The Road to Berthoud

In the town of Berthoud this weekend:

Berthoud's Roots

Acrylic painted fabric panels on concrete; 55' high by 35' wide; painted by Susan Dailey and Elenor Yates; It's on the grain elevator in downtown Berthoud.

Army ambulance for sale

Just some strange stuff on the roadside. It's next to Castle Oriental Rug Cleaning and Sales which is a fairly interesting place to visit if you ever stop in Berthoud.

Bloc em Foco was there!

Look! "Bloco em Foco" got top billing at the Wildfire Community Arts Center outdoor festival! Eiee! Beleza! We have some video of the event to be entered on another day!

Annie the Railroad Dog Parade!

This year we made it to the parade:

Duncan Madog was there, of course!

We saw the statue last September here and then found Annie's grave here. Now all we needed was to get our own dog here and then get on over to the parade.

Our life is now complete!

Rodeo Times!

Not our first rodeo, but one of the better ones!

Bronc' ridin' in the background and horse standin' in the foreground

This was at the world's largest outdoor rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming known as "The Daddy of 'em All"® and it's been going on since 1897. It's the Cheyenne thing to do!

Note: Priefert is a company that makes farm, ranch, and rodeo equipment.

Septacycle conference bike

A weird bike, and it's not even Tour de Fat yet!

The "Conference bike" seats 7 riders

One of Eric Staller's Urban UFO's, the Conference Bike is a 7 seat, 400 pound 'bike' that can get a top speed of 10 mph.

People sit in a circle facing each other

One person steers and brakes, the others can pedal if they want!

Here's a short video of them riding by...

Samba Dance

We played in the park again:

Bloco em Foco

Along with dancers this time! Including Gisele from Laramie who teaches dance and was able to talk a few bystanders (and some children) into learning a few dance steps!

Bloco em Foco practices in City Park near the trolly station every Sunday from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Check their website for the latest news!

Bear Affair

I saw this and took a picture:

It's an amusement park spin ride called "Bear Affair"

Made in the U.S.A. by Sellner Manufacturing company they claim:

"The giant bears that make up Bear Affair, 'bear' a strong resemblance to a real bear.

The arms, legs, back and tail of each bear are textured to look like real fur."

"Each bear wears colorful bib overalls and a baseball cap. Caps are available with the Bear Affair logo or you can customize them with your own logo. Choose from a red or blue base."

"Decals in the shape of baseball caps and paw prints decorate the arms and base of the ride."

Note #1: You can buy a used Bear Affair for about $28,000.

Note #2: Herbert Sellner invented the Tilt-A-Whirl in 1926.

Άγιος Σπυρίδωνας visits Old Town

St. Spyridon (Άγιος Σπυρίδωνας)of Loveland came into town this weekend for the Greek Festival!

Saint Spyridon

We didn't go last year:

There were dancers on the menu

Here are the St. Spyridon Dancers

There were good things to eat like Souvlaki, Spanakopita, Dolmades and Paximathia. They also had something they called a "gyro sandwich", but it wasn't anything like what we used to get on the South side of Chicago (or any side for that matter).

Note: Saint Spyridon is NOT the patron saint of Spyders!

Plunge Yer Pooch!

Take your dog to the City Park Pool and Cool it!

It's the Annual Pooch Plunge!

Wow, is summer coming to an end so soon? We've never swam in the City Park pool, 'prolly' because we belong to a high class health club that serves booze at pool side. But here in the 'city' they like to mark the final days of summer by opening up the pool for "dogs only" before the pool is drained. It seems that Duncan Madog had a good time, but he's a little timid swimming along side the big dogs-- it's those short legs of his I figure!

Here's a slightly better resolution video on YouTube:

Action Art!

Here we have Lisa Cameron

She's painting on steel panels

Both sides will be painted!

This is all part of the "Art in Action" exhibit going on until the end of September in Old Town. The panels will eventually be installed in the Montezuma Fuller Alley*

* Per Mayor Hutch:

WHEREAS the City Council has received a petition to assign the name "Montezuma Fuller Alley" to the ally between College Avenue and Remington Street, extending from Mountain Avenue to Mulberry Street; and

WHEREAS, the right and residents of the City will not be prejudiced or injured by the assignment of the name "Montezuma Fully Alley", to the alley.

West Fest Groovin'

Here we go!

The Camel Showcase Presents

The weather was just right on Sunday! Here the vendors and dancers are highlighted at New West Fest with music by Euforquestra. Note: There were no real camels in the camel showcase!

Standing Stones, Part 2

There's a place North of town where you can see this:

Kinda "Stonehenge" like in appearance

It is real stone, but I'm not sure it's a valid "Henge" if you get my drift!

Not just because they have these Barney Rubble stone office chairs nearby

but from this angle it does look impressive. Even the CloneHenge blog gives it 7 Druids!

It's called the Rock Garden, and that it is.

Duncan Madog liked it.

Fest West, New

This weekend its:

We saw the Subdudes last night!

Yet another big music event. This year Melissa Etheridge will be performing along with 50 other bands, including a Samba band from Boulder! And it's all FREE!

Songs of BUGS!

The van says "BUG SONGS"

So, it must be true! It's a company that specializes in the songs of bugs, or songs about bugs!

"Warning! Bed bugs are back in Fort Collins!"

What! Another guy named Tom who has a guitar? This is none other than Tom Cornwell, the president of "Bug Songs" . Ask him to sing the Texas Termite song! Go ahead, I dare you!

Discovery Sale!

Science on the move!

The science center is moving and everything must go!

... including this video head scanner!

We put Duncan Madog's head in the scanner! What a good dog!

They had books about dinosaurs and other good stuff!

... and these neat dinosaur pictures on plywood!

We got a few items before they closed; even Duncan found a pair of wings! I asked if they were getting rid of any of the live insects. No! They are keeping them for the new museum!

Drive In Meteor

We were at the Holiday Twin drive-in last night to see this double feature:

1) G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra

2) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Neither movie would we recommend, but we still had a great time because:

1) We were actually at a drive-in theater!

2) We were with friends Mary Ellen and Dave

3) We went in the VW convertible

4) We went into the foothills afterwards to watch the Perseids meteor shower (About 1:30 am)

We hope this theater can survive! It was fun! I haven't been to a drive-in in more than 35 years!

(I took some pictures, but they didn't turn out! Maybe next time!)

Coors !

In Denver for the day!

Jeanne didn't wear any blue!

Is she a Cubs fan or a Rockies fan? It's hard to say.

We had good seats to see this game!

Some things reminded us of Illinois

We could have been at Wrigley

We didn't have time to check out Fur Con or the UFO convention in town. Oh well, maybe next time! BTW, the Rockies won 11 to 4!

Eiee ! Beleza !

At the Civic Center:

Euforquestra!

Hey look! A band playing Surdo and Caixa and it's not Bloco em Foco! It's Euforquestra and they are playing a SAMBA! Eiee!

From Reggae to bluegrass I guess you could call what they play "World Music"; They will be back in Fort Collins for New West Fest on Aug. 16. Look out for them!

Giant Bee Skep!

on the North side of Fort Collins:

It's a Skep! And it's a big one!

It's part of "The Hive"

There are changing rooms out back

But where are the Giant Bees?

It seems that there is going to be a few bug related events this weekend; Songs about bugs? OK!

Electric Public Transportation

There was a trolley system in Fort Collins at one time:

Car 21 still runs on the weekend for tourists

On the weekends from May through September, noon to 5 PM you can take the trolley from downtown to city park for $1.

The city shut down the trolly system in 1951 but a number of locals started the Fort Collins Municipal Railway Society (FCMRS) in 1980 in order to help preserve transportation history in Colorado.

A long time ago Chicago had the largest system of electric trolleys in the nation. I rode in one of the last cars downtown; I was probably 8 years old. I wonder if the FCMRS needs a volunteer track inspector?

Colorado Daze

August 1st is "Colorado Day"

It's a day to go out and see Splash Dogs

...and tractors.

lots of tractors!

Here's Duncan resting under one now!

Why is it Colorado Day? Well, apparently on August 1, 1876, President Grant signed a proclamation creating Colorado as the 38th state of the Union. It's a day we Coloradoans use to raise awareness of the state's historically significant locations! If you have a favorite Colorado historical site, you can tell Governor Bill Ritter (he's making a list) by going here.