Ninth Leg of Trip
Hard to believe.  This trip is zooming by us.  We had anticipated it for so ling and now, here we are, headed for Denver to visit Start.  Actually, his name is Stuart Close.  Just a fun name!  He is someone of whom I love dearly and wish so many miles were not between us.
On our way there we got to see some more beauty!

As we were driving along, we saw this puppy hanging out his window while the truck was parked.  We circled around to take this picture.  We met the owner to discover his name was Trench!  Apparently he goes everywhere with his owner and does this often while waiting on his owner to complete his business.

We decided while we were stopped, we would get breakfast at this cafe.  It was quite tasty!  While we were there several worker would come in and grab a breakfast burrito of some sort and a chocolate milk out of the refrigerator.

                                     This marker tells us we are on the Santa Fe Trail

WEEEEOOOOO!  Start, here we come!

We stopped at this nice Welcome Center.  

 It had a blade for one of the Windmills on display.  We were able to get an idea of how large these windmills were by Roger going up to it.

Now the lovely ladies told us how to go to have a scenic way to Denver.  However, we took a wrong way out of the Welcome Center and had a little more scenes than we anticipated.  Oh well, only an hour out of our way.

And we would have missed this if we had gone the right way, now that would have been a tragedy. :)

This place is called Gobbler's Knob. I, of course, pointed out to Roger, "Rock!"  I am getting really quite good at pointing out the obvious.  It was quite a happy accident for us to go the wrong way.  Some would say there are no accidents.  Hmmm.

Well, we get back on the right track and head towards Bent's Old Fort.  It seemed about three times the size of the Alamo.

It was used as a trading spot and negotiations for the Indian tribes. 

The pool table reminded us more of a snooker table.  It was quite massive.

 I did not get to pet the peacocks, nor the donkeys, but I found some cats to pet.

We finally made it to Stuart’s only about 2 hours later than anticipated.    The joy of being on vacation!  We were greeted by Lauri and three happy pugs.  Wh\at a reception.  We could not have asked for a better welcome!  We hugged Lauri and commenced to get our doggie-fixes!  They were precious!

                                                                   This is Angel.

                                          This is Howard, he's the ham of the group!

and, this is Gracie!

 I only ended up posing with Howard, being such a ham, but believe me, lots of luvin' and petting were spread throughout the crew!  Below is the neighbor puppy, Sasha!

Had an absolutely brilliant time with my cousin, Stuart, and his lovely fiancé, Lauri and their children, Mason and Stella.  What a great family.  While there, we toured Red Rocks, a natural amphitheater.

 and also Stuart’s new restaurant which is connected to their craft brewery, Breckenridge.  Let me brag a bit about Stuart’s place…AWESOME!  When you come to Denver, it is a must!  Need I say more?!?!

 This is the Man Cave.  It's for men to hang out.  They can reserve it.  Under the raccoon, you can see spigots.  When one reserves the Man Cave, one or two kegs of your choice can be ready to be enjoyed between friends.  There is a counter part for the women called the Fox Den.

 But, of course, my favorite time was hanging out with them!

Sad to go, but it was time.  Enjoyed an evening in Grand Junction.  Ate at another of Stuart’s places.  The Ale House.  It was wonderful.  The service was great also.  Everyone who works at his places seem to enjoy it.  I think that says something about the bosses, but again, I could be biased.  Nah!

                               Great food and a wonderful companion!  Good night for tonight!