An afternoon mall crawl

It seemed like a perfect day for a saunter down the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado.  The quintessential pedestrian mall was teeming with tourists, students, Boulderites, shoppers, sightseers, musicians, wannabe musicians, and very bendy buskers who can contort themselves to fit into small boxes or walk along on stilts while juggling burning torches.  You can even rent a bike…you know, that whole eco-transportation thing.

The colors are vibrant, the smells tantalizing, and the people are fun to watch.  Several of the street musicians were actually very good.  An adorable little girl seemed pretty taken with one guy’s tunes!

Oh, and I discovered my new favorite store….Penzeys Spices.  I wonder if there’s a recipe on the internet that uses both Vietnamese cinnamon and Chinese five spice?

Castlewood Canyon

A recent Sunday drive south on Parker Road out of Denver ended at Castlewood Canyon State Park. This is a lovely state park with hiking trails, sightseeing, and picnic areas.  Cherry Creek runs along the bottom of the canyon.  Ruins of the Castlewood Canyon Dam that broke in 1933 flooding Denver and an abandoned homestead reveal bits and pieces of local history.   This park should be on your list of places to visit this year.

I know I’ll be going back.