With family and friends too far to visit without getting on a plane, we decided to take advantage of Scott's 4 days off work and treat ourselves with a driving trip to downtown Denver combined with Thanksgiving Day in Rocky Mountain National Park.  We left early Wednesday morning, and after a semi-productive trip to the Outlets of Castle Rock south of Denver, we found ourselves at our latest Priceline Hotel, the Millennium Harvest House Hotel.  We were assigned a room in a side building, needing remodeling and probably reserved specifically for Priceline customers.  The bed was comfortable at least and it was fine for one night, but Caroline could have done without the acoustic tiles in the corridor ceilings.  The excitement of our trip began when we were seated next to a drunken, 29-year-old carpenter working on his 5th DWI at the reasonably upscale Boulder Cafe (I mean this is Boulder) downtown on the Pearl Street Mall.  He introduced himself to us by showing us his quite lengthy bar tab and saying that he wasn't even drunk (which he most assuredly was).  He was mildly amusing, mildly annoying, but mostly just incomprehensible.  Our Colorado wildlife sightings started (or continued, you decide) as we were driving through the hotel parking lot after dinner to a space near our entrance.  It was dark, but Scott noted movement out the car window.  Caroline turned her head in time to see a medium-sized, fluffy-tailed fox jogging (albeit nervously) alongside the car on a wooded embankment for a few moments!  Fox spotting - check!

We awoke on Thanksgiving morning to a crisp, sunny day and, after a quick breakfast (and seeing a buck with a large rack in an apartment complex parking lot on the main road), headed off to Rocky Mountain National Park, excited to see more natural delights.  It was a lovely drive and not as long as we had anticipated - we  were there in no time!  Upon entering the park, there was a pretty blanket of snow in many places and the evergreens made a beautiful green contrast against the bright white of the snow.  Although quite windy near the frozen lakes, it was mostly sunny all day and we did some wonderful winter hiking in our new boots; Caroline was dressed to keep REI in business, for sure (although it is was her new UnderArmour pants from the outlets that saved the day)!  We hiked some shorter trails in various areas of the park recommended by the kindly park ranger, and the indisputable highlight of the day was our elk spotting.  We were just past the Cub Lake Trailhead in a parking area and preparing to set out on the trail when we heard a sound that was foreign to our ears - almost like a child screaming (which we realize is more foreign to our ears than most).  As we looked around, we suddenly saw dozens of elk stampeding down the mountain to the lower dry grasslands to feed.  We stood mesmerized for many minutes while they continued to appear from around the bend - there were easily as many as 200 of them!  We soon realized that the sound we heard was their bugling and the baby elk made a similar higher pitched sound of their own.  It was quite a sight to behold and best of all, we were the lone witnesses to this amazing spectacle, at least this time.

Exhausted from being outside all day in the chilly weather of the park, we headed to Denver and checked into the Hyatt Regency.  Upon satisfying ourselves that nothing else was open downtown, we ate a quick, but very tasty 'Thanksgiving dinner' of locally brewed beers and small-plate pulled pork sliders and quesadillas in the lobby bar before falling contentedly into bed!

Friday was a leisurely day of eating and touring in Denver.  Our day began with breakfast of blueberry coffee cake and an apricot corn muffin at a trendy coffee shop in the Highland neighborhood.  We followed that up with a delicious comfort food lunch of  pulled pork sandwiches and mac & cheese at the hip, yet cozy Steuben's Cafe, book-ended by some neighborhood tours of the Highlands (including our mandatory stop at a real estate open-house), Uptown, Cherry Creek, and Washington Park.  After trying out the roof-top hot tub back at the Hyatt, it was time to begin the birthday glutton-fest in Scott's honor.  We headed, on foot, down to the trendy Larimer Square area where we warmed up with tasty mojitos (pineapple for Caroline-yum!) and coconut shrimp at the Samba Room and then it was off to dinner at Tag, the creative new Asian-fusion hipster restaurant, where we  had a scrumptious dinner and perhaps one creative cocktail too many... All in all, it was definitely a celebration worthy of the birthday boy!

We slept in a little more on Saturday (if you read the last paragraph, you know why) before heading out to the Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater for a hike.  Prior to going, we had thought it was going to be fairly empty, what with no events going on during the cold-weather holidays.  Little did we know what a destination this place is.  Between the tourists, fitness trainers, museum go-ers, wedding guests (yes, there was a wedding going on while we were there), and other hikers/bikers, we were definitely not alone.  A very cool venue which we'd love to go back to for a show someday.  After our chilly, hot, then chilly hike, it was back to the hot tub for us before heading out for the evening.  The night started with a quick stop at Peete's coffee shop (a favorite of Scott's) and to the Civic Center to see the plentiful Christmas lights, before the main event of dinner at Wynkoop Bewing Company with Heidi, an old friend from San Francisco, and her fiancé Eric.  We had a great time catching up with Heidi and getting to know Eric and were glad they were able to find time to meet up just two weeks before their wedding.

Thus wraps up another long weekend getaway, causing us to promise, as always, to return more frequently in the future.  At just over six hours' drive from Albuquerque, it's practically the next town over, and we left plenty of things to see for next time.

Hiking at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

Icicles!

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park

The winds were gale-force at Nymph Lake in the park

As we were in the parking lot about to set off on the trail, a herd of about 200 elk came stampeding down the mountain for their Thanksgiving lunch!  They were so loud, we heard them before we saw them!

Doe elk with tracking collar

The herd was comprised mostly of of does and young bull elk

Scott poses near the Alluvial Fan before heading to Denver

The Rockies on Thanksgiving Day

A delicious Day-After-Thanksgiving lunch at Steuben's Cafe in Denver

Hanging out in Wash Park

Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater, outside Denver

Hiking the Trading Post Trail at Red Rocks Park

Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater

Caroline hugs the public art as it peeks into the Colorado Convention Center

Denver's 16th Street Pedestrian Mall, decorated for the holidays, with a glimpse of the gold-domed Capitol in the background

Denver Civic Center at Christmas-time

Nativity scene on the steps of the Denver City/County Building

Dinner at the Wyncoop Brewing Co. with SF-friend-turned-Denver-resident Heidi and her fiancé Eric