Writer's Grove

Colorado Book & Beer Tour, Day 5

DENVER, baby! Yeah!

The signing and such wasn’t scheduled until later that night, so we had the day to mess around. Took the Kid to the Denver Zoo because they have awesome critters there and they’re the greenest zoo in the United States. They’re also more involved in species preservation than any other zoo I know of. They had a baby komodo dragon! Baby this, baby that…might have a baby snow leopard someday if they’re lucky, because they have a pair! Animal pics follow, click to enlarge:

After the zoo it was time to head over to the Broadway Book Mall. It’s the coolest wee store I’ve ever seen—Nina was so kind and welcoming and she knows what’s important. She has a shelf for ZOMBIE LITERATURE, my friends. This store rocks! She also had a signed copy of The Wise Man’s Fear, so I had to buy it. She has signed stuff from Carrie Vaughn, Connie Willis, and more; honestly, if you’re in Denver, you gotta go check this place out.

I met some great local authors n’ artists—shout out to Bonnie and Laura! And a couple of my dear yearbookin’ friends stopped by and made my day, because I haven’t seen them for a couple of years. When it comes to my nerdhood, I specialize in several fields. Yearbook nerds are called Yerds and we obsess over things like ligatures and Photoshop filters. It makes us happy. See how happy we are?

This was also my opportunity to meet a couple members of The League of Reluctant Adults for the first time, Mario Acevedo and Jeanne Stein! We promptly misbehaved. Or rather, Mario did. Here is the soon-to-be-famous Grope Attempt:

Jeanne was about to whip out her kung fu after that. Mario’s lucky she left her shank at home.

Mario promised to behave after that, but Jeanne still wanted to express herself in a dignified manner.

We went to The Great Divide Brewing Co. tap room after the signing, and here are the samplers of their beers:

They look good, and the one I’m excited about is the Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti, which you see on the far right. I tried it and it’s a heavy drink, hints of both chocolate and coffee to it, 9.5% alcohol content. It’s something to sip and enjoy, not chug. Unfortunately, I can’t say anything about the other beers because MARIO DRANK THEM ALL and I couldn’t order more, since these were ordered on Last Call! Yes, he stole my beer. Brazenly. In a Hawaiian shirt. Proof:

Oh well, at least I can report that the Yeti is good! I had a great time last night and now I’m writing this in Laramie, Wyoming, at the Hastings store here. It’s a cool town! I signed their stock and chatted with the nice people who work here. After another hour or so I’m headed back down to Ft. Collins for a signing at Old Firehouse Books.

I really dig Denver…wish I could explore some more. Methinks I might do this again next summer, it’s been so much fun! More later on Ft. Collins!