biking with Mayhem...

summer and the 4th of July

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.

the return of the river dogs and climbing adventures

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.

gondola cabin #38

we camped out thursday night at the woods lake campsite. I had a late afternoon meeting that ran into the evening so dave drove out and set up camp while chaos scouted the area. We drove out after the meeting in a rain storm that never really let up. Although it was a sweet site we hung in the tent and watched Into the Wild on the ipod touch. There's something about a rainy night that makes me love this movie.
We awoke the next morning to more rain. Mornings are usually sunny but it was pouring. Chaos and I ventured out of the tent for a short walk and were drenched. we left camp set up trying to be optimistic that we would be back for another drier evening with friends that night and headed in for breakfast at the Blue Jay.
We headed into town and met Jess at the Farmers Market to pick up some cheeses and other goodies for that evening. the plan had been to have our friends camp out with us on friday night to celebrate my birthday but the rain changed our plan and we invited them to the house for dinner instead.
We headed up the gondola with Jess and all ventured out at the top to enjoy the break in the sky. Jess headed down to Mountain Village while Dave and I caught cabin #38 back to Telluride and the 4runner. He asked if I wanted my birthday present then handed me a bubblegum machine ring. I took it out and asked what it meant. After I put on the black glass ring he pulled out the real ring. The Bigelow Range are the mountains that our camp bordered and that are best viewed from Sugarloaf. While we were back east this spring Dave had called Liz, the designer, about the ring. Liz has a great line of jewelry and was eager to make Dave a ring. They worked on the details and the ring arrived last monday in telluride. I love those mountains and it is a great symbol for us.
our friends came over for dinner and no one noticed the small detail... we had been pretty adamant that we were on the 10 year program that his older brothers had followed so he caught pretty much everyone off guard. I guess last birthday's kitchen aid mixer had to be topped somehow!

We spent the weekend having fun with friends, attending a wine tasting and a Citizen Cope concert and spreading news. Thank goodness for facebook and the blog or else we would have killed our cell minutes for the month! Tonight we had ice cream in the famous kitchen aid ice cream attachment and enjoyed a quiet night after a busy weekend.

No details have been decided but stay tuned. Any ideas for a fun event.... must include one fabulous golden retriever....

team glh

marc had a very busy trip to telluride. While at camp chaos he...
...visited Moab and took lots of photos...

...enjoyed a bacon shot at fat alley...

...went climbing at the rock gym...

...skied, hiked and skied the deck...

and had fun with everyone's favorite golden.

Marc even took some Chaos kisses home to Colby. It was really hard to transport but he managed to surpise his 3.5 year old with some sloppy Chaos kisses. He also was able to bring Beth home the famous Telluride Truffles which he picked out himself. We went to the factory and tried some of Patty's and Colleen's cheesecake and sampled some truffles.

18 inches... 'nuff said

flying over telluride

our fellow sugarloaf bob just moved to Telluride for the winter and took the daves and I up in his plane over telluride. We flew to Ouray (an hour's drive, 5 minute fly) over Silverton and to Ridgeway. It was a beautiful day and we all had fun. Bob even let dave fly for a bit...
here's the view from 15,000 feet!
Thanks Bob!

the aftermath

things went much better then expected with the insurance company and now we are in the waiting game. Waiting to sign some papers, waiting for the old loan to clear, waiting for the remainder from the insurance money. We started car shopping online... we are leaning heavily towards a Subaru but it's hard to say what we will really end up with. We want a safe, reliable, low mileage mode of transport that is comfortable for more then 2 people and many dogs. It must be good for long drives and in all weather. We also don't want a crazy payment. I've now looked at everything from Honda Elements to Toyota Highlanders to Subaru Forester's. It's hard to play this game online and see what will really work for us. The closest car dealer is an hour away but there isn't much point in going until the waiting game is over with the insurance company.

We took yesterday off from all the stress and booked hour long massages for each of us at one of the locals spas. We were able to relax in the pool, hot tub and steam room during the day and enjoy an hour of de-stressing. Dave's masseuse was very gentle but helped to stretch out his sore back muscles. It helped him alot and today he is puttering around the house instead of resuming his spot on the couch where he has been all week.

rainy camping and film festival

the labor day weekend has been home to the telluride film festival for the last 35 years. we hit one of the films at the festival and also camped out with a group of friends. Chaos even got to bring his friend Budo along for the fun. The afternoon sky was hard to read and we all decided to go despite the dark clouds above. We made our way to the same spot as the week before but with a bigger crowed.

This weekend we had 8 people and 2 monsters for a night in the woods. We had a great night and the rain held off until 2am at which point we (mostly) agreed that it was time for bed. Chaos was still ready for more action. He loves being around people and Alissa was on tail patrol to ensure chaos kept his long fur out of the fire and we were all on guard to ensure Chaos and Budo stayed away from our marshmallows. We did let them lick the plates to help keep scents down for the active bear population. Although I am sure chaos would warn us before a bear swiped through our tent wall to get to us and our smells of squeeze cheese, potatoes, hot dogs, chocolate and graham crackers.

Scott and Alissa even brought a glow in the dark frisbee for some entertainment. We found other fun too like chopping up the old downed trees for additional fuel for our campfire and making smores. The next morning I got up early and took the dogs for a walk in the rain. Chaos had slept with us and Budo had snuggled with Jared and Jess and Chaos definitely woke them when we grabbed Budo that morning! The monsters plodded along the road not noticing two elk 20 feet away from them. After the walk and some breakfast the soggy monsters help to wake up the seven other campers by pushing tents. Dave and Maggie even ended up with a small lake we dubbed "lake daggie" at one end of their tent. We all broke camp down quickly and made way to the blue jay for a warm breakfast.

Sunday we managed to get 10 of us all together for American Violet which premiered at the festival. It was stunning movie about drugs, corrupt politics and race in Texas. I wish I could tell you it will be in theaters soon but that's still unknown. The movie is based a true story and the family it was based on was in Telluride as were the director, producer and some of the actors including Will Patton who played the coach in Remember the Titans. It reminded me of that and also of a John Grisham flick with the suspense and legal drama.

Chaos's swim in Trout Lake

As you know chaos loves to swim and I captured these shots last weekend as the monster swam his heart out for his tennis ball. He'll swim until he's freezing and won't stop until I drag him away from the lake!

Skiing August 3rd Telluride, Co

the end of the season...

scenes from the end of the season street dance and the final day skiing at Telluride.

camp chaos hits the trail

we took a break from skiing this weekend and went for a snowshoe up Bear Creek. We had Murphy the golden doodle for the weekend and also invited Budo along since his parents just had a baby and he needs the playtime.



the trail is also the location where skiers dump out from some of telluride's extreme terrain and we saw around 10 skiers and riders headed down. Murphy was able to take down two snowboarders and I managed to distract the other two with treats so they wouldn't join in on the fun. But I guess if you can handle the terrain you should also be able to deal with 3 monsters chasing you down the trail. Chaos had a lot of fun with his friends and we all enjoyed the sunshine.
Dave and chaos are now sacked out on the couch watching The Goonies... this 1985 classic became a lot cooler since we visited the town and beach featured in the movie during our spring 2006 road trip. Here's chaos running after the waves.

bacon shots

rim shot glass with bacon grease
pour one shot of Bourbon
garnish with 2 inch piece of bacon

Enjoy!


Best served with BBQ cuisine at Fat Alley in Telluride.

the ski tour hits telluride

The Jeep King of the Mountain Ski Tour has hit Telluride. It's a pretty big thing and we're busy making sure everyone knows about it here in town. Dave and I will be attending some shows and watching the races on Sunday afternoon. We're gonna cheer for Seth Wescott who is also a sugarloafer. Tonight we made a banner to show our support!

So when the Snowboard cross airs on TV check it out and look for us! I have to say I'm pretty happy with the way the banner came out. I think it's the best Sugarloaf logo I have ever done.
The Telluride Skier Cross will air on CBS 12/29/07 5:00-6:00pm Eastern Time
The Telluride Snowboard Cross will air on CBS 1/12/07 4:00-5:00pm Eastern Time

deep in the heart of Texas

I've been in Texas since Friday and can now say that I've had enough Mexican/TexMex food to last me for at least a year. I'm not a big fan to begin with but there aren't many Thai restaurants on the river walk in San Antonio so I had to deal.

Frozen Margs are another story... I had a few today with peach flavoring which were very smooth, made for a great evening in the sunshine with an old pal from Maine. I know at least one person will be a bit jealous that I also had some fresh Shiner Bock while in SA and it rivaled the Fat Tire that we had the first night.

I wish I had brought the camera so I could do some pic posting for y'all of my cheap pink cowboy hat and the river walk. It's been a pretty good trip. The ski industry is all about friends and this weekend I caught up with old one and made some new ones.... we always talk about how we're going to ski at each other's mountains but truth be told it's hard to get away during ski season so it rarely happens.

To top the trip off we found out today that Texas will be coming to Telluride next year- yee-haw!

Must jet- early flight tomorrow....

A Telluride Day

So how is life in telluride different from sugarloaf? There's a few things that stand out- some good, some bad and some just different.

First, we can go a month without driving and still go places. That's a hard thing to do- especially in the original camp chaos location.

Rent is 3 times higher. Groceries and other stuff cost more too.

Chaos goes to work in my office. It helps to pay for his dog food and treats. He also goes to the bank and shops in some stores too. He rides the Gondola like a pro but does love to bark and chase them given the chance.

The terrain is different. I would do bad things for a run on Narrow Gauge or Tote Road right now. There has been a lot more snow and a lot less rain. There's also more opportunity to play in the trees here.

There's some good open space out behind our house but gone are the days of letting Chaos out on his own. He's more apt to play in the road or chase elk here. This is bad on frigid days and great on bluebird days.

Mu-nee Kitty gets bath time just like Chaos!

She's one grumpy wet kitty. We're also working on the relationship between the cat and the dog... I am still determined that they will be buddies! Progress is good... she now sleeps in the dog's house on his bed as he tends to sleep on our bed.

We can ride the gondola to the grocery store instead of driving 5 miles. The store also has produce that is fresh and looks good. This was not a strong point at Fodder's Market.

We pick up a lot of dog poop.

Most things can be access by the gondola. Sometimes it's a pain but great for a night on the town and no one has to be a DD. In fact they have a safe ride home program that runs after the G closes for the nights we feel we may need to close a joint down.

I can now say I've had the best truffles ever-Telluride Truffles made right here in town.

We have more that 3 restaurants and bars- over 40 places to get a bite to eat here! There's even international cuisine like thai, chinese, mexican and italian. We do miss Bag burgers, D'Elies sandwiches and Gepetto's but it's hard to complain with so many options.

We don't have to wear 15 layers to go outside in January. We're down to 10 on a bad day and that's the only time we wear scarfs!

Our people aren't here. We're meeting people but good friends take time to cultivate.