Ft. Collins

Ah, I always love a trip "out west"!  We went to Fort Collins, CO, over the weekend for a NDSU game.  It was a nine hour drive from Bismarck including stops.  Yes, we drove!  Driving through Western ND, SD, Wyoming and finally getting to Colorado is quite a drive.  I am being serious when I say I really enjoyed it, although many people would rather stab their eyes out than drive through these areas.  I have made this drive before, although I don't remember it.  When I was a child, as in pre-elementary school, we lived in Wyoming so this would have been our way to visit home.  It was fun to see signs for the old landmarks in the Black Hills that we used to frequent, such as Devil's Tower. We also drove through Amidon, ND, which is the smallest county seat in the U.S. according to the sign.  I looked it up and Wikipedia says it is the third smallest behind a town in Texas and another in Nebraska.  It is tiny but stands out as a special place.  I like the name...I couldn't clarify this but I believe the name Amidon has something to do with friendship based on my knowledge of other "friendly" words such as amistad (Spanish for Friendship) and amicable...and of course amigo!

 

Eastern Wyoming is so vast and empty that I couldn't stop staring.  If you think North Dakota is wide open you have to see Wyoming.  Once you pass the Northeast region (where my family used to live) which is quite pretty you can go for miles without seeing a sign of civilization.  It is a very dry and desert like area, and I believe it is worse this time of year.  If anyone tosses a cigarette out the window the whole state is going up in flames! 

 

We finally arrived in Fort Collins and quickly headed to the pep rally alumni event.  That was a fun time...green beer, socializing and all kinds of nonsense!  We discovered that there was a bar about a three minute walk from our hotel so we went there before and after pretty much everything we did.  We were there for two nights and we saw the same waitress about four times. 

 

On Saturday morning we went to the New Belgium Brewing Co., which makes Fat Tire beer.  I could have stayed around there all day!  The tours were all full but the beers were delicious!

 

There were so many unique flavors to try...I will definitely be taking a closer look at this stuff at the liquor store from now on. 

Silly guys!

Tailgating at the stadium started at 2 pm (earlier if  you paid extra) so that was next on the agenda...after filling the coolers of course!  The information about the game said that only 3.2 percent alcohol beer (near beer?  Ugh!) was allowed at tailgating.  We called some people who were already in, however, and were told that no one cared what kind of beer anyone was drinking so we just bought normal beer.  It tasted pretty watery after all that New Belgium stuff!

 I don't know if we got enough...

The stadium was on the edge of town instead of by the campus.  It was quite a strange setting. There was no pavement, just a vast grass field in the shadow of some rocky hills.

I thought the whole setting was like some sort of secret bomb testing facility or something!  Even the stadium looked like a scientific testing place!

Well, good news...we won!  Good thing...no one likes to drive that far to see their team lose! 

Meanwhile, in case you were wondering, Ben was in Bismarck with his Nana and Grandpa Mary and Larry and we were told he was a delight to watch.  I am glad!  I had alot of fun being baby free for a few days although my pump never left my side and I was very glad to get home to him on Sunday night.