Into Thin Air *People Notes* - Part 2

Note to self**

**When your son fondly recalls a mountian hike he did in his youth (I'm guessing 18 - 20 years old) and claims that it was one of his 'favorites', it is not necessarily a good idea for the parental units to attempt to re-live his youth.

This brings us to the Byers Peak hike. Although the guidebook states that it is a mere 2.3 miles to the summit, it has not been updated to include the fact that the road has been closed an additional 2 miles down from the trailhead, so the roundtrip is now 8.6 miles. Up. Both ways. Seriously.

The elevation gain had to be somewhere in the thousands of feet...several thousands of feet. All of them in the last 1 mile.

We did it - it was actually a phenomenal hike, gorgeous views of the entire Frasier Valley, definitely pushed our limits at the summit (again, see people notes part 1 regarding fear of heights) and we were very proud of our accomplishment! Look out Mt. Everest...here we come! Just as we headed down the peak, several mountain goats shot out in front of us (why were we higher than the mountain goats?) Odie really wanted to play with them, but I determined that was not the best idea.

Then we celebrated! To be continued...

Into Thin Air *People Notes* - Part 1

Heading west on I-70...'hey, let's take this exit to Mt. Evans'. I think it was my voice, or maybe the voice in my head, but Paul made the turn and we were headed up...and up...and up... This will be a fun little adventure, right?! Mt. Evans is the highest paved automobile route in North America, cresting at 14,264', nearly 3 times that of Denver's 5,280' elevation. Fun! the guidebook said 'The trip is an unforgettable experience'.

The first 15 miles were great - much like any mountain pass. When we reached the Mt. Evans entrance station we received our 'informational brochure' and continued up. I began reading the brochure, 'Your Guide to Mt. Evans' and Paul continued driving.

1. Drive up in low gear. Your speed should be 20 - 25 miles per hour.

(Ok, this was funny at first, especially for those of you who know Paul's driving habits. This is normal driving mode. It became less funny later in the drive, and I learned to appreciate his low-gear driving ability - even more so on the downhill trek.)

2. Sudden weather changes are common on the alpine tundra.

(No problem, we have our backpacking gear in the car, haha...it is a drive - not a hike into the unknown.)

3. Above treeline, there is only 40% of the oxygen available at sea level. Shortness of breath and fatigue are common effects.
(We are hearty mountain folk...oh wait, does the Texas hillcountry count?)

This is the point at which I stopped reading because this is also the point at which I remembered that I get extremely car sick on windy roads, especially if I try to read. The road was approximately 1-1/2 lanes wide, except for the parts where the outside lane had crumbled and fallen off the mountain. There were no guard rails. There was 2-way traffic.

We stayed very quiet in the car for the next 15 miles. Very quiet. Until the point at which I looked over at Paul, his knuckles white on the steering wheel, sweating profusely...I very quietly asked him if he was doing ok, to which he replied "My toes are sweating!". Completely understandable. His toes had a death grip on the brake.

This is the point at which I remembered that he is very afraid of heights. Very afraid. So this might have been a poor decision to do this little excursion with a driver afraid of heights, a passenger prone to car-sickness and a dog who can't drive. Genius.

Just as we were reaching the summit, there was a crowd of people stopped, cameras pointed up and sure enough, there were two massive big horn sheep standing on the rocks looking down at the tourists. Gorgeous! Unbelievable! Now, I don't have an acutal photo of the big horn sheep to share, although I did have my camera ready. However, the thought of even asking Paul to slow down, pull over, fall off the mountain...well, none of those requests seemed like a good idea at the time. So, just use your imaginations.

And yes, it was an unforgettable experience. To be continued...

Into Thin Air

I love car rides...I love to ride in the back, in the front, on top of boxes, in my bed, on a suitcase, on a lap - short rides, long rides, open highway, windy curves, bumpy dirt roads - to the store, to a new state, to the vet, to visit little people...it doesn't matter. I love car rides. Except for this one. (*see next post, people notes)

So what if the view was nice...it was a baaaaaaad car ride! And what happened to the oxygen?

My people promised me a fun hike in the mountains this week. I think they forgot that I am 10 inches tall and only have about 1-1/2 inches of ground clearance. Those rocks are hard to climb. I almost made them carry me, but then I discovered it is easy and fun to slide down the glacial snow, and then I saw the giant mountain goats and decided to chase them instead. (*see next post, people notes)

Then came the most humiliating ride of my life. Not in the car...on a scooter. Are you kidding?? At least we got to scooter to the dog park and chase balls for a while. It was a bit embarassing, but my people tell me I will learn to like it. Sounds like there is going to be more scootering in my future.

Damn.

People Party *People Notes*

On Sunday, Christine and I went to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival - touted as one of the biggest and best in the nation. Well, it was big and there definitely was a lot of art! My favorite artist was a photographer who did some very interesting, playful and insightful photos with miniature figurines - http://www.audreyheller.com/ - worth taking a look at.

Paul had a milestone birthday...wait...aren't they ALL milestones after 40 or something?! Anyhow, we had brownies and cupcakes and ice cream (that was after a huge dinner at Maggiano's) and candles and all the good stuff. Big fun! The great nephews were all very excited to have their very own cupcake/candle. No big presents to open, as the sailing lessons he has been taking were his birthday present this year.

On Saturday, Paul, Odie and myself went to the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market - everything you can imagine from A - Z...as a matter of fact, we sampled foods from A - Z in less than 1 hour and waddled our way to the exit! No joke.

A pricot scones

B uffalo jerky

C herries

D ipping oils (see 'O')

E lderberry jam

F ree samples...lots of free samples!!!

G ourmet dog cookies (Odie loved these!)

H atch chiles - fresh roasted

I ced chai latte

J amba juice - free bags!

K ettle Korn

L emonade, fresh squeezed

M ango corn salsa

N uts

O live oils ... as in for dipping bread!

P ork tamales

Q uartet - string variety - just listened to them, didn't sample

R hubab and strawberry pie

S moked sockeye salmon

T arts, berry

U mbrellas, complete with tables and chairs

V idalia onions

W atermelon

X tra hot jalapenos

Y ellow squash

Z ucchini squash...and zinnias

I don't know if the term 'farmers' market really applies to this particular venue...I don't know of many farmers who grow gourmet food, tamales and French pastries, but if they want to call this a 'farmers' market, I'm ok with that!

Odie and I attended our Delta Society/Denver Pet Partners training evaluation on Sunday. It was a very intense, nearly 1 hour long evaluation session with a panel of evaluators. The evaluation included basic obedience and aptitude (temperament), as well as simulated hospital and patient encounters. Odie did great...until the walker with cut tennis balls (a very common practice for walkers) on the legs arrived! He instinctively went into retrieve mode and did everything he could to try to scratch, dig, rip, chew those tennis balls off that walker. He didn't care if the person pushing the walker was 109 years old, recovering stroke patient, blind and with bad hips...he wanted to play catch!! (maybe we should stick with pediatric units!) We did pass, and as soon as all the paperwork is processed we will be an official pet therapy team! Very exciting.

And there is another exciting week.

People Party!

Well this was a fun-filled week! It started off with a visit to the house with all the little people and we had a birthday party for my person, Paul. Marcus and the twins were there, and Elijah and Michael and they all got cupcakes and ice cream...which meant I got cupcakes and ice cream! There was singing and candles and party horns and presents (not for me of course, oh no...my people FORGOT my birthday).


I had to go to obedience training again this week, but this time I didn't get to sit by Lexi and Jeannie didn't let me drink any water for hours before class...hmmmm, wonder why?! We did a lot of training this week at a lot of different places filled with lots of people and smells and dogs and stuff I couldn't have. We went to the Cherry Creek Farmers Market and there was another Cairn Terrier there who was almost as cute as me.

In my spare time this week I learned to use the tv remote control and spent some lazy afternoons watching Oprah and the Dog Whisperer. That was awesome!
I went to my 'job interview' on Sunday. It was a lot of fun except Jeannie didn't let me drink much water that morning either. We went into a big building and there were a lot of people there and some pretty cool stuff laying around that I sniffed and sniffed. There was this one thing that had legs and tennis balls on its feet...I tried so hard to get those balls off but Jeannie kept pulling me away. I did all the appropriate things I was supposed to do, and I guess it went ok because everybody clapped at the end and then I got my picture taken. All I really wanted was a giant bowl of water and a couch - I was exhausted! Guess I have to start my real job now. So much for my summer vacation. Damn.

It's July Already? *People Notes*

I finally decided that the only way to get current and caught up on blogging was to just dump the last few weeks all into one brief recap, so here goes!

Welcome to Englewood, southeast suburb of Denver. And here are your two parking tickets. How does that happen? We drive tens of thousands of miles with no tickets, no accidents, no problems, then as soon as we arrive at our summer 'home', we are slapped with TWO tickets in front of our little house. Ridiculous. (I did appeal both, claiming 'Appalachian American' stupidity - which works when you have Tennessee license plates, and managed to get them dismissed!)

The house has charm. And electrical amusements. As in...one cannot make coffee, run the fan and have the TV on at the same time. You can make toast and coffee at the same time, but you can't grind coffee beans and make toast at the same time. You can watch TV and have the fan running, but you have to turn off the lights. And I have to water the sod in the backyard which we share with the church!

We have hiked multiple trails in the Indian Peaks Wilderness area outside of Granby. Most recently we hiked the Columbine Lake Trail (against the advice of the Arapaho National Forest volunteer who said 'you won't make it' - ha!). There is still quite a bit of snow as you get into the upper elevations, but what a beautiful area. We also went to the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre in Grand Lake and saw 'Urinetown', a funny, satirical play which pokes fun at our society, corporations, politicians and people in general. It was incredibly well acted and enjoyable. We also made a fantastic discovery - the Grand Lake Brewery! I highly recommend the Wooly Booger, Trail Ridge Red, White Cap Wheat, or the Stump Jumper (of course I tried all of them!).

Paul is enjoying his work at Swedish Hopsital - but mostly he is enjoying having a 3 day work week with 4 days off to play! When we are not up in the mountains we have been busy spending time with Christine & family, Fran, Kathy & family: BB-Q, dinners out, movies, swimming, garage sales, wedding planning, Denver zoo, etc.

Odie is getting some intensive training and we will be attending an evaluation next weekend - if we pass we will then be allowed to register as a Pet Partners Therapy team and visit hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers, etc. (Erik: This is different than Odie being certified as crazy and needing pet therapy.)

Our July 4th was spent up in Georgetown - a very small, very quaint, and very old silver mining town in the mountains. It was about as old fashioned, down home and storybook-like celebration as you can imagine. The little city park, the brass band playing, real pit BB-Q, family picnics, kids on their decorated bikes, women with names like Cora Beth and Ethel Mae selling homemade desserts, flag waving, parades, ice cream...what fun! We drove back down to Denver and spent a nice evening sitting on our front porch where we could see several large fireworks displays on the horizon. Happy Birthday America!

It's July Already?

My people have been very busy...the month of June is already gone and they totally forgot my birthday. Yes, that's right people - I turned 2 on June 1st, but you were too busy to remember. No frosty-paws, no smoky-bones-dog-biscuits, no scooter helmet, no dancing poodles, no puppy pedicure ... I got nothin'. I am still upset.

We have been on a couple more hikes in the mountains and that is fun stuff. There is still a bunch of snow up there and it is a blast to run & jump & roll in it. I really like the water in the streams too, feels good on my little paw pads. The bad part is that I have to get a bath after every single hike - that makes no sense at all because I work really hard at getting that awful baby shampoo smell off of my hair while hiking.

I also got to visit the little people a few more times in June. There is this one little person, Marcus, who is awesome. He brings me food and just holds it in my face. I don't have to sit, or sit up, or roll over or anything for it. He just gives it to me!! And he shares his sippy cup with me. I love Marcus. The little people twins, Adam and Jacob are cool too, but Adam never lets me have any of his goldfish, and Jacob always has really clean hands and he won't let me lick them.

Now my people are wanting me to go to work - something about going to visit sick people in hospitals and stuff like that. I'm totally ok with doing that, I like people and I think the green vest I get to wear will be way cool. However, there is some silly evaluation and test I have to pass before I can do that so Jeannie started taking me to an obedience class once a week. I don't really think I need obedience training - but I would have liked a birthday party. Anyhow, in class there is a 6 month old golden retriever, Lexi, and I sit next to her because she is the cutest girl in the class. It was really funny last week because every time Lexi's person gave her a command, I would do it. I wouldn't do it for Jeannie, but I was really trying to impress Lexi and her person so they would notice me. That wasn't working so well, so I peed in the middle of the floor. Twice. Oh yea, they'll notice me now!!!

Jeannie said that I can't take typing lessons until after I finish obedience training. I would prefer typing lessons because I could stay more current on my blog. She told me that I will probably never be a good typist because I don't have opposable thumbs. Damn.