[To see the entire photoset from this trip, go here!]

We went to happy hour at Brit’s Pub, then Matt took a somewhat-tipsy me to the airport. Our flight was delayed an hour and we were early as it was, so Stephanie and I went to a bar in the concourse. By the time we got to the gate, I was loudly exclaiming, “Dude! I’m not too drunk to get on this flight!”

We were airborne after 11pm, in a plane with nonworking air conditioning. They said something about attaching portable a/c to it, so all I could picture was a window unit stuck in the side of the airplane. I slept for most of the flight.

Stephanie and I arrived in Denver and picked up our car at 1:30am. It was a gold PT Cruiser. We cursed him, then named him Poontang. We drove what felt like 100 miles, and got to bed around 3am.

Saturday morning, we drove Poontang up to Estes Park to get our hikin’ in the Rockies on. It was freezing there and we were unprepared, so we stopped at an outfitter so I could buy a fleece. There were elk everywhere, wandering around in people’s yards and everything.

We encountered a snowstorm around 8,000 feet! It was gorgeous, though the wind was ridiculous. They closed the main park road because 80mpg gusts were pushing cars off of it.

nymph lake

on the emerald lake trail, with a snowstorm in the background.

dream lake

me freezing at dream lake

We hiked a ton, til we couldn’t feel our toes anymore, and then descended from the mountains around dusk in order to see the elk rut. It was fascinating. An elk would trumpet and a whole herd of ladies would try to fend off his advances. We saw a little bit of aggressive behavior between males, but nothing major.

elk in the mood for love

We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant north of Denver on the way back to the hotel, then fell over exhausted from hiking.

Sunday morning, we had brunch at Tom’s Diner in Denver. I fell in love in an instant.

We drove around and saw the city, then headed to Pepsi Center to see the Dalai Lama.

It’s hard to explain what it’s like being in the same building with him. I started crying the second he walked out on stage. He’s such an amazing combination of absolute serenity and goofiness. I loved him. It was over way too soon, but I feel like his insights and just the memory of being there are going to stick with me forever.

After the event, we wandered downtown and found ourselves in the middle of Oktoberfest in Larimer Square. There were shots of Jagermeister, polkaing, and a tshirt that reads polka like you’ve got a pair. I intend to wear it to Gasthof’s.

We walked around downtown Denver, checking out the shops and local sights. There was a huge hispanic festival going on in a park, but we didn’t know what it was about. We walked back down towards Pepsi center and encountered the halfway-to-St-Patrick’s-Day party at the Pour House. We met a bunch of dudes from Wisconsin and ended up having a singalong to Don’t Stop Believin’ with the entire bar. It was perfect.

Afterwards, we had a very late dinner downtown, and had a very sleepy return to our hotel.

On Monday, we went to Colorado Springs to see the Garden of the Gods, and do some more hiking.

garden of the gods, with pike’s peak in the background

ROCK SHADOW

We went to pay our regards to the hockey arena (for Stephanie’s WCHA-pride’s sake), the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, and Shepler’s, where I bought some superhot urban cowgirl boots. You know how I know they’re awesome? Gay boys love them.

We headed towards the airport with what we figured was plenty of time, only realized it was something like 60 miles away. Why is everything so distant in Denver? It’s crazy. Anyway, we managed to get there on time, and ended up on the same unairconditioned plane. Dear Northwest Airlines: you had an entire weekend to fix that thing. Hello?

Wendy dropped me off at home, and I hopped in the car to go to work. I got home after 12:30am. I may have been a little angry about that. Don’t tell the Dalai Lama.