The first leg of the journey is to Helena, Montana. We stopped just before the border for lunch which turned out to be a wise move as the wait was over 30 minutes at Coutts/Sweetgrass. As usual, we hit storms raging across Montana but this time no hail and the Santa Fe had no problems with the winds. We always eat at Buffalo Wild Wings in Helena and enjoy Lewis & Clarke Amber Ale which is a great way to begin a holiday.Sheridan is our next stop but this time we decided to check out a different restaurant. Frackelton's received 5 stars so we went there. We were ushered into the back room of a building that began life as a hardware store with the offices of "The Sagebrush Dentist", Dr. William Frackelton, upstairs. We started our dinner with calamari and a couple of pints of Bomber Mountain Amber from the Black Tooth Brewery The Ruby Red Trout sounded appealing so we ordered that. Later, we discovered that it is a farm-raised trout fed a diet of either shellfish or naturally-coloured fish meal to give the flesh the redness of salmon. Who knew?
The next day was the final push to Aurora, arriving around 3:30 in the afternoon. It was great seeing everyone but we didn't let any grass grow under our feet as the next morning we were off fishing. Melissa had a noon meeting so didn't join us. First stop was getting some flies and fishing licenses at Cabela's. While Geoff hunted for the flies he wanted, we started the license procedure. Turns out even though the system knew us from licenses we had bought a couple of years ago, they needed our passport numbers to process the licenses. The guys at the desk did all they could to expedite this but no government person was willing to by-pass the computer system. However, our time there wasn't a complete waste because I bought a long sleeve shirt and Geoff got a nice fishing vest.
We had a picnic lunch at the river then Geoff fitted out the boy's rods. Miles caught a stick on the first cast and both of them snagged their hooks on rocks. Glen and I were busy helping them so didn't miss not being able to fish. The deer flies were biting which became annoying. Some young men (apparently I am the only person who uses this phrase, according to Elijah) offered me their insect repellent and referred to me as Ma'am. I only ever hear this in the States and on this trip, I heard it several times. I know it's because I'm old but I'm embracing this deference from 'young men'.
Finally, the flies got to us so while Geoff (who was wearing waders) did his 'fly fishing' in the river, we sat in the car. We came home empty-handed but had not counted on fish for supper so it didn't matter.
Melissa had booked us to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Denver Natural and Science Museum the next day. We arrived early so we could see our favourite dioramas. While learning about the various ecosystems in Colorado, a volunteer alerted Melissa to an exciting viewing on the terrace. We love the terrace as it offers the best view of the city of Denver. But this day it was set up with telescopes focussed on the sun. One to capture sunspots (none were found) and one to see solar flares. The flares were amazing--I'd never seen them through a scope before and it blew me away. Thanks to the volunteers who gave us great information.
Glen had seen the Dead Sea Scrolls when he was Elijah's age but I had never seen them. What an amazing display! The only problem was the place was packed so shuffling around the display case became tedious. Also there was an awful lot of information on pottery before you reached the scrolls so my brain became saturated. Lunch was to be at Fat Sully's Pizza but it was at 40 minute wait so Melissa suggested a nearby taco place called Machete. Good call! Lobster tacos? Who knew? I had shrimp and tilapia tacos while Geoff lamented the fact they had taken tongue tacos off the menu. I'm sure they were tasty as everything else was excellent. We had a seasonal beer from a local brewery which had a definite grapefruit taste that paired well with the spicy tacos. The boys played football afterwards ( see photo) and Glen was thrilled he could participate more than he'd done in the fall.
Wednesday was the Fourth of July. A family in Geoff's neighbourhood hosts a pancake breakfast and bicycle parade. He also provides streamers and flags so everyone can decorate their bikes. We didn't have breakfast there but did watch the kids prepare for the parade and we met them as they returned. Each participant also received a frozen treat. What a nice idea to celebrate the day. Later, we brought beer and salad to Geoff's friend, Brady's house and had a barbecue pot luck which was lots of fun.
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