The Shaw Show: Spring Break 2017

View of Taos and Taos Pueblo from the Devisadero Loop Trail

On the Saturday morning following Saint Patrick's Day in 2017, Erin and I started our Spring Break. We had lunch with Erin's brother Nathan in Colby, KS, and spent a little time with him before leaving for Fort Collins.

Jody and Erica greeted us in Fort Collins at their new digs. We stayed in that night, had a fire in a fire pit they designed and built out of a washer drum, and played darts until late. Sunday funday, we celebrated the 22nd birthday of Damon (Erica's son) by painting the town in this order:

Bloody Marys and Brunch at Blind Pig Pub
German Beer Tasting at Prost Tasting Room.
Whisky Tasting at Feisty Spirits Distillery.
A beer, a short nap, and several push-ups at New Belgium.
Scrumpy's Hard Cider Bar & Pub for some cider and a snack.
Social for cocktails and small plates.
Drinks and dinner at The Mayor of Old Town.

Social is a speakeasy in Fort Collins with a very cool ambiance, amazing cocktails, and delicious small plates.

On Monday morning, we ate breakfast at Jody's and drove to Lee Martinez Park where we both ran on the beautiful Poudre Trail. That worked up an appetite for lunch, so we ate at the Colorado Room.

Before skipping town we had to make a final stop at The Welsh Rabbit to get some cheeses and meats for the road and to share. The only problem with stopping there was that the bean to bar place, Nuance Chocolate, was right next door. There was some chocolate tasting and purchasing, as well as a Theo brew and coffee blend that I took for the road. Yummy.

We drove to WeeCasa in Lyons, CO. I didn't realize that Lyons is where the original Oscar Blues Brewery was founded. We had food and drinks there, and a last drink at the Lyons Fork which is where we probably should have had dinner. Mike, who had an adorable Burmese Mountain dog named Brohdi, gave us a hiking recommendation and $2. He wanted us to bring him an iced coffee in the morning. That didn't happen.

On the Button Rock Trail. Frank Price Resovoir in background.

The hike did, however, and it was gorgeous. It was almost a 5 mile hike, and we had to pick up the pace at the end. That evening, we arrived in Taos, NM and enjoyed some corned beef and cabbage for a late St. Patrick's Day meal, and a fire in the chiminea.

Joseph took me hiking on the Devisadero Trail Wednesday morning, which was an out and back hike of about 5 miles.

Devisadero Trail Hike

All of us took a pretty drive to Vivac winery later for a tasting.

On Thursday morning, Erin joined us for a hike down into the Rio Grande Gorge along the La Vista Verde. There were several bighorn sheep spotted.

The view at the end of La Vista Verde

How many Bighorn Sheep can you count?

That evening, it began to snow! This was good news, as I planned a ski day to the Taos Ski Valley on Friday. We went to the Love Apple for dinner and snapped a selfie before our consumption of wine and delicious food.

The snow is really coming down!

On Friday, I drove to Arroyo Seco, almost half way to the ski valley, to find out that there were road closures and power outages, and that the ski valley was closed. This was a big bummer. I really had looked forward to this! Instead, we enjoyed the Taos Plaza.

Since I didn't get to ski Friday and the Taos Ski Valley had regained power and opened back up by that evening, we rearranged our plans so that instead of leaving Saturday morning, I would get a half day of skiing in and leave in the afternoon. This would mean a stop overnight before getting to Topeka, but it was worth it.

Saturday morning, I hit the slopes.

I took both of these routes at some point during the day.

Skiing gives you the best views.

Thanks to Jody & Erica, and Joseph & Trish, we enjoyed almost the entire trip without having to pay for lodging.

We got into Hays, KS that night around 10:30 pm. There was a lot of wildlife in eastern Colorado and western Kansas. We saw many wild horses, elk, antelope and deer, and our driver's side rear view mirror was smashed by a pheasant.

On our way home Sunday morning, we decided to stop in Lindsborg, KS, which has a big Swedish influence. I like all things Scandinavian, so it has been on the to-do list for a while. After a coffee at the White Peacock, we had lunch at Farley's Bar and Grill. We stopped by Hemslojd for some postcards and then took a drive up to Coronado Heights before heading home.