Golden, Colorado

We finished up the Lariat Loop back in Golden at the end of a very interesting road trip.  I asked to walk through the historic district to look in the shops and maybe get something to eat.  It's a cute little town, and if you've seen any Coors commercials, you have probably seen a bit of Golden.  The mountain creek that comes rushing through town goes right to the Coors brewery.  I believe it's called Clear Creek.

I checked out a few of the stores and bought myself a pair of silver earrings.  We found an ice cream shop and treated ourselves.  We sat outside in the sun and did some people watching.  Maybe it was the mountain air, or the fact that our light picnic lunch was early in the day and it was now about 3:00 p.m., or because we didn't want to leave Golden just yet, but even after the ice cream, Jeff was starving.  So we walked over to the Old Capitol Grill, a restaurant in what was once the first territorial capitol building of Colorado.  Jeff and the kids snacked on nachos, and both kids ordered salads.  I don't think that has ever happened before.  But when you're camping it's not always easy to get enough fruits and vegetables, so kudos to them for ordering it on their own.  Jeff and I had BLTs on what seemed to be thick-cut homemade bread.  Very good.

After lunch, we headed back through town to our Jeep and then drove back to the campsite.  It's about an hour drive, but it's always a pretty one.  This time, we saw a few prairie dog towns along the highway. 

Ruth was adamant that we get back to the campground before 7:00 p.m., which is when they were having the "Super Soaker Hay Ride" again.  Tonight, Jeff hit Ruth in the shoulder with a water balloon, and she was not amused.  But she still loved the ride.  At the end, the camp staff gave the kids some water balloons to play with. 

After the hayride, the campground showed a movie - an animated one called "Spirit" about a wild mustang who becomes friends with an Indian.  Because I had to run to the store to pick up a few things, Ruth and I got there a little late.  Part of the reason I was late was because I saw the sun setting in my rear view mirror, and I had to stop to watch it and take some pictures.  There were clouds in the sky, and when you looked at the setting sun, you could see the shadow of the Rockies behind it.  Gorgeous.

Tomorrow we pack up and head up to Estes Park, Colorado, home of Rocky Mountain National Park.