Whenever I travel, for whatever reason, I am always in awe that
there are people who live in totally different ways than me (shocker) even
within the U.S. This past week I accompanied my dad to Denver, Colorado, where
the shoe company would be part of a huge event called WESA- Western and English
Sales Association. The main reason I went along for the trip was because
my dad tore his rotator cuff falling off a ladder in a coal mine in Pennsylvania...typical.
But I would have taken any excuse just to travel and get paid
for it. At the event, hundreds of companies travel to Denver and rent
showrooms to display their boots, belts, turquoise and silver
jewelry, cowboy hats, jeans, and semen.....semen? Yes. The highest-grade,
finest, Bull semen- bought and sold to produce even more ideal cows for meat
production (among other things). I wasn't sure what to expect going out there,
but large quantities of bull semen didn't cross my mind. We flew out from
Boston on at 6:45am flight (meaning a limo came to our house at 4am...lord help
me) and made it to Denver four hours later. It was beautiful out- sunny and
clear, almost 60 degrees, so off came the well-worn cashmere sweater my dad had
given me. There wasn't any snow on the ground, which surprised me, and almost
everyone was wearing cowboy boots. We jumped in our rental car and drove
fifteen minutes into the heart of Denver, to the Hotel Monaco- another pet
friendly hotel like the one I stayed at in New York this summer! The Hotel was
funky and elegant with a touch of western- rustic wooden furniture with a huge
chandelier in the middle of the lobby and a crackling fireplace with plush
armchairs around it. After leaving our luggage with the bellhop, we drove out
to Morrison, where the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater is located- I could
only imagine how amazing seeing Dave Matthews Band (a regular performer there)
would be.
Morrison is a small town nestled beneath the mountains, its main street being less than a half-mile long and filled with little antique shops and a few aged diners. The people I met in the shops were so easygoing and warm, asking us about the huge ice storm we had a few years ago and the snow storms the northeast is known for. That night we went to dinner at the restaurant attached to the hotel, Panzano- an award winning Italian restaurant. The food was unbelievable- for an appetizer we got the Formaggio Bianco (house made cheese with fresh thyme and wildflower honey on a walnut wheat crostini) which was delicious. For my meal I got the Inverno Verdi, which was radicchio, frisee, Grana Padano, green apple, olive oil and balsamic, unbelievably delicious. The next day we got up early to go to a....stock show- The National Western Stock Show, $8 a ticket and as many goats, sheep, bulls, beef jerky, Coors Light, and Jim Beam the eye could see. We went so that my dad could get some pictures for the western brands the company makes- Double H Boots, Sonora, Corcoran, and Carolina. There were bulls weighing over 1000 lbs., awards for best sheep hair, and little girls strutting around in the most bedazzled, glamorous jeans, and dirty cowboy boots leading their prized goats around the pens. It smelled like poop, fried dough, and women with pungent perfumes- all in all not the best combination. It amazed me that this was their way of life- these little girls did their makeup, curled their hair, and put on their favorite outfits all to go to the stock show, it was crazy.
After leaving the show, we went to the
oldest restaurant in Denver- The Buckhorn Exchange. The walls were covered with
taxidermy animals- and by covered, I mean literally covered....there wasn't
space for anything else. I learned what Rocky Mountain Oysters were; I wasn't
thrilled and did not want to go near them. I ate Elk there, accidentally. It
was a very strange experience overall, but it was cool to see a part of history
in the city! That night we ended up in Larimer Square, a small street that
was reminiscent of Fanueil Hall in Boston. The city had draped white
lights above the street lamps so it had a magical, surreal feel- a very
beautiful effect. A man working in a hat-shop suggested we try Russell's
Smokehouse, a speakeasy tucked away under the guise of a pie shop- so cool. We
found the pie shop, opened the doors, and found ourselves in a dimly lit
restaurant with black and white floors and teal ceilings. The wait staff was
all wearing flannel shirts with denim aprons and a great mix of music played
over the speakers, adding to whole mysterious, hip, vintage vibe of the place.
Sadly, after our late lunch at the Buckhorn, we both only got salads. Mind you,
the salads were huge and I could eat Iceberg Wedge Salads every day,
but this smokehouse boasted delicious meats, so we decided to come back the
next night too.
The next day was the big WESA show. I
got dressed that morning thinking that the outfit I brought for that day was
professional and dressy enough for this show, an outfit that I would have
definitely worn to the showroom in NYC- but I was wrong. Not completely wrong,
I was dressed very well, but I lacked one thing that everyone else there was
wearing- cowboy boots. Alligator boots, snakeskin boots, ostrich boots,
beautifully crafted, unbelievable cowboy boots that everyone wearing a dress,
suit and tie, or slacks, had paired with their outfit- my high heels were not
cutting it. After I assisted my dad with the lighting during the runway show,
the rest of the day went by pretty slowly, because unlike the shows in New York
where we take pictures of shoes while buyers come in, these boots had already
been photographed, so it was simply a day for the buyers to come in and haggle
with the salespeople. It was very interesting hearing the buyer’s opinions on
the new boots and new women's line, Sonora. The buyers invited to the unveiling
of the line were very tight-lipped when the CEO turned to them after the runway
show and asked their opinion, but once he was one-on-one with them (away from
their competition) they opened right up and gushed about certain colors and
textures, and suggested different patterns and heel-heights for other styles. After
we finally left the show, starving, we headed back to Russell's Smokehouse for
some actual meat the second time around. For an appetizer, we got the Confit
Chicken Wings....fall off the bone chicken; the sauce was perfect, melt in your
mouth deliciousness.
< I dare you not to drool. And for my meal, I got Pulled Pork on a Brioche roll with sweet potato fries and goat cheese creamed spinach- delicious comfort food with amazing taste>
Denver was a very different city than
any other I've visited- and I wouldn't call myself a world traveler, but there
was a very different feel here than other cities. It's a combination of things-
eco-oriented, earthy, urban, western, fashionable, dirty, and modern.
Definitely somewhere I would want to visit again so that maybe this time I
could take advantage of the insane skiing...and maybe try Rocky Mountain
Oysters? (Not)
