BrandonoBrien.com

Brandon O'Brien

Travel and Adventure Journal

I wanted a place to journal all my travels and adventures around the world. I always enjoy going back and reflecting on my past travels and getting to relive them through my words and photos.

You're reading posts I wrote in March 2014. Return home.

A long weekend in Denver

Monday, March 31, 2014 @ 8:56 AM in General Travel

I went up to Denver last weekend for Colt's (Ryan's son) first birthday party. The wind has been ridiculously strong the last few times I've driven up and back and this time was no exception. The last few times the dust has been so bad near Pueblo you could hardly see the road in front of you. Luckily this time the dust was pretty thin and didn't cause any delays.

The party went well. They rented their neighborhood clubhouse for the night and had about 40 people show up. I was really hoping to get new tires put on my motorcycle while I was up there but the bike shop didn't have the ones I needed in stock so I'll have them order some and get it taken care of in a few weeks. I'm really getting eager to ride since the weather has been pretty nice here in Albuquerque. I'd be scared to ride back home on the existing tires since they're at the end of their life and had been sitting unused in Ryan's storage unit while I was in Europe.

On Saturday we went to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge Park. The government used to do a bunch of weapons testing there back around WW2 but now it's converted into a giant wildlife park. Unfortunately we didn't see any animals aside from a few prairie dogs and some bison. It was still a little too dead there for there to be a bunch of animals around.

On the way back home yesterday I stopped and bought a bunch of beers in Denver that I can't find here in Albuquerque. They had four different kinds of Dogfish Head beer but I only got one four-pack since they cost around $17 each. Some friends and I are going to try all the beers this week or next.

Tags: beer, denver

Posted from: United States

Fixing my fence

Tuesday, March 25, 2014 @ 4:35 PM in Miscellaneous

The fence and gate that enclosed my backyard had been there since I moved into my condo back in June 2007. Constant exposure to the Albuquerque sun, wind and occasional rains really took their toll. The wood was warping, the knots were popping out, the discoloration was hideous and one of the pieces had snapped due to a big knot coming loose.

I decided it was time to replace it with something that looked nicer so I went to Lowes and bought some new wood and some stain/protectant. After several days of staining the wood, letting it dry and then staining again, it was finally looking good enough to put up.

Actually putting the new boards up wasn't really that hard. The gate part was really easy and I took the chance to upgrade the rope latch to a metal one. The rest of the fence was a little tougher since I had to contend with a giant rose bush full of thorns. I eventually got a tarp and put it over the bush so I could work without getting cut up.

Unfortunately I miscounted when I was figuring out how many boards I needed and was off by one. I had to use two of the original boards where it hits the wall since I didn't want to have to go get a board and spend another few days staining it.

All in all it looks much better. It's nice to finally be knocking projects off my list. Between that and getting my roof leak fixed it finally seems like there's an end in sight to the projects. Next up is fixing the damage to my kitchen ceiling caused by the aforementioned leaking roof.

Teaser photos:

Before - the original fence / gate
Before - the original fence / gate
During - the gate is complete
During - the gate is complete
After
After
From the inside
From the inside

View Entire Photo Gallery

Tags: fence, backyard

Posted from: United States

Spending a lot of time in the Albuquerque foothills

Spending a lot of time in the Albuquerque foothills

Monday, March 24, 2014 @ 4:30 PM in Miscellaneous

I got pretty used to writing daily travel journal updates while spending 6 months in Europe so I decided to update my website and add a non-travel blog. I probably won't be updating it every day like I was when I was in Europe, but I'll keep it updated with all the random stuff I do and trips I go on.

Since I've been back in Albuquerque I've been spending a lot of time running and hiking through the foothills in my backyard. I had almost forgot how nice it was to have such easy access to some really nice hiking, running and mountain biking trails just outside my back door.

I was out the other day and discovered a full mountain bike course full of ramps about a mile and a half from my place. I bought a commuter bike that will work well as a starter mountain bike too. I have some mountain bike tires that I'm going to put on it and take it out and see how the little mountain bike park is.

I'm attaching a photo gallery of random photos I've taken in the foothills over the last couple months. I was out trail running with Canyon a few weeks ago and saw a huge herd of deer. That was actually the first time I've seen them this close to town.

Teaser photos:

Albuquerque Foothills
Albuquerque Foothills
Albuquerque Foothills
Albuquerque Foothills
Albuquerque Foothills
Albuquerque Foothills
Canyon in the Foothills
Canyon in the Foothills

View Entire Photo Gallery

Tags: albuquerque, foothills, new mexico

Posted from: United States