I Saw A Mountain Lion! I Saw A Mountain Lion! Maybe.

I took today off because the sun was shining, business is slow and I just needed to get out of the valley.

As Wiley and I were heading to Denver, nearing the start of the incline up and over the pass that gets us out of the valley, the pick-up driver ahead of us hit his brakes. Just at that moment, from the corner of my eye I saw movement at the side of the road (I'm guessing he did, too).

I looked just in time to see an enormous tawny haunch disappearing into the trees. The leg was too thick to be that of a deer. I saw it just for a moment, but if it wasn't a mountain lion, than it had to be a tiger dressed as a mountain lion.

One thing I do know that we saw... bighorn sheep, grazing right on the shoulder of I-70 on the way home. It was amazing to see them so close, but I also worried that one of them would get itself killed so near the road. Wiley stared intently but didn't bark like he usually does. I'm guessing the horns freaked him out.

In other wildlife news, the bears are coming out of hibernation. No sightings yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

Anyway, we went to Denver for a couple reasons. First, I wanted to check out the site of the Denver Danskin Triathlon. Yes, I signed up for another one. Like I need more free water bottles.

I was a little apprehensive about it because I thought hmm, a tri in Denver? I imagined swimming across an icy glacial lake, biking up and down mountains and then running through bear and moose-infested woods. But the tri is actually on the southeast side of Denver, out in the nearly flat prairie lands. Whoo hoo!

Here's a shot of the reservoir I'll be swimming across and the blissfully mountain-free terrain I'll be biking and running over.

I also wanted to stop at the nearest Cost Plus World Market to buy my French Roast coffee in bulk, but most of all I wanted to experience H Mart. Ghostdog had told me about it... it's a Korean super grocery store with terrific produce and fish. I stocked up on baby bok choi and thick fresh noodles and fish balls (I'm a big fan. Really.), but I also tried a few new things, including tiny "indian eggplant" and these "indian bitter melons."

They're supposed to be a cure for diabetes (not a concern for me) and for "a failing appetite" (also not an issue!), but I'm just intrigued with the alien look of them. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, ogle the Zopfe I made (essentially, Swiss Challah) with whole wheat.