Red Rocks

Well, if you voted in the last 10 years all of your data is out there.  Seems the ultra Conservative Deep Root Analytics founded by Karl Rove and funded by the Koch Bros leaked 161 million names, address, voting records and all sorts of personal information to the masses.  OOPS!

BUT BUT - what about Clinton's emails!!!

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So I might have mentioned once or thrice that we had head cold's as we left for Colorado.  Once we got up to the 9500 feet area our heads were about to explode AND our noses were running which I find impossible but there it was.

Yes - we drank a ton of water and know all about that and had no problems last year. But the head cold on top of all the altitude and it was a tough and messy first few days.   However - I had an idea.  I looked it up on some websites about cannabis and sinus situations and there were a lot of positive  posts so why not have a new experience and check out a cannabis shop in Denver.

First of all I have no idea how you would get around Denver without GPS, the city of tine small

streets.  We found the #1 place in Denver (according to Leafly.com) and entered the house turned business.  Their is a waiting room with a glass window like a bank teller or better yet a motel in the bad part of Cleveland after watching in Indian game on a baseball stadium vacation a few decades ago . . . . . .  yea yea when Chris and I asked on the room rate they said "all night?  . . .the place was pretty active all night it seemed, very popular.

ANYWAY - we give them our IDs and they seem to check out so we are allowed into the living room size place where there are 30 or 40 glass jars with different cannabis strains and 4 hippie woman who I would totally date 50 years ago there to wait on us.  There are two rooms actually. One for recreational and one for medical cannabis.

They give us a quick tour and we are asking questions and smelling massive jars full of buds.

Most cannabis has a THC of 15 to 25% and a CBD of 1%.  CBD is what is measured for pain relief and THC is that part that gets you high.   DJs brother's doctor told him their was no fix for his back pain (injury) so he will just have to deal with it the rest of his life.  We asked about cannabis for that and they had a strain with 6% THC and 6% CBD that is used for chronic back pain and migraines.  We will tell his about this as they are thinking of moving to Colorado (he is a head hunter for massive size corporations).

Interestingly Colorado has had a huge huge drop in opioid addictions cases and a huge huge drop in pain pill prescriptions.  As a coincidence big pharmaceuticals have spend 100 million on an anti cannabis campaign . . . .weird.        

The shop was very very strict on laws and the budtenders explained everything including it is against the law to take cannabis over state lines.  You buy it in CO you smoke it in CO.  For out of state people the total tax is about 26% and there is actually a senior discount.

Where is that money going?

The new Colorado budget is putting 15 million into "permanent supportive housing and rapid re-housing assistance for individuals with behavioral health needs, and for individuals experiencing or at-risk of homelessness". Another $7.1 million will go toward “ending the use of jails for holding people who are experiencing a mental health crisis” by increasing access to “more appropriate services outside the criminal justice system.”

The rest goes toward schools, roads, infrastructure and all towns will get some cash to do with whatever they want. 5.6 million is going towards law enforcement grants to fight gray and black market marijuana sales. 9.7 million is for putting school nurses in ALL schools (unlike Wisconsin which is embarrassing).  

So we purchased a small amount and they put the small buds in little pill-like jars (they were really cool) and a little black bag and we walked out onto the street feeling  . . weird.

We get to the car and giggle a little and there is a car wash right there.  The car is full of bugs so for $10 we get a hand wash which is amazing.  Can't get that in Wisconsin from what I have seen.

With that surreal adventure over we drive to the Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Amazing place and is now on our bucket list for a concert.  I did not know this was SUCH a big deal place.

The first official concert was in 1906 when a world class opera vocalist performed.  The Greatfull Dead performed here 51 times.  Capacity is 9300 and has near perfect acoustics with

Cathedral Rock on the left (looking at the Stage)

And Ship Rock(?) on the left - no photos, have to wait until next year.

Rock bands were banded for 5 years after a Jethro Tull concert in 1971.  1000 people did not have tickets so they were told to go to a certain area to listen to the concert behind the hill. Well, things got out of hand on both sides and tear gas was floating onto the stage and a riot broke out.

That is the only blemish so far.  You name any national or international band and they have played there.  Awesome venue.

We had lunch and then drove back to Winter Park a mile higher then Denver.  Tried our purchase and yup!  it really did help the sinus problem.  Not 100% but good enough.

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Here is a photo of Gus. Now 6 weeks old and coming home on the 29th.

Nuff said for today.

Rod