Hooray For Ouray

Pleep, Delete, Peggy and Ed were sorry to bid goodbye to Hugh Jay and Nancy.  Ed pointed out that Pleep hadn't yet worn out his welcome and that it is always best to leave before you are asked to go.  Heading west out of Vail, the route to Ouray led through Minturn, past Camp Hale where the 10th Mountain Division trained in World War II, Leadville, Gunnison, Montrose and finally came to halt at The Beaumont Hotel.  Pleep used his time in the car wisely examining the Beer Drinker's Guide To Colorado map and coupon book.

Convincing Ed that Buena Vista meant a lovely place for a view and a beer, Pleep navigated to the Eddyline Brewery.  Pointing out that we had already been traveling for 90 minutes with no stops and that there was a coupon for a free pint with souvenior glass, Pleep convinced Ed it was worth a stop.  Plus, he thought maybe another free beer or two would be offered because Ed's nickname is Eddie.  After watching Pleep stick his whole head in the pint, the bartender thought it might be best to cut him off.

Before getting back in the car, Ed insisted Pleep demonstrate his ability to navigate by taking a hand eye coordination test on the climbing wall.  The instructions were very clear, even for a monkey with minimal reading skills.  Pleep had no problem scaling the wall.  After reaching the top, he broke into the victory dance version of his monkeybutt manuver.

The drive offered spectacular views of the mountains, valleys, creeks, and small lakes.   The VW Jetta TDI made great mileage averaging nearly 45 miles per gallon.   There were numerous warnings about elk, deer, and mountain goats but the only animals Delete spotted were Texas longhorns and sheep.  

Arriving in Ouray, Pleep was very excited to be checking into the Beaumont Hotel.  He was a bit disappointed when he learned there was no discount for mentioning Beaumont Parker at check in.  The hotel is on the historic registry and was completely renovated in 2003.   The restoration was done with exceptional care and preserved many of the original features from 1886.   Pleep and crew are looking forward to spending a great day in Ouray checking out the galleries, hot springs, and, of course, the local breweries.

Hiking & 100th Monkey: The Infinite Monkey Theorem

There are lots of hiking and biking trails in the Vail area.  Summer in Colorado is an excellent time to enjoy it all.  We've been hiking around the trails and spotting some interesting wildlife.  Delete was hoping to catch a glimpse of his relatives but no elk spottings as yet.  We did see a lot of different birds and caught a marmot hanging out in the sun.  Today the plan is to hike the ridge line from the top of the gondola.

After studying the Vail Daily weekend reviews, Hugh Jay settled on the Lord Gore which was offering a Sunday night deal to encourage diners.  Lord Gore is located inside Manor Vail Lodge and has spectacular views of the mountains.  Settling in and studying the wine menu, Pleep discovered 100th Monkey, a red table wine from The Infinite Monkey Theorem Winery.  He insisted we order a bottle although several of us were skeptical that a wine with monkey in the name would be any good.  When the bottle arrived with a picture of a chimp lasered on it, Peggy was a bit concerned.  It reminded her of the Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes movie she had just seen which had scared her a bit.  The wine turned out to be very good and we even recommended it to the diners at the next table.

Returning to the condo, Pleep googled 100th monkey.  He learned that the infinite monkey theorem is based on the concept in probability that a monkey striking a keyboard at random for an infinite period of time will eventually type out the words of Shakespeare.  Pleep pointed out that he produces his blog in a very short period of time with the only issue being a bit of a spelling problem.  He posed his version of the theorem: if he had an infinite number of 100th Monkey bottles, the process would be even faster and the error rate would be lower.  We highly recommend giving this wine a try if you find it in a store or restaurant when visiting Colorado.

Vail Farmers Market Offers Way More Than Produce

Every Sunday morning Vail Village turns into what is billed as a farmer's market.  While pursuing the Vale Daily, Pleep spotted the adverts for endless mimosas, wine tasting, craft beers and other goodies.  He suggested a nice walk through the market would be good exercise so the whole crew headed over.

There were blocks and blocks of tents offering a lot of food and beverage options but very limited produce.  One tent was roasting New Mexican green chiles from Hatch.  Pleep made a beeline for that vendor insisting that we acquire several bags of the medium heat Big Jims.  Ed agreed noting we could brew up a large batch of green chile stew for our hosts.  Pleep pointed out that this excercise would require a quantity of Colorado IPA's because cleaning and dicing that many chiles was hard work.

While we explored the market, Pleep kept wandering off.  Ed knew where to look for him every time - any tent that offered tasting adult beverages.  Pleep's favorite was the Tattinger champagne tent.  In between sampling the beverages, he was also busy sampling freshly made salsas, breads, tamales, Bavarian pretzels, and other homemade goods.   Surprisingly, we finally found Pleep hanging out at the charity duck race booth where he was trying to convince the Rotary Club that monkeys would be a much better choice than ducks.  

An interesting booth was one a wine tasting tent where they were also making S'Mores.  After close inspection, Pleep declared these were lame S'Mores becaause they had skimped on the chocolate.  However, because they were offering free tastings, he felt it was worth a stop.

We ended the adventure at the Eagle Bahn gondola at Lionshead.  Peggy picked up the trail map while Pleep checked out the Born Free Express lift.  He figured that meant monkeys were allowed to ride the lifts for free.  Just as he was about to argue his case, the Blue Moose caught his eye.  Thinking it would be a good idea to check the place out and report back to Delete, he diverted just in time to avoid a sudden thunderstorm.

Pleep Sets Out Looking For A Rocky Mountain High

After a very long, extremely hot spell in Kansas City, Pleep and Delete were very happy to be heading to Colorado for a well deserved break.  Heading west toward Lawrence in the pre-dawn hours, Pleep insisted he needed to text Nancy & Hugh Jay, our hosts in Vail.  Ed pointed out that Vail was an hour behind and suggested holding off.  Ignoring his comments, Pleep dashed off a text and was pleasantly surprised to receive a prompt reply.

The drive from Kansas City to Vail is a straight shot along I-70 for a total 685 miles.  One of the highlights on the trip was the windfarms which provide a break from the cattle, corn, sorghum, milo and wheat.  Normally, Peggy and Ed make peanut butter wraps for the drive but decided not to because it was a short day.  Fortunately, there was an early stop at a McDonalds where Pleep was at least able to get a nice capacinno.  He decided on the large before considering the fact that the VW Jetta TDI has a 550 mile range between stops.  Lucky for him, Ed also had a giant coffee so there was an early stop in Colby, Kansas.

Ed pulled in exactly as predicted at 4:00 pm Vail time to the Vail Racquet Club complex.  When he learned there was no elevator, Pleep was very glad to see that Hugh Jay came down to help haul the luggage upstairs.  Nancy & Hugh Jay had prepared the guest room very nicely, even leaving a special gift.   Pleep and Delete quickly made themselves at home diving right into the fridge to check out the supply of adult beverages.  After enjoying a nice time on the deck listening to the creek, everyone headed over to the Alpine Hut for happy hour followed by dinner and music.   The evening concluded with watching highlights from today's leg of the Tour Of Colorado which had passed through Vail and the weather channel to see how Irene was battering the east coast.  Pleep's closing comment was hoping the evacuation of DC was permanent.