6:00 p.m. 5/20/11. Near La Cueva, NM. We're driving to Taos on our way to tonight's destination, a Super 8 in Salida, CO. As long Lisa drives, I'll make regular updates all weekend. Supper tonight will be at the Guadalajara Grill in Taos.
7:43 p.m. 5/20/11 Taos, NM
Dinner at the Guadalajara Grill: Shrimp tacos, chicken chimichanga, and michelada. Not all for me.
Dinner at the Guadalajara Grill: Shrimp tacos, chicken chimichanga, and michelada. Not all for me.
8:50 a.m. 5/21/11. Salida, CO
Breakfast at the Patio Pancake Place.
Breakfast at the Patio Pancake Place.
9:15 a.m. 5/21/11. Salida, CO
Breakfast is served. Belgian waffle with pecans. Hash browns smothered with green chile, homemade German sausage, and egg over easy.
The green chile doesn't live up to NM standards--there are tomatoes and cumin. It's tasty enough, but all the extras overwhelm the delicate chile flavor. Also, no real maple syrup, nor real butter. Still, all in all, pretty good.
Breakfast is served. Belgian waffle with pecans. Hash browns smothered with green chile, homemade German sausage, and egg over easy.
The green chile doesn't live up to NM standards--there are tomatoes and cumin. It's tasty enough, but all the extras overwhelm the delicate chile flavor. Also, no real maple syrup, nor real butter. Still, all in all, pretty good.
9:45 a.m. 5/21/11. Salida, CO
Downtown Salida.
Downtown Salida.
10:11 a.m. 5/21/11. Near Salida, CO
The Collegiate Range.
The Collegiate Range.
10:53 a.m. 5/21/11. Near Leadville, CO
Naturally, I wanted to go closer.
Naturally, I wanted to go closer.
11:29 a.m. 5/21/11. Leadville, CO
Plenty of snow here.
Plenty of snow here.
1:45 p.m. 5/21/11. Golden, CO
We're at The Yard House in some massive mall. Their claim to fame is that they have 130 beers on tap. I ordered a Belhaven Scottish Ale. Lisa ordered a Tripel Karmeliet. We also ordered some hummus.
We're at The Yard House in some massive mall. Their claim to fame is that they have 130 beers on tap. I ordered a Belhaven Scottish Ale. Lisa ordered a Tripel Karmeliet. We also ordered some hummus.
4:30-6:10 p.m. Steuban's Food Service. Denver, CO
Chipotle fried corn with habañero butter and lime. Skirt steak with chimichuri butter and chile lime. Lobster roll. And Albert. The lobster roll, totally hyped on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," was tough and salty. It was a huge disapointment. But the steak rocked. And the corn was decent even though it is out of season and not fresh out the field in Iowa.
Chipotle fried corn with habañero butter and lime. Skirt steak with chimichuri butter and chile lime. Lobster roll. And Albert. The lobster roll, totally hyped on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," was tough and salty. It was a huge disapointment. But the steak rocked. And the corn was decent even though it is out of season and not fresh out the field in Iowa.
6:58 p.m. Invesco Field. Denver, CO.
U2 Concert. The stage before the show.
U2 Concert. The stage before the show.
7:00 p.m? Invesco Field. Denver, CO.
U2 Concert. With Adrian and Concha. I'm sorry that they're out-of-focus, since they look way better than we do. We were working with very limited photo equipment.
U2 Concert. With Adrian and Concha. I'm sorry that they're out-of-focus, since they look way better than we do. We were working with very limited photo equipment.
10:30 p.m? Invesco Field. Denver, CO.
U2 Concert.
U2 Concert.
11:02 a.m. Interstate Kitchen and Bar. Denver, CO
Brunch.
Sweet potato tamale, with candied bacon,and roasted tomato/onion.
Bloody Mary with candied bacon.
Shrimp and grits with basted onion and poached egg.
Avocado Benedict with smoked mushroom, arugula, soft poached eggs.
Flapjacks with candied bacon,, honey molasses syrup, and berry preserves.
An excellent brunch choice, all in all, thanks entirely to Alberto excellent taste. Score!
Brunch.
Sweet potato tamale, with candied bacon,and roasted tomato/onion.
Bloody Mary with candied bacon.
Shrimp and grits with basted onion and poached egg.
Avocado Benedict with smoked mushroom, arugula, soft poached eggs.
Flapjacks with candied bacon,, honey molasses syrup, and berry preserves.
An excellent brunch choice, all in all, thanks entirely to Alberto excellent taste. Score!
11:02 a.m. Argonaut Wine and Liquor Store. Denver, CO.
$150.00 down the drain. Yes, that is bacon-infused vodka.
$150.00 down the drain. Yes, that is bacon-infused vodka.
4:10 p.m. Conway's Redtop. Colorado Springs, CO.
The Chicago-style hotdog joint is closed. The sub shop is closed. So we're stuck with our third choice. The burger is the size of a large pancake, so we each got half of a burger.
The Chicago-style hotdog joint is closed. The sub shop is closed. So we're stuck with our third choice. The burger is the size of a large pancake, so we each got half of a burger.
4:55 p.m. On I-25 en route to Las Vegas.
Concert recap.
The concert was the expected multimedia, pyrotechnic, socially-conscious football stadium show that we've come to expect from U2. No disappointments on that score. I've seen U2 four times now. At last night's show, Bono's singing was the best I've heard from him in person. The guys in the band played their parts perfectly. One complaint was the sound when the full ensemble playing really loud. At those times, Bono's vocals were overwhelmed. With him singing that good, his vocals should've been way out in front. My other complaint was the super-fantastic "claw" stage setup. As bad luck would have it, one of the four legs of the claw was directly between us and center stage (see the photos above), meaning that we had to rely on the video screens to see a lot of the action during the show. Having bought our tix seconds after they went on sale as members of the U2 fan club presale, we should've had an unobstructed sight-line to that critical part of the stage. We should've been closer to the stage, too, quite frankly. But overall, it was a great concert.
I made a small attempt to capture some video during the show with the iPad, but the quality was too low to share here. To get a feel for a 360 Tour show, you might look here (there might be a commercial, but it is well worth it):
The only other thing we did in Denver was search for a yellow ostrich-skin belt to match the boots I already own. The search did not produce the right belt for me, but we foundsome near-misses. Maybe we'll find the right belt in a few weeks if we are able to return to Denver to see Vicente Fernandez, the King of the Ranchera.
Concert recap.
The concert was the expected multimedia, pyrotechnic, socially-conscious football stadium show that we've come to expect from U2. No disappointments on that score. I've seen U2 four times now. At last night's show, Bono's singing was the best I've heard from him in person. The guys in the band played their parts perfectly. One complaint was the sound when the full ensemble playing really loud. At those times, Bono's vocals were overwhelmed. With him singing that good, his vocals should've been way out in front. My other complaint was the super-fantastic "claw" stage setup. As bad luck would have it, one of the four legs of the claw was directly between us and center stage (see the photos above), meaning that we had to rely on the video screens to see a lot of the action during the show. Having bought our tix seconds after they went on sale as members of the U2 fan club presale, we should've had an unobstructed sight-line to that critical part of the stage. We should've been closer to the stage, too, quite frankly. But overall, it was a great concert.
I made a small attempt to capture some video during the show with the iPad, but the quality was too low to share here. To get a feel for a 360 Tour show, you might look here (there might be a commercial, but it is well worth it):
The only other thing we did in Denver was search for a yellow ostrich-skin belt to match the boots I already own. The search did not produce the right belt for me, but we foundsome near-misses. Maybe we'll find the right belt in a few weeks if we are able to return to Denver to see Vicente Fernandez, the King of the Ranchera.
