Today was Pete's day off from rafting. He's set to go back to the upper Colorado Saturday, tomorrow and will be home on Sunday night sometime. I can't imagine how cold they are in that glacial melt water. Pete said that they jumped off a cliff during the first part of the trip and when he hit the water, even in a wet suit, his lungs closed up for a bit because of the shock.
We decided that we would head into town and hit Clear Creek Outdoor and see Rob about some used gear. Pete's sleeping bag wasn't warm enough for the first two days he was out in the woods, thankfully someone lent him a warmer one before the end of the trip. Last time Pete was in the store Rob mentioned used -20 bags were gonna be for sale when his new stuff arrived. Unfortunately we missed him. He took the day off to go fishing. His wife I guess was running the store and maybe we didn't look important enough cause she was on the phone the entire time, loudly on a non-business call. We left and decided to head to Denver to this sports store REI that Pete heard was good.
On the drive Pete tried to call the store quite a few times to see when Rob would be back no one ever picked up and it kept going to a voice mail. I'd say 2 hours later she finally called him back. I'm assuming that they have a caller ID of sorts. She was talking on the business line and not her cell. It's really surprising to see things like that since so many places here have gone out of business. I would think you'd want to do anything that you could to make some money.
So REI is a pretty cool store in a beautiful part of town. Pete hates it when I run around snapping pictures all day so I only took a couple. The architecture of the building is amazing. Such a cool space, the best I've seen in Denver so far.
When you walk in the building the first thing you see is the massive climbing wall. The thing was so huge that it was had to get a picture of it. This is from the entryway...
and here is from a higher level in the store
I didn't take really any pictures inside the store but I loved the windows so much I snapped a quick pic while Pete was trying on some pants.
This trip was so worth the while. Pete was looking for something that would stay dry while he was getting hit with water in the boat. When we first started looking around EVERYTHING was so expensive. But you can see the rack on the right edge of the picture, that's where we hit the jackpot. Pete found a pair of Helly Hansen, normally super expensive prices for their clothing, for $25! They were exactly what he needed and 75% cheaper than anything else we found. Plus they look awesome.
We strolled around the rest of the store looking at camping supplies, sleeping bags, climbing gear and space food. I am determined to make this myself for when we backpack. Even though the prices were reasonable and they even had an organic selection how hard is it to dehydrate food?
We moved on the the bike/rafting section which really bummed me out. I want a bike so bad and I was shocked to see the prices. The cheapest I could find was $599 and that was the most basic model. Eventually I'll need a bike with suspension, they run $1,500, once we start doing downhill trails, which to be honest with you terrifies me. We really need to hit the used sports shop Allison told us about in Boulder. She said you can good really good deals there.
Pete was chatting up the guy working the rafting section. We had looked online for PFD's (Personal Flotation Devises aka Life Jackets) but you need to make sure you'll have enough flotation, especially in white water, so I wandered while they talked. I happened to notice the shoes the guy was wearing.
I don't care if you work in a sports shop, these are not appropriate for work! I just can't get used to the 'fashion' around here. This too, I saw this girl, not the employee, when we went back to the tent section in the front of the store.
I totally understand hippie chic, that was all the rage the first few years we were in NY but this was just a hot mess. The only piece she was wearing that looked new, or clean to be honest, was the DC hat on her head. Everything else looked homemade, which is awesome if you can sew. I like to leave it to the professionals so I don't end up looking like I'm wearing a beat up circus tent for a skirt.
So we went to the register to check out and learned that REI is a co-op. So by becoming a member we'll also get a dividend check every year, based on what we spend, from the company, on top of a bunch of other awesome perks. So it was totally worth the trip.
We went to the studio so Pete could re-print a song he needed and we hung with John for a bit since he's been in Memphis for the past 6 weeks. He said the flooding down there is horrible. The biggest surprise is that the studio/rehearsal space SIR (Studio Instrument Rentals) is ruined along with any gear stored there. Now that might not seem like a huge deal, a company has insurance right, but apparently a bunch of bands had stored their gear there too and all of it was ruined. Can you imagine being a professional guitar player and loosing your best guitars cause those are the ones you play and brought to the studio? What a bummer!
When we were at John's Pete got a call from our friend Mark, who lives in Golden, and he had a sleeping bag for Pete to borrow. So we decided to swing by there and I'm glad we did. I got to meet Tara's sister, Katie, who is so nice and just moved here herself. Tara showed me the plan for her garden which looks great. Hopefully they'll produce a lot and I'll get some. I wish I could do my own this summer but looks like I'll have to wait one more. I'm dying for the Heirloom Tomato plants to come to the gardening store in town. I'm in dire need of tasty tomatoes to cook with.
So we hung for a bit and eventually we were all talking in the drive way. Tara was taking her bike out of the car and I was bumming about not having one and made a mention of it. Mark took Pete into his garage and they came back with a beat up bike, for me! It needs work but I'm so excited. Tara knows a bit about bikes so she's gonna help me change the brake wire and put new tubes in the tires. That's really all it needs, other than some stickers, and Mark is insisting I get a bell for it. I said if I'm going that route I might as well get a basket and streamers too. This little surprise totally made my day. Who would have thought that a mountain bike would have ever made me this ecstatic. Not me that's for sure. Another funny thing about it is that it reminds me of my old bike so much. It's about the same year but my old one was trashed or it might have made it to NY with me.
Mark, Tara & Katie were heading to a friends for dinner so Pete being the awesome husband that he is, and since we were in Golden, we headed to Sonic for dinner. I've never been to one before so it was a treat and new adventure for me.
The food was really good, we had burgers and onion rings. It was so rich I couldn't finish it all but it was so worth it for REAL onion rings.
When we first moved out here we went to a sporting goods store, Big 5, which had awesome deals on shoes and other sporting goods, pretty much anything you would need. We noticed it was across the parking lot from Sonic so we headed over there. I've been dying for running shoes for the gym and this was the only place I wanted to buy them cause they have a great selection of $20 shoes. This was were I grabbed my hiking shoes when we first moved out here. Heels just weren't cutting it at the campsite. And today I was happy because I found something right away and really, can you beat that price for a name brand sneaker?
Finally we were ready to head home. When we got there Pete started to get ready and pack for tomorrow and we realized what our long day had made us forget....Laundry. There is a rule here about when you can and can't use the laundry room and we missed the deadline. Thankfully with the laundry I had done while he was gone he found enough to get him thru the next couple of days.
