Wedding Week *People Notes*

Andrea (my niece) and Steve had the wedding event of the year! They got married in Steamboat Springs on top of a mountain in the most beautiful setting imagineable. The week was fun and filled with plenty of laughter, friends and family. There are stories from the hot springs in the dark (which we won't share here!), world famous margaritas at the Rio and at Mama P's condo, inner-tubing on the Yampa River (or body-surfing for a few of us christine ), alpine sliding down the mountain (or body surfing again for one of us paul ), gondola rides and never ending fun! Fortunately, we all survived the pre-wedding activities and events with no major injuries or mishaps.

The weather tried to hamper our plans at times, but persistence and planning prevailed! The wedding was officiated by Erik (aka 'Reverend' Louis Bimpson), all of the nephews had very important roles, the bride was stunning, the groom was appropriately nervous, the bridesmaids were beautiful and the wedding was perfect in every way. Congratulations Steve & Andrea!!!

Wedding Week - Dog on Strike!!

All I have been hearing about all summer is the big wedding in Steamboat Springs. I have gone to several wedding planning events and entertained the little people while the big people folded programs, tied bows, altered tuxedos & dresses, stuffed gift bags, etc. There was talk of airport runs, condominiums, hot springs, inner-tubing, nice dinners out, and endless parties. I was so excited for the wedding week to arrive.

I watched my people pack their suitcases, then I watched them get my stuff together...leash, food, treats... this was going to be awesome!! Jumped in the car...drove 3 blocks...wait...what?? This wasn't Steamboat Springs - this was the doggie day car/dog kennel place. Are you joking? Sure enough, they dropped me off with my ziploc bag of food and they drove off.

I went on strike then and there. I was really mad. I was never going to forgive them. Then they came back to pick me up five days later and I was so happy to see them - I couldn't stop wagging my tail. OK - I forgive them already. Damn.

Uncle Chris *People Notes* Week 2 + 1/2

After our first successful backpacking experience in the Rockies, we determined that a 'merit badge' of sorts was in order. We agreed on purchasing awesome new 'buffs' - like the kind used on Survivor! We sported these magical little pieces of cloth for the entire 3 days of our next backbacking adventure. The buffs come complete with 14 different styles to wear on your head, as well as many other fabulous functions including a 'black-out' eye mask while sleeping in tent, and ear-warmer in cold, windy conditions. We hiked up, up, up and up some more on the King Lake trail outside the Eldora ski area. We ended up camping at a smaller lake just below King Lake - it was a spot of absolute beauty. The glacial snows were still intact with little 'mini' icebergs floating in the lake. We spent most of day 2 hiking along the Continental Divide Trail to Devil's Thumb. Well...we hiked the trail that was supposed to lead to Devil's Thumb, but when the trail disappeared under a glacier and off the side of a mountain, that is the spot that we declared to be Devil's Thumb! The magic of hiking through fields of wildflowers above treeline led us each to hum various tunes from 'The Sound of Music'. Chris said that the stars in the night sky were a sight to behold - so close and bright that you could almost reach out and touch them. I had my black-out buff over my eyes and Paul wasn't about to leave the warmth of his sleeping bag, so we just have to take his word on this! No moose.

The morning of day 2 we discovered that our campsite had been invaded by critters sometime during the dark of night. Being the smart campers that we are, the food had been secured high in the trees, however, our sporks had been stolen! It was a sad moment to realize that the spork-stealing-squirrels had ruined our breakfast of lumpy cream of wheat that we had been anticipating throughout the freezing night! Whatever would we do with our freeze-dried stroganoff plans for dinner? Sticks? Lucky for us a couple of local artists showed up and they just happen to spend their spare time doubling as 'spork-spotters'. They launched a spork search & rescue, and our sporks were spared when spotted near a boulder in our campsite! It was a proud moment for all! Again, no moose.

During Chris' visit, we managed to squeeze in a trip to Colorado Springs, toured Garden of the Gods, rode the cog railway up Pike's Peak (in all my years living here I had never been up Pike's Peak before!), toured my hometown of Castle Rock and found the restaurant in Colorado City where Paul & I had our first date - Meadow Muffins! We visited family, went to City Park, discovered a few terrific brew pubs, and found a fabulous neighborhood coffee shop, Stella's. Chris learned to ride our 'scooter-cycles' ("Harley" and "Schwinn") and is now hooked! All in all it was a great visit!

Uncle Chris *People Notes* - week 1

Chris flew in from Dallas for to visit for a couple of weeks. Rather than allow the appropriate amount of time to adjust to the altitude, we immediately drove him up to Grand Lake and were on the hiking trails the next morning. We figure he is still young - he can handle it! First day was Strawberry Creek Trail in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. This is supposed to be a popular hangout for moose...we didn't see any.

Next day we strapped on the backpacks and headed up the trail to Cascade Falls. Thanks to an insider tip (Rich & Erik!) we camped at the world's best campsite* (according to Rich & Erik*) complete with a huge rock outcropping (front porch) and pine needle carpet (living room) with a view of the entire canyon! A previous group of hikers mentioned that they had seen moose on the trail...we didn't see any. We hiked up to Crater Lake the next day - the wildflowers were absolutely spectacular, as was the lake itself. Still no moose.

Of course, we had to take Chris through Rocky Mountain National Park, over Trail Ridge Road and across the Continental Divide. Oxygen is overrated anyway - who needs it? No moose - but there were some great elk (nice rack!). We stopped in Estes Park where Paul spent many summers during his teenage years working and having fun!

Upon our return to Denver, we got the message that my newest 'great nephew' had entered the world while we were backpacking - welcome Miles Dennis, and congratultions to Sam, Jess and big brother Marcus!

Paul actually does have to work from time to time, so while he was doing his nursing thing at the hospital, I showed Chris a bit of the Denver area. Of course, the Tattered Cover bookstore was at the top of the list - one of the best bookstores in the country! Our exploring included a brief tour of downtown Denver including Mile High Stadium (it will always be Mile High Stadium to us natives regardless of what the real name is!), a look at my Fillmore Street home from my pre-Castle Rock years, and a stop at the Columbine High School memorial.

Uncle Chris!!

My Uncle Chris came to Colorado for a visit! Hooray! Someone new to throw the ball, take me on walks, pet me, throw the ball, take me on walks, pet me, throw the ball... you get the picture. Little did I know we were immediately going to get back in the car, drive back up the mountain roads and hike more trails - back and forth for two weeks! Doesn't anybody hang out at the pool, lounge in air conditioned living rooms, go to the dog park, watch good dog movies in the afternoon...??? What kind of summer vacation is this?

We hiked some rough trails these past couple of weeks. My people carried big, heavy backpacks but thankfully I didn't have to carry anything (too short).

One of the trails was called the Continental Divide Trail - it was really windy up there - not at all good for my hair.

One afternoon we got caught in a rainstorm - my hair was really bad that day.

I like hiking with Uncle Chris because I get to eat a lot of beef jerky.

There were a few times that we stayed on the mountain overnight. Out of those big backpacks they were carrying, my people pulled out a GIANT kennel for me, set it up with poles and stakes and rain flaps and screen doors and everything, then they put in some soft, comfy sleeping gear and I was all snuggled in for the night...but then my people (Paul & Jeannie) unzipped the kennel and got in with me.

Are you kidding? What kind of deal is this? Uncle Chris got to have his very own kennel, and I have to sleep with my people? They said something about if I wanted my own kennel, I had to carry it up the mountain myself (too short). There were a few nights this happened and I was a little put out at first, then I discovered that when the temperatures dipped into the 30's, it was pretty nice in that big kennel with big, warm people.

I promised that I would not chase after marmots, mounain goats, chipmunks, elk, deer, coyotes, foxes, mountain lions, bears or anything else, but they still wouldn't let me off the leash. I even pretended to be asleep, but they didn't fall for it. Damn.