Blog by Dal Stanton

After a wonderful time in the US, sharing Christmas and New Year with our family, and catching up on ‘grandpa time’ with our two grandsons, my wife and I returned to Sofia, Bulgaria, to find as much snow as we left in Denver!  Two memorable ‘piping events’ transpired while in Denver.  First, the inaugural smoke of the restored 1907 McLardy Gourd Calabash (See: Link) which was filled with a tasty bowl of Dark Star recommended by Steve for the special occasion.  It was a wonderful, cool smoke.  The McLardy did admirably. The second ‘piping event’ was a pipe-picking expedition several of my family members (guess who this trip was for?) did to Denver’s huge Brass Armadillo Antique Mall!  We had a great time in search but unfortunately, I found no treasures to bring home.  Yet secretly, my youngest son stowed away his Christmas gift for…