Boulder - Mountains and Beer

I went to a meeting in Boulder, and luckily I had some time to explore the area. I flew in a day early with my colleague Arie, and we immediately drove up to the top of Mt. Evans on the highest paved road in North America at 14,130 feet above sea level. It's a short climb from the road up to the summit, at 14,271 feet. We definitely felt it though - there's not much oxygen that high up! The views were amazing, and it was almost 30F cooler at the top. We spent the next few days in Boulder attending the meeting, but did have time in the mornings and evenings to run around town. Here are a few pictures from my trip:

Downtown Idaho Springs, Colorado, on the way to Mt. Evans.

Beautiful alpine view.

Driving up above the tree line.

Ahh! Marmot!

Me at the top of Mount Evans.

Arie at the top.

Scruffy the sheep.

Arie had a real camera and got this picture of a sheep...

...and this picture of a marmot. Check out those chompers.

Presentation about the health effects of climate change.

Boulder creek went right behind our hotel.

Avocado on a toasted Montreal-style sesame bagel with a fried egg and black salt at Woodgrain bagels. Absolutely delicious.

I know you didn't think you'd get through this post without seeing pictures of beer. :) Colorado is known for beer, especially Boulder. The beers tend toward west coast styles (lots of IPAs, lots of high ABV brews).

Westbound and Down brewing in Idaho Springs. The barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout was a kick in the pants.

Nox Reposado, a tequila-barrel aged dark sour at Avery.

Cheers! Happy hour beers at Sanitas.

Grand Rapids and NEHA

My work sent me to the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) annual meeting in Grand Rapids, and I had a chance to visit family and friends and spend some time checking out the city. Other than a very brief visit last month, I haven't really explored Grand Rapids as an adult. GR is changing swiftly, with a fair amount of new construction. A lot of the old buildings are being refurbished into lofts and restaurants. It seems to be a city on the rise. And it doesn't hurt that there's a great beer scene. Here are a few pictures from my trip:

Flying over Louisville.

Hey look, it's Kalamazoo!

It's an astronaut!

A small Egypt exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

A neat exhibit at the museum.

Bridge over the Grand River.

There's a lot of neat old architecture.

A converted brick building and nice brick streets.

Of course I tried some local beers!

This was a cool beer - Genetic Drift from Speciation Brewing.

Grand Rapids at dusk. I walked across these bridges a lot because my hotel was across the river from the convention center.

Inside the downtown market.

A Frank Lloyd Wright house in the Heritage Hill historic district.

One of the bigger sessions at the conference.

Awesome relief saved from the civic center building that was partially torn down to build the convention center.

Inside the convention center.

Beautiful weather for the first couple of days!

Lots of great old brick architecture in downtown. This is the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

More interesting architecture.

I spent most of my time in River Overlook D.

The classic view of Grand Rapids.

I didn't have time to visit, but the Gerald R. Ford museum was a block from my hotel.

President Ford's gravesite.

A nice street with patio seating.

Smoked trout at the Søvengård.

We had some beers after dinner! When in Grand Rapids....

Trying some Atwater brews.

A neat mural.

Tacos for lunch!

The fish counter at the downtown market.

The symbol of Grand Rapids, an Alexander Calder sculpture, La Grand Vitesse.

The cute East Town neighborhood.

A little overcast on my final day. I took a walk on the riverfront path.

The fish ladder that helps fish get around the man-made falls on the river.

Lots of nice brick buildings like this around the city.

See ya later, GR!