25 May - Tour of Coors Field Baseball Park and Dutch Oven Pizza

25 May
Today we headed to Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club for a tour.

Banner above Blake Street

Main entrance to Coors Field

The first game was played here 26 Apr 1995.  According to our tour guide, believe it or not, Coors Field (1995)  is the third oldest National League park only shadowed by Wrigley Field in 1914 and Dodger Stadium in 1962  - wow that does not seem possible!

Cornerstone commemorating opening day

This was a nice tour that covered the majority of the park.  We have toured quite a few of the MLB parks, and this is the first that we were allowed to go into the visitor's clubhouses.  None of them allow you in the home team clubhouse.

Visitor's Clubhouse, awaiting the Cardinal's gear

Visiting player's lockers

Lounge area in the middle of the club house

Grooming area complete with an assortment of products

Shower area

Whirlpool and trainer area

Refreshments

Batting cages

This is also the first tour that we've seen the video room.  This is where the plays are reviewed before New York does it.

Not as cosmic as you might think.  I would have thought the monitors would be larger.

We also got to go down on the warning track behind home plate.  The groundskeepers were busy grooming the field.  The Cardinals are arriving in a couple days.  They mow the field EVERY DAY!  It is really manicured.  The field is built on pea gravel and sand for drainage.  The entire field is electrically heated and has an unbelievable drainage system.  They melt the snow and then pipe it away!  The air is so thin here (we are a mile high you know!), the balls travel further so the outfield fences are further than most

Mowed using movers that have rollers rather than wheels.  

They obviously take pride in their work.

A view from ground level

Home team dugout is on first base side here.

A panoramic shot behind home plate

During our tour the fire alarms were apparently triggered bu some construction work, so we got to see Denver's finest arrive to check it out!

After the tour we headed down to the souvenir shop to get Doreen's MLB Park Passport book stamped, so she would not have to carry it with her on Sunday.

After the tour we headed back to the base and stopped by the BX and Commissary.  Wow, small world as we ran into Isaac and Debey Schwab!  They live in the Des Moines area.  I served in the Iowa Air Guard with Debey's husband Major General (retired) Greg Schwab and we also deployed to Iraq together!  

The fact that we are standing in front of the wine area means nothing Ha Ha!!

Then we headed back to the campground and watched the Cubs beat the Giants on TV.  Later we cooked our first-this-year Dutch Oven pizza, always a favorite!  Doreen brought some Graziano sausage from home and she loaded it up with veggies and cheese!  Yum!

Prepping the charcoal

One of the pieces of my new Dutch Oven cooking gizmo

Pizza - before!

Pizza - after!

We have several local places to see tomorrow but we are looking forward to a lighter day.  Saturday we will visit Doreen's relatives at their house and Sunday we will head to Coors Field to see a ball game.  Monday we leave already!!