2026 Fathers' Day Camping at Turquois Lake

This past Sunday was Father's Day, and my wife and kids took me camping.

For quite awhile, our family tradition has been to go camping on Father's Day weekend.

On this blog, you can go all the way back to 2011 Father's Day Weekend to see photos of us camping.

Back then, the kids were pretty small. They are not small anymore. In fact, this year all four of us were drinking alcohol beverages around the camp fire.

I'm not sure how much longer this tradition will continue, but I was lucky enough to have it go at least this year.

This year, like a couple of previous years, we camped just West of Leadville close to Turquois Lake.

Paint Mines: Mini - Bad Lands

So, this past Memorial Day Weekend, my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) and I had a weekend away.

On the way down to where we were staying for the weekend, she wanted to check out the Paint Mines Interpretive Park, which I had actually never heard of.

"The Paint Mines Interpretive Park is one of El Paso County’s most unique open spaces. The Paint Mines are named for their colorful clays that were collected by American Indians to make paint. Brightly colored bands, caused by oxidized iron compounds, are found in varying amounts throughout the many different layers of clay."

This park's rock formation remind me quite a lot of the South Dakota Bad Lands, which we visited with the kids back in 2013 and then again in 2015.

V is for Living the Dream Brewing Company

Last Saturday, I was viciously attacked by an animal. 

Not a dog. Not some wild animal. Not a hungry or threatened reptile. Not a stinging or biting insect. Not an aggressive rodent.

I was attacked by a HOUSE CAT!

In a freaking brewery!

Depending on the individual city / local ordinances, many of the Denver-area breweries advertise that they are "dog friendly" ... ie ... as long as your dog is well-behaved, you can bring your dog.

I've never seen a brewery communicate in any way that pet cats are welcome.

 But ... when we packed up a lunch, went on a short hike, and visited ...

V is for LiVing the Dream Brewing Company

 

🍺 Johnny McClure Rainier Lager

“Born in the woods. Refined in Gorst. Brewed by gnomes.”

Style: 'Merican Light Lager
Brewer: SheppyBrew
ABV: 4.9%
IBU: 16
SRM: 3.4

Appearance

Pours a pale straw gold with brilliant clarity and a tight, snowy white head. Effervescent bubbles race upward like a mountain stream, forming a persistent cap that laces the glass with each sip.

Aroma

Clean and subtle with hints of grainy malt, a whisper of corn sweetness, and a gentle floral lift from classic American hops. There’s a faint herbal edge that nods to the evergreens of the Pacific Northwest.

2025 Fathers' Day Photos (Part 2)

A couple days ago I posted 2025 Fathers' Day Photos (Part 1), and I have more photos from that trip.

After the hike on Part 1, we decided that it was too early to go back to the campground, so we decided to drive up Trail Ridge Road, which is the main road running through the park 48 miles from Estes Park to Grand Lake.

 

2025 Fathers' Day Photos (Part 1)

Fathers' Day was this past weekend.

We hardly go camping anymore. I actually suspect that I'm the only one who actually likes camping and the rest of the family only tolerates it to make me happy.

So, over the past few years, we pretty much only go camping on Fathers' Day weekend.

Oh well. At least I get to go once a year, and at least my family loves me enough to make me happy.

And ... this past weekend, we went up to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) for the weekend, and camped in the Aspenglen Campground.

Here are some photos of our trip .... (and I'm planning on posting more in a couple of days)

 

SheppyBrew Brewery's Beers Now Officially Declared Health Drinks!

LITTLETON, CO – April 1, 2024:

In a groundbreaking revelation that's sure to delight beer enthusiasts and health gurus alike, SheppyBrew Brewery is proud to announce that our beers are now officially classified as "health drinks"! 

This momentous news follows extensive research confirming the undeniable benefits of enjoying a SheppyBrew pint.

 

Snowshoeing and Pulled Pork Green Chili

It has been quite awhile since I've been Snowshoeing.

I've even had "new" snowshoes since March of 2021 after my original pair fell apart. I've only put these new ones on once in snow and ended up taking them off almost immediately because it didn't seem like there was enough snow to make the snowshoes worth wearing.

This past week, we got a big snow storm on Friday.

This prompted my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) to say she wanted to go snowshoeing Saturday.

Not knowing how long we'd be out, I decided to prepare some Pulled Pork Green Chili in the Crock Pot.

U is for GUanella Pass Brewery

Here we are ... already up to "U" on round 5 of the A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts.

As I mentioned in T is for Tilray Beer Brands, Littleton, I had no idea what we'll do for a "U" brewery. U was tough for rounds 1 - 4. 

I've used U is for Ursula Brewery (which doesn't exist anymore), U is for oUter Range Brewing Company (which isn't in the Denver area), U is for Upslope Brewing Company (which isn't in the Denver area), and U is for BlUe SprUce Brewing Company.

I was really struggling to see anything for this round.

Luckily my intelligent (and beautiful) wife (aka, the SheppyBrew Beer Model) came up with a genius idea ...

U is for GUanella Pass Brewery

S is for Seedstock Brewing Company

Remember when in A to Z Denver Breweries Round 4, I wasn't sure if there would be a "Round 5"?

Shortly after that, I posted A is for AC Golden Tank Room to begin our Round 5.

That was about a year ago as I type this post.

Well ... obviously we have been actively continuing our A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts, and as you know if you follow along on this blog, just a couple of weeks ago, we checked "R" off the list with R is for Reverence Brewing Company.

Obviously, this means the letter "S" was up next and this past weekend we hit the S brewery ...

Big S. Little S. What begins with S?

S is for Seedstock Brewing Company

H is for Left Hand RiNo Drinks & Eats

As you know if you've been following along on the A to Z Breweries Series of Posts, we're a few breweries into round 5.

If you're not familiar, several years ago, I was a little ashamed at number of Denver breweries I had been to at the time.

Looking at a list of brewery names, it struck me that I could start at the letter A and hit just about every letter of the alphabet.

So, I started the A to Z Breweries Series of Posts with A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company way back in 2015.

Since then, I've been through the alphabet 4 times, and the Beer Model and I have started round 5 of the project. 

In fact, we are up to "H" now. And ... what did we decide as an "H" brewery?

H is for Left Hand RiNo Drinks & Eats

Double Pork Butt

So ... remember in Double Chuck Roast, I doubled up on Chuck Roasts to feel family visiting for my younger son's graduation from high school.

Well, this past weekend, we had more family visiting, again mostly to celebrate my son.

This group was even bigger.

This time, I decided to go with a couple of 9ish pound pork butts so I'd have plenty of meat for the big group of family we have visiting.

Early Saturday morning ... around 3am ... I got the kettle ready and the pork on the fire by 3:30 ish.

I let the pork shoulder smoke for around 6 hours. 

2023 Fathers' Day Weekend Pictures

The past few Fathers' Days, I've posted photos of camping trips my wife and kids have taken me on.

I love camping, and my family knows this so Fathers' Days are pretty much the only guaranteed times that I actually get to go camping.

This past Fathers' Day, my family took me to Cow Creek South Campground by Green Mountain Reservoir just north of Silverthorn, Colorado.

It's been real rainy here in Colorado for several weeks and this weekend was no exception.

We got quite a bit of rain, but it was still a great trip. I'd rather be camping in the rain than sitting on my couch at home any day.

T is for Tommyknocker Brewery

Well ... as I'm sure you know if you've been following along on the A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts, we've made our way all the way through "S" in our 4th round.

We posted S is for 6 and 40 Brewery just a couple weeks ago.

If you're at all familiar with our concept ... it doesn't take much intellectual ability to figure out that next we need a "T" brewery.

There are tons of "T" breweries on the Colorado Brewery Map & List.

However, after filtering out breweries the start with "The", breweries that are too far away from our house, and breweries we've already blogged about in the A to Z Denver Breweries list ... there is really only one good choice....

T is for Tommyknocker Brewery

2022 Fathers' Day Camping at Turquois Lake Part 2

As I mentioned in 2022 Fathers' Day Camping at Turquois Lake Part 1, my family took me camping at Turquois Lake, which is just West of Leadville, Colorado for Fathers Day weekend.

I promised more pictures. Here there are.

Part 1 was pretty much all kayaking and SUP pictures. 

This post will have more camping and hiking pictures.

2022 Fathers' Day Camping at Turquois Lake Part 1

The past few Fathers' Days, I've posted photos of camping trips my wife and kids have taken me on.

I love camping, and my family knows this so Fathers' Days are pretty consistently times that I actually get to go camping.

Last year, in fact, the only camping trip I went on was Fathers' Day weekend. (see Fathers' Day 2021 in RMNP (Part 1) and Fathers' Day 2021 in RMNP (Part 2).

This past weekend was Fathers' Day 2022, and my family took me camping at Turquois Lake, which is just West of Leadville, Colorado.

It just happens to be the same place we went for Father's Day Weekend 2020Father's Day Weekend 2020.

It is a nice camping area and has the lake where we can Kayak and SUP, which is a lot of fun.

Manitou Incline

On May 19, 2022, Alexa told me that the temperature out side my home was 89 degrees.

Today is the 20th and I'm watching it snow. The high temperature was 39.

50 degree drop overnight. Awesome. 

We are going to get a significant amount of snow. One of the things I love about living in Colorado is these late spring snow storms ... but still ... this is crazy.

Anyway ... today I climbed the Manitou Incline.

The Manitou Incline is a popular but strenuous hike up 2744 steps over around .87 miles and climbing over 2000 vertical feet. The average grade is over 45% and the maximum is 68%.

It is a difficult hike.

V is for Vision Quest Brewing Company

Believe it or not ... we're getting really close to the end of the third round of our A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts.

About a month ago, we ventured out of the Denver area into Boulder for U is for Upslope Brewing Company.

This, of course, means that we needed a "V" brewery.

For round 1 ... we used V is for Vine Street Pub and Brewery.

In round 2 ... we just happed to have a trip planned to Vail at the right time and were able to use V is for Vail Brewing Company.

Believe it or not, if we're willing to travel a bit, there a few more "V" breweries we can use for this round, and any future rounds we might do.

This past Saturday, we decided to take a trip to the closest of these options in Boulder.

V is for Vision Quest Brewing Company

U is for Upslope Brewing Company

If you follow this blog, you know that a couple weeks ago, I posted T is for Tivoli Brewing Company.

If you're familiar with the A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts, you know that next up was a "U" brewery.

According to the Colorado Brewery List, there is one brewery in the Denver area that starts with the letter "U", and I used that one in Round 1 way back in January of 2017 ... 

U is for Ursula Brewery.

I had to get a little creative in Round 2 with U is for oUter Range Brewing Company. Not only does "Outer Range" not start with a "U", but it is not really in the Denver area.

So ... for this round of the A to Z project, I had to expand my criteria a bit. As it turns out, Boulder, Colorado has a few breweries that start with the letter "U" including ...

U is for Upslope Brewing Company

I is for Iron Mule Brewery

If you're following along on this round of the A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts, you know that we recently checked "H" off the list.

H is for Holidaily Brewing Company

If you're familiar with the English alphabet, you realize that next up is "I".

The first time through the list, we did I is for IronWorks Brewery and Pub. At the time, it was the only "I" brewery I could find in the Denver area.

By the time we got to round 2, Iron Works had closed, but another "I" brewery had popped up, and we did I is for [The] Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project.

Again, there was only one "I" brewery in the Denver area.

Sometime between the time that Intrepid Sojourner disappeared and now ... still another "I" brewery popped up for us to go to.

I is for Iron Mule Brewery