2008 4th of July trip to Rocky Mountain National Park

Day 1: Since we're flying Southwest Airlines, we fly out of Baltimore and arrive in Denver on-time. Because Southwest does not have a 2nd bag charge, we were able to take all of our car camping gear with us. Unlike other out-of-state camping trips, Matt and I were able to fit our sleeping bags and camp chairs in our giant suitcase. It weighed 42 lbs.

After picking up the rental car (we opted into the prepay for a full tank of gas option since it was significantly cheaper than the average gas price in the area and we were sure we would actually use the full tank since we were driving up to the mountains), we made our way into Denver to meet a friend who is living in the Cheesman Park area. After some chitchatting at his new condo, we decided to walk to the park. It was gorgeous day and lots of people were out and about, playing with their dogs. They were mostly very well-behaved (both the dogs and people), although one guy thought it was fun to make his dog fetch a stick from a fountain, which made the area around the fountain smell like wet dog. The park looked like a great place just to hang out and relax, and you could bring your own grill in if you were so inclined.

That night, we met up with some other friends at Wynkoop Brewing Company, which is actually a brewpub. I broke ranks with my friends, who all had the burger, while I had the fried chicken. It was good, but a huge portion, and I probably shouldn't have eaten all of it, but I liked it so much that I did. I also enjoyed my Wixz Weiss, which is an unfiltered wheat beer in the German style (wheat beer is pretty the only kind that I like).