boulder, co

our first destination was boulder, co and it was great. we stayed with lydia and tony, my cousins technically i think. in any case, they showed us great hospitality. lydia made a thai meal of tom ka gai meal and we had an engaging conversation about education in the state and tony's non-profit's work in that area. friday was a day of exploration. we went all over urban boulder, looking in shops, drinking great coffee at the unseen bean cafe and beer at mountain sun brewery. in the afternoon we took a small hike at the base of boulder's famous flatiron mountains. these are spectacular and we found ourselves staring up at them for much of the afternoon.  the first picture below is from our hike. we also drove up the mountain to see boulder from above, the second picture below. friday evening we had dinner at mateo in downtown boulder, a generous wedding gift from tony and lydia. the food and ambiance were fantastic.

gettin' out of dodge

we made it to witchita, ks after leaving arkansas on wednesday.  thursday left the long slog through kansas in route to our first destination boulder, co.  there is not much in kansas.  the photo below is a good shot of what we saw for much of the way.  we took a more southerly route, also known as the santa fe trail, as opposed to the main artery i-70 to avoid some odd late season winter weather.  this route took us through dodge city and garden city. the official motto of dodge city is "get the heck into dodge" but we were pleased to move through it without stopping.  on the way into dodge, right before we snapped the second picture, a tumbleweed passed in front of our car.  no kidding.  the air in this part of kansas is thick with the stench feed lots and the intendent smell of death at the end of that process.  a beautiful sky in kansas all else aside.

Art in our backyard

After a whirlwind Timberlake wedding weekend and with final hugs, kisses, and godspeeds, Steve and I packed up Claude, our tired but trusted Hyundai Tucson, and struck out on our big adventure (albeit a half-day behind schedule). A few hours down I-40 later we made our first stop - Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Steve and I had read a lot about this museum and have seen our fair share living in D.C. and through our travels abroad. This one, buried behind a standard issue cul-de-sac in Northwest Arkansas suburbia, can compete with them all. The architecture and ambiance of the place rivals the Getty in Los Angeles, and the diversity of Alice Walton's collection was impressive. Our visit was well worth the side trip, even if it meant we had to plow through Oklahoman thunderstorms past midnight to stick to our driving schedule. We look forward to picnicking on the grounds on our next trip!