The Return of William the Conqueror and the Ensuing Celebration

Bill returned victoriously from his Edward Jones Evaluation/Graduation trip last week, and we were finally able to celebrate his birthday and the end of a long, grueling stretch of work!

For Bill's birthday, I planned a weekend away from home that was full of fun! We started the weekend by driving up to Fort Collins (an hour north of us) for Stop #1 - the New Belgium Brewery! This brewery is the home of Fat Tire beer, one of our favorites (they also make Skinny Dip Ale, which is *really* one of our favorites...). We got a tour of the brewery from a chatty young woman with a lot of excitement about beer, who gave us a peek at a part of the brewery that no one ever gets to see on the tour. Without going into too much detail, let's just say there was a large warehouse room full of multiple giant containers that looked like wine casks, and each had a spigot attached. Here was where they were fermenting a very special beer that isn't on the market - and we got to sample it straight from the barrels! Awesome!


The New Belgium company is very committed to sustainability and recycling, which is apparent in the decor as well as the philosophy. There were several artistic representations of recycling around the brewery that were pretty cool. The idea for Fat Tire beer (the original brew) was actually conceived on a bicycle, and so there are cool vintage bikes all over the place. The company encourages people to ride bikes as much as possible to save our energy resources. They even host a "Tour de Fat" every year around the country to raise awareness - pretty cool.

We got to taste 4 different beers after the tour, which will get you pretty tipsy if you have low tolerance, like me (gone are my crazy FSU days...). We enjoyed them, but we remain faithful to our previously mentioned favorites. After our tour of the brewery, we went on to Stop #2 - Vern's. On the recommendation of Crazy Unca Dave who had visited here before, we drove into the boondocks to have a giant cinnamon roll at this tiny gas station/cafe/dinner spot for retirees.

Bill made me sit under the stuffed buffalo carcass. Not that I really had a choice - there were stuffed carcasses perched over every table.

After we scarfed down our giant cinnamon roll (really - the size of a plate) and glasses of milk, we stepped out into the rainy day and took in this beautiful view across from Vern's. Isn't it just beautiful out here?

On to Stop #3 - I made reservations for us for one night at the Sylvan Dale Ranch in Loveland, Colorado, a lovely 73 acre ranch in a little mountain valley that takes you back to the wild west. It was very rustic and peaceful, with a section of the Big Thompson River running right in front of our sweetheart cabin. We made friends with a Canadian Goose that was hanging out...

Sorry, no pictures of our lodgings - we were too tired to do much of anything except eat chocolate birthday cake and go to sleep! The next morning we had to get up early for a "cowboy breakfast" (pancakes, bacon, fruit, coffee, and juice) and then off to Stop #4 - a horseback ride through the surrounding valley!

Bill is a funny cowboy - he has only ridden a horse one other time and wasn't too sure what to do with his gelding, Sunset. Sunset just wanted to eat grass and wasn't so sure about crossing the little rivulets of water along the trail. Bill did a good job, though!

Buckaroo and I became fast friends, however, and had a great time conversing on the trail - I talked to him and he farted in response...all the way through the ride. I think he did it to give us a little "jet propulsion". I could tell he wanted to go faster!

This is a view of the ranch and the area that we rode through. We had a lot of fun and felt like we had taken a step back in time, into the wild west. After the ride I thanked Buckaroo with a good long scratch, and he head-butted me in the stomach in return. What a sweetie. :)

Stop #5 - Estes Park: it was right there, so why not? Estes Park is the "Gateway to the Rocky Mountains National Park", but really it's just a little area of cheap t-shirts, knock-off Indian crafts, and way-too-expensive hamburgers. We did indulge in some dark chocolate toffee and a caramel apple, though. While we were there, I realized that right around the corner was the historic Stanley Hotel - 100 years old and the inspiration for Stephen King's "The Shining". Creepy. I had to see it.


It really is a beautiful hotel, but I can see where Mr. King's inspiration came from. The view from the front porch is spectacular. There was even a wedding going on off to one side where the bride and groom were exchanging vows with the snow-capped mountains behind them. It was very picturesque.

After all that adventure we needed a nap! We took the scenic route home, and promptly took a 3 hour nap. The perfect end to a wonderful weekend!

We love you all! Stay tuned for our next adventure update!