4th of July Fireworks in Denver's Riverside

Delicious was dinner

I was fortunate to be the recipient of a home-cooked meal by Zoobroker today. That dude can cook. Seriously. Ribeye salad with roasted garlic broccoli, hard-boiled eggs, bacon from hell, and spinach/romaine mix.

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Night Frisbee in Denver

So we're kind mostly settled in here in Denver down at the riverfront. Today we bought a frisbee at REI that has blue LEDs. This image is eight minutes of vigorous tossing about. (pant, pant...) I like the B/W infrared version most (Via DxO's Film Pack 3, Kodak HIE setting tweaked a bit):

I feel like I am in an episode of Bleach. Like.

And here is the color version, that has a beauty of its own - 8x 2-minutes exposures stacked in Ps:

Register to vote!

We just met Shana, who is out on the street registering people to vote. Today is the last day on Colorado to register for the presidential election! Get out and register!!!

The Word of the Night is ...

...rubicund.

Night Shots: Downtown Denver

Here is Zoo in front of the Brown Palace. Not laughing.

Last night out... It was rainy early on as we headed to dinner, and just plain wet when we were done. Note to all: New cowboy boots are slippery onwet stone block (and 16th street is ALL paving blocks!)

Tons of photos after the jump.

Night Shots: Whiskey, Girls, Beer and Girls

It was only fitting since I've already covered LODO, it was more important to meet some of the people that work and party here.

TONS - I mean LOTS of nightlife photos after the break.

First off, meet Danielle. She likes mining.

And when not mining, is a stunning woman. (OK, she's still sexy when mining.)

She invited Zoo to mine.

And it was like a magical elixir:  

So he started other prospecting:

Which was taken so favorably that he was rewarded with some dances on the bar:

Meet Beth - her husband works here (he's on the left, and a damn cool guy). It took about two hours, but the gal with the best hair in Denver, a self-proclaimed pacifist, finally let one loose on him.

And it wasn't the last.

During a smoke break, we met two incredibly intelligent and sexy women:

And Zoo just doesn't know when to accept only a kiss...

Again demonstrated here:

All in all, this bar is downright fun.

Just watch out when they bring you the check...

Exceptional Bar: the Blake Street Vault

I've been to a lot of bars in my life.  Few have had the right mix of music, atmosphere, women and decor.

The Blake Street Vault is one of those places that just got it right.  The owners, who have owned 14 bars previously, overlooked no details in putting this place together.   After finishing dinner across the street, we spotted the beautiful lighting and just walked into what was to become a fantastic evening.

More pictures and commentary after the break ...

These are the owners, Carol and Jim.  Wonderful people with a great story and a great bar.

After a few massive chalice-sized beers, Carol invited us to taste whiskey.  The owners went down to the Jack Daniel's Distillery and selected a barrel of "Single Barrel", a super-fine whiskey, individually crafted, signed, which produces 240 bottles, which are labeled with the owner's name and bar.  Carol allowed us to taste the Single Barrel along side the standard #7 and Gentleman Jack.  I think it speaks to our palattes that Spammer and myself both preferred the standard #7 ... but it was a great experience. Carol gave us the whole history of the Single Barrel and even more.  We love people who are enthusiastic about their trade.

This is a shot of the bar from above.  It's only been open for 5 weeks, so there was still room to move.  Expect that to change.

We did miss a clear picture of the custom-installed and absoutely gorgeous tin ceiling.    You can just make it out above, but it's one of the many touches that the Blake Street Vault employs to make it one of the most beautiful bars that I've seen.

We didn't get to taste the food, but if the passion and attention to detail that we saw in other aspects of this place are put into dining as well, I have a feeling we will be eating a lot of meals here in the future.

I think the fire's back ...

Meals Of Note: Rio Grande

We heading to Croc's for dinner, one of our old haunts, but it was packed by Ohio State alumni ... so we turned to corner and found another mexican restaurant, Rio Grande. Although our waitress was a not, the meal was gorgeous and awesome.  We recommend the quesadilla, fajitas, enchiladas and especially the green chili.