Tellurode

Spring Break 2009

We stayed at Missy and Bob's friend's uncle's crib in Telluride, CO. It had a view of the canyon below the airport and check out the toilet. It is located in the silo.

Sickness is the best adjective for how the Groner sisters handled the Double Black Diamond run above them called Little Rose.

A well earned gondola ride with in-flight liquor. No ice or cups on this flight, just the little bottles normally purchased by alcoholics.

Fresh snow every day. Maybe that's why the lift ticket prices were $92.

The sun setting as seen from the gondola.

Nueva Mexico con Nuestra Amiga

March 10, 2009
My good friend from Hope College, and former New Mexican, Shelli met up with us in Jemez Springs, NM to hike, see ruins, have some beers & soak in hot springs.

Here we are climbing into a reconstucted Kiva.

Jemez Falls. I never thought New Mexico could look like Northern Michigan.

Our campsite was surrounded by the Jemez River on two sides. Goose took off for a while and came back with cactus needles stuck in her nose.

Los Ojos Bar. An American original stock with PBR, local brews, stone fireplace, thick cheeseburgers & taxidermy. Crazy crap on the wall but not like TGI Fridays.

The morning in the canyon was cold without the direct sun light. We blazed some tumble weed for extra heat with our coffee.

Meg, Goose and I motored on to Albuquerque where we showered up, went out for a nice dinner & caught up on sleep. The next day we went up the Sandia Peak Tram. 6,559' to 10,378' elevation, it is the longest tram in the world at 2.7 miles. That is the city of Abuquerque in the background.

Cubs Spring Training

February 25, 2009

The three of us (Goose, Meg & Chris) drove Southwest and descended from 5400 feet to 1700 feet to warm and sunny Gold Canyon to visit Nanny & Boppy. We had Cactus League Spring Training opener tickets for the Cubs vs. LA Dodgers. We endured 84* weather, a grand slam, and 5-3 Cub's win.

Leaving the game we saw that many players were signing autographs, including Hall of Fame pitcher Rollie Fingers. Meg's dad Joe played short stop for the Kansas City Athletics minor league with Rollie in 1964. We ended up calling Joe and handing the phone over to Rollie. He was a good sport with all of our shenanigans.

Looks like the mustache has been tamed.

I left Arizona and flew to Chicago where my dad had heart surgery for aortic valve replacement without an open heart procedure. He was a Rock Star Patient. Here he is moderately medicated on narcotics. I had him call Megan, my best friend Mark aka "Snoopy" (that's his version of "Snoop"), and his brother Bill in Oxford, Mass. I was giggling through each phone call.

Ski Reports

January & February 2009
At 6:58 am each day, National Public Radio has a ski report for the Four Corners. On days that I am working I contemplate playing hooky. On Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday we can decide to get rad or not. We are 90 min. from Purgatory (aka Durango Mountain Resort), 2 hours from Wolf Creek Pass, and 3 hours from Toas, NM or Telluride, CO.

What a sweet feeling to wake up to the radio report and be skiing by when the lifts open. Above is me kickin' it @ Wolf Creek. Meg and I are enjoying a deuce a later on. The base of the resort is 10,300 feet, the top is 11,904!

Pagosa Springs offers a sweet deal for soaking and skiing. These mineral springs are believed to heal many illnesses. Megan is looking across the San Juan river into the town's main street contemplating never working again. It was crazy to think we just skied, and are now hanging outside in swimsuits, in February.

On the way to Taos, NM we found this fresh boulder on the road. Good timing.

Goose was sick of driving so we stopped and let her hunt bunnies near Taos. By good chance there was a winery tasting room right there.




Goose and I enjoying a lunch time beer in the parking lot.

We saw this porcupine from the lift at Purgatory/Durango Mountain Resort. I skied down and got a shot of him from right below.

We also like to cross country ski and here is Vallecito Lake, CO. Groomed trails cover the lake shore and National Forest campgrounds. Goose had a great time chasing squirrels up trees. The snow was so deep off of the trail that she struggled and had to rest to catch her breath.

Land of Enchantment

Mid-January
We arrived in Farmington, New Mexico without licenses to practice PT, but we were allowed to start orientation, thus saving us from losing our medical benefits. Our 100 year old adobe house makes us feel like we are living in a different country. No screens or insulated windows....

Meg started cooking it up right away. Good things come from small kitchens. Goose knows what is up. Queso.

This is a rest stop sign on the border of Arizona and New Mexico. We herded Goose back into the car.