COLOPALOOZA 2015: DENVER "RATED DOUBLE X!!"
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Twenty years in the making...behold the glory that was...
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Day 1
Al enjoying the first of many malted beverages at John Wayne.
The Log Palace on a crisp morning. This bad boy is 4,000 square feet of awesomeness.
Everyone looking quite spry in the opening hours at the legendary Wykoop Brewing.
The palooza van in all its glory while parked at one of our nation's finest national parks.
Nothing gets Craig's fishing blood boiling like a little spring run-off stream in the Rockies.
You know you're at the palooza when you down two pizzas as apps before having ribeyes.
A quick stop at Mid Town Cafe didn't stop Al from racing to McDonald's while we parked.
The view from the back porch of the log palace as the sun sets over the Rockies (click here to see it live). Meanwhile inside, bourbon cocktails and growlers of fresh brew were flowing.
Nothing quite calls the paloozians to action like a feast in the making. Look at em go!!
After golf, we headed over to Hideaway's Nano-Brewery for some fresh beverages.
The paloozians try to stay warm during a 1-hour lightning delay at Folsom Field.
Bill takes a break between holes with the purple mountains majesty in the background.
Allie rares back and sends one right into the trees. We lost a lot of balls that day.
The paloozians trying to decide what type breakfast they want covered in green chili.
Milo demonstrates perfect form and attire as we hit the links.
Clem's multi-thousand dollar drone gave us an awesome display of its video prowess.
Dean watching the drone come back to earth and land in Clem's Log Palace driveway.
You can see dozens of trout just swimming around looking for flies to eat for dinner.
Next lake on the journey up the trail was Dream Lake. This one was also spectacular.
A peek-a-boo look outside through the kitchen window of the illustrious Log Palace.
Feeling overconfident in his cart skills, Craig almost dumped $10k.
One of the most epic places of
any palooza. The back porch of
the Log Palace. Nothing bad
ever happens here.
Another little aspen stands out amongst all the pine trees.
Just around the corner we crashed this wedding. Milo gave away the bride. It was lovely.
Back down at the bottom, Craig & Sean scurried over to check out Bear Lake.
About mid-way up the trail, the hiking got a lot more technical.
Sean gets his legs into it on one of many 400+ yard holes at Pole Creek in Winter Park.
Craig crushes another ball into the lake--well on his way to burning through 20 balls.
Clem and Clem Jr pause along the trail as the fat guys catch up.
The view from the top was worth the pain--flatiron #1, as seen from flatiron #2.
The paloozians relax after finally reaching Emerald Lake.
The finest vehicle in palooza history--the epic 11-seat palooza van.
Geez, we're not even three hours into the palooza. Really Al?!?!
This cask-aged Belgian Tripel was one of the best beers ever.
The end result of a massive fishtail stop that Sean executed on the back nine.
This shot of Dean and his calves led to 43 dates on Facebook.
Craig & Sean were up early and ventured out in the woods.
Even the airline pilots were excited about Palooza XX, carefully planning a sky message.
Once inside the Log Palace, Clem broke out a round of manhattans to get things rolling.
We were greeted by four mule deer who were surprised to see us. Can you see her?
A quick stop in Blackhawk managed to drain a few hundred dollars from the boys.
The guys checking their devices while they wait for a couple a Beau Jo's pizzas to arrive.
The blackberry sour was literally completed and posted while we sat there. Delish!!
Yeah, Pole Creek is pretty much a hideous dump of a golf course. Avoid it at all costs.
Chris kicks his lead leg in an effort to utilize his little league skills on the golf course.
Upon landing in Denver, we were greeted by an elder paloozian.
Day 2
Day 5
Day 4
Day 3
The paloozians gather at the top of the park for a group picture. Pretty cool up there.
The views from up there were spectacular and we just beat bad weather by a few hours.
Our first adventure within Rocky Mountain National Park was to take Trail Ridge Road for a little high-altitude sight-seeing. This shot of several glacier-carved peaks was at 13k feet.
Sean makes what at least one young tourist thought were a series of rabid moose calls.
Seanie shows a little too much bootie as he tosses a rock down the mountain.
Then we began a pretty solid hike up to three lakes. This was the lilly-filled Nymph Lake.
By sunset, Ben had completely bought into the glory of the palooza.
Milo downs the only beer he could handle--a Twisted Pine 2 ouncer.
Dean looks way too happy to be packing up his sack lunch.
Milo has a fancy (lame) app on his phone that lets him do this.
The backside of the peak revealed a spine-like mini-flatiron.
Soon after breakfast, Bill hit Urgent Care and then the ER. Yikes.
We finally arrived at the Bear Lake parking lot and dug into some salami sandwiches.
Our first stop in the soon to be abbreviated brewery tour was Fate Brewing in Boulder.
This pic doesn't capture how cool this lake is--complete with a waterfall in the distance.
Craig & Sean look like seasoned homeless people in their special rain ponchos.
When the Buffs & Ducks kicked off at 9pm, it was the latest start in Folsom's history.
The palooza van was a scrambled mess with everyone's bags filling up the back row.
"Hey, you're not the boss of me, old man. Not you or your fat, sweaty friends!!!"
After dinner and few brews, we made our way over to the greatest ampitheater on earth.
Our next stop on the brewery tour was Wild Woods, where Al slipped into deep thought.
Chris, Dean and Ben muscle there way up to the bar for some camp-inspired brews.
A cluster of autumnal aspen leaves hang on for dear life before winter claims them.
Milo and Al play around with the chipmunks around the lake. They love people up there.
Inspired by the rock climber, Al begins to demonstrate mad skills.
Everyone just loved Ben Howard, who "f*&^%ing killed it" that night at Red Rocks.
After the concert, we returned to the palooza van, which had qualified as a bus that night.
"Ben, you need to come down from there right now, young man."
Here's one legit rock climber making his way up flatiron #1.
After witnessing massive sweating and a lot of heavy breathing, Ben couldn't stop smiling.
With Bill stuck in the hospital for tests, the paloozians hit the trail again in Boulder.
Clem's son Ben broke the young paloozian seal by leading us up the hill like a lemur.
The view from the top fo the boulder field. This ones a little tricky to cross over.
Sefo Liufau takes a sneak into the endzone to draw the Buffs within 7 late in the game.
A last minute decision to hit Lucille's was a great call--here's the Rice Pudding Porridge.
Craig is fired up to be in the belly of the beast--Mile High Stadium, home of the Broncos.
Craig, Milo, Dean and Al make there way back after rehearsal.
Al always picks the strangest places to hang out and enjoy a beer.
Bill & Sean looking very stoic as they prepare to honor America like it never has before.
Making our way onto the field as the Broncos defense gets introduced through the flames.
Here he is all wired up for all sorts of fun stuff. By 10am, he was a free paloozian.
Milo clowning it up under the flag during the rehearsal for the pre-game ceremony.
Milo & Dean ready to bring this bad boy out for the real thing as the Vikings hit the field.
Teddy Bridgewater warming up. We landed right on the 50 yard line--the perfect spot.
The Broncos capped off a truly epic palooza with a last minute sack & strip for a 23-20 win.
Back to the hospital to visit Bill and share a few laughs while we wait from his release.
The view up at the orange-clad stands as everyone sings the national anthem.
Future Hall of Famer, Adrian Peterson getting his game face on.
This young lady suddenly stopped playing when the paloozians arrived.