Francophile in the West

Last week was lovely. On Wednesday, I went to the City and Colour concert at the Ogden Theatre here in Denver. Great venue, huge crowd, good seat (again! Hooray for going solo!), and awesome show.  The opening band was called Sleepy Sun. I had never heard of them before, but they were fantastic! They put on a super mellow but rockin' performance. Their sound is almost a grunge / 70s trip-rock throwback, and the lead singer has a great voice.  Now, City and Colour has been one of my favorite singers for a few years (his given name is Dallas Green; see what he did there with the name? Clever!). Just before he and his band came out on stage, the whole place was blacked out and the speakers were blaring Soul II Soul's "Back to Life" ("However do you want me, However do you need me..."). I greatly appreciated the late 80s musical reference. :) You could tell that Green was having so much fun rocking out with his band during the show. It was so much fun t...

School is ramping up and fall has definitely arrived. There was a quick snow flurry yesterday (it didn't stick) and it was under 45º all day! I love summer, but fall definitely takes the cake for my favorite season. There's usually so much going on and the weather is fantastic. Last week, I had a cute little squirrel visit me at my doorstep! One of my favorite memories of being a young kid in Washington state was hand-feeding our backyard squirrels. They would come back year after year, and it was always so fun to interact with them. I saw this little guy scurry down the stairs outside my front window and I quickly grabbed a handful of no-salt dry-roasted peanuts from my pantry, opened my door, and started trying to entice him over. He fell for it! I enjoyed about ten minutes of over-the-top adorableness while he was chomping down one-by-one on a couple of dozen peanuts. I hope he comes back around sometime! If he does, I shall call him Peanut. :) In addition to the ab...

Happy Autumn, everyone!! Today was a lovely segue into the new season: I went hiking (again)! This blog is starting to make it look like just about all I do in Colorado is hike, but I promise, I AM in school and am working and am very busy. All these great opportunities keep coming up to get out of the city on the weekends and see some gorgeous parts of the state while the weather is still relatively nice. How can I resist?! Today's hike was the Herman Gulch Trail to Herman Lake, a moderately strenuous 6.5 mile out-and-bike route just outside of Bakerville, CO. Although it was overcast, rainy, and a bit cold during the entire middle chunk of the hike, we started and ended our trek with pleasantly warm and sunny weather. Nature also let us take a peak at the beginnings of the leaves changing from green to yellow and red. This really is a fantastically beautiful state. I'm eager to see more of the new season! And now, some pictures from the day: Here's Chispa, ...

Today, myself and five others ("The DU Crew") hit the trails in Rocky Mountain National Park for the first time. We drove up in the late morning and spent the afternoon exploring a lovely 5.4-mile out-and-back trail to Alberta Falls and Loch Vale. It was BEAUTIFUL. The day started out sunny and hot, but by the end of our hike, we had been refreshed with cooling cloud cover, crackling thunder, and a rain shower. As can be expected, we saw plenty of wildlife, including several chipmunks, a rabbit, a robin, and even some female elk (albeit accidentally)!! First snapshots from the trail First dip in the water and scrambling around at Alberta Falls Two views from the trail Two of our adorable chipmunk friends Arriving at the Loch I loved the roots of this old tree growing all over the rock. In the water again :) Great work, crew! Another great day of exploring in this beautiful state. I'm already looking forward to my next ...