Well, our kids don't live at home anymore, but we've got a dog who thinks he's a big kid. And boy is he spoiled. We took him to the neighborhood outdoor concert Friday night. He was pretty good about not jumping on other people, but he seemed to want to sit on Bruce's lap. I guess he wasn't a fan of the country western band that was playing.
This week we took a mini vacation to Gunnison, CO. A long time ago, one of Bruce's grandfathers lived there, so he wanted to go back and see the town. The trouble was, he was only 6 the last time he was there, so he really didn't remember much. We rented a cabin at the Blue Mesa Outpost right on the Gunnison River. It was a beautiful spot and a very nice cabin.
One day we drove over to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It looks a bit like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon only with black rocks. That's Bruce out on the viewing platform looking down the canyon.
Like most national parks, you can only take dogs on the short trails around the Visitor Center. There was a trail that went along the rim to the campground that allowed dogs. I hiked about halfway with Bruce and Charlie, but then I stopped to do a little sketch. The scenery was too gorgeous to pass up.
Mostly we cooked our meals on the grill at the cabin, but on the way back from the national park we stopped for lunch at an old Big Boy cafe. The hamburgers were just as big and juicy as the one on the Big Boy statue.
Luckily, I managed to get in a bike ride on Monday before we left, so I was able to check off another ride on my bucket list. I wanted to ride the Cherry Creek trail downtown to Meininger's art store. All the locals have been telling me that it's the best place to go in Denver. They certainly had a lot of supplies, but unfortunately not the brand of paint I was looking for. Right next door was a quirky costume shop with kind of a loose Harry Potter theme. I would love to go back there some time and see if the manager would let me do some sketching from the inside.
