June 2023 - Page 2 of 2 - DEW Consulting

June 10, 2023June 11, 2023

Fun And Games

You might think that when it comes to recreational hiking, it’s all fun and games. Well, I am here to attest: It’s not. Today Roxborough Park held their semi-annual Community Trails Work Day. And let me tell you, folks: After a day spent building and refurbishing just a few of the 13 miles of spectacular trails in this community, I have been reduced to a quivering mass of grape jelly on a slab of burnt toast. (Yes, this is the very definition of “purple prose.” Not to put too fine a point on it. So sue me.) Suffice it to say, this is a young man’s game. And me? Well, I’m no longer a spring chicken.

Don’t get me wrong. It was a beautiful day out there under a beautiful Colorado sky. The temperature was just about perfect – in the high 60’s, and low humidity of course. This is Colorado after all. No storms rolling in like last week when the Work Day had to be rescheduled. About 20 volunteers showed up. That was a pretty good turnout. And with all the rain and subsequent erosion we’ve been having this year, our work was sorely needed. Here in these parts it’s been one of the wettest springs on record. And the trails have suffered.

Fun and games - not me.

ME, left. NOT ME, right. Both of us carry a McLeod. That works great for trail building. It works less great for fire fighting. Where is your Pulaski when you need it most?

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The inside scoop on the McLeod versus the Pulaski can be found here and here. Bottom line, you better not have to carry your McLeod too far into the back country, at least not if you know what’s good for you. It’s heavy! But for gentlemanly trail maintenance in a suburban setting, it works just fine.

Now all I need to do is to rest up for 6 months before the next semi-annual round of trail maintenance fun and games. Well, that and I need to sharpen the blade of my McLeod. Should be a piece of cake. Even for an old geezer like me.

June 8, 2023June 8, 2023

Trust Issues

The Oregon coast has many such signs, though not all of them are like this one pairing “Evacuation route” with “Dead end,” thus feeding our trust issues…. But still, ya just gotta love it.

Trust issues

This one is from Ecola State Park at Cannon Beach. I like it because of the term “Sneaker waves.” Not sure if they wear Converse or Sketchers. But just the thought appeals to my inner sense of snark. Tsunami history post is here.

No trust issues, but... Sneaker waves!

Trust issues or not, as if anybody needed a reminder: “Stay off logs!”

Last but not least: Because, scenic beauty.

This formation is known as “Haystack Rock,” for obvious reason.

June 6, 2023June 6, 2023

Hanlon’s Razor

In philosophy, a ‘razor‘ is that which shaves off the unnecessary. Thus the familiar “Occam’s razor,” named for the 14th-century English philosopher and theologian William of Occam, in its most popular formulation implies that “the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.” Today on Instagram (courtesy of cheerful_nihilism) I came across a new variant on this age-old theme in the form of “Hanlon’s razor.” It posits the following: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” Amen, brother Hanlon. And again I say, “Amen.” Though of course, as William of Occam might say: “That’s one too many Amens.”

June 5, 2023June 5, 2023

Restaurant Review

I am usually loathe to give a restaurant review here in these pages, and not only because 99% of my readership lives nowhere near the West Colfax location of Casa Bonita in Lakewood.

Fact is, I have never eaten there, though the garage that did the engine rebuild on my 23 year old Chrysler is situated in an alley just a block or so away from where Casa Bonita sits in a strip mall. Fact also is that if I want down home Mexican, I’m much more likely to visit Los Dos Potrillos, which is much closer to home. And for more upscale Mexican, nothing beats Palenque Cocina y Agaveria in downtown Littleton. But still, for South Park kitsch – and cliff divers with six-pack abs – you could do worse than Casa Bonita. Much worse. And, of course, there’s always the complimentary sopapillas. Intrigued? DP review is here. Excerpt is below.

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Like many people, Dana Rodriguez stayed away from the Tex-Mex platters when she used to go to Casa Bonita, filling up on margaritas and sopapillas instead. “The food was really secondary,” she said about her visits to the famed Lakewood restaurant and entertainment venue. “We either ate before or after.” But after new owners and “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker hired Rodriguez, a four-time James Beard-nominated Denver chef, to revamp the menu and run the kitchen, she is ready to change Casa Bonita’s notorious reputation for inedible cuisine. To do that, she jettisoned the inventory of canned food, deep-cleaned and overhauled the kitchen, and designed dishes that are actually worth the price of admission. “The Health Department loves us now,” she said.

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Always good to have the Health Department as a #1 fan. Deep-cleaning the kitchen is also good. But best of all, at least in terms of a restaurant review, is when diners don’t elect to dine elsewhere before showing up for the show. All this and cliff divers wearing nothing but Speedos? Priceless.

June 2, 2023June 2, 2023

Gunslinger

So happy for my friend Scott Monserud. He retired as sports editor at the Denver Post yesterday. We played basketball together at the downtown Denver Y for over a decade. An Iowa State grad, Scott survived Stage 4 prostate cancer, later to hike across the U.K. with his family, crossing that item off his bucket list. Then, just for good measure, he married his sweetheart Dorothea at the Broadmoor during the pandemic.

Our mutual friend John Caldwell, for whose father the downtown Denver public library is named, gave Scotty the nickname “Gunslinger.” I’m not sure if that was because of his very flat jump shot – usually launched quickly from just behind his right ear with no more than a 3″ elevation off the floor – or because of his laconic Gary Cooper demeanor. But whatever the reason, the moniker stuck – at least among the group of guys who for many years frequented the Y on weekdays for pickup games at noon.

Gunslinger

Personal news: I guess I’m officially retired. The Denver Post gave me a wonderful sendoff, including this page which features the world’s largest mug shot. I’m happy with my decision and have been very blessed in my career. I’ve been able to live out my dreams and work with incredibly talented, smart journalists: 44 years at newspapers, with the last 22 at The Denver Post, the last 17 as sports editor. It’s been a great run with so much luck being able to work at places such as The Post.

Happy Trails in retirement, Gunslinger.

Hope to see you soon in Castlewood Canyon.

And go, Cyclones!