Tom and I recently got away with the family over the long New Years weekend. Estes Park Colorado is within a short driving distance from our house/shop in Wyoming. We like to visit Estes Park in the winter because the summer crowds are gone and we can often get lower rates on places to stay. Since we are a family of five, it is nice to find a vacation condominium or house on rental websites.
We found this great downtown loft on homeaway.com. The owners live in Estes Park and were wonderful to work with. There was plenty of space for our family to spread out and relax.
This unit is a two bedroom unit with a t.v. room that can be used as a third bedroom. There is also a pull out couch in the living room that could sleep two. The kitchen, dining and living room area is open and spacious. There is a full washer and dryer located in a closet just off the kitchen. Another great thing about this condominium is that is has two full bathrooms. Each bathroom is outfitted with plenty of towels and a generous toiletries basket.  The condo also comes with free wi-fi.

It is a brand new loft right above a small art gallery and coffee shop at the beginning of the downtown shopping district of Estes Park. Eds Cantina, a good Mexican restaurant and bar right outside the front door. The downtown condo backs the Estes Park River Walk. The Big Thompson River runs directly behind the condo. I can imagine in the summer time the river noise would be very soothing. There is a long stairway up to the loft, so it would be difficult for handicap or older guests.

Our family loved the location. We were able to park the car and leave it there for almost the entire weekend. We did venture up the mountain to St Malo retreat center to see the beautiful stone church.  We also spent some time at the Estes Park Brewery where they bottle their own micro-brews.  The movie theater is within walking distance as is the local Safeway.

Since Estes Park is one of our favorite weekend getaways we travel there at least once a year.  Another must stop in the Estes Park area include Rocky Mountain National Park to see the wildlife and outstanding vistas.  When we visit without the kids we always make time to stop in at Nikky’s Resort to enjoy the great bar there.  They usually have a roaring fire and wonderful live music.  The dinners are hearty and outstanding.  The real reason to go to Nikky’s is the atmosphere though.  The old wooden covered porch is literally littered with old Chianit bottles of all sizes.  We aren’t really wine drinkers, but if you are… they invite you to order a bottle, polish it off, write your name on it, and then they will hang it from the ceiling.  The last time we were there we saw one marked “Clint Eastwood”… hummm.

Estes Park is a remarkable location to visit anytime of year.  The town and Rocky Mountain National Park tend to be more crowed in the summer months.  Sometimes if you go in the winter off season then the lodging rates will be lower.  Some of the downtown shops and restaurants only operate during the summer months, so be aware.

Check out our short “out of the shop” video with footage of the Estes Park condominium and the area.

The week between Christmas and New Year tends to be a little slow at Trade Tool Innovations. We usually take advantage of the time off and pop in and out of town as the weather allows.
This past Christmas day we were up in Boulder Colorado preparing for our Christmas dinner and I (Karen) came up with a tip that Tom acutally shared with me in our early days. I suppose when a man knows how to get all the soup out of a can, then it is definitely time to snag him up! Anyway, really, this tip DOES work! It works with any type of canned good that is packed into the can. Think soup and cranberries… stuff like that.
Since we were taking a break from the shop, I thought this might be a great “tip” to post.
No worries though, we’ll have plenty of sparks, smoke, welding, fabricating, fixing, metal bending and cutting, crazy (and not so crazy) shop projects in the new year!
Thanks to “Solar Dave”, http://www.solardave.com, my brother-in-law for his filming and editing expertise. And all his unpaid website consulting over the years… Krissy, you snagged a good one!
Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

We spent the weekend with family near Boulder Colorado. Any trip to the Boulder area really requires a visit to Pearl Street Mall.
Pearl Street Mall is a four block pedestrian mall with many locally owned shops and restaurants. The mall was dedicated in August of 1977 and has seen many transformations since then.
The one thing we noticed was the many and various types of outdoor railing used at outdoor cafe spots. Most of the railing was metal, which makes sense given the sometimes wet and snowy Colorado climate. Metal is simple to install and looks nice against wood, brick or stone. Metal is also a good investment as it requires little upkeep and lasts a long time.
Incorporating a railing around an outdoor eating area belonging to a restaurant is often part of city code. There are usually requirements concerning furnishings, awnings, foliage as well as railing. A restaurant can be sure that their outdoor eating area must be directly adjacent to the building as well as allow for several feet for pedestrian access.
After considering these necessary building codes, an establishment should be concerned with how the railing blends in with it’s existing architecture and what kind of first impression it will make to potential customers passing by.
We found several good examples of metal guardrail at the Pearl Street Mall. One we found utilized stone pillars that connected radius aluminum tubing that was most likely curved using a large roller. The metal pickets were either cast, liquid metal poured into a mold, or forged, heated to the point of malleability and then pounded into shape for texture and detail. This design had a pleasing curve that allowed for a spacious feel on the cafe side of the metal railing.

Another of our favorite metal guardrails was this green rail. The designer started by anchoring the metal rail with large square tube posts. The bottom rail is two pieces of angle iron fitted with the baluster straps. The top rail is channel iron with a metal top cap painted black. Flat strap formed in diamond shapes is welded into an interesting design. The one and a quarter by three sixteenths strap has been punched for rivets at each intersection as well as having a notched out pattern.

One example of a corporate look is the highly functional and polished handrail at Old Chicago Restaurant. Old Chicago had by far the most outdoor seating area on the Pearl Street Mall. Their outdoor venue stretched around the corner and onto a back porch. The straight steel one by two inch top and mid-rail combined with one inch and a quarter square tube pickets combined for a clean contemporary guardrail. The contractors also incorporated a nice finishing touch by welding the “OC” boarder out of metal cast ring.

There was plenty of great metal handrail to look at on a recent trip to New Mexico. Tom and I spent most of the day wandering around the Taos area and snapping pictures of interesting custom metal handrail and guard rail. Taos is a mecca of metal artwork and the detail is not lost on a few of the commercial properties located in the town.
We found this example most interesting as it was laced with common objects. The handrail was at The World Cafe and included lots of whimsical items welded into the scrolled metal guardrails. A couple of examples are below. A great online source for metal stair material is Stairwarehouse.com. They have numerous examples of all kinds of handrails, guardrails and even stair treads. You can even view a great do it yourself project online. Another great source for metal stair rail work is Orleans Ornamental Iron & Casting Distributors, Inc. out of New Orleans Louisiana. Tom has ordered several items from Orleans and has had a good experience each time. Orleans Ornamental carries iron castings, aluminum castings, steel forgings as well as castings for furniture and accessories.

Another fabulous looking handrail we saw was located in the Taos Inn. This small stairway in the lobby of the hotel was speckled with chili peppers.
Metal handrail has developed into an artwork as there are more options for design and weld looks. Metal handrail also is a good choice to stand up in all kinds of elements. It can draw attention to a business and add to the overall atmosphere. Something to keep in mind is requirements for spacing metal pickets. Pickets are to be spaced so that a four inch spherical ball may not pass through at any point.
Check with building officials in your area to find out about other codes and requirements.