camp chaos

Adventures in winter wonderland

2012-01-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that winter is in full swing here in Carrabassett Valley. While that means I now also have to shovel the driveway again I consider it a fair trade to be able to play in the snow.
This morning I dropped Dave off at work while temperatures hovered around the 10 degree mark. It's not really that cold but I wasn't feeling the need to rip at 35mph downhill so I headed north on 27 to Flagstaff Lake with my little furry buddies.

We ventured out to Myer's Beach and enjoyed a great walk through the woods to the frozen lake. It was a good Chaos sized walk to the beach- about 15 minutes and we then enjoyed some time enjoying the sunshine that streamed over the backside of the Bigelow Mountain Range.

Mayhem even took a quick moment to enjoy the stillness of the morning at the lake. But just one moment... little dog doesn't stay still for long.

I bribed him with the promise of the tennis ball to capture another view on the frozen tundra. The lake was beautiful and we did see a few snowmobiles enjoying some playtime too. The lake had a false stillness, if I waited long enough and if the pups were quiet enough then we could hear the movements of the ice forming below us.

through the eyes of Chaos...

2012-01-17T14:06:00.001-07:00

I've often wondered what Chaos and Mayhem see and how they think about it. Today, I got a glimpse of Chaos's point of view. I wish I could say it was enlightening but honestly it terrifies me.

In 2007 on a routine visit to the vet, Dr Taylor told us about Chaos's juvenile cataracts. We've kept an eye on them and watched them slowly grow over the years. Today, I took the boys on a walk on the Narrow Gauge trail today during low light and some soft falling snow.

The trails were soft and we followed a snowshoe trail along the river. The boys took full advantage of the leash free escapade and played hard. I'm pretty sure Mayhem even tried to climb a tree...

but he could have just gotten a little too much into sniffing it. Chaos had a nice break and ate some snow...

his brother joined him and it became a big rolling party...

We crossed a small foot bridge and Chaos struggled. This isn't a new path for us, this fall he zoomed over the little bridge and chased Mayhem. It appeared that he wasn't sure of his footing. This bridge crosses a small stream; it isn't high off the ground and the slats are less then an inch apart. We emerged from the woods and Mayhem zoomed across the large bridge that crosses the Carrabassett River. I followed but stopped when I realized Chaos was still on the other side of the river. The bridge that crosses the Carrabassett River has a few slits in it where the snow has melted and created an optical illusion that stopped Chaos in his tracks. I went to the middle of the bridge and called him over. He started across then hesitated... it became clear to me that my pup was struggling to see. I walked to him and guided him back to the car with the realization that his life as we know it has changed.

We've joked about Mayhem becoming Chaos's seeing eye dog... we just didn't think it would happen so soon after Chaos's 7th birthday.

dreaming of snowy days at camp chaos

2012-01-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

the best part about snow? Easy- that would be good days on the mountain.

like Dave's first day out in November

What's the worst? Realizing you have to shovel the whole driveway by yourself...

with a bit of help from furry friends and the motivation to wear cute Boggs

But at this point I'm ready... Mother Nature bring it on. I haven't shoveled the driveway in over a month and I'm ready for it to start dumping.

the new camp chaos

2011-11-21T17:51:00.001-07:00

Life at the new campchaos isn't all that different... unless of course you factor in the 9,000 feet less altitude which has resulted in more oxygen and changed the game of gluten free baking. We now also "do wood" which as most Mainer's know as a super fun game that results in having a warm house all winter despite how low the thermometer drops.
The dogs wear blaze orange not just for Halloween but during the whole month of deer season as their bushy white tails may be confused with a deer a bit too easily. We enter camp on the first floor with all the bedrooms (yes- that's more then just one!) and head upstairs to the main room that gets great sunlight even with the shortest day of the year approaching. A trip outside yields a dirt road and a great walk for the dogs each morning. So it's a bit different from condo life but we're all adapting well.

let two sleeping dogs...

2011-11-03T13:01:00.001-06:00

really can these two get any cuter? Chaos was enjoying a nap on a chilly afternoon when Mayhem thought that he needed to curl up with his brother for some afternoon beauty sleep.

campchaos returns to Maine

2011-10-18T13:57:00.002-06:00

One 16' Penske Truck loaded with furniture, gear and other toys plus the 4Runner containing the 4 legged members of the crew traveled over 2,600 miles to relocate campchaos to Maine. It's been a long couple of weeks with a flurry of packing, driving, unpacking and settling back into Valley life.

so far these two seem pretty happy to me....

Photos from the Frisco 5

2011-09-07T22:08:00.001-06:00

Highlights include a 9th birthday, camping on the deck, pom poms, gondolas and more...I'm not sure about them but I know that campchaos was exhausted after a weekend of fun.

the frisco five hits Telluride

2011-09-03T21:05:00.000-06:00

Last night the Frisco 5 hit Telluride and campchaos in force.. (you can relieve their first visit here...). They settled into life at campchaos quickly and were soon covered with dog fur and engrossed in fiberarts. I've picked up a few pop-pop makers during my forays to Needlerock and the girls had fun learning to make poms. Today the girls helped with the morning dog walk and after some bacon and pancakes we loaded into the 4Runner and hit Bridal Veil Falls. The road to the falls is uphill and touchy in spots. Dave and I tend to view it as a nice leisurely drive compared to Imogene Pass that we did with Kendra and other roads but we clearly made some nervous and other excited by the trek.

Today was H2's 9th birthday and she enjoyed her day of waterfalls, shopping downtown and laughing with H1 & H3. She also rocked a sweet winter hat that I knitted and she had made the pom pom for. H1 also received his birthday hat and H3 had gotten hers via mail in July.

Rock of Ages Trail to Wilson Peak

2011-08-25T21:01:00.000-06:00

Last Monday, Dave, Dave and Charlie headed up over 4,000 feet to Wilson Peak at 14,017. The newly opened trail is a mere 4.5 miles each way but it's still not to be taken lightly. The top is crazy loose rocks and the boys were sure to pack helmets for the trek as the local newspaper has revealed a number of accidents on this iconic Telluride Peak. They also had purchased their search and rescue cards in case of emergency as there's been a few very expensive helicopter evacuations this year.

biking with Mayhem...

2011-08-14T22:10:00.000-06:00

Falls Wall

2011-08-07T20:21:00.000-06:00

This morning we loaded up the 4Runner and dropped Dave off to meet friends for a climb at Falls Wall. The dogs and I hiked partway in with him but quit at the stream crossing. We had a busy day of porch time and gluten free baking to get on with.
Dave crossed the steam and hiked steeply uphill to where Conrad and Aaron were already climbing. The wall is at the end of Telluride's Box Canyon and features views of Bridal Veil and Ingram Falls in addition to Ajax Peak.

They had a big day of climbing and enjoyed the sunny weather. We're hoping Telluride's monsoon season is coming to a close but there's no guarantee of that.

East Coast Travels with the Turtle

2011-07-31T23:25:00.000-06:00

We hit New England just in time for the biggest heat wave of the summer. Of course with us travel is always entertaining and since we had booked tickets a month out and not 24 hours out it was destined to change at least once.

From July 11 East Coast

Two days before our trip our 6am flight was canceled which shifted our wonderful 3pm arrival time into Boston back to 6pm. A bummer and it put us into rush hour traffic but we could deal with that... but then our new flight was delayed... then canceled. We were sent back out through security of the small Montrose Airport to the desk. I left Dave with our bags and hobbeled back towards the desk. I was gimpy from an ankle injury I ended up towards the end of the line. Like my fellow passengers, I jumped on the phone with United Airlines customer service in India...and was given new flights that had us leaving Montrose at 8pm and getting to Boston 3 flights later at 8am on Friday morning. I called Dave back out through security and when we got to the desk agent (40 minutes later) she managed to get us on the noontime flight and into Boston at midnight.
We killed some time in Denver and the turtle enjoyed a Fat Tire before getting started on Moyer's Red Sweater.

From July 11 East Coast

Turns out the turtle is quite the knitter and started the project while in DIA.

From July 11 East Coast

And while on the plane he made good progress...

From July 11 East Coast

But took a break when it was time to get the bag after the late arrival into Boston.

From July 11 East Coast

Hope Lake with a touch of camping in the rain

2011-07-31T22:46:00.000-06:00

Saturday morning we were up early and packing for a day hike to Hope Lake then camping that night. We stopped on the way to the trail head to claim our favorite spot. We had last camped here in 2008 and had a couple of great nights with friends. We were dismayed to find a few large trees had fallen but hit the spot anyhow.
I had hiked Hope Lake last year with the pups but it was a first for Dave. The day began with sunshine but clouded in as we ascended to the high alpine lake. The pups didn't care and were in the water before Dave and I crested the top. The sun broke for a bit as we were leaving the lake and descended the 2.5 miles back to the 4Runner.

Big Dave skipped out on the hike due to a leg injury but came up for the camping... sans tent. He's got a Tacoma now and is discovering the joy of truck camping in the back bed under the camper shell.
We finished setting up camp and the ~~sunshade~~ rainshade just in time before the first drops hit. Eventually the rain let up a bit and fueled by a bit of beer and a chill we couldn't shake, we got to work on the campsite. (Click here for photos...) We had two Gerber hatchets and a fold-able saw and hacked the smaller of the two trees. The boys made benches for the firepit and while I debranched the larger tree that won't be moved without a chainsaw. Yup, that's what happens when you give a bunch of Mainer's some hand tools, time and beer in the woods.

Mill Creek Hike

2011-07-20T22:16:00.000-06:00

This spring while searching for non-muddy places to walk the pups we ended up on the Mill Creek Road just outside of Telluride. We returned last weekend to hike on the trail and had a great walk in the woods (despite my tweaky ankle from a climbing mishap the week before) with the dogs. Photos are here...

Sweater #3

2011-07-20T22:01:00.000-06:00

weekends are for playing

2011-07-10T19:16:00.000-06:00

We finally hit a weekend where the only plan was to roll with it. The weather's turned from full on summer to July Monsoon season where rain and or thunderstorms roll in most afternoons. Our rain jackets are constantly with us and usually on by 2pm. On Saturday we cruised to town to let the dogs swim in the raging San Miguel and surf a few rapids then Dave hit the golf course with a few friends while I had a quiet afternoon with the tired pups. I managed to hem a few pairs of pants and make this snazzy holder for my knitting needle stash, a side for my double pointed needles (dpn's) and a side for my circular needles.

From Knitting

Today we grabbed the dogs, rain jackets and climbing gear and met Dave and Sally by Society Turn for a bit of climbing while avoiding the storms. You can see all photo's from this weekend here...

summer and the 4th of July

2011-07-04T22:05:00.000-06:00

It's officially summer here, meaning we haven't had snow in over two weeks and have been sporting the flip flops consistently. Last week I took the dogs swimming on a rainy afternoon and today we hit the 4th of July Parade in Telluride. It's not a small affair as our town of 2,000 grows with folks coming from all over to enjoy the iconic Main Street Parade. Our friends had grabbed a spot early and when we came in to town 90 minutes before the parade all the prime spots had been snagged. Elaine and Emory just had their first baby and even little Rocco came out (after the loud fire trucks had passed). After we got the text last Tuesday about Rocco joining the Telluride pose I dug through my yarn stash and picked out the colors for his first homemade sweater to go with his collection of k8 knit caps.

From Priest Lake and Happy Birthday USA Day

Then I whipped up this hat for Emory so they could match...

From Priest Lake and Happy Birthday USA Day

Thankfully it was much to hot for Rocco to try on his sweater today. We're hoping it fits by the time some classic late summer festivals hit town along with the cool nights.
Wanna see more? Watch the slideshow or click here.

beyond hats

2011-06-28T20:45:00.000-06:00

Somehow last week I mustered up the courage to start looking at knitting patterns for things beyond hats. I decided to start small and knock off a baby shower gift at the same time. I found a simple sweater pattern and whipped up a sweater (size 6 months) in under a week.

From Knitting

It came out much better then expected and I've got to go through my yarn stash to see how big my next sweater will be...

Dzia Dzia comes to Telluride

2011-06-21T22:11:00.000-06:00

Billy flew out to Colorado in May then he and Jon drove down to Telluride to see the Colorado version of campchaos for the first time. As luck would have it we were having fine spring weather...the kind that drops over a foot of snow and takes almost a full day to melt off the sidewalks. We had a good visit and made it up to the Telluride Historical Museum which was a highlight for all of us.

Thankfully the clouds went away and we were able to get a few shots of them on Colorado Avenue in front of Ajax Mountain.

freegrass'n in Telluride

2011-06-19T23:17:00.000-06:00

Telluride has a full summer calendar- not just this year but every year. It's an expensive town to begin with so sometimes we skip these events- plus Bluegrass sold out months ago so it was an easy choice to skip out. Meghan and Sam got tickets for Yonder Mountain String Band on Wednesday and Friday passes at town park so they pulled into town on Wednesday with Kaya and Echo in tow.
We did hit some free Bluegrass events and also enjoyed the acoustics of the box canyon from above.

a three hour tour...

2011-06-13T21:35:00.000-06:00

Friday night we pulled outta town and camped in the mountains above Telluride. Our neighbor always jokes with us that we're packing for a three hour tour as we load up dog food, sleeping bags, the tent, tripods and other gear.
We camped above Telluride off the Last Dollar Road... which is the same road that once killed the midpipe of the Subaru's muffler back in April of 2006. The moon made a good showing as it peeked through the aspen trees and the puppies toys created streaks across the dark sky. You can see those here...

Sunday we loaded up the dogs and headed up towards Alta Lakes so the dogs could get some much needed time in the sunshine. We headed up the road and found it mostly melted.... mostly. The 4Runner cleared most of the hard packed snowbanks easily... until it didn't. Dave backed up and did a second take....and the undercarriage came to rest on the glacial mound of snow and ice while the tires spun deeper in the softer snow. Somehow the avalanche shovel we keep in the truck wiggled it's way into summer storage and we found ourselves working at the ice mound with our axe and Mayhem's chuck it stick. One was very effective while the other was just good for throwing tennis balls. You can view all the good times here...

The phones worked fine and Dave called Emory who came to the rescue with his 4Runner and two young labs. Emory had two shovels and the boys were able to dig the truck out quickly. Cheers to friends with four wheel drive, shovels and time on a Sunday afternoon.

Trout Lake and Balloon Festival

2011-06-05T12:13:00.000-06:00

The dogs had their first serious swim day this weekend and enjoyed the frigid waters of Trout Lake. Both boys swam until they shook. It jumped from winter to summer in the span of a week and we're now enjoying daytime temps in the high 60's to low 70's and went from snowy days to sunshine.

This year marked the first that we witnessed the Balloon glo on Colorado Avenue in Telluride. We each grabbed a camera and captured the shots. Dave used the D100 and the tripod while I used the Nikon S6000 and just clicked away.

mountainfilm in telluride

2011-05-29T20:28:00.000-06:00

this is the first mountainfilm that we've been able to share with a visitor and Sara dived into it head first. The festival still has another day to go but so far we've seen 26 flicks (anywhere from 4 to 80 minutes long each) on topics ranging from the climbing photography of Jimmy Chin to truck farms (seriously, only a guy from MA would think of a farm in the back of his dodge ram in Brooklyn)

We enjoyed some time down by the river between movies on the first nice weekend we've had all year.

And headed to town park for some movies under the stars with friends after the sun set with a few light sprinkles.

Chaos Cookies- sans gluten

2011-05-21T22:56:00.000-06:00

Today I took a break from baking for humans and made some cookies for Chaos and Mayhem. It's not the first time I've made them but it's been a while and it was my first time making them gluten free. We've banned gluten flour from the house as it gives me a migraine to bake with it and Dave isn't much of a baker.
I'd love to give credit but the recipe has been in my book since at least 2006 and I have no idea where it came from. We've dubbed them Chaos Cookies and they were very well received by a tough panel of judges, Chaos, Mayhem and their friend Stella.

Chaos's Gluten Free Dog Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup flour (I used my old batch of Gluten Free Featherlight)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix Flour and baking powder then add peanut butter and milk. Combine then roll out on floured surface to 1/4" thickness. Cut out your pups favorite shapes or keep it simple. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool before serving to your pup! Keeps best in fridge or freezer.

I've found that a simple shape makes for the best cookie cutter. We had a skinnier dog bone cookie cutter but found that the bones broke easily. I also made some triangles for smaller treats for toy stuffing.

The judges all agreed- they loved the peanut butter flavor and the smells that came out of the kitchen. They couldn't even tell that the cookies were gluten free.

Rock on....

2011-05-11T17:22:00.000-06:00

Saturday we loaded up into the 4Runner with both two and four legged friends and headed back out to Clay Creek for some more time climbing. The weather was immensely warmer and I'd guess that it was in the 70's plus radiant heat from the sun.

I managed to start a hat during our drive and adventures on Saturday and finished it up on Sunday. It's fun to be back in knitting mode again especially since we've had a foot of snow fall just today...

lazy Saturdays....

2011-04-30T16:36:00.000-06:00

We're finally able to have a lazy Saturday at campchaos. Even the pups knew and let us sleep in before we all had quality couch time. We did muster up some motivation and channeled our inner Fred as we make donuts that reminded us of dunkin donut munchkins... you can see that post here.

Hoppy Easter Ski Day

2011-04-25T22:13:00.000-06:00

This weekend we made the trek to Summit County and had a few ski days on Copper Mountain's final weekend of the season. It also happened to be Easter weekend and we managed to keep the dogs away from the candy and Easter Bunny long enough to let the kids catch a sugar high.

Camping at the Grand Canyon

2011-04-20T23:14:00.000-06:00

It's been a long winter without as much snow as we'd like to see so by the time the last chair fell silent we were ready to get out of town. Dave took a week and hit the east coast to spend some time with his dad while I stayed home to work and pack for the next adventure. I happen to be a very OCD packer and made a very comprehensive list to ensure our comfort for our adventure. We also packed a ton of food as my research didn't yield much for gluten free friendly dining at the park.

We loaded the 4Runner full of dogs, gear, flip flops and food and headed southwest towards Grand Canyon National Park. We had four nights booked at Mather Campground at site #308 in the Pine Loop. I'd been keeping an eye on the weather and the forecast said we were headed into warm weather.... but the first few nights were below 30. This would have been fine but our sleeping pads deflated and offered no cushion and more importantly insulation from the cool ground. We had three sleeping bags for the humans so we bundled up and dealt while the dogs had a shared bed and a few blankets. They have doggie softshells and wore those each night as the sun and temperatures dipped. Mayhem did crawl into a sleeping bag with me one night while Chaos's thicker coat served him well.

Grand Canyon is one of the more dog friendly of the National Parks and the dogs were allowed on the paved Rim trail for some great walks each day. They joined us for a sunset at Mather Point and enjoyed attention tourists across the world. Mayhem had played rough and cut a paw so he wore his Ruffwear shoes to prevent further injury to his pads. He had a lot of folks laughing at him but overall enjoyed the attention. After sunset the parking lot cleared out and we took the opportunity to play ball with the pups. We found a new light up ball which rocked Mayhem's world and allowed him to get some serious energy out at night. It made some great photos in the dark parking lot with the dog's glowing collars and the disco light ball.

We had a ton of photos from the little s6000 and from the D100 and each worked our skills a bit. We narrowed it down to the highlights from sunrise to sunset and a bit of Chaos and Mayhem.

Turtle takes a walk

2011-04-14T10:28:00.000-06:00

How about now...any guesses on where the turtle is now?

2011-04-14T08:44:00.001-06:00

Where is turtle going?

2011-04-14T07:39:00.001-06:00

Go turtle!

2011-04-13T10:38:00.002-06:00

The turtle says goodbye to the Wilson Range and Telluride for a few days as he meanders towards the big ditch...

Snug as a bug

2011-04-11T22:33:00.001-06:00

These two are recovering from bath time on a chilly spring night... at least they smell beautiful.

HEY HOT DOG!

2011-04-02T23:38:00.000-06:00

It's the final weekend of lift serviced skiing here in Telluride for the season and we took advantage of the good weather to get out on the mountain today. Dave pulled out his prized hot dog for the occasion.

He posed for photos with both big and small children.... the little ones like to beat him up. He enjoyed the attention of the day in true Hot Dog style.

These two Daves and Emory are definitely "Winning" today...

Posers or future expert yoga instructors?

Hot Doggin' in the Misty Park, he's out there grooming it tonight.

Marching on through it all

2011-03-27T01:35:00.000-06:00

This winter I've been slacking- partly due to my blogging over at Think Outside the Breadbox, partly due to two dogs and knitting nights and in large part due to a lot of stress. I've been going over past blog posts and remembering good times with good people, adventures of the travel dog, cross country drives, festivals, turtles and Tomas, and lots of laughter, it's been good to have these memories in one spot and I've been appreciating the online journal of campchaos.

This year we've had a tough winter with not nearly enough powder and sadness that could fill the box canyon. We've had some good bright spots but this March will be remembered as a very sad time here at campchaos.

A year ago we drove through a snowstorm and found a bit of Mayhem waiting for us. This year we flew to Boston in near perfect weather to the biggest storm we've ever had to face as we said our goodbye's to Dave's mother.

It was hell and there's nothing to say fix this- although the cards, emails, text messages and good vibes have helped. Crashing trucks, slicing tendons and sick dogs can't prepare a person with how to deal or cope through times like these. It's not just a tough day but a long process that has no cure, no remedy, no guidebook to help steer us through what we're suppose to do or how we should deal with life. The world didn't stop and we returned to Telluride and went back to the routines of everyday life but with the knowledge that life will never be the same.

The whole experience was hard on everyone... we all cope in very different ways and hit the stages of grief at our own pace. Comfort can be found in many forms and I really wished the dogs could have been with us.

Chaos knew something was wrong. He behaved well at his friends house while we were back east but on the day his Granny passed, he got sick. Chaos is a very in touch monster and knew life at campchaos was not right. When Jess and Jared told us about it over dinner after our return, Chaos laid quietly with his sad face melting into the floor. He knows. Mayhem- maybe not so much. He's still begging for attention and ball time but then again these things have proven to be good for us too. Long walks on the bike path on a sunny day, fresh air and mountain views- these are good things for sad people. Maybe the little guy has his own way of helping too.

We just wake up each day after to happy dogs with wagging tails and find a way to laugh again, to find pleasure in the simple things and raise a glass of red wine and toast good memories.

hitting the (rock) wall....

2011-03-21T22:45:00.000-06:00

We took advantage of the warmer weather and hit the wall this past weekend with friends. It was a gray day but relatively warm in the high 40's and some gusty but manageable winds. We haven't been out there in a long time... we scouted another place in the area last year but hadn't roped up there since late April, 2008. I have no idea why we waited so long to go back (oh wait the photos reminded me... it's too hot in the summers). It's less then 40 minutes from our house and just a short, steep hike to a bolted wall that has a number of routes rated 5.8 and up. We've only been to the gym once this season back in October so my paws were very tender and I only did two routes as I eased myself back into the game.

We had an equal number of four legged monsters as two legged people with Sam & Kaya, Conrad and Kiera and us with our two monsters. Sam hasn't climbed much before but took to the rock like spider pig- even in his LL Bean hiking boots. Conrad's worn out more then one pair of climbing shoes in his career and lead the climbs for the day.
The dogs were very well behaved and Mayhem had the only bit of trouble as he managed to get 4 small cactus plants stuck in his paws during the day...which meant that I got stuck a few times while removing them. He's very stoic and doesn't flinch in pain which is unlike Chaos who would have whined if he had been that unlucky.Back at the car we enjoyed a late lunch before heading back to Telluride and the winter weather.

An Ipswich ale

2011-03-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

Turtle is trying to enjoy the trip and taking a break for a brew.

My little travel buddy...

2011-03-01T12:24:00.001-07:00

Go turtle! The first of 3 flights today, good times in the land of stale air and grumpy travelers as we wait.

whirlwind trips

2011-02-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

Last week we booked a flight on Sunday and boarded a plane on Monday bound for Boston. In less then 24 hours we had cleaned the house, packed our bags and figured out a plan for the dogs and the grumpy kitty to be well cared for. I had made time to stop for some gluten free snacks before we dropped the car off to get new brakes (much needed) and caught a courtesy ride to the airport and was grateful for these all day- especially at the ATL airport... scary.... so scary...
Thankfully I had packed a good supply of yarn, all of our chargers for phones and ipods and a clean shirt for each of us as our checked bag arrived on Thursday afternoon, a mere 4 days after us. Thanks Delta! It was an exciting moment to be able to have wardrobe options again plus a more pragmatic pair of shoes then the Danskos I wore traveling and the flip flops I had tucked in my carry on as area was getting pounded with snow and the snowbanks stood 5 feet high. I had lots of time to work on my knitting and finished a few projects during our visit.

From Droid think outside

On Saturday we packed up and jumped on a bus down to Boston- the roads were getting slick and our early flight on Sunday didn't leave much of a margin for error. We packed our bags with my gluten free snack festival and headed into a hotel near the airport. We checked in and asked about area dining and if the in house restaurant had a gluten free menu- the uncertain look had Dave convinced that my idea of heading to PF Chang's wasn't so crazy after all.

From Droid think outside

I had used my droid navigation while on the bus to figure out that we could easily take the hotel shuttle to a T stop on the blue line and swap to the green line and end up a block away from PF Chang's. It was a Saturday night and the place had a 50 minute wait so we opted to eat at the bar so we could make it to bed at a decent hour. We even walked through the city a bit after dinner, grabbed Dave breakfast donuts at Dunkin's and made it back to to hotel within 3 hours. There wasn't much time for sleep as we were up at 3:30am and on a shuttle soon after.

From Droid think outside

The best part about our 6am flight on Sunday from BOS to ATL to MTJ was that all worked out we arrived by noon in the mountain time zone, hit a quick food shop were reunited with our monster puppies back in Telluride before the lifts closed at 4pm. Now comes the fun part of readjusting to work, altitude and life after a week away.

Travels

2011-01-31T12:35:00.001-07:00

We're not spur of the moment kind of travelers but can be if needed. Trip booked less then 24 hours ago and almost ready to board the first leg of our flight to Boston. Dogs are with friends and away messages have been set. Thankfully we had tome to stop for some glutaded snacks despite all the chaos as it's a long day of traveling.

visits from Summit then more hats on quiet nights

2011-01-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

Meghan and Sam came down for a quick visit last weekend and we had a good day on the mountain and a evening snowshoe with all 4 goldens. I'm also happy to share that I can now eat food at our apres hangout- The Hop Garden. Telluride Ski Resort is now offering true gluten free options for people like me.

A philly cheese steak may seem like a simple sandwich but being able to eat a real meal instead of pocket snacks is a big deal in my glutarded world.

will knit for wine, bring me the yarn and a bottle of red and you'll see a hat out of the deal- like this creation in green and yellow. The thickest yarn and fastest hat yet. (Burly spun Brown Sheep Company yarn, size 13 circulars, 59 stitches cast on)

Kids hat with big Poms- lots of yarn for crazy thick poms which are then trimmed to create a pretty and uniform look. (Merino Blend, size 9 circulars, 96 cast on)

A finally finished Christmas gift, for Big Dave swapped to doubled pointed to finish the top for the first time and wow- not going back to trying to finish on circulars! (Mini Mochi by Crystal Palace, size 8, cast on 120)

Dave's now on grooming life and my nights are now filled with adventures to tire out the dogs so I can work on my knitted creations. I even took time to hit a crochet class at Needlerock but it really just proved that I like knitting better. I'm stuck on hats and have lost track how many I've done now. I'm also doing multiple projects at once and have 3 hats currently cast on and in various stages of progress. I like to mix it up with needle sizes and degree of difficulty so I can swap out as needed based on energy level, attention span, color preference or ease of carry for knitting during long meetings which abound this time of year.

dear granny...

2011-01-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Granny,
We miss you lots. It was fun visiting you this Fall and seeing everyone together at Sugarloaf. We hope you feel better and get well soon,
Kisses and happy tails from Colorado,
CHAOS & MAYHEM- your favorite golden furry grandpuppies

Tuckered out...

2011-01-02T22:46:00.001-07:00

Tired pups = a good night for grey's anatomy and knitting time

mayhaos snowshoe hike

2011-01-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

Dave headed in for his final day of snowmaking today (he starts grooming tomorrow) while I had a rare day off from work and the sun was out with fresh snow on the ground. It's been frigid and around -10 degrees with the windchill so I was happy to have sunshine, little wind and 20 degrees. The sun here makes it feel 10 to 20 degrees warmer as well. I geared up with the camera and a few layers and took the boys out to Lizard Head Pass around 20 minutes south of our house and went for a snowshoe hike on some dog-friendly groomed trails. I took almost 400 photos and played with the continuous shots to capture some of the best moments for the monsters.

They wore their packs and Mayhem's might have had a bit more weight then Chaos's but you can't tell as Mayhem was pretty excited even as the hike ended. I made them break trail a bit off to the side and by the end of the hike they figured out that they could just stick to the groomer's and work less. The snow was light, fluffy and deep which made for an easy snowshoe but a big walk for the boys.

Both dogs are now passed out and I'm set for a quiet night of knitting.

Really you should visit- Summer Venture Out [81435]

2010-12-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

cats, hats and dogs

2010-12-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

Snowy San Juan days

2010-12-20T23:00:00.001-07:00

Chaos and mayhem rip up the freshies

See...too busy to blog

2010-12-18T10:12:00.001-07:00

8" of fresh and 100 underfoot with my k2 got backs

ski season- 23 days in

2010-12-17T23:10:00.000-07:00

ski season officially hit telluride on turkey day and i feel like we haven't stopped moving since I woke up that morning to make an apple pie. in the last 23 days we've skied, played with the dogs, gone to yoga, baked cookies, knitted hats and worked a lot. Dave even managed to sneak in a quick trip to summit county with chaos but that's been it. we're in survival mode and are hoping to dig out before new year's eve... or groundhog's day....

Hats and dogs

2010-11-14T21:24:00.001-07:00

Six years ago my friend Beth taught me to knit. I never got beyond the 6th row but carried around the yarn and needles she got me all this time. This summer I stumbled on it and re-learned how to knit with my friend YouTube. Really, you can learn anything on YouTube. I tackled scarves and hit up my local yarn store, Needlerock Fiberarts, for more supplies. I ventued into circular needles and knitting in the round.
I'm now on hat #4 and cruising along with help from knitting books from the library (I like the kids ones as they keep it simple), checking out knit hats that Beth has gifted me and of course a bit of YouTube....
Dave is into the new hobby as he is in the thick of snowmaking and it's cold out while these wool hats are toasty. The pups would rather go play but cope well with quiet nights curled up on the couch.

wicked good dog couch

2010-10-31T13:01:00.000-06:00

I think LL Bean should rename this to the Wicked Good Dog Couch. We ordered one while on our visit to Maine- Colby even did a quality control check for us.

Chaos has never been a huge fan of any bed but ours and this dog couch perked his interest and he's slept on it almost every night since we've been back.... too bad for Chaos that Mayhem also enjoys the big bolstered couch....

thankfully they negotiate well...

guess we should have gotten an extra large....

2010-10-20T18:01:00.000-06:00

The last month has looked a bit like this (cue photo montage)

In the last month we moved everything into storage, drove to Maine and back, moved things out of storage and into new place, spent time with friends, played with the puppies and got married.

Phew...

Movies at Sugarloaf

2010-10-09T20:13:00.001-06:00

Big mountain, big love

Ajax Peak and 94 hours....

2010-09-22T21:07:00.000-06:00

Saturday we ignored the to do lists, packing lists and travel plans in favor of getting up at sunrise and hiking Ajax Peak. Four years ago we moved from Sugarloaf to Telluride and in that time we've had a few things happen like Mayhem.

Who happens to like his new life in Telluride and all the area hikes. He even likes wearing his backpack. These days Chaos carries a pack with a tennis ball and some treats while Mayhem carries a few pints of water for them to share. Chaos's leg still plagues him while Mayhem has energy enough for all of us.

The day started early and we drove to the top of Bridal Veil Falls and hit the trail by 8:15am. There was one other group that started hiking around the same time which was perfect as we forgot the map and it was our first time on the trail. We had read through the hike and had a good idea of where to go but it was nice to ensure that we turned off at the right time.

The trail starts at the top of Bridal Veil Falls and follows Black Bear Pass for .8 of a mile.

Yes, This is a 4x4 road and I wouldn't take the 4Runner on it or even the old Tacoma. It's one way from Ouray and one of the hardest passes in Colorado.

The trail turned off the road and became a single track that had switchbacks up the mountain for a few miles. Chaos and Mayhem followed the trail well and it was a moderate hike up. The road was harder as the rocks were looser and it made for sketchy footing. Hiking in the West is much different from the East with loose gravelly trails instead of soft forest floors.

From the ridge we could look over to Tomboy Road and Imogene Pass. We had gone up that pass a few summers ago with Kendra in the Tacoma.

You can see a bit of the Tomboy Mining area from the Ajax Ridge line.

The view from Ajax Peak (12,785') also showcases the town of Telluride and the Ski Resort. The Blues and Brews Festival was going on last Saturday and during our time at the Peak we saw the field fill with hippies and their tarps. (beer festivals kinda suck when you can't have gluten and there isn't a gluten free beer to be found in the park)

The next day we were back to packing.... only two of these pairs of skis are mine... the rest belong to Dave and Big Dave.... I think I need to catch up.

In less then 94 hours the packing project will be complete and campchaos will hit the road for the east coast. We're watching the leaves change here and should hit New England for Peak foliage in the east.

September, 16 days and 127 Hours

2010-09-10T21:38:00.000-06:00

For some reason September seems to be a big month for Campchaos.... Four years ago we moved cross country, two years ago the tacoma was smushed and now as we ready ourselves to drive cross country for our wedding we find out we also need to move. We've gotten a new PO Box and a storage unit to hold us over until we return to Colorado in mid-October. We've put our friends on alert and are following up on leads for new dwellings.
The next 16 days should be pretty busy as we move into the storage unit and pack for our trip. Hitting the road is going to be such a sigh of relief after all this. I can't wait to hit the Colorado/Kansas line and leave some stress behind.
This last weekend we were able to ignore our real life for a bit and take in the Telluride Film Festival. We saw 127 Hours which was dirrected by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionare) and told the story of Aron Ralston. In 2003 Aron was living in Aspen and hit Canyonlands in Utah for a long weekend. While on his solo journey through Blue John Canyon he dislodged a chock stone and became trapped in a slot canyon for six days. I had read his book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place in 2004 when it was released. The movie told the story solely from Aron's perspective..... while you'd think this could be dull they did a phenomenal job. Kinda makes a wedding, a move and all the other stuff not seem so bad! We enjoyed the movie so much we saw it twice.

hiking with Chaos and Mayhem

2010-08-24T19:34:00.000-06:00

chaos and mayhem make great hiking buddies, after phish left town dave had to work on a Saturday so I hit the trail with the monsters. Hope Lake is above Trout Lake and around 5 miles round trip.

so we loaded up into the 4runner

and let the wind rip through our fur.

Chaos knows that as soon as we hit a dirt road that's there is fun to be had....

Mayhem knows enough to be excited if Chaos is...

now if only mayhem can teach chaos how to drink from a camelback too...

but they both look adorable in their backpacks. Chaos carries the light treats and toys while Mayhem carries the puppy water to help tire him out... as if 5 miles wasn't enough...

Chaos and Mayhem enjoying the views

Chaos loved the swim in Hope Lake while Mayhem would rather cruise the shoreline.

And the wet pups hike back to the car after a fun few hours...

Chaos is such a poser... mayhem needs a bit more work... otherwise this would have been a great shot.

Mayhem went to play with his friends for the rest of the weekend while Chaos, Dave and I had a mellow Sunday. We're once again having a very busy August and trying to get a lot of things done with the dogs, work and upcoming trip to Sugarloaf. We did manage to get a good night out with our friends and watch one of my favorite Colorado finds, singer Rob Drabkin.

We first saw him when he opened for Tim Reynolds in 2007 at the Sheridan Opera House and I've love his music ever since. If you like Jack or DMB then I suggest you check him out.

Phish in Telluride

2010-08-13T17:06:00.000-06:00

Dave's favorite band of all time came to Telluride and in early April he camped outside of the Sheridan Opera House overnight in a snowstorm to get tickets for us and he wasn't the first in line, the local judge was.

Sam and Big Dave also hit town for the phistoric show and the boys made a big weekend out of it and had some good times at Alta Lakes, on the golf course and just puttering around town. Chaos and Mayhem even got to bring their friend Stella with them to the lake on Saturday and I enjoyed a walk around it with the three amigos.

The shows were on Monday and Tuesday nights and town began filling up during the weekend and some Phish folks even came early enough to partake in Telluride Jazz Festival. The area was well prepared and the influx of 8,000 people wasn't too disruptive.
Phish Weekend Photos

My first Phish shows were filled with good people watching. I've been to a lot of shows in town park and most of the festivals have a very social aspect but Phish had the whole park moving and a huge light show that bounced off the canyon walls. The canyon provides great acoustics and Phish provided monster speakers. The gates opened in the late afternoon and the show started after 7:30pm as the sun began to creep out of the box canyon. I knew a couple of songs each night but really enjoyed the people watching. There were hippies, yuppies, babies and everything in between. KOTO did a beer booth but sadly New Belgium still doesn't have a gluten-free brew so it was off limits for me.
The first night was just Sam, Dave, Dave and myself while the second night had a whole crew. We lucked out and the weather held both nights from the rain that's been pounding us lately. It was a big week and I think we all could have used a weekend to recover from Monday and Tuesday... except for Chaos and Mayhem who had a few quiet nights at home while we hit town park. This weekend our couches are empty and we're looking forward to a quiet weekend at the Telluride Festival of the Arts and enjoying some gluten free beer at the Grand Tasting.

rainy days

2010-08-02T17:12:00.000-06:00

we're on a pattern of rain here that we haven't seen since the summer of 2007. This year we are actually getting full on rainy days. In the last two years we pretty much just got small afternoon showers that lasted less then a hour and this season we have woken up and gone to sleep in rain.

There really is a box canyon at the end of this road but today it was fully engulfed in the clouds. If you look really carefully you can also see a bit of Mayhem in the 4Runner.

I did manage to get these shots of the monsters on a reccent sunny day

Chaos loves to pose for the camera... I think it's all the treats he gets for it...

Mayhem requires a fast shot and you might getting him standing still...

or you can just get a nice view of puppy bums scampering down the trail.

summer daze...

2010-07-19T21:50:00.000-06:00

Life with two monsters is alwasy busy. We're working hard each week to balance work with playtime and the engery needs of two pups. Mayhem's an active guy who can run for hours.

So we ride the gondola on adventures...

Drive up to Chaos's favorite lake for swim time and a bit of gluten free beer by the lake and

when they are all tired out we head home to make the donuts (gluten free, of course)

Rainy day walks

2010-07-09T20:32:00.001-06:00

These two really don't care that its dumping, they just want the treat in my paw.

Alta lakes

2010-06-26T15:45:00.001-06:00

A bit of rain never slows down our camping, the rainshade makes a great shelter.

Didn't June just start?

2010-06-24T17:52:00.000-06:00

We're making a point this summer to not go to all the festivals and events that Telluride offers. We've experienced most of them and we're now focused on taking it easy and making time for the simple things like camping, climbing, walking the insatiable pups and spending time with friends and keeping up with new gluten free products and trends. Like 2 new gluten free brews, when you've only had 3 total brands to choose from adding two is a really big deal. While being gluten free is getting easier all the time it still takes a lot of effort and planning to stay safe and has become a big part of life here at CampChaos.
a snapshot (or a few) of june so far

and climbing gets it's own show... though we should be climbing more...
the dogs love the bouldering spot as it's in the woods provides lots of places to play without much trouble

Oh yeah, we're also becoming event planners. Yes, it's happening this October and no, it's not going to be big, but it is going to be big fun. We haven't seen most of you since... and in some ways this is going to be a big reunion for us, plus it will be Mayhem's east coast debut. Just planning a simple Maine wedding from Colorado is a bit of work in addition to keeping up with our own work, play and puppy schedules.

a day at the lake

2010-06-16T22:31:00.000-06:00

We recently took a festival free weekend and took the monsters up to Alta Lakes. We goofed around and lounged by the lake all day. Chaos and Mayhem swam their hearts out and explored the woods. Yes, that's snow in the photo and the water was frigid. We found out each time the boys shook upon exiting the water. Mayhem will bring the ball to us while Chaos runs off with his. They are two very different dogs and really enjoy each other's company.

Dave channeled the energy of the karate kid

And Chaos and I had a nap in the afternoon sunshine on the bouldering pad.... good thing too as now Bluegrass has arrived and we're in for a busy festival weekend with 12,000 of our closest friends in Telluride Town Park.

Sleeping dogs

2010-06-13T21:28:00.001-06:00

Chaos and Mayhem cuddle during movie time after a short but busy weekend.

Mountainfilm

2010-06-05T23:42:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we balanced life at camp chaos between spending time with the monsters and enjoying Mountainfilm here in Telluride. This happens to be my favotire festival of the year and is full of good times during the four day event.
Click here for 2007, a bit more from 2007, 2008 , 2009 festival highlights.

From camp chaos

It's a big weekend and is always and inspiration. I'm not into fishing but loved the latest from Felt Soul Media film Eastern Rises (love all their stuff), was blown away with the composure of Alex in Alone on the Wall (I freak out on a small boulder) and enjoyed watching a young man come into his own during The Edge of Never. I saw a lot from Sender Films and hope to catch more as they air on Nat Geo tv.

I saw 7 movie blocks in four days and enjoyed everything from climbing films to movies on Everest and documentaries. I also saw my hero, Ed Viesturs, the first American to climb all of the world's 8,000 meter peaks without bottled oxygen give a few talks as well. We listened to his book, No Shortcuts to the Top on a cross country drive and it's been a favorite on my ipod ever since.

Dave also met Greg Stump who made the Blizzard of Aahhh's over 20 years ago. In 2008 we were lucky enough to meet Glen Plake and have him sign it, this year Stump signed the case as well. Stump is a Mainah
and grew up skiing Pleasant Mountain (AKA Shawnee Peak).

Mountainfilm goes on tour and if it comes near you I'd highly recommend it. It will be in Portland, Maine on October 22.

During the weekend the pups were lucky enough to spend some time with Brandon, a fellow Mainer. He was headed fishing and took the boys with him. I don't think they helped his fishing effort but he enjoyed them regardless. We found them passed out in the back of his truck.

Saturday Night Live - Debbie Downer- Dress Rehearsal - Video - NBC.com

2010-05-15T23:59:00.001-06:00

Saturday Night Live - Debbie Downer- Dress Rehearsal - Video - NBC.com

Turns out I've got something in common with Debbie Downer... thankfully I have a better attitude about my gluten intolerance!

the return of the river dogs and climbing adventures

2010-05-14T18:44:00.001-06:00

It's still on the chilly side here in telluride but the boys are enjoying the San Miguel River with their friend Stella. Chaos loves swimming more then Mayhem but they both enjoy the time outside.

Dave's been scouting out new places to climb and we went up to a wall overlooking town this weekend. The weather turned south but it was good to go for a hike with the monsters and get back on the rock.

We put a pack on Mayhem with a small amount of weight in hopes of tiring the little man out. Chaos also has a pack but we're giving him a break since he's the big guy.

We even caught sight of this little guy in the tree... thankfully the boys didn't see or meet up with any of these quills.

The boys had fun and learned to stay off our climbing rope. It's important to not let it get too dirty since little rocks or grains of sand can break a rope down.

Also new on the homefront this week is the grumpy kitty's attitude towards Mayhem. She still yells at him for no reason but has been sighted hanging out near him.

Brotherly love

2010-05-11T21:56:00.001-06:00

I caught this shot of the boys cuddling after tubby time.

Moab

2010-05-09T19:41:00.000-06:00

We were finally able to escape the lingering winter weather that's been in Telluride last weekend and hit the road for Moab, Utah with the monsters. After a bit of searching we found a great campsite along the muddy Colorado River in Negro Bill Canyon. This was Mayhem's first camping adventure and we were a bit worried since he usually sleeps in his crate on how he would do with us in the tent. We had done a few trial runs outside the crate before the trip and he seems to be fine as long as he's near us and Chaos.

We also managed to catch up with some Sugarloaf friends who were on a small road trip for some warm weather and biking. It turns out that Moab also was in a bit of a cold spell but it was still much better weather then Telluride and camping was comfortable. Our sunshade that we picked up last summer for Telluride Festivals was a great hangout for the small rainstorms that hit us during the weekend.

Before we had a fire Chaos helped clean the old charcoal out of the firepit. He wanted to feel helpful and it reminded him of eating the charcoal that we used in the winter at the Maine CampChaos for traction on the snowy driveway.

Chaos and Mayhem would spend time wrestling at camp and Mayhem also had a favorite chew stick to play with. Chaos was allowed to be off leash if he was behaving... which he did until the neighbors made dinner.

I'd also take the pups on the hiking trail and we found a small swimhole for them to play in.

At night there were canyon river tours in the Colorado River and they light the walls as they cruise through.

We did do a drive through Canyonlands National Park and got some great views. We had the monsters with us and the park was not very pet friendly and they were only welcome in the parking lots.

It was a good relaxing weekend in our campsite by the river and I think the boys were bummed when we packed up camp and loaded the 4Runner to head back to chilly Telluride.

Chaos could have just been bummed to have his brother crowding him in the back of the truck...

Hitting the road...

2010-04-30T12:53:00.001-06:00

Moab for the weekend to escape the snow in Telluride

chaos, mayhem and the grumpy kitty

2010-04-22T19:50:00.000-06:00

life at campchaos has settled down. the animals are all getting along well and even pissy kitty joins in the snuggle fun sometimes, but mostly she just runs around and meows at Mayhem.

And I want you to marvel at the fact that we managed to get all three animals in one shot, this may never happen again.

Mayhem and Chaos have started to play more and the living room has turned into a play arena each night. We've traded dogs during the day and they'll take turns coming to work with me or running errands with Dave. Chaos is great at holding the floor down while Mayhem is learning that the chair is for me and not him.

It's snowing again in Telluride. We've begun packing away our winter gear in hopes that mother nature will take the hint. There were a few inches on the ground this morning and tonight it looks like a blizzard outside with fat flakes filling the sky.

mayhem has settled in and is now living up to his name. he's full of energy and even tires chaos out. that's why he's photogenic late at night while chaos just wants to sleep.

camp chaos hits the road

2010-04-15T17:38:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we loaded up the 4Runner and headed northeast to catch up with all the folks in Summit County. We even squeezed in a few extra visits along the way. Dave's finished for the season as there isn't much demand for groomers after the mountain closes and I took an extended weekend so we didn't have to rush the trip.

Chaos in blue and Mayhem in green cuddle in the sunshine

We left Thursday morning and stopped in Vail to see our friend Sandy who currently lives in Alaska and was in Vail for a conference. We walked the dogs along the busy ski town paths and grabbed dinner at a local pub. Big Dave also made the trip out of Telluride as he had to drop a friend off for knee surgery and met up with us at Sam & Meghan's house. They rent a farmhouse in Silverthorne and it has a big area for all the dogs to run and play in. They had borrowed a Wii for the weekend and it kept the boys up late each night for some rounds of bowling and golf.
Friday we started our day with a breakfast at Kula's in Dillon. It's a small cafe and run by the nicest people... they also happen to specialize in gluten-free goodies. It's not often I get to enjoy gluten-free french toast and I made sure to document the occasion for my GF blog. Sam had the day off and the three boys and I headed over to Copper for the day. Meghan was able to meet up and ride with us for a bit as did Jon in the afternoon. We also spent some time watching Alex and a crew of CVA kids compete in SBX. Alex had stayed with us last December when the World Cup hit Telluride and it was great to be able to watch him race and take 5th.
Saturday found us with a repeat at Kula's before Team Dave and I hit slopes at A-Basin. It was a cloudy day near Loveland Pass and colder then expected. We had taken Chaos, Mayhem as well as Kaya and Echo on a big walk that morning so we didn't feel too bad about ditching them. Saturday night was Courtney's birthday and we hit their house for Chinese food and birthday cake. Chaos and Mayhem had a great time playing with their cousins and the girls even took Mayhem and Chaos for a walk with me. Both dogs were on their best behavior as the girls held the leashes. These days Chaos only pulls when he sees another dog and Mayhem had on his gentle leader harness which reigns him in nicely.
Jon and Courtney had Sunday off so we hit Copper for a ski day with the crew after our 3rd Kula's breakfast of the trip and another big dog walk. Kula's also had great pocket snacks for me. They made this incredible GF carmel bar with a rich chocolate topping that was great fuel for both A-Basin and Copper. I can't ski without loading my pockets now as I never know where I can find "safe" food. It's imperative that I don't have gluten while traveling since it would kill the trip with a migraine and other issues that I'll spare you the details on. This last weekend I was a huge fan of Kula's treats and fruit snacks.

The kids have progressed a lot since the last time we were able to ski with them, and Courtney and Jon aren't half bad either...

Team Drabik ripped it up and we ended a big ski day with free music at the base of the mountain in the sunshine. It was a very full weekend and we're both looking forward to a quiet time at home with the monsters this weekend to recover from the Summit County crew and the trip out of Telluride.

Spring Travels

life with chaos and mayhem

2010-03-29T21:09:00.000-06:00

Mayhem is settling into life at camp chaos nicely. Chaos is learning how to be a big brother to someone who likes him a lot more then Mu-nee Kitty does and Mayhem is learning our rules and routines. Dave has another full week of grooming and being a creature of the night before off-season hits the lifts stop for the summer. Chaos and I are really good at taking up the whole bed now after a season of Dave working 5 nights a week. Mayhem sleeps in his crate as it enables Chaos and I some sleep in and cuddle time in the morning. Once I let Mayhem out he springs onto the bed with us and squirms vying for attention. Mu-nee has also figured out that Mayhem's crate time and take the opportunity to have her free roam of the house back.

Munee and Mayhem have had some kitty therapy time and Mayhem is actually afraid of the grumpy cat. She tends to avoid the new monster at all costs and was pretty upset when we made her spend some time with all of us in the living room one day. I think she now realizes how good she really had it with Chaos.

The boys and I play outside each morning then Mayhem has some crate time while Chaos enjoys some couch time before Dave comes home from grooming. He also takes them out for a bit before going to sleep for the night.

In the evenings I like to avoid the mud pit and slush that has become many of our trails and drive the boys to a empty cul-de-sac to play. It's at the base of a hill and tennis balls roll back to me in case one of the dogs (Chaos) loses interest and drops it. Mayhem is quite the ball dog and will play for as long as I let him. Chaos loves to play fetch while swimming but quickly loses interest on terra firma.

Our new spot is great as the hill also lets me pretend to be the ski coach from hell and I make the boys do uphill sprints. I keep waiting for them to catch on to my game but they just keep running. These workouts let Mayhem (and the rest of us) have a quiet night.

Mayhem enjoys sleeping in the tub on occasion and isn't afraid of it like Chaos. They each had a shower on Sunday and the lavender puppy shampoo scent lasted a few days before the spring mud smell returned.

Chaos has been excellent about sharing his toy collection and Mayhem is learning how to use the treat spot in the kongs and Planet Dog Toys.

We're working on our manners and although Mayhem eats like he hasn't been fed in years, he is sitting before his meal is presented just like Chaos. We've been adding some toys to his food bowl so he has something to work around and helps to slow down his pace. This little step also ensures that each pup is in his own spot and we haven't had any food fights at all. In general the boys don't wrestle with each other. This helps keep things at campchaos pretty calm overall.

Mayhem had his first vet visit on today and he was dropped off early in order to get neutered for an early birthday present. I'm sure he'll love spending his birthday on tomorrow wearing a cone... perhaps we can dress it up like a birthday hat? When I picked up Mayhem, Chaos had a few routine shots done. We don't get to schedule vet appointments very often... usually chaos will find some reason to see Dr. Taylor, he'll do anything from getting sick to a ski injury to see his favorite vet.

We have less then a week left of lift service here in Telluride. We lucked out on Saturday and had 22" with bluebird weather. Jared, Dave and I even did a hike-to. Bald Mt is a 20+/- minute hike for some pretty deep snow.

campchaos welcomes a little mayhem

2010-03-20T12:18:00.000-06:00

It's offical... campchaos is now also home to a little mayhem. We picked Mayhem up yesterday and he is settling in well to life at campchaos. Mayhem is almost a year old and a pure golden. We weren't able to see photos before we picked him up and were pleasantly surprised that he looks similar to Chaos. We've been talking about getting a second dog and this was set into motion around Christmas when we asked our landlord. She knows Chaos well and consented. Last week she called and asked if we were interested in an older puppy. She had a friend who's daughter had a golden that needed a new home. It was a big week and we decided to have Mayhem join campchaos. We kept it quiet in case it fell though... what if they backed out? what it the puppy was a monster?
So Friday morning we were up and on the road before the sun to go pick up our new pup. We did drive through a storm because it was the first time we've ventured past Montrose all winter and that's the way the world works. Since we drive the car so infrequently we also learned at the top of Monarch Pass that it was time to invest in some new windshield wipers for the 4Runner. Thankfully there are a number of places to pull over a clean the windshield.

Chaos has the entire back of the 4Runner to spread out in on the way there and ended up curling up on top of our bags. The normally six hour drive to Colorado Springs turned into an 8 hour drive and we all felt a little cooped up by the time we arrived in the Springs. (Go Turtle!)

We picked up Mayhem and went over to the nearby Garden of the Gods Park to walk the boys together. The weather was moving in and we grabbed a quick gluten-free dinner at PF Changs before the long drive home. They just added a few more items to their gluten-free menu and it was great to be able to try them out.

21 hours after we left, we returned home with our new monster.

This morning I took the boys out for a walk and Mayhem had his first gondola ride. He slipped his collar and was afraid to get on but Chaos climbed in like a seasoned pro and I scooped up Mayhem and added him to the cabin. He rode it fine after that and I tightened his collar for the exit.

We had a good walk and the boys romped in the fresh snow.

Chaos has a lot to teach his new little brother... Mu-nee Kitty checked out his crate last night and has not made an appearance yet today to make comment on this new addition.

loafer invasion

2010-03-18T18:04:00.001-06:00

Camp Chaos was headquarters to a Sugarloaf invasion these last few weeks. Here's a few highlights from the trip. We spent some serious time skiing, tubbing and catching up. Chaos was excited to see his old friends again.

Powderhound

2010-03-14T19:27:00.001-06:00

We have had a busy march so far at campchaos. We had a few fun sugarloafers to ski with last month and 3 in the last week who have become part of campchaos. Chaos has had no shortage of attention and cuddles and today we found a nice spot to play in the fresh snow. I caught this image in the fading sunlight. I love having the extra daylight after work.

powder days in telluride

2010-02-21T18:33:00.001-07:00

We awoke on Saturday to 13 fresh inches and the sky was still dumping. Chaos managed to score a short walk before Dave and I headed out for a day on the hill.

After taking some runs together, we found our friends waiting at the gate to Prospect Bowl... the rope dropped and it was a ski/board cross race to the lift. 95% of the crowd hit Gold Hill and Jess and I met up at Prospect Express. We had first tracks down Stella and captured the image in the low light..

We found some good stashes and hung out in prospect for a while...

Eventually we found Jared and Dave again and stopped for a snack at High Camp.

Seriously... this sounds narly but was actually really good and marked gluten free... a gourmet chocolate bar laced with bacon. While there was more snow this morning I ended up working all day and not making time for a ski break.... perhaps tomorrow if all goes well!

The bacon chocolate only made us realize how starving we all were and we descended on Big Dave's house at Melrose Place for some food and tubby time. We made Brinner (breakfast for dinner) and all the non-glutards piled it high on a bulky roll. We made gluten free pancakes, hash browns, eggs, bacon and sausage and a few folks managed to get all these layered up into a sandwich.

our other favourite golden boy....seth wescott wins gold in Vancouver

2010-02-16T22:46:00.002-07:00

From camp chaos

as you may remember we happen to be fans of our fellow sugarloafer, Seth Wescott. Seth is a snowboard cross racer (sbx) and when the sport made it's Olympic debut in 2006, Seth took gold after a dashing hole-shot. Camp Chaos was very excited to cheer Seth on in Telluride at the World Cup SBX race in December, two of the last 3 X Games in Aspen and other events here in Telluride.

From x games 2009

I'd been watching the Today Show and waiting for clips, Seth has been on the show a fair amount and is always well spoken. Check out his pre-race interview with Matt.

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Yesterday I was a wreak. I was nervous and tried to plan my day so I could watch the races. I checked the web during qualifiers to be sure time trials were ok- the first run- not so much but the second ensured a spot in the race. I posted happy thoughts on facebook and a friend sent over a link so I could watch the race live. My stomach was in knots as I watched the small figures zoom on my laptop.

Four races. That's it- that's all. Mess one up and it's over. There's a lot of skill in sbx but there's also a lot left to chance. One racer can get clipped by another or hit a rut and spin out.

Chaos wasn't sure what was wrong with me as I watched the semifinals. Seth and Holland had kept moving forward by taking the top two spots and both progressed to the final medal round. In less then two minutes it was over, Seth had come from behind and slowly picked off the three other races until he sped across the finish line just a half a snowboard length ahead of the Canadian. I was beside myself and wished at that moment I could be back in Maine and celebrating at The Rack like I did in 2006 with all my 'loafer friends. I tossed my favorite golden boy a treat and dug out my "Congrats Seth" button that Sugarloaf had made for Seth Wescott day in 2006. My golden pup posed for some photos.

I really did try not to tell Dave but it wasn't possible to hide the good news that our other favorite golden boy had done it again.

Just watch it...

Congrats Seth, camp chaos is proud of you!

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From one golden boy to another....

2010-02-15T18:06:00.002-07:00

winter woks and more

2010-02-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

If you happen to read Think Outside the Breadbox you may already know that one of my favorite glutarded meals is Street Noodles. We made a huge batch the other night and thankfully I was greatly assisted by our favorite Chef Tomas.

Chef Tomas is a legend here in Telluride and when Justin found him at the Free Box one fine winter day in 2007 he was a bit down on his luck. He came to live with us and spends his time between Camp Chaos, Sno Dundah and Melrose Place. He's currently staying at Melrose since Big Dave had a heated pool and a hot tub which helps take the chill off a cold winter's day.

Tomas and I made street noodles for a crowd of seven starving skiers on Saturday. We had friends and friends of friends in town and had a good evening and meal at Melrose Place. Tomas was pretty proud of his wok skills...

I went for a full moon hike with some friends last month and got one whole photo as we departed thanks to dave... I hate taking off my gloves in cold weather. Here's me and our friend Jim as we ready to depart on the hour-long hike up.

Dave had to skip the hike as he went off for some night shift grooming... midnight to 9:30am, five nights a week... kinda takes the fun out of a Saturday night. He was to get some shots like this...

an early morning overlooking the Telluride Airport.

Old buddies

2010-01-26T19:57:00.002-07:00

How cute am I?

2010-01-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

powdah days

2010-01-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

Friday had 15" of fresh powder and somehow we both managed to have the day off. We were on the hill by 10am and didn't hit apres until after 3:30pm. Today was another 5" and a shorter day on the hill since Dave is working tonight and needed to rest and nap. I used his nap time to make some gluten free homemade granola bars and reload my ipod. Right now I'm watching a lot of Grey's Anatomy and started loading episodes right onto the itouch. Gotta love the McMainer! We started watching this October starting from season one on Netflix and am now on season six- which happens to be the current season. I had to delete some music and movies to make room for upcoming episodes. There's worse addictions I could have.

Chaos has dealing well with getting ditched on powder days... we try to take him on a good walk most nights and last night he got to go to a party at Uncle Dave's house then a big walk home down the snowy trail. He still chases skiers and did pull his muscle last week and has been limping around a bit. He's fine when he's outside but limps when he gets off the couch. That's what he gets for sprinting after skiers again...

Cuddle monster

2010-01-22T08:47:00.001-07:00

Daylight walks

2010-01-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

Now that we have had the shortest day chaos is finally back to getting walks in the evening light.... A groomed slope and a chuck it at miles onto his walks.
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lobstah night

2010-01-03T22:20:00.001-07:00

Big Dave is also know as clammah dave and his family has the Clam Hunter just outside of Bath, Maine. They developed a system for cleaning clams to make them less gritty. I've been told all of this as I am not a seafood lover.... in fact that's why they kicked me out of Maine...

His family sent him a dozen lobsters and a ton of clams and he had the crew over for a lobster bake. Dave's new diggs also include a large hot tub so we were also able to sit in boiling water and ease the holidaze to a close. We even had Tomas help us cook- he's quite the lobster chef!

a long december....

2009-12-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I'm ready for 2009 to be over. It's been a busy year and I'm hoping to slow down a bit more in 2010.... but with an October event and the craziness of Telluride I think a slow 2010 is just a dream.

I've been trying to spend more time cooking and baking. I've been playing with a few gluten free flour blends and perfecting my street noodles. In case you didn't know I also am a gluten free blogger.... but have fallen even further behind there!

Dave's been busy snowmaking and starts grooming next week when the roll up the snowmaking hose for the season. He'll be working nights all winter so Chaos will have a buddy to nap with during the day.

Telluride hosted the 2009 Snowboardcross World Cup event and we cheered on two Sugarloafer. Seth Wescott won the gold in the 2006 Olympics and we've cheered him on in a few events. This year Alex Tuttle joined in on the fun... he even stayed here at campchaos and managed to make it through Dave's entire collection of the Simpson's. Alex is 19 and graduated from CVA last year and this was his first world cup race. There are 60+ racers that come to town for this and they only have 32 spots for race day so they do a qualifier the day prior. SBX is a lot of fun to watch as it's 4 races flying down the course at one time and egging each other on. The qualifiers are a grueling process where each races gets two solo runs down the course and the top 32 times advance to the next day's races. Alex had a great showing and hit 43rd (did I mention this is his first World Cup event.... and not his last!) and Seth hit 2nd and went on to the next day. The bonus for us was getting to watch the finals with Alex and knowing that when he said Seth was solid that things were ok and when he got nervous there was a good reason! This is a race that is helping to secure spots at the 2010 olympics. It was on NBC last week and that was Dave and I rocking the Go Wescott Banner.... you could safely call us his biggest Telluride fans.

Work has been insane and I'm on day 11 straight.... 'nuff said. Plus my crackberry is on the fritz... it thinks I want to take photos instead of making calls or sending emails. At one point it wouldn't even let me pick up phone calls. I ordered a new phone and as soon as I did the old crackberry started working again.... arugh. I also changed my mind and am going to move away from the crackberry and find a new model..... I've been asking around and everyone seems to love the droid.... thank goodness for a 30 day return policy. This is the hard part about working too much and not having a good cell phone store around us.

sitting with santa

2009-12-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Blizzard walks

2009-12-07T18:05:00.000-07:00

Riding up the chondola with chaos for our nightly walk down the hill..... Tonight in the snow
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Welcome to winter

2009-12-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Telluride opened the lifts on turkey day and between cooking the bird and gluten free pies we managed to get on the hill and ski a few days. I was able to score a long weekend..... Which will be my last until April!
Chaos now gets to run down the mountain at night and loves the new variation on the walks. We ride up the chondola from our house and hike down the trail. He plays the whole way and even slides down the trail like a sea otter.
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Poopy nights

2009-11-19T02:35:00.001-07:00

3rd night in row of waking up every 60 to 90 minutes. Put on down jacket, hat, head lamp and boots. Walk down stairs and stand outside for 5-10 min in 14 degree weather. Come in and wipe runny pooh from Chaos's sore bum and long hair. Try to sleep before next round and feel guilty for feeling grumpy when he's sick.

And oh yeah.... Dave's working nights so I am on chaos duty alone. I still have to work and did a presentation at 10am today for crowd of 40 people and had to wing it since the power point I made wouldn't work on the big screen and then froze on my computer- remembered that i should always print a hard copy so i don't have to remember my presentation after a night of 4 hours of interrupted sleep.
He is eating. He now likes to have his dish elevated since his muscles are tired of bending. I made him rice and boiled chicken and mixed it with a bit of canned dog food. He is doing better during the day with much longer times between episodes. He went to his friends house while I went to a longer afternoon meeting and did really well. I was feeling optimistic that tonight would be mellow but we've been outside 3 times since 10:30pm- good times.
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not so chaotic....

2009-11-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

the vet wasn't sure either but there's a good chance chaos ate something that messed up his system. He had his stool and blood tested on Monday which both came out clear and did not have any tummy troubles when Dr. Taylor checked him out. He feels better in the afternoons and mornings are rough. Last night he woke me at 1:30am and the puke monster became the poop monster (in a very watery version of this term).... this continuted every 60-90 minutes through 10am. He started to feel a bit better and started going a few hours between trips outside. We're very lucky as he does tell us. I'd rather have him wake me 7 times then wake up to piles.... or puddles as it came out...
He didn't eat breakfast today but did eat a good dinner and is now begging for another trip outside... it's gonna be a long night.

he's moving a lot faster now...

Waiting

2009-11-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

The vet is in surgery all morning and I am waiting with chaos for a 2pm appointment. He has been drinking water and has not thrown up since 10:30pm last night but still isn't eating and would not get out of bed this morning. I tried all the good words and even brought him a treat covered with peanut butter which he didn't eat.
I went to work this morning racked with guilt on leaving him home alone and was thrown out. I very much appreciate working with dog lovers.
He's resting in the back of the 4runner and I'm reading to pass the time. I was hoping to get in early but regardless this is the best spot to wait. If anything goes funky we are here. I had to lift him out of bed this morning and carried him halfway down from our third floor condo before making him walk. My dog carry needs some work and chaos needs to lose a few pounds. He seems a bit better then this morning but he isn't himself..... What self respecting monster turns down peanut butter covered treats?
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Chaos puke monster

2009-11-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

He has thrown up 6 times today and will not eat..... If this keeps up we will be at the vet tomorrow! Chaos has never refused food before..... Or treats or peanut butter. We got him to drink a small amount of water which came back up.
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Colorado boy pub

2009-11-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

A lazy Sunday in Ridgway.....
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Best way to clean a peanut butter jar for recycling....

2009-11-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

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Stella and chaos

2009-11-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

They chill out together as well but this is when they are having the most fun.....
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6 inches and still dumping

2009-10-28T08:33:00.000-06:00

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off season?

2009-10-25T22:59:00.000-06:00

Most ski towns have an off season where things and life slows down. Technically we are in off season but I'm still spending a lot of time and energy working. Dave worked Saturday and started snowmaking tonight. We managed to take a bit of a break this weekend and hit a pumpkin carving party at Jim's house. He made his signaure chili and even made two pots and made one with Gluten Free Beer! I'm very lucky that our friends have been great about helping me eat gluten free... guess it just goes to show you how grumpy I used to be when eating gluten.... or that we have good friends. Either way we had friends ensure that there were chili, crackers, dips and cupcakes that were glutarded for me.

Here's a little photo montage from the event. At the end there is also a Munee and Chaos segment...

And a shot of Team Dave on their first night of snowmaking... we made a really good slow cooker meal tonight to send them off into the night shift and 18 degree weather warm and happy.

Things chaos loves...

2009-10-09T18:42:00.000-06:00

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