Eponymous

I went for a hike at Castlewood Canyon State Park on Sunday. It is a beautiful park east of Castle Rock. Castle Rock is south of Denver. Cherry Creek flows through the canyon. This is the same Cherry Creek that flows into the S. Platte River next to the REI in downtown Denver. I ended up hiking about 7.5 miles today. The weather was nice. I was able to wear shorts and a t-shirt hiking. There were some nice views of the Front Range from the canyon rim. I hiked by an old dam that was built in 1890. The dam failed in 1933. Here are some pictures.



The Dam from the Rimrock Trail






Me along the Rimrock Trail





Castlewood Canyon with Pikes Peak on the horizon.






Castlewood Canyon below the dam







Dam site









Dam from the former lake bed.

Pikes Peak

Dos a Cero!!!

Dos a Cero!!! Dos a Cero!!! Dos a Cero!!! That’s a favorite chant when the U.S. plays Mexico. It means 2-0, which has become the common score line when the U.S. beats Mexico. Once again it was the score on Wednesday night; the U.S. beat Mexico 2-0 in a World Cup Qualifier in Columbus, Mexico. I was there for the festivities along with my brother, my cousin Ray, and Hunter. I’m back in Colorado now. I’m tired, hoarse, and happy.

The fun began Wednesday around lunch time. We went to Claddagh Irish Pub in downtown Columbus for lunch. Sam’s Army was hanging out there. We watched some soccer and ate lunch with a whole bunch of people wearing U.S red not Buckeye red. From there we went to Ruby Tuesday (not the chain), where the American Outlaws were hanging out and having a good time. Ruby Tuesday is a dive bar in a neighborhood that is mainly Ohio State students. The Hudson Street Hooligans, a Columbus Crew supporter’s group, use it as their hang out bar. The bar is in walking distance to the stadium. So we hung out there for a while drinking beer, singing songs, etc. Captain America, Abe Lincoln, Rocky, and company were at the bar. They were same guys that I met in Colorado and saw in D.C.




Crowd Shot at Ruby Tuesday










Me & Hunter in the crowd at Ruby Tuesday

Singing Outlaws Video

Cold weather is the reason for having the game in Columbus, Ohio in February. The idea is to freeze the Mexican players since they are not use to the cold. It worked in 2001. This time, the weather was in the 50’s at game time. However, it started raining in later half of the afternoon. Columbus was under a tornado watch. About an hour and a half before the game, there was a hail storm. There was concern about getting the game in. Fortunately, the dangerous weather did not last long, but it was extremely windy the rest of the night.

We had great seats for the game with one exception. We were in the middle of a huge Mexican section. That was disappointing. The crowd was probably split 50-50. Not exactly, the home field advantage the U.S. Soccer Federation was looking for, but it is better than playing in a huge stadium. It was hard for us to be heard until the U.S. scored right before halftime. The Mexican fans got a bit quieter after that. The U.S. got their second goal right before the end of the game. Click here for game highlights.





Game Over









Dos a Cero!!!










Ray, Jim, me, & Hunter





Dos a Cero!!! Dos a Cero!!! Dos a Cero!!!

-MM

On A Plain

I went for a hike at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal is a little bit more out on the plains then I usually hike. The Arsenal is the site of a World War II chemical weapons manufacturing center located northeast of Denver. The site was declared contaminated in the 80's. The site has been cleaned up and is considered safe for animals and soccer fields. So I figured I checked it out since I've never been hiking there before. Here are a couple of pics.



Lake Ladora with Longs Peak on the horizon








I'm being watched.







A World Cup Qualifier between the U.S. & Mexico is this Wednesday. If you are not jumping on a plane to go to Columbus to see it, you should check out on TV or at your local soccer pub. It is on ESPN2 at 7:00 P.M. Eastern & 5:00 P.M. Mountain. It should be a good one!!!

-MM