Seeing Through Outdoor Eyes

“Savor Estes Park” made the billboard coming into town…cool! Thursdays in March have been so much fun with “Savor” going on! Every person you meet has a different story to tell. It’s great to bump into friends on the street or in a restaurant and chat about what all of the other restaurants are serving. Each week it’s something different.  And each week the “buzz” around town gets better. As one of our friends (who is a business owner!!) said, “I love March!”

Congratulations to all of the restaurants and dessert places! You have made it so much fun for people to come into town and savor all of your house specialties with a drink for only $3.00. It’s easy for people to try 2-3-4 different restaurants in an evening….or even more! You can see groups of people all milling around town trying to decide where to go to eat. One group of visitors in their 20s from Denver could only make 2 of the Thursdays in March so they were trying to go to 12 restaurants each week. They were having a ball!

You still have TWO more weeks to go to “Savor Estes Park!” Try any of the 24 participating restaurants and you won’t be disappointed! And don’t forget to stop at one of the dessert places for some delicious delicacies! You don’t want to miss out on “Savor Estes Park” this March, so mark your calendars:  Thursdays (March 18th and 25th) from 4:30-7:30! 24 restaurants! Cut out the map and plan your strategy! Bring your friends! You’re sure to have a blast!

Visit www.enjoyestespark.com for more information.

Phil and I went out birding yesterday…around Lake Estes and then over to Fish Creek Trail. Someone had told us that the bluebirds were back and we hadn’t see one yet. We saw a few ducks in Lake Estes but nothing flying around. When we got to Fish Creek, there wasn’t anything  there either. As we were walking along the trail, we both heard a new “bird sound.”  We looked at each other like “What was that?” and turned around to see what kind of bird it was that was flying so close. This lady came whizzing by on her bike…it was the horn on her bike that made the weird bird sound. We just started laughing. We thought we’d heard a bird that we’d never seen before! Guess we did…ha! ha! The joke was on us!.

The second week of Savor Estes Park was another huge success. Phil and I went into town at 4:00 to hand out some Savor maps to people on the streets…and they already had them! Many had come up from the Front Range and even Denver to participate in Savor. What fun! Pura Vida put out on a nice spread this year…last night was chicken with rice, refried black beans, chips and a drink. It was delicious! Here is a picture of the owner, Carlos, very proud of his Costa Rican restaurant and delicious food. We headed over to Chelito’s to see how they were doing (this is their first year) and met up with 3 people who had just moved to Fort Collins from San Diego and Seattle. They had just come up for the day. We explained Savor to them and they were hooked. We ended up sitting with them at Chelito’s. Boy, was Chelito’s surprised when the line was 25 long out the door at 5:15! Everyone was seated within 10-15 minutes.

After that, they wanted to go to Chicago’s Best because they had heard on the streets that they had great pizza. But…we just had to bring them to DeLeo’s Deli to meet Tom. They walked in the door and Tom was “Tom” (humor and all…) and they were hooked again. They stayed for Savor there (Veggie Bruschi, soup, salad, dessert and a drink!) and then headed over to Chicaco’s Best. They were having a ball! And yes!…they will definitely be back up next Thursday to try some more new restaurants participating in Savor Estes Park!

If you haven’t been yet, you still have 2 weeks left to go to “Savor Estes Park.” We have 24 participating restaurants serving delicious food and a drink for only $3.00 from 4:30-7:30 on Thursdays in March! Come in to town….you won’t be disappointed!! And many of the restaurants change their menus each week, so each week is a new surprise!

When I walk home from town, I usually make a few detours on the way. I love the walk up Old Man Mountain Road and then on to Fall River Lane. It is so pretty and it feels like you are in the woods. Lately when I pass this certain house, there are about 15 wild turkeys milling about. They are eating and strutting all over the place. A couple of years ago, they would hang out near our house so we are familiar with them. They intriguing part is that there is one “blonde” turkey and all the rest are dark. I was able to get a picture of the blonde one and 2 others as they ran up the hill when they saw me coming. He’s very interesting, don’t you think?