DAY THREEAnother great day, perfect weather and a line of cold beers that stretched to the horizon, with a bit of Colorado whisky thrown in.
We left Colorado Springs and headed north on I-25. Because were are traveling armed, the Air Force Academy was not on our itinerary. We fortified ourselves with coffee from the Coffee Caboose by the north entrance to the Academy, and went to the Western Museum of Mining.
The Coffee Caboose, home of some darned good coffee
Sadly, the playful burro was not to be found
Real men, real mustaches!
You break sixteen tons, and what do you get?
There is no problem so large that it can't be solved with sufficient quantities of high explosiveNext stop- International Hearing Dogs, Inc. in Denver. I qualify for a hearing assistance dog, and made an appointment to talk to the director of IHDI. At any given time, they train about 50 dogs to become certified service dogs. All of their dogs are shelter rescues. I got to meet some of them. One little black dog adopted me (which happens to me pretty regularly) and wanted to go home with us, but she is already scheduled to go to a deaf woman in Texas. I asked for the largest dog they can train; the director says the largest so far was a 120 lb white Shepherd who went to a deaf man in Alaska. I may have a service dog in 8-12 months!
International Hearing Dogs, Inc., sponsored by the Lions Club and Sertoma
The training house. Each dog has an hour of immersion training in the house, 5 days a weekWe then had lunch at the Wynkoop Brewing Co in downtown Denver. Sampler trays were the order of the day!
Moose, thanking God for beer, which is proof that he loves us and wants us to be happy
The Old Man, having five in IassaFTots' honor. Aw, hell, I don't need an excuse to drink, just an opportunity!
The snoose on my shirt is from the little black hearing dog.
Tots- the bartender said Wynkoop will be closed on Christmas, but you should call in December and double-check.A row of beers wasn't enough for us, so we drove to the Stranahan Distillery and Rackhouse in Denver.
We had some of their fine Colorado Whiskey, made from native corn and rye, served as God intended: two fingers of whisky, a splash of well water, light on the ice. We sat out on the deck in front of the Rackhouse with Rocky Patel Decade 6x60 cigars.
Moose is learning how to live well
I am having fun teaching him!We were joined by 7-8 friendly people, and we talked cigars and whisky. Good times.
Feeling properly refreshed and relaxed, we drove through downtown Denver. I saw a lot of street people hanging around the "medical" marijuana shops; we talked about the large number of panhandlers and street people compared to other cities we have traveled through.
In Boulder, we walked around downtown. I found a bookstore with a book that looked like I had to add it to my library, until I found out it was about an Irish painter.
We walked over to the Walnut Brewery for evening beers and dinner, stopping for a picture with an incongruous sculpture of a grizzly bear and cubs.
We had sampler trays for dinner; I found my favorite beer so far, "Old Elk Bitter". Mmm-mmmm! Their chili was pretty good, too.
Moose is already asleep, with a smile on his face. I am sure I'll sleep well tonight, too.
