Denver, Day 1

Welcome to Denver, please don't mind the mass shootings.

Normally, I live under a rock, but even I heard first thing in the morning about the gunman who opened fire on a theater full of people in Aurora, Colorado.  And, as is so often the case, he "seemed like a totally normal, nice, smart guy, maybe a little quiet but I never thought he'd do anything like this."  But he did.

In other and significantly less tragic news, it was super hot in Denver for yet another day, so we did our best to stay in the A/C as much as possible.  After sort of a slow start to the day, we stopped by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to check out their exhibit on gems and minerals, which is a stunner.  They have some amazing pieces, and many of them were found right here in Colorado!  What was especially interesting was that many of them, in their pre-polished or pre-extracted form, didn't look any different than any of the thousands of rocks you've walked past a hundred times and never given a second thought to.  Some of the huge local gems were found in the last couple of decades even!  So keep your eyes peeled!

The afternoon was more of the same - staying in the A/C and watching the news.  We stopped for a late lunch at a Mexican place after the museum and ran a couple of errands, but then I sat around reading (yes! I started my running book and even picked up a Runner's World magazine that D's daughter left behind) until dinner.

Speaking of dinner, T braved the heat to grill up some tuna steaks, and we had semi-local Olathe sweet corn, which was incredibly good - debate raged over whether it was the corn itself, or the addition of milk to the pot for cooking.  (Plus there were Olathe peaches on the salad!)  And I capped off the day my meeting H, one of the few people I know in Denver, for some fro yo.  (Yes, more fro yo.  Don't judge.)  We ate chocolate and peanut butter deliciousness (which tasted surprisingly of actual peanuts), and then she had to head off to day two of the Underground Music Showcase, at which many very hip bands I've never heard of will play at one of a number of venues.  Looking at the website, it seems that one could easily get overwhelmed by all the musical options.  There are a half dozen (at least, sometimes a dozen) different people or groups playing all the time, so you really have to pick your battles if you're going to make it through the weekend.  God speed, H!