5/7-8/2010 – Colorado Beer Run

Really nothing weather-wise to speak of in this post – well, unless you want to count the snow we ran into up in the Rockies on Saturday afternoon. As is typical with down chase days in the Plains, we jogged west to test the mountain air and partake in fermented fluids. We spent Friday in Ft. Collins, CO (Pricelined the Hilton for $40) doing our best to sample all the fine brews the town has to offer.

The clan in Ft. Collins, CO

On Saturday, we tapped the Rockies – literally – by visiting Big Thompson Canyon (home to the 1976 flood disaster), Estes Park, Nederland, Loveland Pass, Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs, and the gigantic liquor store – complete with ongoing beer and wine tastings -- on the southwest of Denver. Yep, this is the third year in a row we’ve visited this “Sam’s Club for alcoholics”. We overnighted Saturday at Grady’s extended family’s beautiful home in Centennial, CO. Thanks to Chris and Rod for their hospitality!

We now ferry to Kansas in preparation for the extremely hyped severe storm environment in the KS-OK area on Monday. I’m taking a bit more pessimistic view compared to the rest of the chasing world on this event. While all parameters spell out the potential for siggy tors, storm speeds and the chasing hordes will tend to diminish any tornadic hedonism. We’ll see … I’m not a big fan of overtly “perfect” setups.