More Foothills and Mucho Suds

Another day, another hike. This time in the South Foothills of the city. I was tickled to death that there were prairie dogs everywhere.







The one sentry would give a chirp and suddenly the ground was crawling with furry fat rodents as they darted back to the dens for safety. It kind of reminded me of the rat colonies in Thompson Square Park, but these were much cuter.







It was a nice morning for a quick hike- after our previous mountain adventures, hills were a cakewalk. It was overcast and a little cooler. Pretty soon, it started to rain and thunder, so we took off for town.

Colorado is a beery kind of place. There are lots of independent breweries and there seemed to be a high concentration of home brewers. We checked out the Avery brewery because they had free tours.





The guide was knowledgeable about the whole process and he seemed to really enjoy himself. It's a pretty complex operation.

I liked how they have a warning label that we shouldn't be diving head first into the beer tank:


Afterwards, it was fun to sample all the goods. My disclaimer being that I don't particularly care for beer still rings true, but I do still sample everything that is handed to me. I guess I'm trying to develop my palate, or hoping one day it will all click and I'll start appreciate what I'm tasting. It all, uh, tastes like beer to me. Some offend me more than others.



It's a convivial kind of place- it looks like a German beer hall. There were lots of people hanging out and playing board games.



Oddly enough, the brewery was in an industrial park, so you really had to be committed to your beer drinking as there was nothing else in that particular area.