals begins today, and pass-holders for the 45th Telluride Film Festival will soon be in the throes of an obsessive movie love.

Some of what they’ll stand in long queues for are sure to be in the Oscar hunt come fall.

Over the last several years, Telluride has — along with the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival — become a harbinger. Others are (by box office standards) as rarefied as the air in the San Juan mountains. Telluride is an oddly down-to-earth yet heady affair: deeply thoughtful and, for those new to the altitude, a little dizzying.

Guests slated to attend this year’s installment (through Sept. 3) include:

Robert Redford, who plays a robber to Casey Affleck’s cop in “The Old Man and the Gun.” Redford, 82, has said this his final film as an actor.
Tribute recipient Emma Stone appears alongside Rachel Weisz in “The Favourite.” The tale of cousins vying for the affections of Britain’s Queen Anne is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the wildly eclectic filmmaker of “The Killing of a Sacred Dear” and “The Lobster.”
Writer-director Alfonso Cuarón — also a fest honoree — returns to Telluride with “Roma,” his black-and-white drama about a family in Mexico City in 1970. The film’s title acknowledges the district where the Oscar-winning filmmaker of “Gravity” and “Children of Men” grew up.
“La La Land” director Damien Chazelle returns, too, with “First Man,” a drama about astronaut Neil Armstrong, who went to the moon but shied away from star treatment.
Actor-director Ralph Fiennes arrives with “The White Crow,” about Russian dancer Rudolph Nureyev, starring Russian dancer and acting newcomer Oleg Ivenko.

Others headed to the former mining town: Nicole Kidman, nearly unrecognizable as an undercover cop in Karyn Kusama’s “Destoyer”; Matt McConaughey as the father of a law-breaking teen circa 1984 Detroit in “White Boy Rick”; Laura Dern and Jack O’Connell in “Trial by Fire,” director Ed Zwick’s drama based on David Grann’s New Yorker piece about a Texas inmate put to death after exculpatory evidence was suppressed; and Melissa McCarthy as Lee Israel, the once successful biographer turned desperate literary forger, in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Still, the festival’s most unlikely star may well be a fallen Colorado political figure: Gary Hart — at least by way of Hugh Jackman. In “The Front Runner,” Jackman (Logan in a Marvel Multiverse far, far away from Telluride) portrays the U.S. senator who in 1987 appeared a shoe-in for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president and likely POTUS.

Director Jason Reitman brings journalist Matt Bai’s “All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid” — a deft cultural reckoning — to the big screen. Newspaper accounts alleging an affair between Hart and Donna Rice sunk his candidacy and bankrupted his political capital. The movie, due out in November, might seem an odd blast from scandals past if not for the fact that the nation appears ever stuck in the mud of what do we really know and when do we know it truly matters.

“Jackman is out of this world,” said Julie Huntsinger — co-director alongside fest co-founder Tom Luddy – by phone from her seasonal office in Telluride. “I feel like this could be the film, that if people give it attention and think about it, it could generate the most conversation because it hits on questions that reverberate for politicians but also for artists: What is the public’s right to know about your private life? What is a good candidate? What is a good person? Is fidelity an issue? What is hubris?

“There are so many big-ticket items we need to look at as a culture, as a country. It brought it all the way home that his life is not my business. His marriage is not my business. But questions of judgment are our business.”

In many ways, “The Front Runner” with its election scandal of a bygone era — given America’s breakneck amnesia — offers fest-goers Telluride’s version of the timely. Which tends to be more artistically resonant than it is doggedly topical.

Once a cinephile secret, Telluride has grown ever more popular: Passes are sold out within hours of going on sale in March. And Huntsinger has made peace with the ways the festival gets pulled into the awards-season blogosphere each fall. She gets it. And when the Oscar finally, famously, went to “Moonlight,” which premiered at the fest two years ago, she was there to give director Barry Jenkins, a longtime festival ringmaster, a celebratory hug.

Still, Huntsinger sounds happiest nudging the unexpected finds, the tender or tough docs, the international prize-winners that keep Telluride Telluride. This year, that means (among others):

Sebastián Silva’s family drama “Fistful of Dirt,” shot in Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria. (“He does that thing that people with his skill set can do, where they give you dignity and describe unacceptable conditions at the same time,” said Huntsinger. “This movie feels magical and sincere at the same time.”)
And Ali Abbasi’s contemporary fable about a border agent with an uncanny sense of smell and the traveler who throws her for a loop. “Border,” which won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes in May, is “so dang good,” said Huntsinger, who was a juror.

Even if you don’t attend the Telluride Film Festival, here are two more Cannes winners to keep a look out for as Colorado heads into its own festival season, with Aspen FIlmfest (Sept. 25-30) and the Denver Film Festival (Oct. 31-Nov. 11): Matteo Garrone’s “Dogman,” which snagged Marcello Fonte best actor honors for his portrayal of a gentle dog groomer yanked into the orbit of a neighborhood brute; and master filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Shoplifters.” Los Angeles Times critic Justin Chang called the drama — which took the French fest’s top prize — “one of the quietest, loveliest and most emotionally enduring films in the competition.” Just the sort of high praise you expect from a film now having its day in Telluride.

The 45th Telluride Film Festival, Aug. 31-Sept. 3. A holiday weekend featuring standouts in international and U.S. cinema, Q&As, seminars, and guests galore. Among this year’s attendees: Robert Redford, Emma Stone, Melissa McCarthy, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Matthew McConaughey and directors Alfonso Cuarón, Pawel Pawlikowski, Hirokazu Kore-ada, Jason Reitman and Karyn Kusama.

How to fest: Passes sold out in a hurry. Free nightly screening and daily seminars in Elks Park. Go to “Fest on a Budget” at telluridefilmfestival.org for info on how to still partake of TFF’s many screening opportunities.

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10 ways to spend Labor Day weekend 2018 in Colorado

6 Labor Day weekend hikes that are within two hours of Denver

As Labor Day weekend approaches, Coloradans plan to do what they always plan to do: flock to the hiking trails.

We asked some newsroom hikers where they like to go. Some declined, insisting that they did not want their favorite spots spoiled. But others, thankfully, obliged.

So here are six hike recommendations from Denver Post staffers. And remember: No matter what you do, there will be traffic.

Check out the list on The Know Outdoors.

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These two mountain towns are home to Colorado’s own Sin City

Victor Tobar Climbs Corporate Ladder at Pleasure Chest

They say you don’t know a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. In this regard, Victor Tobar knows the Pleasure Chest like the dearest of old pals.
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Ask Amy: Online relationship might be a catfish

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

What to expect heading into a Denver’s jam-packed September of festivals

Denver is set for a music- and beer-soaked September. A new music festival will dazzle Instagram feeds, the annual Taste of Colorado festival is expected to draw in more people than ever (over half a million!) and the Great American Beer Festival should be just that: great.

With all the food and drink being served up, Denverites looking to get around the city will need to eat their proverbial traffic-peas. Road closures and heavy pedestrian traffic will squeeze weekend transportation more than usual this coming month.

Taste of Colorado (Sept. 1-3)

Marking its 35th year, the festival is packing in its biggest lineup yet. Organizers expect over 500,000 attendees this year and are working closely with the Denver Police Department to have plenty of off duty officers on scene to ensure a safe event, said Doug Schepman a spokesman for the Denver Police Department. The festivities will converge in Civic Center Park for an abbreviated three days this year.

The following roads will be closed starting at midnight Aug. 29:

Civic Center Park will be closed through noon Sept. 4.

Lincoln Park will be closed through noon Sept. 4.

Bannock Avenue and 13th Avenue to Colfax Avenue will be closed through noon Sept. 5.

14th Avenue from Cherokee Street to Broadway will be closed through noon Sept. 4.

Cleveland Place and 15th Street to 16th Street will be closed (local access only on the North side) from 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29 through noon Sept. 4.

The following roads will be closed starting on 9 a.m. Aug. 31 through 6 a.m. Sept. 4:

Broadway and 13th Avenue to 19th Street (two lanes east side only) will be closed through Aug. 31 at 6 p.m.

Colfax Avenue from Cherokee Street to Broadway will be closed through 6:00 a.m. Sept. 4.

14th Street and Broadway to Sherman Street will be closed through 6:00 a.m. Sept. 4.

15th Street from Court Place to Colfax will have local access and access to Sheraton Garage only through 6 a.m. Sept. 4.

Broadway and 13th avenue to 19th street will be closed from 6 p.m. Aug. 31 through 6 a.m. Sept. 4.

Lincoln Street and 13th Avenue to Colfax Avenue will be closed from 7 p.m. Aug. 31 through 6 a.m. Sept. 4.

Colfax Avenue and Broadway to Sherman Street will be closed from 9:30 p.m. Aug. 31 through 6 a.m. Sept. 4.

Lincoln Street and Colfax Avenue to 17th Street will be closed from 1 a.m. Aug. 31 through 6 a.m. Sept. 4.

RTD transit will also be strained with riders traveling to the CU Boulder vs. CSU Rocky Mountain Showdown this Friday.

Local businesses expect a boost in revenue from the festival.

“What a lot of people do is come down once or twice a year for a festival like this,” said Sharon Alton, vice president of downtown experience for the Downtown Denver Partnership which puts on the festival. “It is really a way for us to showcase downtown and the center city in general.”

But, all those shoppers have feet and pedestrian traffic is anticipated to be heavy over the weekend on top of street closures.

“We want our motorists to be mindful there are going to be a lot of pedestrians,” Schepman said, adding that “Denver is accustomed to planning for this.”

Grandoozy (Sept. 14-16)

Things only get louder later in the month with Grandoozy, a first-time festival put on by the same masterminds behind Outside Lands and Bonnaroo. Slated to bring in big names to Denver, the lineup includes EDM icons The Chainsmokers, rap royalty Kendrick Lamar and all-time-great Stevie Wonder. The festival will also cause several road closures and partial blockages, but most importantly for festival-goers there will be no parking.

Grandoozy is marketing itself as a car-less affair and encouraging attendees to find eco-friendly transportation to Overland Park. Shuttles from Boulder, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs will run for long-distance fans. For cyclists, the festival is offering free bike valet off the S. Platte River Bike Trail. Designated pick-up and drop-off points will also be available to help Uber and Lyft riders find their ride.

Superfly, the production company putting on the festival, also is encouraging people to using public transportation and RTD park-and-ride options. Passengers should plan for packed busses and trains, and a possible dusting of glitter from festival-goers. RTD is not planning any extra service to the recommended I-25 Broadway or Evens Street stations, but is aware of the likely increased passenger flow.

“We just ask people to be patent and plan ahead,” said Tina Jaquez, a public relations manager for RTD.

Here are the roads that will be closed during the festival:

Florida Avenue in between S. Platte River Drive and Santa Fe Drive:

The eastbound Curb lane will be closed from 8:30 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. starting Sept. 5 through Sept. 7 and closed around the clock from Sept. 8-9.

Florida Avenue will be closed to all non-event traffic from 8:30 a.m. Sept. 10 through 3:30 p.m. Sept. 18. Aqua Golf will be accessible during these closures except during festival days.

The eastbound curb lane of Florida Avenue will be closed on Sept. 19.

Overland Pond park parking lot will be closed 8:30 a.m. Sept. 10 through 3:30 p.m. Sept. 18.

Santa Fe Drive between S, Platte River Drive and Jewell Avenue:

The southbound lane will be closed from 11 a.m. Sept. 14 through 6 a.m. Sept. 17 for ride share pick-up and drop-off.

Jewell Street via S. Santa Fe Drive will be used during non-event days for occasional loading throughout the day. It will also be used from midnight to noon during event days for the festival.

Galapagos Street will be used during non-event days and event days from midnight to noon or when outgoing traffic has cleared.

Superfly struck a deal with their suburban neighbors in the Overland Park area to give free tickets as a token of gratitude for bringing a festival to the residential area.

Private security and the Denver Police Department will also work to ensure no residential parking is used by car-driving festival-goers. After the 10 p.m. cut off time, attendees will be funneled away from residential areas.

Superfly is working with the city to ensure part of the tax revenue from ticket sales go toward neighborhood improvement projects. The festival will provide jobs to local musicians, vendors and non-profits who will participate in the event.

In a FAQ posted to the city’s website, the festival also said that it has security plans in the event of an active shooter.

Great American Beer festival (Sept. 20-22)

Filling the Colorado Convention center with over 4,000 beers from 800 breweries, the Great American Beer Festival won’t be closing any streets. Attendees are encouraged to ride RTD and ride sharing pick-up and drop-off points will be available.

[Read More …]

Test ROI on Offers Before Falling in Love

I didn’t truly understand what chemistry was. One woman described it as “butterflies” and despite great conversation and chemistry in many areas, she confessed that she didn’t feel those “butterflies” with me. Bummer. It took me over a year of endless (and depressive) dating to finally learn what chemistry really felt like.
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Ask Amy: Newly discovered sister rocks her world

Get Cooking: Summer’s end means making ratatouille

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Svakom Forges Ahead With Focus on International Market

This year has been a time of growth and expansion for Svakom Design USA (Svakom.net). In addition to opening a new warehouse in California, the sex toy manufacturer has been forging ahead with aggressive international marketing, a stronger presence at adult industry trade shows around the world and greater participation in mainstream events.
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Poll: The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks today. Is it too early?

The sure sign of fall, the Pumpkin Spice Latte, is officially back at Starbucks today. The drink is available before the unofficial end to summer, Labor Day, has even come and gone. The official last day of summer is Sept. 22.

Fall, is it really you?
Pumpkin Spice Latte is back. #PSL pic.twitter.com/QOERFzWRgJ

— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) August 28, 2018

The drink’s August debuted is earlier than last year. In 2017, the drink hit menus in September.

While Tuesday’s forecast of 74 degrees in Denver may feel slightly appropriate, by Thursday the high could hit 90 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The rest of the week should see temps in the 80s.

Is it too soon? These people don’t think so:

Take the poll on The Know.

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Poll: The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks today. Is it too early?

Fall, is it really you?
Pumpkin Spice Latte is back. #PSL pic.twitter.com/QOERFzWRgJ

— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) August 28, 2018

The drink’s August debuted is earlier than last year. In 2017, the drink hit menus in September.

Is it too soon? These people don’t think so:

Take the poll on The Know.

[Read More …]

Svakom Forges Ahead With New California Warehouse, Strong International Push

Ask Amy: Man finds that living with his folks isn’t a turn-on

Monday, August 27, 2018

Where to go in Wyoming that’s not Yellowstone

We careened into the Cowboy State, cruise control set somewhere around 78 mph on a two-lane highway so straight it disappeared into heat-wavy nothingness. Our car buffeted back and forth in the crossgusts of those famous Wyoming winds. The plains were dotted with ranches, windmill farms and antelope. To get the kids interested, I told them they’d each get two points for every antelope they spotted, 20 for bison and 50 for each bear. They started scanning the horizon as we beelined it for Thermopolis, our first stop.

We were a family of five curious Coloradans on a car-camping expedition, in a packed-to-the-gills minivan. My wife, three daughters and an eight-pound chiweenie were piled in among two weeks’ worth of gear, snacks, dog treats and sunscreen. Our mission: cut a thousand-mile, figure-8 route across Wyoming while avoiding the holiday masses in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Since those are the places people ask you about when you mention “Wyoming,” we wondered what else we would find, and if it would even be worth driving all these scorched, breezy miles. Time would tell.

Thermopolis

Past the Boysen Reservoir, down Wind River Canyon, we arrived in “Thermop,” our first stop and home of the “World’s Largest Mineral Hot Springs,” as you immediately learn by reading the giant letters of whitewashed rocks on yonder hillside, with an arrow pointing downward for further clarification. Below the arrow’s point, Big Springs is the sprawling, mineral-layered, orange- and yellow-crusted mother spring in Hot Springs State Park. We hiked the boardwalk above rainbow-colored algae pads and steaming water, crossed the suspension bridge over a swollen Bighorn River and admired the mineral-laden water as it flowed out of the ground.

Anyone passing through town can relax in the public bath house for 20 minutes at a time for free, or pay to use one of the private operations or Best Western Hotel, all with their own hot pools. We continued another mile north, to The Fountain of Youth RV Park — a one-loop, family-owned campground, also with an on-site hot springs just steps from our campsite. That’s hard to beat, especially at first light, while my family was still asleep in the tent and the rest of the campers were hidden away in their bus-sized RVs. I had the water all to myself, sulfur vapor rising like a filter in front of train tracks, red rock cliffs and a blue-getting-bluer sky. Then my kids woke up and joined me in the pool.

We stayed three nights; the girls swam and soaked for hours at a time, stopping their play only to look up when long trains rocked by. To lure them away from the water, we planned a visit to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, a unique mini-museum and dig center; we took a shuttle to their ranch up the canyon, where 20,000 bones and fossils have been found since they started looking just a few decades ago. Families can even sign up to help chip and brush away at a unique bone bed, where sauropods once trod in a shallow lake 150 million years ago.

Legend Rock Petroglyph Site

Twenty miles north of Thermopolis, the sign at the turn-off for the Legend Rock archaeological site said we needed to go back to the visitor center in town to pick up a gate key in order to access the site. Our guidebook seemed to confirm this fact, but this just didn’t seem right. My wife and I looked at each other, assessing whether or not to take the risk. Maybe the gate would be open…?

To find out, we’d have to leave the paved road and drive into an empty desert scrubland. What if it wasn’t open? What if we got a flat tire and there was no cell reception and three kids in the car, surrounded by rattlesnakes, mountain lions and hungry jackalopes? My wife gave me the slightest nod and I turned off the highway.

Into the dust we drove, past the state’s oldest oil field, the kids counted pronghorn and deer. Around one more turn, and lo and behold, the gate was open. We followed the road into a sage-covered, rattlesnake-infested (so warned the signs) desert drainage. But now our 5-year-old was asleep, so at the trailhead, my wife, other daughters and I took turns taking the self-guided hike to the rock paintings, some of which were 11,000 years old. There were hundreds of drawings at this site, with a few dozen distinct examples clearly visible from the trail, of both human and animal figures, each with a story.

Cody

As we approached Cody, the town that William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody created and constructed in 1896, the mileage signs started mentioning Yellowstone, whose East Gate is only 50 miles farther down the road. The temptation was enormous as we contemplated using one of our precious days in Cody to pop into the park — the first, most famous National Park in the nation! — and drive one of the common attraction loops.

“It’ll be a zoo! Craziest week of the year,” confirmed both the rep at the visitor center and our campground manager. “It’s Fourth of July week, which means both the locals and tourists will be driving the same roads, all at the same time.”

We’d spent enough time in the car, so we came to our senses. As we set up our tent at the Cody KOA in the shade of a medium-sized cottonwood, we refocused on our original plans to enjoy the local festivities and sites. When Buffalo Bill began, he started by building the Irma Hotel and extra-wide streets for his horse teams — both of which are still found.

“We take our parades seriously,” bragged more than one local, signaling to all the folding chairs people had already set up on the main street, 24 hours before the first parade started. Over the next four days, we went to both parades, ate ice cream at a downtown street fair, bought tickets to the 99th annual Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA)-sanctioned Cody Stampede and visited an assortment of museums — five of which were in the ultra-modern Buffalo Bill Center of the West facility.

To tie it all together with even more stories of gunslingers, gangs and grave-robbers, my eldest daughter and I took the one-hour Cody Trolley Tour and we all paid a visit to Old Trail Town — both activities dripping with old West lore. Needless to say, there was enough to do in Cody for days on end, and that’s not even mentioning the trail rides, bouncy pillow and pool available at the campground.

Bighorn National Forest

Looking at the map, there were three appealing road routes that cut east across Bighorn National Forest, a massive island of mountains in the high plains with 13,000-foot peaks and notable campgrounds near Shell and Ten Sleep. We opted for the northern route — U.S. Highway 14 Alternate, the Bighorn Scenic Byway, which first led us through Lovell (and a restocking of our picnic cooler), then passed the entrance and visitor center to Bighorn National Recreation Area — a destination of its own, with wild mustangs, a scenic river tour, and vista point that people compare to the Grand Canyon.

We continued east, the road quickly ascending the mountain divide and turned into a trailhead at 9,600 feet to pay a visit to Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark. We’d seen pictures of it on a postcard back in Cody, this mysterious circle of stones marking a sacred site. The 3-mile, out-and-back hike took us past snow banks and scurrying marmots and pikas. It was a cool pleasure after all morning in the driver’s seat. We coaxed our kids as far along the trail as we could until they all melted down, overtired and wilting; my wife and I took turns running up the last part of the trail to see the wheel itself, a carefully placed stone pattern, adorned with offerings such as animal skulls, jewelry pieces and tied-together clumps of sage.

Casper

Descending the Bighorns, we came out in Sheridan. Another few hours in the car, back on cruise control, we headed south now, through hailstorms and traffic-stalling downpours, arriving in Casper with a dark red sunset. One daughter had a cough, another; allergies. After seven nights in a tent, we sprang for a hotel and hit a wall of exhaustion.

That meant we missed Register Cliff and the Oregon Trail ruts at Guernsey during the 175th anniversary of the Oregon Trail; neither did we make it to the National Trails Interpretive Center, nor enjoy a real covered wagon ride or night in a tepee. We also passed on a local minor league baseball game and seeing Dali and Van Gogh paintings in Casper’s Nic Museum. We were two days early for the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo, and I didn’t even drag myself out for a tour of Backwards Distilling Co, home to some of the state’s finest craft gin and vodka. But sometimes when you’re traveling, that’s what you need to do.

So instead of sightseeing as we’d planned, we ended up licking our wounds around the indoor pool and reorganizing our gear while temperatures soared outside. We made a promise to Casper that we’d come back and camp on the mountain, then we packed again and were on back the highway.

Cheyenne

Morale and energy were back and riding high as we pulled into Cheyenne and climbed aboard the Street Railway Trolley (which included a 30-minute stop at the Frontier Days Old West Museum) to get our bearings and an appreciation of this city as both state capital and cultural crossroads. After the tour, this appreciation deepened when we literally stumbled off the trolley and into a Tattoo Festival on the main square in front of the old Union Pacific Railroad Depot. Despite the heat, people milled around, ate street tacos and admired each other’s body art, lowriders and facial hair (yes, there was a beard and mustache contest with trophies for prizes).

One evening, we made the short drive west, past the Francis E. Warren U.S. Air Force Base and a few wind farms to the Bunkhouse Bar and Grill. The sun was going down as we pulled up to this roadhouse restaurant where a country western band played and couples danced, talked, ate and drank as the long dusk faded on and on. For the next few days, we toured Cheyenne’s many enormous green, shaded parks. The new 28,000 sq. ft. Cheyenne Botanic Gardens was impressive and, next door, our girls ran all over the Children’s Village, with its interactive little path through water elements, gardens and a tepee village.

Roadside attraction

Throughout the trip, my girls had been scanning the roadside for wildlife, racking up points in my made-up game; though they had hundreds of points worth of pronghorn, sheep and cattle, plus a single mama-baby moose pair (50 points, spotted in the Bighorn National Forest) and too many cottontails to count, they still had no 20-point buffalo on their scorecards.

So I signed us up for a train tour of the Terry Bison Ranch, a working ranch, campground and roadside attraction (“Prehistoric Buffalo Chip” and rideable jackalopes) next to Interstate 25, just south of Cheyenne, along the Colorado state border. We arrived too early to dine at the Senators Steakhouse and Brass Buffalo Saloon, so we boarded the home-forged train that took us on a loop, out into their herd. We were equipped with plastic buckets of sausage-sized bison treats, compressed hay or something, which we fed by hand to the animals surrounding the train. “That’s Gene Simmons,” the conductor and tour guide said, pointing to a 2,200-pound bull who was approaching our car.

No, we hadn’t made it to Wyoming’s National Parks — but we did face down and feed a one-ton, KISS-inspired bison, who snatched his snacks from my girls’ hands with a long, black tongue, sliming their fingers and giving them yet another non-Yellowstone story to tell their friends back home.

If you go

Thermopolis

Where to stay: Fountain of Youth RV Park
Where to go: Wyoming Dinosaur Center

Cody

Where to stay: Cody KOA; Buffalo Bill Village
Where to go: Cody Trolley Tours; Old Trail Town; Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Bighorn National Forest

Where to stay: Shell Campground, east of Greybull; High Country Lodge, between Lovell and Sheridan
Where to go: Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area; Hidden Treasures Charters Boat Tours; Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark

Casper

Where to stay: Campground at Casper Mountain; Holiday Inn Casper East
Where to go: Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo; Backwards Distilling; Historic Trails West (covered wagon ride)

Cheyenne

Where to stay: Nagle Warren Mansion Bed & Breakfast (a Victorian B&B built in 1888 and listed on the National Registry of Historic Places); Historic Plains Hotel (catering to cattle barons, oil tycoons and travelers since 1911); Staybridge Suites Cheyenne
Where to go: Cheyenne Street Railway Trolley & Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum; Wyoming State Museum; Cowgirls of the West Museum and Emporium; Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and Paul Smith Children’s Village; Bunkhouse Bar & Grill; Terry Bison Ranch

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Colorado is home to one of the most popular spontaneous travel destinations

Quick! What’s one city you would want to visit right now?

While your answer might be New York, Los Angeles or Portland, for many Americans, it’s Denver.

According to Hotwire’s booking data, the Mile High City is the third most popular “spontaneous destination” in the U.S., beating out Austin, Minneapolis, New York City, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Portland and Houston.

Denver was only bested by Dallas and Atlanta.

Maybe it’s Denver’s accessibility, which now boasts 200 nonstop destinations, or maybe it’s our mountain towns and ski resorts. Either way, Denver is no stranger to tourists.

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PHOTOS: New Belgium’s Tour de Fat 2018 in Denver

New Belgium’s Tour de Fat made its weird and wild return to Denver Saturday, Aug. 25, this time to Sculpture Park.

The family-friendly celebration of bikes, beer and music filled downtown with jugglers, yo-yo tricks, a giant bear hug and a lot of music and beer. Headliner Jamestown Revival rocked the costumed crowd for almost two hours to close the day.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Bike Denver and the Denver Cruiser Ride.

Journalism doesn’t grow on trees. Please support The Denver Post.
Become a subscriber for only 99 cents for the first month.

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PHOTOS: New Belgium’s Tour de Fat 2018 in Denver

New Belgium’s Tour de Fat made its weird and wild return to Denver Saturday, Aug. 25, this time to Sculpture Park.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Bike Denver and the Denver Cruiser Ride.

Journalism doesn’t grow on trees. Please support The Denver Post.
Become a subscriber for only 99 cents for the first month.

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Automation: The Future of Ad Tech?

In the age of data-driven decision-making, automation is becoming more and more important in the ad tech world. There is no escaping from it — automation is the future and ad tech platforms that invest in automation technology are going to become the key players in the industry over the next few years.
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Ask Amy: Ex-boyfriend becomes current-colleague

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Ask Amy: Felon son is about to be released from prison

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Ask Amy: Man frets about mom’s reaction to girlfriend

Punch List: Lettuce, bulbs part of fall planting

Preventing ‘Friendly’ Credit Card Fraud

Friendly fraud has been on the rise, costing merchants billions of dollars a year in losses, and may account for nearly half of all chargebacks. I laugh at the term “friendly fraud” because there’s absolutely nothing friendly about it.
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Friday, August 24, 2018

Shows at Planet Bluegrass in Lyons aren’t concerts, they’re family reunions

Runners everywhere unite under #MilesForMollie to demand safety for women

Runners here in Colorado and across the globe are taking to social media to dedicate runs to the memory of Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student who went missing while out on a run on July 18 and was later found dead.

United by the hashtag #MilesForMollie, these runners are tweeting about her spirit, her death, fear for their own safety and anger over the catcalls they hear when they run.

Ashlee Justis, a Denver marathoner, tweeted during her run today at Cherry Creek State Park, saying she’ll continue to run “because it is what I love.”

The mid point on my run today at Cherry Creek State Park. Sending thoughts and prayers to the family and loved ones of Molly Tibbetts. I will keep running because it is what I love #MilesForMollie pic.twitter.com/AkojI6eazs

— Ashlee Justis (@ashleechild3) August 24, 2018

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Many of the tweeters repeated the sentiment expressed by Haylee Elizabeth of Sioux Falls, S.D., who wrote in all capital letters, “WOMEN SHOULD BE ABLE TO RUN ALONE AND FEEL SAFE.” Brin Riley of Milwaukee, Wis., tweeted that every time she ran while Tibbetts was missing, she prayed for her to be found alive. Kristina Cromer of Port Orange, Fla., tweeted that her date night on Thursday became a run for Mollie.

#MilesforMollie Peace be with her family. May we always run safely but never scared. Tonight’s date night was spent in workout clothes. He ran his miles. And I ran mine. And then we met at Taco Shack because it’s $1 taco night!!! pic.twitter.com/VACen8ePbY

— Kristina Cromer (@KristinaCromer) August 24, 2018

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Tibbetts came to love running while in grade school and ran track in high school. One tweeter noted that she spoke fondly of the special bond runners have with each other. Her body was found Tuesday.

Cristhian Behena Rivera, 24, was charged with first-degree murder. According to the arrest warrant, he “admitted to making contact with a female running” and left her body in a cornfield.

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Nine bars where you can drink with your pup on National Dog Day Sunday

In honor of National Dog Day on Sunday, August 26, we’ve put together a list of places where you can enjoy the company of man’s best friend and everyone’s trusted sidekick: beer.

That’s right, these nine bars allow you to bring in your furry companion while you crack open a cold one.

From huge patios to private dog parks and even adorable dog treats, these bars will ensure your pup’s needs are taken care of while you enjoy a selection of drinks and plates that will make your dog beg to share.

Denver Watering Bowl is a hot spot for dog owners as it features a 7,000-square-foot, fully fenced private dog park. Dogs can roam unleashed in the dog- and family-friendly area, which has a dog pool, water bowls and a variety of toys available.

The Watering Bowl also offers dog-specific menu items, including dog treats and doggie cakes.5411 Leetsdale Drive; 303-591-9069; denverwateringbowl.com; Sun.-Thurs. 11-12 a.m., Fri.-Sat. 11-2 a.m.

Located in midtown, Bruz Beers offers a selection of traditional Belgium-style beers and innovative Belgium-inspired beers. Its large patio and spacious tap room has plenty of room for you and all of your four-legged friends. Even its menu is dog-friendly, with three signatures dishes from Bruz’s neighboring partner, Backstage Coffee & Bistro. So, as you eat your Shroom burger, Fido can enjoy a chicken, rice and vegetable bowl.

Bruz even hosts special events, like the upcoming Sip and Snip event on Sept. 8, when owners can sip on a beer while their pets get treated to nail clippings and lots of belly rubs.1675 W. 67th Ave. #100; 303-650-2337; bruzbeers.com; Every day, noon-10 p.m.

Boulder Beer Company is a great place for you and your pup after a hike. It has a special dog entrance to a patio with a great view of the mountains. While dogs have to remain leashed, there is space for your dog to stretch out or walk around.

Plus, the beers and water bowls make sure neither you nor your pup get too thirsty. 2880 Wilderness Place; 303-444-8448; boulderbeer.com; Every day, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Denver Beer Company is located inside an old car garage and often has its big doors open during nice weather. The German-style beer garden is dog friendly for leashed pups. This airy bar also offers water bowls, treats and a dog-waste station outside its patio. 1695 Platte St.; 303-433-2739; denverbeerco.com; Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-midnight, Sun. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

At Ugly Dog Sports Cafe, a dog-themed sports bar, “milk bones flow as freely as pitchers of Coors Light.” It has three different areas where your furry friend can watch you knock back a pint: inside, where dogs have to be leashed, and the patio and private dog park, where dogs can roam free.

The bar also offers dog treats and water bowls for furry friends of all sizes. 1345 Cortez St.; 303-428-3600; uglydogsportscafe.com; Sun.-Wed. 11 a.m.-midnight, Thurs.-Sat. 11-2 a.m.

Your pup can enjoy the natural feel of Forest Room 5’s dog-friendly patio. Forest Room 5 is a themed restaurant where your pup can enjoy the running stream that runs across the outdoor patio. 2532 15th St.; 303-433-7001; forestroom5.com; Tues.-Sun. 4 p.m.-2 a.m.

Capitol Hill’s This is Subculture offers another dog-friendly patio where water bowls are available upon request and dogs can enjoy the fresh air while remaining on their leash. Kick back and enjoy a mix of rotating craft beer while munching on a warm or cold sub. 1300 Pennsylvania St.; 303-420-3232; thisissubculture.com; Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Located in Lincoln Park, Renegade Brewing offers another dog-friendly patio and 30 different craft beers. While the brewery doesn’t serve its own food, it does have food trucks that rotate throughout the week, according to its website. (Calls to Renegade were not returned.) 925 W. 9th Ave.; 720-401-4089; renegadebrewing.com; Mon.-Thurs.1-10 p.m., Fri. 1-11 p.m., Sat. 12-10 p.m., Sun. 12-8 p.m.

The family- and dog-friendly establishment Prost Brewing boasts a 2,000-square-foot patio that offers sweeping views of downtown. Your pups will be taken care of as the brewery offers water bowls and a doggie treat station. 2540 19th St.; 303-729-1175; prostbrewing.com; Mon.-Thurs. 12-10 p.m., Fri. 12 p.m.-midnight, Sat. 11 a.m.-midnight, Sun. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Journalism doesn’t grow on trees. Please support The Denver Post.
Become a subscriber for only 99 cents for the first month.

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