Go Turtle....

So every time I drive anywhere in Colorado-other then our shopping trips to M-town- it snows. Yesterday rang true to that. I always told my parents it was a good thing I drove in every storm the first year I had my licence and this is what it was preparing me for. I did have a good drive despite the sketchy start. It was fun and I got to stop and get a great smoothie from the coffee shop in Gunni and drive by the house on Georgia Ave that I lived in for my junior year. I even got a shot of this crazy phenomenon.... the one arch McDonald's.

Yep- that's no joke. I even saw another today in Denver but had to work on my city driving skills and not take photos while shifting the truck.

In a somewhat related item the truck has mascots from our trip last spring. Here's our McD's turtle navigating for me... in my defence of my ramblings and silly pics I'd like to let you all know that Denver happens to be a bit of a drive. It would be like driving from Sugarloaf to Boston and halfway back all at once. But this is the fun of living out west in wide open spaces.

The turtle does have a bit more history as well... this winter when our dear friends from Sugarloaf came to visit Mother Nature presented them with weather challenges the whole time... snow before they left Maine, delays, lost luggage and other challenges. Chaos & I ended up driving to DIA to ensure that they would make it to see us. Of course it snowed and I drove across the state to find roads closed so I took a more roundabout way to get to Denver. Once I hit the interstate I thought I'd have smooth sailing... turns out that I went 5 miles in one hour! Our friends (who had been through a lot already) were hanging out in DIA trying to entertain themselves. Sara looked over at Farva and asked what could be delaying me. Farva explained to her that I was getting ready for a big turtle race and ensuring the rests stops were all in order for the turtles. (if you don't think this is funny then you need to get delayed in an airport or have a 6-7 hour drive take 8-9 hours!)

I'm here until Friday then I head over to Summit County and meet up with my puppy monster and Dave. Then Sunday it will be time to hop in the truck for another drive across the state. Who wants to bet it snows?

Bear Creek Falls

Today we hiked with some friends to Bear Creek Falls. We met them here in Telluride but they are Sugarloafer's too. The hike is about 5 miles round trip and the trail was snow packed. Chaos was very excited to put his pack on again today and go out to play. They have a lab named Tahoe and Chaos had fun with him.

It was another bright sunny day and we did get a bit of a sunburn but that's ok as the rest of the week is suppose to be yucky again.

The falls were frozen but still a great day to be outside. I know it looks like a snow covered cliff behind us but it's the frozen falls. The photo below is looking the opposite direction towards the town of Telluride.

saturday mornings

I love Saturday mornings after ski season. Chaos and I woke at a decent time and cuddled. We made Mu-nee Kitty cuddle too. After I've sufficiently upset the kitty I throw on my carharts and find a leash and we set off outside. Today we put Chaos's old puppy pack and went to get the mail before playtime in the woods.




The mountain closed last Sunday but someone forgot to tell mother nature as we've had snow all week. Today is the first day of full sunshine in a while.

The monster was just happy to be outside eating snow and playing. He loves wearing his pack and looks darn cute in it. We're going to get a new one soon as the old one is a bit snug in spots.
Chaos doesn't know it yet but Budo is coming to dinner tonight so I'll have one tired and happy puppy tonight plus good dinner companions and conversation. Dave went to Silverton today ski. The problem I find with Silverton is that you buy a lift ticket, ride up one lift, then hike a lot. I'd rather have a good Saturday with my monster around Camp Chaos.

off season

so telluride has officially entered what the locals call "off season". The ski area closed Sunday afternoon and many of the locals have cleared out of town for a much needed break before the summer festivals start up on Memorial Day. Camp Chaos will be staying put save a few trips on the weekends. Moving cross country is a fairly big endeavor we're not at the point where we can go on a big trip. Plus there's the fact that my job is year round.

So what do we do for fun? Well before the mountain closed we took Chaos to a street party in town where he saw his buddy Budo. They played in town park and then were cool dogs and hung out. It's not easy to get good pics of 2 puppy monsters so this was the best I did the other day...

Other great forms of entertainment include tubby time for chaos.

Awww...

Kitty therapy- no seriously I saw this on the dog whisperer- Cesar told me that I can show the kitty that the puppy is cool. We do this by making them sit near each other. This is what happens when I release the kitty.

Don't worry- no critters where harmed in the making of this photo.

Mu-nee Kitty has her fun too... we bought her a catnip plant the other day. She tried to kill it within the first 10 minutes then spent the rest of the night spazing out.

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....

river dog

We took the monster on an excursion today. We drove around the area and stopped by the river to let the monster play. He lives for this stuff- whenever we tell him to get in the truck you know he just hopes that we're doing something cool. Sometimes he ends up disappointed when we run to town or the store but days like today keep him jumping in the truck.

We let him wade in the water, chew sticks and be a monster. The water was chilly but Chaos didn't seem phased at all. He's just happy to be a water dog again.

Dave just finished his first week painting in Telluride. He likes the crew and it's been a good change for him.

The mountain closes in two weeks. Telluride will clear out and it will be a ghost town for a few weeks. That was our first view of Telluride when we did our road trip last spring. It will be nice to have things quiet around here. We're hoping to get away during this time. We may head to Moab for the weekend to camp and enjoy the desert. We'll see what ends up happening...

spring has arrived...

we're getting ready for the spring weather that's been hitting Telluride. We've had a bunch of days over 50 degrees and the high altitude sunshine makes it feel so much warmer. All over town summer gear is being sported.

Chaos sporting his visor- ready for the sunshine!

dog days at work

Chaos is now a working dog. He's learning how to be cool in the office and is way more excited to ride the gondola to work then I am. We leave the house in the morning and he does his business before leashing up and hoping on the gondola for the 5 minute ride up the hill.

Every morning he has to go next door and see if his best work buddy Tipsy is there. Tipsy is a saint bernard mix and a bit younger then Chaos. However Tipsy is one of the most mellow young dogs I've ever met. If she's there she'll meander down to our office and hang with Chaos. They usually chew bones. Each will have an identical bone but Chaos always wants the one Tipsy has. When he gets it that bone it's cool for 90 seconds before he repeats the process. Tipsy is cool chewing whatever.

He has other friends too. Sadie is a young chocolate lab (whose parents are from Maine) and comes to the office to kick Chaos's butt. Sadie & Chaos wrestle and play for as long as we let them.

After work Chaos sometimes has walk buddies. Murphy is a curly lab(or golden)doodle who frolicked with Chaos the whole time! Emmy is a hound dog that's too busy chasing a scent to play much but when she comes over it's crazy puppy time. One of of his best buddies is Budo. We can't say his name much or he starts to look around for him. Chaos & I stayed with Budo and his older sister for a week around Turkey Day and the two have been good friends. Budo is going to move closer soon so hopefully they'll get more playtime.

Chaos's work life is way more exciting then mine. I go to the office, do emails, phone calls and projects then go home. Occasionally I get to travel. I'm headed to San Antonio at the end of March. One of my friends from the East will also be going so I'm pretty psyched.

Dave's work life is soon to change. He finished snowmaking in January and has been a barista at a local coffee company since October(carrabassett coffee still is the fave of this coffee snob). Monday he starts painting with Jedi Painting- may the force be with him.