Five hundred-ish of my best biker friends and I fired up our scoots, leathered up and joined Denver’s annual Last Brass Monkey Run on Sunday, Dec 28. It was one of those Colorado days that started off chilly, when leathering up wasn’t quite enough, but by late morning, Denver’s warming sun warded off the chill even when putting down the highway on my Harley-Davidson Cross Bones.

This was ABATE of Colorado’s 21st annual fundraiser event, with check-in at three start-up locations:  

• Susie’s Bar & Grill, 17999 W. Colfax, Golden
• Frontier Club, 18881 E. Colfax, Aurora
• Western Omelette, 16 S. Walnut, Colorado Springs

 My ‘hood is the west end of town, so my man and I sucked it up at 9 a.m. and headed to Susie’s.   A couple of warm-up beers later, and we headed to the Squeeze Inn before our final destination of the Grizzly Rose (5450 N. valley Hwy, Denver’s 58^th & I-25), where the riders who braved the winter chill were given “Brass nuts” as a reward.

 The End of Ride chili and hot dog feed party started at noon at the Grizzly Rose. The events include: chili-eating contest, chili cook-off, awards for best chili, 50/50, door prizes and more.  Live music by The Planets (formerly Blues Planet Project). 

Check out this article  from a fellow motorcyclist and writer:

Happy New Year to all my friends. Two-wheels up and see you next year.

Enjoy my picture round-up of the Last Brass Monkey Run!

Diana

Check out my new gig as Denver Travel Examiner

Really she did!  Our  2 1/2 year old labrador Emma apparently, sometime in the night, raided the Christmas presents under the tree. She must’ve thought the bright red mini-gift bag had her name on it. This morning, I gathered my last minute gifts, purchased yesterday, to put under the tree, when I realized the gift bag was missing! 

Further investigation, revealed scraps of bright red paper scattered throughout our back yard.  The furry gift card holder was laying next to Emma’s dog food dish.  Sans gift card.

It was only 7 am, the sun just peaking out of the clouds, so I used a flashlight to scour the backyard, hoping that I didn’t have to go back to the Starbucks to re-purchase the $20 gift card for my son-in-law’s mother.

I had no luck,but 30 minutes later in the early morning sun, this is what my man found under the porch near scraps of red paper:

Fortunately, the critical numbers from the back of the card are intact, and I have the receipt.  Yes, I’m going to give this gift as is — won’t this make interesting dinner conversation?

I haven’t been traveling lately, next trip not until right after the holidays to my favorite place, The Broadmoor, and then to Mazatlan and Copper Canyon mid-January.

Until then, here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May all your gift cards remain intact.

Diana

I’m on my final full day in Death Valley this Sunday morning. It’s gone quickly, filled with surprising adventures and rugged desert  beauty, as if Mother Nature issued a personal invitation.

The invitation today began at sunrise, a 2 hour hike near Furnace Creek Inn to Zabriskie Point to view the early morning sun (hazy), next to the Gower Gulch with our final exit through Golden Canyon. This hike was moderate, although near Zabriskie Point the magnificent panoramic view was often from a high point, a little scary for those (like me) with a respect of heights.

We all piled into the car to take advantage of the best view of the Valley from Dante’s View, a mountaintop overlook more than 5,000  feet above Death Valley.

We returned to the inn in time for brunch and a dozen or so sightings of bikers taking advantage of the great weather.  I finished off my afternoon with a much-need massage.  My masseuce recommended a Hawaiian Lomilomi massage to ease the tension in my neck and shoulders from computer work and my calves from the hiking. 

Our last night was a bitter-sweet finale at the Furnace Creek Inn’s restaurant. Wow — all I can say is hello to the awe-inspiring scenery at Death Valley National Park. I’ll be back soon, I’m sure — probably riding my own motorcycle.

Tomorrow it’s off to Las Vegas to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel and enjoy the cowboys, Wranglers and cowboy hats at National Finals Rodeo.

Until next time, Diana

On their short-cut quest for California’s gold, travelers lost their way in the floor of this desert back in the 1849. “Goodbye Death Valley” was one 49′ers mantra — and the name stuck.

I’ve always associated heat, Spaghetti westerns and shootouts with Death  Valley National Park (http://www.nps.gov/deva). Somehow I never heard of the inspiring beauty of its colorful and complex goegraphy. My dusk arrival to check into my cozy room at the Furnace Creek Inn(http://www.furnacecreekresort.com)  didn’t give me much of a chance to see, but a good night’s sleep would make me perhaps appreciate it more.

I was not disappointed. Mother Nature’s paintbrush splashed the vivid sunrise of colors: purple, pink, orange, and yellow across Death Valley’s eastern skies. This palette was my first glimpse of Death Valley.

Our own personal step-on guide, Phil Olson, serenaded us with the history of the valley while we drove to several highpoints of Death Valley National Park, the largest national park in the contiguous U.S. with more than 3.3 million acres of desert wilderness.

• Toured the solar PV photovoltaic system at Furnace Creek Ranch (www.xanterra.com), a few minutes from the inn. Home to one of the largest solar energy systems in the country and the largest within the tourism industry. This solar system consists of 5,740 panels and cuts this complex’s greenhouse emissions by more than 30 percent.
• Scottty’s Castle (www.nps.gov/deva/historyculture/scottys-castle.htm), really Death Valley Ranch paid for by engineer Albert Johnson and his wife. Prospector “Death Valley Scotty”(at one time part of the famous Wild West Show)  claimed this elaborate Spanish-style mansion and engineering-masterpiece was built by gold from his fictitious mine. Costumed National Park Ranger Isabelle took us on a 50-minute living tower of the castle retelling the story of Scotty and his benefactors.
• The 3,000 year old Ubehebe Crater (www.americansouthwest.net/california/death_valley/ubehebe_crater.html)  is 600 foot deep crater caused by a massive volcanic explosion and another example of the amazing geology in this park. It takes 10 minutes to hike to the bottom and 30-45 minutes to hike back up.
• This park’s Sand Dunes (http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_national_park/ca/nat2_dv.htm) rise nearly 100 feet from Mesquite Flat. The dunes  are formed by the shifting winds, erosion of rock by water and gravity, accumulating loose sediment into mounds of sand. The ripples and patterns create its own painting and its fun to check out the footprints of wildlife when hiking these hills.

Now back at Furnace Creek Inn, we all feast at the restaurant and enjoy Chef “Mike’s” tantalizing offerings. Tomorrow, it’s up early to check out Badwater, the lowest point in the Western hemisphere; Artist’s Drive, scenic nine-mile one-way loop drive; and Dante’s View, the mountaintop overlooking more than 5,000 feet above the valley.

Until next time, Diana (www.dianarowe.com)

I’m taking a break from the fun topic of travel to be a bit more serious as today is Word Aids Day. This December 1st, 2008, BlogCatalog members are joining with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of HIV/AIDS Policy’s AIDS.gov for Bloggers Unite For World AIDS Day.  

Here’s some details from a BlogCatalog email:  “Nearly half of all AIDS cases in the U.S. involve people 13 to 24 years of age, placing many of BlogCatalog members or their children in the highest risk age groups. More than 250,000 are estimated to be HIV positive and not know it. And more than 1 million are estimated to have AIDS…Of course, AIDS is not limited to the U.S. There are an estimated 33 million people with AIDS worldwide.”

Today’s children do not know a world without AIDS. That includes my children and grandchildren.  The AIDS “issue” may not touch all of us personally, but it is important to be aware of what impacts those around us and the world.

Take a moment to say a prayer for those that are suffering from AIDS, and then take another moment and read about World Aids Day.

Learn more about World AIDS Day at Google. 

Or check out these webisodes to see what’s going on:

Thanks for your time,

Diana

Tag: #WAD08