Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

Sunday, August 9, 2026

The Fort in Morrison, Colorado


The Fort is a historic restaurant/steakhouse located at 19192 CO-8 in the Front Range town of Morrison, Colorado. 
It has become one of our favorite places to celebrate special occasions since we moved to Colorado!




As you can read on the sign above, The Fort was built in 
1962 by Sam'l P. Arnold and has an interesting history.
 Its adobe structure was built between 1961 and 1963 as a replica of the historic 1833 Bent's Fort located in La Junta, Colorado, along the Santa Fe Trail. The structure incorporates over 80,000 handmade adobe bricks. The building was originally intended as the Arnold family home, but during construction, rising costs prompted the decision to open the lower level of the building as a restaurant, while the family lived upstairs. 
The completed Fort Restaurant opened in February 1963, specializing in what the Arnolds called “New Foods of the Old West.”


The photo collage above shows the actual Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site. 
We visited it in 2017--you can read that blog post here.

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site features a reconstructed version of the 1840s adobe trading post. Archaeological excavations and original sketches, paintings, and diaries were used to reconstruct the fort, to coincide with the nation’s bicentennial and Colorado’s centennial in 1976. The reconstructed fort and its setting along the Arkansas River allow visitors to learn about its role as a trading post for Native Americans and pioneers during its existence.


The interior courtyard of The Fort has an early western theme.


It is at 6,100 feet (1,859.28 meters) elevation, nestled among beautiful giant red rock formations.



There is a fun tradition at The Fort when someone is celebrating a special occasion: a buffalo hat is placed on their head and the staff beats a drum and cheers with a loud "HUZZAH!!"  In the photo above, my husband is wearing the hat at his retirement party.
There is also an official drink toast written by Arnold which you can read here.


From The Fort's website:

"The Fort’s menu was built on meticulous research into pioneer diaries, Native American foodways, and the meals of mountain men and Santa Fe Trail travelers, blended with Spanish and Mexican influences reflective of Bent’s Fort’s historic location. Sam Arnold’s research led to his acclaimed cookbook Eating Up the Santa Fe Trail, which became the foundation of The Fort’s cuisine. Buffalo, elk, quail, and other historic staples defined the menu, along with dishes such as bone marrow, tongue, and Rocky Mountain oysters. The Hailstorm—Colorado’s first recorded cocktail, served at Bent’s Fort in 1833—became The Fort’s signature drink."


All the food at The Fort is very Western gourmet and delicious!

You can see some of their recipes on their blog at this link.



The Fort has an assortment of private event rooms, and also an outdoor seating area with beautiful views.  We once saw a bride and groom arrive for their dinner party by helicopter!

Holly Arnold Kinney, daughter of founder Sam Arnold, purchased The Fort in 1999 and led the restaurant with a deep commitment to its history until her retirement in January 2026. Under her stewardship, The Fort earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places, and its land remains protected through a conservation easement held by the Colorado Historical Foundation.

 The Fort also hosts Entertainment, Historic Lectures, Cultural Events and Dinners, Murder Mystery Dinners, Wine and Whiskey Dinners, among other special events--check their website under the Happenings and Entertainment tabs to see what is available.


You can watch this YouTube video made in 2022 for The Fort's 60th Anniversary to see some of the history of the restaurant, some of the famous people who dined there, and interviews and TV segments filmed there.

It's been so nice to have this special place nearby to enjoy through the years! 

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Sunday, July 5, 2026

Happy Summer Happenings!


Happy Month of July! I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer. The twin fawns that were born in our backyard --click here to see that post-- visit us from time to time, and are growing well. They are very curious and full of energy, and their Momma Doe keeps a close eye on them.
 


My front garden perennials are all growing well. I did not plant any annuals this summer as all of Colorado is in a severe drought and we are under outdoor watering restrictions. Happily, the decorative plaques and statues help fill in the blank spots.



Our neighborhood was once a functioning cattle ranch, and the barns and a section of land have been converted into a very active equestrian center.



 The main barn has actually been placed on the National Register of Historic Places! You can read a post I wrote about this at this link.


Our oldest granddaughter took riding and horsemanship care lessons in the riding school in June. They learn how to care for a horse, their nutrition, grooming, and hoof care, saddle, bridle, and tack care. How to mount a horse, lead, turn, gallop, and go over obstacles. Also, barn safety and arena etiquette.



 A short YouTube video of our granddaughter practicing a slow gallop.  *Edited to change this to a trot, not a gallop, as Beth explained to me in her comment.

She really enjoyed the lessons and now feels more confident horseback riding and may pursue taking more involved Western Riding lessons.


Our daughter, son-in-law, and her brother-in-law were fortunate to see a FIFA World Cup game at Los Angeles Stadium between Spain and Austria. Spain won the game 3-0. 





She sent us this video of how the Los Angeles Stadium reacted to Spain's first goal!



It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since the first photo in the collage above of our grandchildren at a Fourth of July barbecue we had at our house! 
This 4th, we celebrated with our son, daughter-in-law, and family in their neighborhood at a delicious catered barbecue in their community park. The gathering also included a water slide, a bounce house for young children, and face-painting artists. 
They usually begin the event with a large bicycle parade led by the local fire department, but this year, many firefighters from fire departments across Colorado have been sent to help with multiple wildfires burning in our state. 
Many Wildland Urban Interface areas in Colorado also canceled fireworks shows this year to keep safe.




I hope summer will bring joy to all!







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Sunday, June 21, 2026

I've Looked At Clouds From Both Sides Now


 We enjoyed a nice Father's Day barbecue celebration at our home this past Saturday. We celebrated a day early because the weather forecast for Sunday predicted rain, but I should have known better, because it turned out to be a beautiful day on Sunday. 

In typical Colorado fashion, the weather was unpredictable!
It made me scroll through the sky photos in my collection since moving to Colorado thirteen years ago...


The Spring and Summer seasons often bring the most amazing cloud formations!

These towering, high, full clouds are called Cumulonimbus Clouds, and when I see them, this is what I think of...


...hail!

The first year we moved to Colorado, we experienced our first large summer hail storm. At first, we thought it was fun, as we had never seen such large hailstones. The streets and lawns looked like they were covered with snow in August. My husband joked that he never thought he'd need to shovel in summer. Fortunately, I thought to go down into our basement and was shocked to see a waterfall of melting hail come pouring in through our window wells. I used almost every towel I owned to mop up that water as it seeped through. 

Similar to hail is Grapel -- a new word we learned that first winter. Graupel is precipitation that forms when supercooled droplets of water freeze on a falling snowflake. It looks and feels like large drops of slushy ice falling from the sky!


More often than thunderstorms and hail, however, we are more likely to see Virga in Colorado.

A virga, also called a dry storm, is an observable streak or shaft of precipitation that evaporates or sublimates before reaching the ground. It is a new phenomenon to us, and another new weather word we learned. 


Of course, we do get our share of thunderstorms. This one was approaching the city of Denver a few summers ago. 


In years such as this one, when the West had unusually dry weather with very low snow and rain levels, we worry about lightning strikes causing wildfires, but rain is seen as a blessing for our high desert climate...


...and rainbows are always a welcome sight to see!

Speaking of rainbows, we learned another new weather word when we moved to Colorado...



Iridescent clouds are a diffraction phenomenon caused by small water droplets or small ice crystals individually scattering light. We usually see this in the winter months.

On our trips to the mountains, one of the most beautiful sights is watching clouds being formed.





A beautiful assortment of different cloud formations in my neighborhood.



An angel cloud in the sky?


Sunrises and sunsets are reminders that, regardless of the weather, each new day is a blessing.   

Happy Summer to all!
 
Please tell me what new weather words you have learned where you live.

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Sunday, May 10, 2026

Life Lately

I hope Mother's Day was a happy one for all! We went to scenic Golden, Colorado, and had a wonderful brunch at the restaurant in the Golden Hotel. 

They had a fun photo booth in the lobby, and so all the ladies took the photo above.

April and May brought beautiful spring flowers to our area, but...

...early May also brought us a cold front and a heavy, wet snow!

Because of our high elevation, we often get a few spring snowfalls in Colorado, and this one was well-needed, as our state has been in severe drought this year.


My husband and I braved the drive to Denver on that snowy night to attend Opera Colorado's beautiful production of Puccini's opera, Madama Butterfly. 


 In typical Colorado style in spring, the temperature rose to the 70s F (21.11 C) the next day, and all the snow melted!


Besides going to a Wildlife Refuge, a Mansion, the Denver Zoo, and the Littleton Museum, we have been busy over the past couple of months with our grandchildren's happy occasions — sports, prom, and music and dance recitals.


Spring has also brought more birds and baby bunnies to our yard, along with the usual hungry deer.


Look what we saw heading west on Interstate 70 recently--our first glimpse of a "Waymo" car!  Waymo is a fully autonomous driverless taxi, and it is currently in service in 11 states, with Denver, Colorado, now being tested as one of the many new areas where it will become standard for hire, 24/7.  Our daughter experienced riding in a Waymo taxi while on a business trip in Arizona, and she really enjoyed it and felt completely safe. The company conducts extensive testing to ensure safety and reliability in various conditions, and has been testing its ability to drive in snow and ice in Colorado. Right now, have been using drivers, just in case, until they are assured of safety in our city. Waymo will start the autonomous service in Denver and work toward expanding into the metro area and Denver International Airport sometime this year if all goes as planned.

Have you ridden in a Waymo? How was the experience?


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Sunday, March 8, 2026

A Quick Trip to New York to Celebrate a Special Family Birthday!


 At the end of February, my husband and I flew to New York to attend a special birthday celebration for a member of my family.



We stayed in a hotel in an area called Gravesend, Brooklyn, not far from Coney Island. As you can see, one of the many snowstorms that have beseiged the east this winter was still evident on the streets. The subway trains in this part of Brooklyn run above ground on elevated train tracks, and my husband and I remimisced how an exciting scene from the movie The French Connection was filmed in this very area under the elevated train!


The next day, we headed for Suffolk County, on Long Island, New York, to attend a surprise 80th Birthday party in a restaurant for my older brother, James!

I was the only sibling able to attend, and he was very touched that we were there, along with family and friends. It was so good to see my brother and my sister-in-law, my nieces and nephews, husbands and wives, and grand nieces and nephews and their significant others.



We stayed overnight at my brother's house, and the next morning we had breakfast at a local diner that decorates for every holiday. This time all decked out in green for the upcoming St Patrick's Day!


On our way back to Brooklyn the next day, I was intrigued by all the vines I saw growing up many of the trees along the Southern State Parkway. I did not remember ever seeing this in the many years we lived in Brooklyn and traveled out east on Long Island. Could it be Kudzu? From what I read on this link, Kudzu has traveled up along the east coast from the south to New York.  
When we entered the borough of Brooklyn and drove along the Belt Parkway, I snapped the photos in the collage above of the tall buildings in the distance in Manhattan and a subway terminus yard in Coney Island.



We spent a few days in Brooklyn, visiting family and friends, and enjoying so much delicious food!

 

It was nice to spend time with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, who are my husband's older brother and older sister, who reside in Brooklyn.  My sister-in-law taught me how to make stuffed baby eggplants the way they do in their hometown in Calabria, Italy, using a mixture that includes mashed potatoes in the stuffing. I promise to show how they are made when I make them again. They are very delicious and a favorite of our daughter.



All too soon, it was time to fly home to Colorado.
 After living here for the past thirteen years, we realized how much we love seeing the Front Range and the Rocky Mountains on our drive back from the airport. 



The day after we arrived, the Denver area had a good snowfall after a very dry and warm February. We hope March, which is usually the snowiest month along the Colorado Front Range, will bring more! I think this mule deer doe, resting in my backyard that day, was also happy to see the snow!


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