Watching Leeds Play Sunderland With The Leeds United Colorado Supporters Group

I went to the DNVR Bar at the corner of York and Colfax here in Denver with my friend Mark, seen in the photograph above, yesterday morning to watch Leeds United play Sunderland with the Leeds United Colorado Supporters Group. The Leeds fans are a nice bunch, a mix of young, old, and families with children, and I must say, the DNVR Bar is a very pleasant place to watch a soccer match. It is located in a building built in 1925 that once housed the Capitol Hill State Bank and has a nice old time feel about it, with a wall of windows looking out on York Street. Leeds did their best to score against Sunderland, which is currently in last place (20th) in the Premier League standings, but the best they could do was finish with a 0-0 tie. But Leeds is still in 7th place, and everyone left confident their team would win next week. At half time, Mark got to talking with John, the man wearing a yellow jersey in the background of the photo, and it turns out he is a big baseball fan, originally from the North Side of Chicago. And, of course, a Cubs fan. I mentioned that I was from the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago, and we had a nice chat about the Cubs and White Sox and players from back in the day. John was sure that with the Pope's support the Sox would go all the way to the World Series, but, of course, it was not to be. There are some things not even the Pope can arrange. All in all, a very pleasant start to a Sunday morning.

DU Homecoming 2026 - A Very Soggy Affair

My friend Stuart and I, both DU alums, decided to skip the University of Denver's Homecoming Pregame Party this year, due to having to purchase a $20 ticket to attend, which we thought was too high a price to pay to mix with fellow alums we didn't even know. But when I was entering the lobby of my condo building yesterday afternoon, I ran into a friend just coming back from that event, who said she enjoyed it very much, especially the food, and she was only coming back early because it was just too cold outside. And so just for fun, since the event was going on for another hour and a half, I decided to check it out. That turned out to be a bit of a problem, since the main walkway from my building, located across the street from DU, to the Campus Green, where the event was being held, was closed off due to a men's soccer match, and you needed a ticket to enter the area. That necessitated a detour around the soccer, lacrosse, and practice fields, which is usually not a big thing, but a cold drizzle was starting to fall, which made me kind of grumpy. When I got to the entrance to the Homecoming Pregame Party, as seen in the photograph above, I was not impressed. A number of tents were set up around the green, where I assumed everyone was taking shelter from the rain. I could just imagine having bought a $20 ticket to this event and then spending the entire time standing in a dark tent, drinking a cold beer in even colder temperatures, and staring out at the rain coming down. That would have made me even grumpier, which actually would have been appropriate - it would have reminded me of my days at the University of Denver, when I was working at the DU Bookstore and going to graduate school at the same time. Back then I was a very grumpy person indeed. So much for nostalgia. No wonder I never want to mix with my fellow alums.

Garden And Gun Magazine

I dropped off my car at an autobody shop here in Denver a few weeks ago to have the bumper replaced, and while waiting for the service person, spotted Garden and Gun Magazine on a table in the waiting room. And I thought to myself, "Oh sure, some damn redneck publication glorifying guns and the Second Amendment." I did not have time to look at it, but when I returned to pick up the car, I was able to go through a couple of issues and saw that my original impression was quite wrong. This magazine was started in 2007 by the Evening Post Publishing Company, located in Charleston, South Carolina, and the name comes from a popular 1970s era Charleston disco called the Garden and Gun Club. Garden and Gun is actually all about the South, and covers "art, skeet-shooting, gardens, Southern tradition, and land conservation." I looked through several older issues with articles such as "A Quail Hunting Revival in 'Bama," "Get Lost on Georgia's Ossabow Island," "Our Favorite Antiquing Towns," and "New Twists on the Old-Fashioned." In other words, kind of like a Southern version of Chicago Magazine. And on November 1st, the second annual edition of G and C Weddings: Celebrate in Southern Style, comes out. I do have to note that the title of this special edition is G and C Weddings, not Garden and Gun Weddings, which to me would imply it was about another Southern tradition, the shotgun wedding. Now THAT would be a very interesting issue.

Walking The DU Campus With Stuart

My friend Stuart and I had lunch at QDOBA Mexican Eats here in Denver yesterday afternoon and afterwards, just for old times' sake, decided to walk the University of Denver campus. Stuart got a master's degree at DU back in the early 1980s, and I myself got an MBA while working as the Finance Manager of the University of Denver Bookstore. DU was $30 million under budget last year and this year had to reduce staff and cut expenses in order to achieve a balanced fiscal 2027 budget. Nevertheless, the campus itself still looks really good. This is Homecoming Week at DU, and Stuart and I were originally planning to attend the Homecoming Pregame Party this Saturday. I attended this event a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. At that time, you could hang out at the party with the option of buying food and drink tickets if you so chose, but this year I read that you have to purchase a $20 ticket to gain entrance to the event, and so we decided to skip it. Having to pay $20 to be able to mix with fellow alums does not sound like a bargain to me. But no matter - it was still fun just to walk around the campus. Stuart was very impressed with the new buildings, especially the student center, which has great views of the campus and the mountains from the 4th floor rooftop deck. And yes, that is indeed Stuart in the photograph above, with University Hall, built in 1892 and the first building to be built on this campus, in the background. I suggested to Stuart that he make a donation to his old alma mater to help it through its financial difficulties, but he did not seem enthusiastic about it. As for me, I worked at the DU Bookstore for almost 30 years and feel I have already donated enough.

The Oriental Theater: Still Weird After All These Years

I took the photograph above of the Oriental Theater this past Saturday while attending the Tennyson Fall Fest. The festival took place on Tennyson Street in Denver's Berkley neighborhood, and since the Oriental was only half a block away, I decided to check it out. This theater opened in 1927 as a movie theater but closed in 1960. After standing empty for 45 years, it was purchased by Scott Labarbera, who turned it into a live music venue in 2005. It closed for renovations for a period of time after part of the structure almost fell on concert goers, which is almost always a negative, but reopened in 2012, which was the year I went to the theater for the first and only time to see a documentary called Grandma Goth. This documentary was about Suelynn Gustafson, the owner of an antique and costume store on South Broadway here in Denver called Flossy McGrew's, which she decorated with several coffins, skeletons, and skulls. Suelynn was an acquaintance of my friend Valarie, who was the Operations Manager of the University of Denver Bookstore when I worked there and invited me to attend. As I recall, there was a bit of a controversy that night because Gustafson did not attend. Valarie was not pleased. And the documentary? Definitely kind of weird. And as I looked at the Oriental's marquee this past Saturday, I saw that Lords of Acid are appearing there tonight. I looked up Lords of Acid on Wikipedia, which says that "the band is known for their provocative lyrics, blending techno, acid house, and industrial music with themes of sexuality, drug use, and hedonism." Glad to know the Oriental is still as weird as ever. And as a public service, I checked online and found that the doors open at 6:30 P.M., the show starts at 7:30, and YES! -  tickets are still available. And it is an "All Ages" event, so bring the kids! Like I said - weird.

Gaia Masala and Burger

My friend Mark, sister Susan (seen in the photograph above) and I went to Gaia Masala and Burger Saturday night at 6th and Grant Street in central Denver. This is an Indian restaurant which also offers American style burgers, and has 9 locations across the U.S., from New York to San Francisco. The parking lot was packed with cars, and we were lucky to get a spot by the Wendy' s located in the same shopping center. The restaurant was filled with a very diverse group of dinners when we arrived - people of Indian descent, families with children, older couples, bikers with their helmets still on, and us, too. Mark loves Indian food, and no surprise, that is what he ordered. Susan and I both had hamburgers (obviously, we are not adventurous eaters), but I must say, those hamburgers were very good indeed. They even had IPA on tap, so what could be better? I can definitely recommend giving this place a try, and Mark says it is one of his favorite Indian restaurants. So there you go - what more reason do you need?

Why Did The Elk Cross The Road?

You already know the answer to that question, but I do have to say that elk sightings around Evergreen, Colorado are still pretty minimal right now. I was lucky enough to take the photograph above of those two elk yesterday afternoon as I was driving on Upper Bear Creek Road, an unincorporated area just to the west of Evergreen. The elk in this area spend the summer in the high alpine and subalpine regions of Mount Blue Sky (formerly Mount Evans) and then move downhill toward Evergreen as the snow arrives, usually once it reaches a depth of about 18 inches. They seek out south-facing slopes and valley bottoms where the snow is shallower and where grass and shrubs are accessible. Since the snow totals are about 15 inches at the top of Mount Blue Sky right now, the herds should be appearing in and around Evergreen any week now. I have photographed these herds occupying large swaths of the Evergreen Golf Course, and in the vacant lots and front yards of houses along Meadow Drive, just across from the Hiwan Heritage Park and Museum. It is fun to see them in such large groups, lounging on the grass and calmly looking back at you as you take their photographs. I definitely intend to head back to Evergreen this winter to see them, as long as the weather is clear and you won't find yourself in a sudden snowstorm. These days, if you get stuck on Interstate 70 without chains or proper tires, the fines start at $600. That is far too high a price to pay to take elk photos, no matter how many there are in those herds.