Perhaps I’ve never given it much attention, but this year’s World Cup seems to be more popular than ever. Our friend Rob had a gathering at his place on Saturday to watch the USA team’s first game against England. I’m sure most people watched the game, so I won’t given any recap or commentary. If we hadn’t watched the game at Rob’s, there was a large gathering of people in downtown Denver at the British Bulldog that some other friends were attending.  They had closed off a street and put up a huge screen for game watching.  I’m told that even despite the rain that there was a big crowd throughout the game.  I’m even finding myself tuning into games during my lunch break at work.  I haven’t started setting the DVR to record, but that still might be possible as the tournament moves forward.  I just might be catching this craze.

For dinner last night, Kim found a black bean burger recipe that she wanted to try.  Normally I would be hesitant to try one of these “veggie burgers.”  No, not because I love regular burgers.  It’s quite the opposite actually, as I don’t really eat red meat.  I just have never had a desire to pretend I’m eating something that I really don’t want to eat.  No turkey burgers, no veggie burgers, etc.  However, a few weeks ago Kim ordered a black bean burger from a restaurant, though I can’t recall which one.  She remarked at how good it was and offered a bite.  I decided to give it a try and was surprised at how tasty it really was.

Anyway, Kim found a recipe and she prepared the burgers while I finished painting our entryway.  The recipe says that they aren’t quite firm enough for the backyard grill, but we had no problem grilling ours.  I think she used all of the flour called for in the recipe, which actually helped to firm up the outside of the burgers.  We added some slices of cheddar cheese to ours, along with toasted wheat buns, ketchup, mustard, and pickles.  They weren’t quite as good as the burger Kim ordered a couple weeks ago, but they were still pretty good.  I’d give them a seven or eight on a scale of ten.  I’d like to keep experimenting with the recipe and adding additional things to the mix to spice it up, but it is defnitely a great starting point for some healthy food.

The following video was recently shown to our group at work.  It features one of our directors briefly describing the project that I’ve spent a lot of time on recently.  I figured it would help summarize exactly what it is we are trying to accomplish in my new role.

Last night I headed back to Red Rocks for the second time this summer. This time we would be seeing Sting perform with the over forty piece Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.  There would be no opening act, just the headliners performing two sets and a series of encores.  They played nearly a dozen of the hits to start and end the night, and filled the rest with some lesser known ballads. I definitely enjoyed the beginning and end of the performance better than the seemingly never-ending list of ballads. While a little sleepy at times, the orchestra really helped to bring the ballads to life for most of the show. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting to see, but still a cool performance nonetheless.

With all of that said, Sting can really sing, especially for someone who is going on sixty years old!  And he really moves around quite a bit during the performance, though not as much as the orchestra conductor, who was bouncing around his platform nearly the entire show.  I would have preferred the entire thing to be a little more upbeat.  For example, “Roxanne” was rearranged to be a much more ballad type song.  I think many people like it, but I would prefer it in its original form.  However, there were a few faster and louder hits played, highlights being “Every Little Thing She Does,” “King of Pain,” and “Desert Rose.”  Notice that nearly all the songs I mentioned are Police songs, and not just Sting songs, so maybe I need to see a full show from the Police.  I’ll keep my fingers crossed for another reunion.

While Nick was in town over the weekend, we did a few other things besides taking him to his first concert.  On Saturday morning we drove back out to the Red Rocks area for a hike along the Dinosaur Ridge.  We started on the side closest to Red Rocks, so we had to hike up and over the ridge to reach the visitors center.  Fortunately, we had decided to pick up sandwiches before our hike, otherwise we wouldn’t have made it.  We ate our sandwiches at the visitors center, looked through the gift shop, and thought about paying $3 per person for a ride back to the car.  We didn’t have enough cash, so we decided to hike back to the car, covering the mile and a half pretty easily once again. 

 

Later in the evening, we took Nick to a Colorado Rapids soccer game along with a few of our friends.  We bought tickets from Groupon a few weeks ago, which gave us VIP tickets and a free shirt.  During the drive to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the weather became a little questionable.  Fortunately our VIP tickets were about fifteen rows off the field and had a roof over our heads.  During the game there were brief periods of rain but we didn’t get wet at all.  The game itself was fun, though there was no scoring in the first half.  Eventually Colorado scored a goal against the visiting Columbus Crew, and that was all it took for the victory. 

 

Additional pictures can be found on the Hais Family Picasa site.  Nick took most of the pictures that he is not physically a part of.  Here is a slideshow containing all the photos. 

I attended my first concert back in 1991 with my dad. He took me to see Rush at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, now known as U.S. Bank Arena.  I was eleven years old and I still can remember the experience to this day.  That brings me to this weekend, we took Kim’s youngest brother, Nick, to a concert at Red Rocks.  He is only nine, so he is already beating me by a couple of years.  Not to mention that his future concert going experiences may never compare to the scenery at Red Rocks.  The lineup for the night started with State Radio, then Medeski Martin & Wood, and finally John Bulter Trio.  We arrived as State Radio had already taken the stage.  I’ve seen them a couple of times before, but I don’t remember liking them as much as I did this time.  I read that most of the songs they played were from their latest release, Let It Go, so I’ll have to be sure to pick that up soon.  Toward the end of their set, I took Nick on a walk around the venue.  We climbed the stairs all the way to the top and took in the great view.  I also showed him the inside of the visitors center.

We had seats in the twenty-fifth row, but once Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) started, the music became too loud for Nick.  We brought along earplugs, but we couldn’t get him to try them out.  So we decided to move up and eventually ended up sitting in the very last row.  The sound was not quite so loud, and there were a couple of others kids nearby.  I actually like the view from up top, and we had plenty of room to spread out.  I had never seen MMW before, and I don’t think I will go out of my way to see them again.  I can appreciate completely instrumental music, but I really need vocals to be fully entertained.  Apparently I wasn’t the only one, as the general consensus in the beer line was that MMW should have played first and allowed State Radio to have an expanded set in the middle slot.

After a somewhat bizarre native american dance session, the John Butler Trio finally took the stage.  This would be the seventh time I’ve seen JBT and probably one of the best.  The trio was recently reconfigured to include older drummer Nicky Bomba and Byron Luiters on bass, and the chemistry with this incarnation sounded great.  The vocal harmonies have never sounded better, and each musician brings a unique quality to the older songs.  Switching band members is nothing new for John Butler, and I think it helps him to keep the songs and shows unique and interesting.  The show was scheduled to go until midnight, but they were behind schedule and it ended up going well past the scheduled time.  Nick did eventually fall asleep about halfway through their set, but he made it long enough to hear his favorite song, “Don’t Wanna See Your Face.”  I’m sure it was an experience he will never forget.

Last weekend, we traveled through New Mexico. After seeing Albuquerque on Saturday, we moved up to Santa Fe on Sunday. We arrived in the early evening at La Posada de Santa Fe, the resort I had reserved on Priceline for only $110. “Nestled on six beautifully landscaped acres in the heart of Santa Fe, this AAA Four Diamond name in Santa Fe hotel resorts is a haven of Adobe-style architecture, colorful gardens, and cozy outdoor fireplaces.” The old structures have been completely renovated and easily exceeded our expectations.

After we found our room, we spent a little time relaxing at the heated outdoor pool. While there we started planning our remaining time in Santa Fe. Originally I wanted to go to The Shed for dinner that night, but we soon realized that they are closed on Sundays. Instead we decided to walk around the downtown plaza area and see what caught our eye. Eventually we ended up at the Cantina at the Coyote Cafe. We dined on more tacos and enchiladas, specifically the Al Pastor tacos (Special Spice Blended Pork, Sweet Grilled Pineapple, Vidalia Onions, Roasted Tomatillo & Salsa Fresca) and Chicken & Cheese enchiladas (Arroz Verde, Refried Beans, Red or Green Chile, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Guacamole & Mexican Crema).

We walked around Santa Fe after dinner and again were back to the hotel and in bed by eleven. The following day we snacked on leftovers and things we had brought along in the morning. We then toured the Loretto Chapel, San Miguel Mission, and the New Mexico State Capitol. Out of the three, I think the Loretto Chapel was the best, though San Miguel was also very interesting to see. After a few hours of walking we had worked up a good appetite and headed to The Shed for lunch. Kim had the Green Chile Stew and salad, while I continued on the trend and had the Enchilada and Taco Plate. This was one rolled, blue corn enchilada filled with cheddar cheese, onion and covered with red chile. One soft blue corn taco with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, baked chicken with green chile. Served with pinto beans & posole. Their red chile was my favorite!

After lunch we left Santa Fe and started on the drive back to Denver. Our only notable stop along the way was near the city of Taos, at Taos Pueblo. Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Native American tribe of Pueblo people. It is approximately 1000 years old and said to be the oldest continuously inhabited houses still occupied in the US. We almost backed out after seeing the $10 admission per person and $5 camera fee, but I’m glad we decided to go through. As we were walking in, a tour was starting, so we joined that and then spent some time on our own exploring the ancient pueblo buildings.

Santa Fe on Dwellable

Originally today was supposed to be a vacation day, but things are pretty crazy at work recently, with another deadline coming at the end of next week.  Kim has been out of town this whole week, and when she returned last night, she brought along her youngest brother, Nick.  He will be staying with us through the weekend and then flying back to Cincinnati on Sunday.  We have lots of exciting plans for the weekend, so I’m hoping to finish up a few things here at work today and then not think about it at all until Monday.  I already missed bowling today and a stop at Chipotle.

After exploring the Sand Dunes Saturday afternoon, we continued on our way to Albuquerque.  Along the way we stopped in Alamosa, Colorado for lunch at San Luis Valley Brewing Company.  Kim and I shared both the Chicken Hot Italian Sausage and the Chicken Skewer appetizer. I washed it all down with a Grande River IPA. I definitely enjoyed the beer more than the food, but it is still worth a stop if you are in the area. We eventually arrived in Albuquerque in the early evening and checked into our hotel for the night, the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque. I had won it on Priceline for $42 and it was well worth that price. We had a room on the fifteenth floor with a view of the city. I would have preferred a mountain view, but the room amenities were still great.

For dinner on Saturday, we decided to venture to Sadie’s, a local institution that serves up simple but spicy New Mexican food. We arrived close to eight in the evening and there was still a wait for a table. We found the self-service chips and salsa station and make a basket to hold us over. Immediately we were hit with spiciness from the salsa, and that was just the beginning. Once seated we feasted on a variety of enchiladas, tacos, and chile rellenos. The green vegetarian chile was very spicy as well, but oh so good. We don’t have much to compare it to in Albuquerque, but I would highly recommend Sadie’s.

After dinner we drove over to the area of town known as Old Town. By this time it was getting late, and most of Old Town was pretty deserted. This area of town is famous for its adobe building dating back to 1706. Though most of the shops were already closed, we took a leisurely stroll through the streets of Old Town and enjoyed the nice weather. We were back at the hotel and in bed by eleven.

To start off Sunday morning we drove over to the University of New Mexico and walked through the adobe filled campus. Once we had worked up a good appetite we crossed over the street to the Frontier Restaurant. This restaurant must be packed when school is in session, as it was very crowded on an otherwise quiet Sunday morning. The line wrapped halfway through the long rectangular restaurant. I decided to just sample one of their enormous cinnamon rolls and Kim had a breakfast burrito of some sort. It’s an interesting place, but was dirt cheap and pretty good. Breakfast for the both of us was under $10 total.

On our way out of Albuquerque we stopped at the Sandia Peak Tramway for a ride on the world’s longest passenger aerial tramway. It is a fifteen minute ride from the base to the top, covering 3,819 ft in elevation gain. The slope of the mountain is very steep and picturesque as viewed on the ride up. Once at the top, the Sandia Peak Ski Area offers both winter skiing and summer mountain-biking. There is also acres of forest with many trails to hike along. We hiked for around five miles or so, and then decided we had better get moving on to Santa Fe if we wanted to enjoy our time there.

Albuquerque on Dwellable

On our way down to New Mexico for the long weekend, we stopped at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in south central Colorado.  This has been on our list of things to see for a while, and since it was only about an hour and half out-of-the-way, we decided that this would be the trip.  We left bright and early on Saturday morning and arrived at the Sand Dunes in the early afternoon.  After a quick stop at the visitors center, we headed toward the main parking area near the dunes.  We were warned that this was traditionally the busiest day in the entire year, and though there were many cars overflowing the lots, there didn’t seem to be too many people out on the dunes.  The biggest draw of the park seems to be Medano Creek, which flows only from spring to early summer.  The majority of the people in the park appeared to be enjoying the shallow and wide creek.

After parking the car in a picnic area near Medano Creek, we waded across the creek and on to the sand sheet.  We quickly realized that the sand was quite hot in spots, and that our sandals would have to stay on most of the time.  Our initial goal was to hike to the top of High Dune, which is around 650 feet tall.  That didn’t sound like it would be too tough, but once we were out in the dunefield, we realized it was harder than expected.  First, everyone should be able to imagine what hiking in sand is like.  Every step forward is like three steps backward.  And on top of that, the winds that whip through the dunes carry sand and small rocks with them.  At times this was very painful and we were finding sand all over ourselves even days after the hike.

We considered bailing on our initial plans to hike to the top of High Dune, but eventually decided to go for it.  We decided a slow and steady approach would be best, and I think it took us around an hour or so to summit the dune.  Once at the top the winds were so bad that we could only stay for less than a minute before beginning the trek down.  Going down was a blast, as you could easily let yourself go knowing that you wouldn’t run into anything hard or sharp.  I think I ran down most of the way, especially when the winds were kicking up sand again.  I’m not sure if the winds are always this bad, but I would definitely keep that in mind on future visits to the dunes.  Despite the wind, I’m glad we finally had the chance to spend some time exploring these wonderful sand dunes.

Westcliffe on Dwellable