Writer's Grove
Colorado Beer & Book Tour, Day Two
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!
