Thursday July 12th was my birthday. Don't ask which one because I stopped counting 10 years ago. Well if you really want to know you will have to read on.

My friend Steve, from when we both lived in Meridian, Idaho, invited me to go over to Golden Colorado for some free beer samples at the Coors Brewery then for a burger and brews.

Steve and I drove over toward Golden but stopped first at the Red Rocks Amphitheater. The Red Rocks Amphitheater is located at the base of the Foothills inside Red Rocks Park, the amphitheater is sandwiched by two large sand stones reaching 300 feet high, which provides natural acoustics from the stage to the highest seats in the amphitheater.

It is a very pleasant walk up to the amphitheater then from the stage level up to the upper level. If you plan to go be sure and wear some comfortable walking shoes.

Steve went down on to the stage and started kidding around asking the people at the top level if they could hear and understand him. They just as understandably replied they could.

The Red Rocks Amphitheater area reminds me a lot of Sedona, Arizona except that the actual soil is not near as red at Red Rocks as it is in Sedona.

After leaving the Red Rocks Park we went into Golden and visited the Adolph Coors Co. Coors Brewery.  They have a very nice free tour of the facility which includes 3 free samples at the end of the tour. The tour is a guided one through the various phases of brewing beer to it's packaging. I don't remember all the statistics they quoted us but Coors brews over one million gallons a day at this 1,500 acre facility.

Of course the best part of the tour was the lounge. The lounge reminded me a lot of the Rathskeller Club (this is the name if my memory serves me correctly) at the Naval Hospital in Great Lakes, Ill. I was there a couple of times going to school on the Naval Training Center side of the base back in 1969 and 1972. But for some reason the Coors lounge reminds me of what the Rathskeller Club was like.

Even after all these years on planet earth I still continue to find new and unique experiences. For me it was a new beer.  I'm not a big beer drinker usually only 3 or 4 a month and usually not at the same time. Of course this hasn't always been true. In my youth I went through a bunch of the stuff. Anyway, at the Coors Lounge I tried their Blue Moon beer with a twist of orange and man I really like that. The next time I pick up some beer I will have to get some Blue Moon rather than Corona which is about the only thing I drink anymore with a twist of lime of course.

After the tour we went down into the main street of Golden (only two blocks from the Coors Brewery) and found that they were having a block party.  The whole center of town was roped off and street vendors, bands, and radio stations were setup.

While in the Coors Lounge we asked our tour guide where would be a good place to go to have a burger and a beer in an outside patio. She told us the Buffalo Rose on the corner of 12th and Washington Ave. First we went walking around down town a bit and stopped by Foss General Store which was having a going out of business sale. Steve said it was a store that had been in Golden forever and it was a big deal that they were going out of business.

Finally, we ended up at Buffalo Rose in their patio. It was drizzling a bit when we arrived but after getting a beer we finally got us a table with an umbrella. We had a few beers and a burger and was entertained by a small band.  All in all we had a great time.

I haven't done anything special for one of my birthdays in years. I must say I might would not mind celebrating them again if I can have as enjoyable day as I did for this one. My sixtieth birthday is not only a milestone it is memorable.

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