Today was a looong drive from Ouray to Colorado Springs—a completely beautiful drive, mind you, with so many lovely things waiting for me when I finally made it to the Springs. But first! Did you know that Gunnison is a pretty spiffy little town? We got there too early for me to check this place out properly, but I bet there’s something nummy inside:

There was a really cool indie bookstore right across the street from this place, making it the perfect one-two combo for this particular tour. :) It’s called The Bookworm, and I got to meet the owner, Kristyn, who was super nice and apparently shares my love of maps. I wished I could have stayed in town longer, but I had to keep motorin’ like Sister Christian. (That was a pander to the vast Night Ranger demographic.) Anyway, here’s Kristyn’s lovely store:

So I got to the Springs just in time, and Jessica at the Borders on Southgate Road was turbo helpful. Once I was all set up, one of my former students came in! She just moved to the Springs after graduation and I was so happy to see her!

That Borders still has some signed copies of both Hounded and Hexed available, so do drop in if you can!

After the books, it was time to get my beer on. I went to visit Bristol Brewing Company because they, like me, happen to like doggies. They have a brew called Laughing Lab Scottish Ale, an eight-time award winner for good reason. Excellent stuff! The big surprise for me was how good their honey wheat beer was. But before I go on about it, here’s what I sampled:

OK, going clockwise and ending in the center: Compass IPA, Beehive Honey Wheat, Laughing Lab Scottish Ale, Mass Transit Ale, Yellow Kite Summer Pils, and their Black Fox Faustian Saison.

Since I mentioned last post that I’m not generally a fan of ambers and IPAs—an idiosyncrasy of my tastes—I’m always impressed when I can find one that I wouldn’t mind drinking for a while. Compass IPA was one of those; it had a really interesting taste owing to the blend of hops they use, but it didn’t have the unpleasant aftertaste that makes me avoid IPAs as a rule. Great crisp finish.

For me the winner on this tray is the Beehive Honey Wheat. I wan’t expecting it to rock so much, but it does, friends, it does. If you like wheat beers, make the trip. Worth the drive.

Laughing Lab is an outstanding ale that made me wonder why I don’t drink Scottish ales more often, other than the obvious reason that I’m Irish. Very tasty.

I fear I can’t give you a fair evaluation of Mass Transit since I’m not a fan of ambers in general; it would be like asking someone with a fear of heights if they’d like to take a ride on a ski lift.

Both the Yellow Kite Pils and the Black Fox Faustian were very palatable, and judging by the Yellow Kite shirts I saw people wearing, they’re quite popular brews locally. But look, I have to tell you what else is awesome about this place besides the beer: Scott and Kevin.

Scott and Kevin were a couple o’ cool dudes I met at the bar who were ready to share their personal beer histories. Listening to them was kind of like watching Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias sing “To All the Beers I’ve Loved Before.” Kevin is of the opinion that there is some seriously amazing shit going on down at Pagosa Springs, and based on his recommendation, I will make sure I go there next time I do a tour like this. He also told me that Bristol makes a pumpkin beer that doesn’t suck even a little bit. It’s shoulder-to-shoulder in there when they tap the few kegs they make in October, and it’s all gone in a couple o’ days. Scott, for his part, shared with me the revelation that there is a beer out there that tastes like pecan pie. PECAN PIE. I will be making a pilgrimage soon, methinks.

When I finally got back to my hotel I was overwhelmed by kind wishes and kinder reviews for Hexed, and I also got some fabulous news that I’ll share in a few days. It’s been a completely glorious day.

OK, I have to get some shut-eye because I have Denver on June 8! If you can make it to Who Else! Books in the Broadway Book Mall at 7:30, I’d love to meet you! Cheers!

Today was the cushy day; I had no book events to do. That doesn’t mean I’m not doing book-related business. This blog is kinda booky, wouldn’t you say? I also need to write another post for the League of Reluctant Adults tomorrow. Plus an interview with Suvudu…all book-related business, just conducted outside of bookstores and in a place that’s so dear to me that I’d call it sacred geography. I’m talkin’ ’bout Ouray, Colorado.

I’m writing from room 215 at the Ouray Victorian Inn. It has a balcony overlooking the Uncompahgre River, supafly wifi and the ability to grant you Inner Peace. Driving here was lovely. You get vistas like this:

And you run across these beautiful lakes near 10,000 feet surrounded by snow-capped geological events and trees:

So when you put me near all these trees and they smell like the way the world used to, I’m going to have to hug one. It’s mandatory.

Got into town and went straight to the Ouray Brewery, which wasn’t here the last time I was in town about five years ago. They built it in this old building and it has two floors plus rooftop drinkin’. Here ’tis from the side:

So, you walk in, and RIGHT AWAY you know this place is going to rock, because they have swing seats at the bar and people are friendly.

You can get a sampler thingie of their beers, so I did. Right now they have a guest beer from Odell Brewing in Ft. Collins called Easy Street Wheat. I actually featured that one in a Still Life with Dwarfs and Beer some time ago, so no need to rehash that; Ouray Brewery is working on a porter for that last slot but it wasn’t quite ready on the day I walked in, hence the guest beer. Here’s the lineup:

OK, straight up, I’m not a guy whose palate particularly enjoys Ambers or IPAs, but these were actually drinkable for me. That’s an accomplishment in itself. They’re all very, very good, but if I have to rank ’em 1-5 (which I don’t, but I’m gonna) based on my own preferences, I’d go with Saison #1, Kolsch #2, IPA #3, Pale Rye #4, and Amber #5. But see, everyone’s different. My mom tried these too and she’d rank the Amber #1. You can’t go wrong visiting this place, honestly, it’s all good. I picked the Saison for my full pint, which is a spring seasonal they have vaguely reminiscent of Blue Moon but A BAJILLION TIMES BETTER! They put three malts in it and then finish it with three different hops plus oranges. It’s yummy. That was my accompaniment for the bison burger I ordered with a side o’ sweet potato wedges. NOMNOMNOM.

I love this town so much. Beauty everywhere you look. I mean, here’s the view from my hotel room:

Look at this cool little dude I spotted hangin’ out in a tree near Box Canyon Falls—I think he’s a woodpecker of some kind but I’m not sure. If it’s fancier than sparrows or quail then I kind of suck at identifying birds, but I love to take pics of cool ones when I can.

You want to see the river behind my hotel, right? I know you do. This is the Uncompahgre, swollen with runoff and doin’ its best to cut the canyon deeper:

OK, gotta write my other stuff now. Tomorrow (June 7) is HEXED Day and I’ll be signing at the Borders in Co. Springs at 3 pm! If you know anyone there, send ’em over to say hi!

Whew! Long day, but you know what? The wifi in THIS hotel rocks, so I’m going to get to show you some more pictures than yesterday! At least one more, anyway…

T0day’s trip was to Durango, and we did the beer first and the books later. Durango is home to Ska Brewing, Steamworks Brewing, Durango Brewing, and Carver Brewing. It was to the latter we repaired for our repast. Carver has been solar powered for some years now, so the treehugger in me appreciated that. They have a neato patio, great breakfast there, and plenty o’ great beers. (I’ve been there before.) Today I tried their La Plata Pilsner, a Czech style pilsner (which means, in my view, that it tastes better than any American pilsner) and  I have to say it dethrones Pilsner Urquell, the grandpappy o’ Czech beers. La Plata is smoother than Urquell and the taste is all there. Carver Brewing has two bars, and we were seated in the back bar, which leads to the patio and looks like this:

They’ve done a good job with their merchandise here. Check out their spiffy shirts:

Our palates satiated, we walked down Main Street in Durango and did our best to find eclectic shops while avoiding tourist traps. There’s plenty to see on Main Street, lots of it awesome, but one thing blew them all away. It was a flyer advertising an upcoming concert for one of the more boldly named bands I have ever heard of: Shotgun Jesus. I don’t know what to say about it except that it DEMANDS your attention.

There are so many things here to enjoy. The third eye. The Chocolate-Mint horns. The apparent need for TWO sets of collarbones. The misspelling of “resurrection.”  The mind-boggling decision to equip TWO shotguns for Shotgun Jesus, and the second one, when (IF?) Jesus needs it, will be grabbed by the barrel instead of the stock. And what I love most is that the artist clearly didn’t want to try to draw HANDS, so he hid them behind Jesus’s Technicolor Dreamcoat or whatever the heck it is he’s wearing. And what exactly is a Freedom-Billy Funk Jam? Discuss.

OK, to the books: I have to give a huge shout-out to Amy and her people at the Waldenbooks in the Durango Mall. They set the whole thing up on very short notice and made me feel so welcome. And to prove that it’s a small world, I met a guy while there who went to the high school up the street from where I teach. Totally awesome people in this town. Not only do they read urban fantasy, but they also know what a Freedom-Billy Funk Jam is! Anyway, Amy & Co. still have signed copies of Hounded and Hexed in stock, so drop by there and pick one up if you’re in the neighborhood! Here’s a picture of my NEW SPIFFY BOOKMARKS at the signing thingie. Unfortunately, I am also in the picture.

After we left the mall, we went to commune with nature. We drove out to Lemon Reservoir, only about twenty-ish miles or so from Durango, and enjoyed  the day use area. We hung out by the river feeding into the lake. My wife, especially, found it relaxing. Here’s a picture, rather than my words:

We don’t get vistas like that in Arizona. We get some dramatic ones, some really beautiful ones, but we’re not used to seeing stuff like this—you know, with lots of WATER. We love it. We drove out to the other side of Durango after this and took a wee hike in the area ravaged by forest fire years ago. Know what’s cool? Seeing the forest come back. Proof for your eyes:

Around those burned-out stumps you see lots of new saplings growing, which might look like bushes at first glance, but are really the trees themselves coming back from the root. I loved seeing this. After that, it was dinnertime at the Bar D Chuckwagon. They feed you BBQ beef and beans, baked potato, a biscuit, spice cake and applesauce, and after that, you get a show. Funny and talented fellas there—here’s a pic:

So now it’s hittin’ the hay time. Tomorrow: Ouray! Come back for more!

I know this is supposed to be the COLORADO Book & Beer Tour, but I haven’t actually gotten out of Arizona yet. That’s because I needed to do some research for book four (may we all get there someday). That book, if the gods smile upon me, will be called TRICKED, and it will take place in three places: Flagstaff, Tuba City, and Kayenta. So that’s where I stopped today, and I’m typing this in a Kayenta hotel room with a very loud French couple next door. They sound angry but I can’t be sure.

If you bought the ebook version of Hounded, then you got to read the bonus short story called “Kaibab Unbound,” the conflict of which begins in my favorite coffee joint in DA WORLD, Macy’s European Coffee House. I took a quick snap of it before we went to lunch (and for all of these, you can click to enlarge):

Lunch was across the street at Beaver Street Brewery, because there needed to be some beer on this day of the tour, and dang if they don’t have some excellent stuff there. They have some incredible food, too. Check out this Green Goddess salad with salmon on top:

The beer we had was called Lumberyard Raspberry Ale. Incredibly clean and refreshing and NOT syrupy or hypersweet like many fruit beers can be. It’s a subtle thing, and a very high standard for Colorado to meet or beat. In honor of Oberon, I ordered the Brewer’s Platter for lunch, which has two German bratwurst and a spicy sausage served with beer mustard, mashed potatoes and cinnamon apples. Nomnomnom:

After Flagstaff we drove up to Tuba City to scout out the location where SOMEBODY DIES. I can’t show you that location. What I will show you instead is this beautiful horse that escaped from a corral and was trotting along the mesa with a couple of cowboys in pursuit about a hundred yards behind him:

From there we drove up to this mesa just outside of Kayenta that has some simply beautiful sandstone formations to it. It’s called Tyéndé Mesa. (If you want to say that right, it’s tee YEH in DEH, capped syllables stressed.) This will be where the bulk of TRICKED will take place. I took a photo from the other side of Highway 160 to give you an idea of how dramatic the rocks are:

What you can’t see from this picture is the road that skirts the bottom edge of it, and all the hidden gullies and washes down there. There are oases back there. Springs seep out of the rocks, creating these little unexpected patches of green where people take care of sheep. I shit thee not. Here is proof, from a picture taken about six miles along one of the craziest roads I have ever driven in my life:

BLAM! KER-BIFF! Doesn’t this landscape knock you out? In the background you see sandstone. SOLID ROCK. In the foreground, grass grows in very sandy soil and supports a herd of sheep and a cute little sheep dog! The shepherd was on a horse outside the frame. This whole little field is below the “street level” you saw in the previous picture. That rock you see in the background is also right behind us; we’re in a wee canyon here and this is how the Navajo have been getting along—sheep and a few goats do just fine in these sheltered narrow canyons that most of us don’t even know are there. I have some more pictures of this sort of thing—and I planned to post them, too, honest!—but the wifi here is so damn slow it’s taking forever and I want to sleeeeep. Forgive me!

Tomorrow I’ll be in Colorado for sure—Durango!!! Come back for more!