I've got some work to do!

If you've ever wondered what you're child's classroom looks like over the summer, I'll let you in on the secret... the first day of school is August 13th, and I "officially" go back starting on the 7th for trainings & meetings... so I guess I know what I'll be working on from now until then! Ross was nice enough to come to my classroom today & help me move furniture, what a guy! It took some masterful Tetris moves to get these big ass desks to fit with the small group tables and carpet, but I think we figured out a plan that flows well, the true test will come when there are 20, six year olds in there with me! I'll post the after shot once I'm finished, whew!

Road Trip Quiz

Due to my overwhelming laziness, this quiz will consist of only 1 question and 1 question only... there is no googling allowed (MOM)... good luck & eyes on your own paper!

1. Which is the MOST mountainous state in the contiguous United States?
*hint: we were in this state while on our trip

Another great weekend!

Friday night Ross & I went to the movies to see The Simpsons movie... Ross was sooo excited & we were ready to laugh at all the funny ha ha's... but unfortunately, they were few & far between... poor Ross, he looked like someone had run over his puppy... it wasn't that our expectations were too high, it just wasn't a good movie, period! The plot was stale & cliche, the jokes were dumb (and not in a good way)... the language & nudity (and yes there was some) was gratuitous... it had nothing to do with what was going on in the story, it was just done for the sake of it being done... if you're going to make a movie about The Simpsons, you'd think there would be some underlying wit to balance out all the fart jokes... very disappointing!

We had a great time on Saturday with Anil & Andrea. Anil is Ross' assistant director at the Hyatt and Andrea is his wife. They are big time winos just like us, so we all met up at Oakstone winery in Fairplay to pick up our Obscurity Cellars futures. We then had a lovely picnic there & headed to a few more wineries. Truly a great time with great people! Later that night we rented Reno 911- good to see a t.v. show made into a movie that actually worked! Very entertaining!

Yesterday (Sunday) Ross' & I headed out to Lake Natoma here in our beautiful town of Folsom for sea kayaking lessons. I used to kayak with my family years ago & thought it would be fun for Ross & I to actually learn some safety tips... perfect birthday gift for him! Despite having the instructor from HELL (he very nearly ruined kayaking for me altogether) we managed to learn some good stuff. I think Ross really enjoyed it, although his abdominal muscles may be trying to convince him otherwise this morning!

Colorado Springs

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods is actually a city park located in Colorado Springs and is free to the public. It was formed through some of the same processes that were at play at Arches... it's wild to see it isolated here in Colorado. It's so different than the surrounding scenery...

This area was also once an inland sea and around it, the ancestral Rockies formed and then were worn down several times... here you see what's left... there is red rock & white rock (depending on when & how it was formed)

The "Kissing Camels"

There were quite a few people climbing the day we were there. This is the first place that Ross learned to climb. They require permits to climb now and have restricted how and where quite a bit... I guess it's good for the environment & cuts down on the number of people killing themselves, but since it is "all about us", we were saddened to see that they had many of Ross' favorite spots blocked off!

But he is nothing if not determined!

While walking around the park, I spied with my little eye a sight that I have not ever yet experienced! I asked if I could take a picture... let me tell you, you have not lived until a woman who is walking her cat, looks at YOU like YOU'RE the freak!

Another spectacular place for the memory bank!

The Colorado College

Ross attended this school from 1991- 1995 earning his degree in Philosophy with a minor in East Asian Studies ( I don't think it's a prerequisite for the audio visual field, but it sure helped make him an excellent conversationalist ;-). It is a gorgeous campus, overlooking Pikes Peak, which you'll see later in this post.

Ross in front of his freshman dorm... I will respect Ross' privacy, but the good thing about meeting so many of Ross' college friends were all the crazy stories, some of which may or may not have involved rappelling out of windows and beer kegs... (that's actually a tame one!)

Shove Memorial Chapel... Hascy & Jenny were married here!

Right on!



That was then...this is now!


Places & things...

Pikes Peak as seen from the campus... speaking of which....

Pikes Peak

The next day we took a drive up to the top of Pikes Peak. It's one of the Rockies so-called "fourteeners" at 14, 110 ft.

The road...

More glaciers... with graffiti!

We were in the clouds!

You could take a train up the mountain from Manitou Springs... you could also hike up (only about 13 miles but an altitude gain of about 8,000 ft. is pretty hard core).

Been there, done that, got the picture!

Katherine Lee Bates became inspired to write the words to "America the Beautiful" while standing upon Pikes Peak... anyone like to venture what college she was attending at the time??? Anyone? Anyone? Oh, you're so smart!

That afternoon we headed to the ridiculously cute town of Manitou Springs... it reminded me a lot of the 'Ville... cute shops, local artists, only the hills were a lot taller...

Manitou is famous for their... you guessed it... Natural springs! Not to mention it's witch coven, shh, seriously, don't mention it!

We had lunch with a few more of Ross' college friends...

Tom, Ross, & Dan... Dan's wife Tess was there too, but she is conveniently hiding next to me, out of camera shot. We actually ran into Tess at the college bookstore while we were there (she's a grant writer for the college now). It was great to meet everyone & hear all the memories (I think Tom may know a little more about Rappelling with kegs than Ross does)! Tom & Eric Tate were roommates for a while in Manitou, so we heard some good Tate stories as well!

We headed back to Broomfield that night & had a BBQ with The Adams'. Another fantastic evening with friends! The next morning we drove up to Salt Lake City through Cheyenne, Wyoming...

The Great Salt Lake...
We were at the hotel trying to figure out why the whole city stunk so much... then, as we got closer to the lake we found out... it is not a pleasant aroma!

The Salt Flats... I-80

The road through Nevada seemed to go on forever... we were "over" being on the road by this point, we trudged ahead with the knowledge that with each turn of the wheels, we were getting closer & closer to a big glass of wine & our ever lovin' kitties & further & further away from the producers of the most annoying experiences of our trip... you guessed it... TEXANS! Ah, yes we could almost taste it... we made it just in time...

to enjoy the sunset from our hammock...

Truly a spectacular trip! Thank you for allowing us to share it with you! Another HUGE thanks to all our friends who helped make it so wonderful along the way! If you feel you may be having withdrawals from National Park scenery check out the Trailer Trek link to the left... my parents are at Lassen Park here in NorCal as we speak... volcanoes, people! C'mon!

Happy Birthday, Mama G!!!

Cheers to the birthday girl! Thank you for being born! We hope your day is filled with with much love and happiness! We love you!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Broomfield, Colorado/ Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park

We left Taos on Sunday morning & arrived in Broomfield, CO. that afternoon at our friends Brent & Amy Adams' house... Ross & Brent went to college together in Colorado and Ross followed Brent out to Tahoe a couple of years later. He's definitely another one of Ross' brothers from another mother. Brent met his wife, Amy in Tahoe & all 3 of them were roommates. Ross was in Brent & Amy's wedding party a few years ago and they have since added their beautiful daughter Sierra (2 1/2) to the family...

Brent & Amy were kind enough to let us base out of their house for the whole week so that we could do day trips around the area. Broomfield is a suburb of both Denver & Boulder (smack dab in between them) so it was a perfect place to stay... not to mention the great time we had with their family!

Our first evening there, Brent & Amy were on their way to a BBQ, which they were nice enough to invite us to... some of the people there were also in their wedding party, so Ross was able to see some familiar faces. The next day we finally got to do some laundry & get ourselves ready for our next adventures. That evening, Brent & Amy (with babysitter in place) took us to an amazing meal in Boulder at a restaurant called, The Kitchen... it was so delicious!! They even had a Cab from Boeger Winery in good old Placerville, but they were all sold out! It was a great meal with great people!! It felt like I had known them forever (Ross practically has) but it was lovely to experience that feeling for myself. If they lived in Cali, we would definitely hang out all the time... not to mention that Sierra & I have so many "Balls" to attend with our jewelry and ballet dresses on!

Rocky Mountain National Park

On our way up to the park we drove through the gorgeous town of Estes Park

and saw roadside elk...

and for you Stephen King fans... the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel...

Once inside the park, we had to stop to enjoy the creeks... you've never seen water so clear and beautiful....

and SO COLD!!!!!!!

Longs Peak in the background (14,259 ft.)

Mountain meadow...

You can't keep this boy off of rocks!

We kept driving higher & higher until the trees began to disappear & the thunder clouds began rolling in...

We had a picnic on the Alpine Tundra...

More glaciers... this one was right outside one of the visitor centers. There was a lot of lightening & thunder going on & a ranger had to actually go outside & tell a bunch of Einsteins, with their cameras pointed toward the heavens, to come inside if they wanted to, you know, LIVE!


More elk... country elk, mind you, not all cityfied like them Estes Park ones...


More mountain meadows...


and more cold water...


Truly a spectacular place... I would love to go back one day & spend more time! I'm sure Rollins would agree..


We said goodbye to the park & took a beautiful drive on our way back to Denver...


Alpine slide in Winter Park, CO


Unfortunately, we saw a lot of damage due to Bark Beetles... there really isn't anything to be done about them & many forests are being destroyed...


We pulled into Denver later that evening & were welcomed by friends, Hascy & Jenny Tarbox. They both went to college with Ross as well, and had us over to their place for a BBQ. It was so great to see them both & to hear some stories from the past... such a great couple! Thanks for a wonderful evening! (A note for my Mamacita: you probably can't tell but I thought you might appreciate that directly above Hascy's head is a live shot of Lenny Kravitz taken by Tony... isn't Lenny related to Ving Rhames in some way??)


The next (and last, I promise!) installment of our trip is Colorado Springs... Garden of the Gods, Colorado College, Pikes Peak, and Manitou Springs... Hang in there folks! I promise it's all worth checking out!