Toys!

(karen)
Neither of us has worked since last December so we should really refrain from making any unnecessary purchases. For the most part we have been well behaved. But then to alleviate boredom this afternoon we decided to stroll around REI's flagship store in Denver! I know y'all are shaking your heads and saying, "Fergs! Don't you know you can never go into REI without dropping a load of cash?" Yes, I confess it's true. But if you've never been to the Denver REI it is a treat. It occupies a historic 1901 tramway building, which has towering brick walls and exposed wood beams. Among the many "rides" in this Disneyland-of-outdoor-stores is a mountainous 45' climbing wall, a cold chamber to test winter gear, an indoor stream to play with water filters, a rocky course around the outside for testing mountain bikes, and to top it off, it sits on the banks of the Platte River so you can take a kayak to the water for a quick run! It's an awesome store.



When we walked into the store this afternoon we immediately spotted the glittering wall of snowshoes. Never mind that it's 70 degrees outside, gimme gimme! After talking to the salesman we decided on a pair that had been last year's darling, but was now heavily discounted in favor of the new models. Out we walked with his'n'hers Atlas snow shoes, into the heat of the day, leaving us to pine wistfully for traces of an Arctic blast on the horizon. I guess we'll have to buy some mountain bikes to tide us over until the snowy weather cometh, eh?