Hey there, NOCO Crew!
Sunday, we rode up Poudre Canyon for coffee and pulled in beside three Model Ts.
That wasn’t the plan. But it did give this week’s issue a theme we didn’t see coming: people who know how things work. Old cars still taking to the canyon, a Greeley woodshop you can use with a library card, and a Loveland exhibit where the grain in a piece of wood becomes part of the picture.
The cappuccino was pretty great, too.
Grab a coffee, and let’s dig in!
– Megan
A Coffee Run With Three Model Ts
Sunday’s plan was pretty simple: pick up a friend, ride up the canyon, get coffee.
We left Boyd Lake, rode through Fort Collins, and stopped near Laporte Avenue to collect our friend. From there, we worked our way over to North Overland Trail, past Vern’s, and onto the canyon approach. (Sometimes Vern’s is the destination, it deserves a feature of its own, and it will get one very soon). This time, we kept going.
Then came Poudre Canyon Road and those bends that make a coffee run feel like a perfectly reasonable use of an afternoon.
Our destination was Kind Bean, the coffee cart in a remodeled vintage Airstream at Riverside Colorado. It sits out front near the little cabins, with the Poudre running alongside the property. Coffee, old aluminum, canyon walls, river. There are worse combinations!
Find Riverside and Kind Bean →
David ordered a cappuccino, and I ordered a hot chocolate, both were delicious. But when we pulled up, there were also three Model Ts parked out front.
Two of the three Model Ts.
We got to watch their owners prep the old cars to head out. I hadn’t expected the coffee stop to come with that particular bit of entertainment, and I’m glad we were there for it. A motorcycle ride up the canyon, an Airstream serving espresso, and three Model Ts getting ready to leave. Quite a gathering of machinery.
The cabins caught our attention, too, but they’ll need their own weekend. For this trip, a cup of coffee beside the river was plenty.
You never know what you might see, or who you might meet up there. This time, we came home with a little more than caffeine.
Make the stop: Kind Bean at Riverside Colorado, Poudre Canyon. Check with Riverside for current coffee-cart hours before heading up.
Your Library Card Can Get You Into a Woodshop
There is a table saw at the library.
Also a planer, bandsaw, drill press, woodturning lathes, a CNC router, and enough assorted equipment to officially run out of reasons to abandon a project.
The woodshop is at LINC in Greeley, and access to the tools, training, and staff guidance is free.
That is a very useful thing to know.
Before you can reserve shop time, you need to complete Woodshop Certification Training. LINC currently lists sessions on Tuesdays from 4–7:30 p.m., with registration opening one week before each training.
You’ll need an eligible library card, a valid email address, and less than $7.50 in fines or fees. E-access cards don’t qualify. Ages 14–18 need a parent or guardian present for orientation and the waiver; adults complete an in-person orientation and waiver as well.
After that: closed-toe shoes, tied-back hair, and the project that’s been taking up space in your head.
Maybe it’s a shelf you keep meaning to build. Maybe it’s a repair that requires a tool you absolutely do not need to buy for one-time-use. Maybe you just want to learn what a CNC router can actually do.
Start with the certification calendar and equipment list. And before buying a pile of lumber, ask the shop what your particular project will require.
Know somebody with a half-finished project and no place to build it? Send them this one.
The Grain in the Wood Is Doing the Drawing
Imagine seeing an intriguing image of a mountainside from across the room. Beautiful textures, colors, and depths of the mountains calling you forward. As you approach closely, those peaks and valleys that presented as meticulous brushstrokes reveal themselves to be intricate grains from pieces of wood.
Marquetry is made from thin pieces of veneer, cut and fitted together into patterns and images. Different woods bring different colors, textures, and lines. That means the grain isn’t just background material. It can become shadow, movement, texture, or the edge of a form. The wood already has a drawing in it. The artist decides how to use it.
We’ve mentioned this marquetry exhibit in Happenings before. Consider this a nudge: it closes Saturday, September 26.
It’s a good exhibit even if you know nothing about marquetry. Maybe especially then! About the craft and exhibit →
Go look:
Where: Loveland Museum, 503 N. Lincoln Avenue.
When: Tuesday–Wednesday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday–Friday, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Admission is $7 for Loveland residents, $10 for nonresidents; children 12 and under are free with required supervision.
Riding up the canyon. Standing at a workbench. Walking the dog. Pain can keep us from enjoying the little things in life that make life, well… life.
Sam Fischer and the team at Choice City Physical Therapy offer one-on-one care in Fort Collins.
40-minute appointments with a licensed physical therapist. Treatment built around you, and the activities you want to get back to enjoying in life.
3938 John F. Kennedy Parkway, Unit 11E · Fort Collins
970-460-8544
MOVING THROUGH: 859,900 BIRDS
That's BirdCast's estimate for how many migrating birds crossed Larimer County during the night of Sept. 9. At peak migration, an estimated 236,900 birds were in flight, moving south-southeast at about 24 mph.
BIG OL' FACT: 12,000+ YEARS
One of North America's most important archaeological sites sits just north of Fort Collins. Discoveries at the Lindenmeier Site at Soapstone Prairie helped prove that people were living on this continent more than 11,000 years ago.
DETOUR: S. RAILROAD AVE.
Loveland has closed S. Railroad/S. Roosevelt from southeast Third Street to just north of Fairgrounds Park for repaving. The closure runs through Sept. 21, with daytime delays and detours via 287 and 14th Street SW.
THE WEEKLY STUMPER
Answer will appear in next weeks Tuesday issue.
Every contribution keeps us out in the field, digging into local history, and showing up for the towns we cover. We're grateful for every bit of support. Thanks for being part of this.
— Megan & David
