What A Weekend...

Adam Masonbrink and I had quite a weekend. It started Friday night when we went to a "fashion show" at a techno club in downtown Denver called Beta. The night was filled with break dancing, techno music, fashion, a power outage, and was topped off with a delicious burrito at Illegal Petes. We only got about 4 hours of sleep, and woke up at 5:30am to go race in the Barkin' Dog Duathlon. The race is the largest duathlon in the Western US, and consisted of a 5k run, 30k road ride, and another 5k run. It ended up being perfect weather and a great race.



After the race we headed up to Evergreen and relaxed with some vino at Creekside, followed by some much needed pizza at Beaujeau's. Saturday night was spent watching Rob and Big at the cabin. We woke up Sunday morning (Mother's Day) and headed to A Basin. It hadn't snowed for a few weeks on the mountain, and it just happened to dump about 2 feet when we got there! It was awesome powder with great weather. What more can you ask for on a Sunday?!

My New Favorite Sound

A lot of people have a favorite sound, especially come summer time. For some it's the crack of a wood bat at a baseball game. For some it's the sound of opening a cold beer on a hot summer day. And for some is the sound of a boat starting before heading out for a day on the lake. Though I love all of these sounds, I think I found a new favorite today. The sound of your shoes crunching over packed dirt and rock while hiking. There is something very freeing about being by yourself on a hike in the mountains, and only hearing that crunch and the nature around you. I went hiking today through Elk Meadow Park for about 2.5 hours to around 8400'. It was the perfect day for a hike. 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Once I got to my turn around spot, I found a boulder to lay on, turned on some Martin Sexton tunes, and just sat and stared at the amazing scenery. It was so incredibly peaceful, and I feel so lucky to live in this amazing place. My hope while living in Colorado is that this never becomes mundane and ordinary. I hope that every time I look around at my surroundings, I can stand in awe as though it is just as new and as exciting as right now. What's ironic is that while I am writing this, I just looked at the map of where I hiked, and on the back of the map is a quote. "All my troubles melt away at the sound of my boots on the trail, fresh air and the smell of pine." Below are a few pics from the hike.

Back in the Saddle

I can now survive mild athletic activity without throbbing pain. I believe I have fully adapted to the mile high syndrome. I've been running a lot lately, and after my first 2 runs, which I blogged about, I was good to go. Today I ran a little over 5 miles and felt great. For some reason, running is a lot more refreshing at this altitude. I could just be dreaming, but I really feel a lot better after running here than after running in Dallas or KC. My first Colorado race is this Saturday. It's a road duathlon that consists of a 5k run, 30k road ride, and another 5k run. It's at the beautiful Cherry Creek State Park, so I should be able to enjoy the scenery whether I'm sucking wind or not! Wish me luck! Cherry Creek State Park pics below.

Home Sweet Home!

Emily came in town this weekend, and we signed the lease on an AWESOME house! It is 2 blocks from Wash Park and 2 blocks from Whole Foods. What more could you ask for?! Pics below.

Running at 5,280'...

Today I went into Denver to work, and decided to take a nice 3 mile jog around Wash Park at 5:30pm. About 3 weeks ago I was running 9 miles in Dallas, so 3 miles should be nothing, right? Well, apparently that whole altitude thing is no lie. I started out jogging slow but decided to pick up the pace in order to keep up with my fellow Wash Park joggers. It didn't take long for me to realize that this was not going to be my best run ever. After about 1/2 mile I felt like either 1. I was going to pass out or 2. my lungs and my ribs were going to switch places. I thought I would settle into the run, but I got to the 1 mile mark and I was just simply hurting. I decided to stop and do some pullups on a bar near where I stopped. After about 20 pullups and continuous coughing I decided to call the quits and walk back to my car. A 10 minute workout. Down. Broken. Defeated. I had officially gone from a young buck in decent shape to an overweight grandpa on his last leg. In a matter of 2 weeks...

On a positive note, the deer at the cabin perked me right back up! I pulled into the driveway, got out of my car, and was greeted by about 6 deer literally stampeding a few feet from me. The 5 pound poodle across the street somehow spooked them enough for them to sprint past their friendly human companion. I now see why they are not carnivores. Couldn't miss the photo op of having them pretty much right next to me. The pic on top is with the flash on, and the one on the bottom is with the flash off. I can now cross "hang with stampeding deer" off my bucket list.

Bachelor Party Weekend

This weekend was my bachelor party, and there is not a shortage of stories to tell, but for the sake of those involved I will leave the stories off of this blog. It was a great weekend that really never got too crazy, but it was a blast nonetheless. It started Wednesday when Sam came into town early(he had to leave on Friday for work), and we met up at Glenn and Margo Balsis' house in Colorado Springs. Glenn and Margo work for the Navigators, which was the ministry Sam and I were involved in during college. We had a great time catching up with Glenn and Margo. The rest of the 11 guys came in town Thursday night. We stayed at the cabin that night and headed for A Basin the next morning at 7am. After a full day of skiing and sun burn, we headed to Denver and went out in LoDo that night. We rented the Honeymoon Suite at the Marriott Courtyard downtown. I ended sleeping in the closet because apparently 11 guys don't fit very well in one room. Saturday morning we woke up and headed to Fort Collins for a tour of New Belgium Brewery. The rest of the day and night was spent in Downtown Fort Collins. Fun was had by all, and I would love to tell you guys some great stories. Just not on this blog...

Evergreen

I realized today that I haven't really shown where I am currently staying, so I'm gonna map that out a little. Evergreen, CO is around 30 minutes west of Denver. Add another 15 minutes to get up the mountain to the cabin I'm staying at. I went on my first Colorado run today, and my lungs feel like they will give out any minute. The location makes it completely worth it though. I jogged around Evergreen Lake, and the mountain views are the perfect antidote to throbbing, knife pierced lungs.



After the jog and a little work at a local coffee shop I headed back up to the cabin. Below are some pics heading up to the cabin.





And the cabin itself...



And the views...



So there it is. The amazingly beautiful place I get to call home for the next month. Perfect altitude for making you feel extremely out of shape.

And the House Hunting Begins

Mi madre and I spent the entire day (minus a lovely 30 minute bike ride) looking for Emily and I's first place in Denver. We are moving to the Washington Park area (pics below). It is a young area with tons of bars and restaurants and one of the most active parks I have ever been to (which doesn't mean much). We have some serious specs that we need to meet in our new home, and it might be tough to find the perfect place. Ideally, we would have 3 bed/2 bath. Since Emily will be working from home we need a room for her office and a guest room. We also want to rent a house so that we have a backyard to hang out in. After driving around for 10 hours today, I'm not sure that our dream house exists in our price range. So, here's the dilemma. Do we give up the joys of living in a house, and rent a condo that meets our specs, or do we rent a house that is smaller than we would like? Hopefully we will be too busy enjoying our newly married life to care. That's what I'm banking on. Wish me luck!

Day 2 - Snowed In

We woke up this morning and the snow had obviously not let up any during the night.



It was a beautiful problem to have, but we decided we needed to head to town and get groceries in case it continued to come down. This turned out to be an adventure in itself. A '95 Explorer, a snow packed mountain, and a nervous wreck mother make for quite a trip to the grocery store. After loading up with good food and good beer, we headed back to the cabin. On the way back up, we stopped and said hello to my neighbors.



The views from the cabin were all we needed to entertain us for the rest of the afternoon. 4pm rolled around and the power decided it was a good time to take a siesta. To save our recent grocery store purchases from spoiling in the fridge with no power, we moved the goods to our next best option. The snow.



With our entertainment and transportation options limited, we decided Monopoly was our best bet. Playing Monopoly by candlelight with my mother in the mountains was not something I ever pictured myself doing. But it was fun nonetheless. After losing all of my houses, property, and money, we were getting ready to hit the sack early, until the neighbor came to the rescue. Darrell, from next door, knew we were staying here, and was worried about us being here with no power. So he invited us over to have some drinks with he and his family. We trudged through the knee deep snow next door and were pleasantly surprised by a warm fire, plenty of candlelight, and great people. After some incredible microbrews, and even better conversation, it was midnight before we knew it, and time to get to bed. Hanging out with Darrell, Gail, Caroline, and April was a great ending to a perfectly adventurous day. To top it off, when we got back to the cabin, the power's siesta ended, and we were back in business.

Day 1

My new beginning started at a crisp 5am, when my mom and I left Kansas City for my new home in Colorado. A little background on my life. I have lived in Dallas since August 2007. I moved there after my best friend, Jordan Mann, passed away in his sleep May 26th, 2007. Jordan played soccer at SMU, and Dallas just seemed like the right place to be after he passed. After a great year and a half there, my fiance, Emily, and I decided that Colorado was the perfect place for us to begin our married life. Our wedding is June 6th and I decided to move out to Colorado early to get started working... aka I couldn't wait until June to move here. I am staying in Jordan's family's cabin in the mountains of Evergreen, CO until the wedding. Then, Emily and I will move into a house in the Washington Park neighborhood of Denver.

Back to Day 1. We got to Evergreen around 2pm and headed straight to one of Jordan and I's favorite spots, Creekside Cellars. It's a small winery on a creek in downtown Evergreen.



My mom and I ordered lunch, a couple glasses of wine, and relaxed after the long drive from KC. After eating I showed my mom the back deck that overlooks the creek. We weren't out there for more than 5 seconds before I spotted a welcome suprise on the wall. It was Jordan's signature. In December, 2006, Jordan and I ate at Creekside, and Jordan took down the "Guido" sandwich, which earned him a signature on the wall. I had completely forgotten about this "feat" of Jordan's, and finding it was the perfect start to my time in Evergreen.



After Creekside, my mom and I headed up the mountain to the cabin. You would think we would have checked the Evergreen weather before we left, but that would have been way too easy. Instead, we went on the assumption that it would be 70 degrees and sunny all weekend. Little did we know that snow was on the way. Though it was a suprise, it sure made for a beautiful start to my time in Evergreen.



A long day called for an early night. After some time enjoying the scenery from the cabin, we hit the sack to rest up for the rest of the weekend.

New city. New life. New blog.

I just moved to Colorado from Dallas, TX on Thursday, April 16th. I am just now getting around to starting my blog 3 days later due to 3 feet of snow and no power. More on that later. I decided to blog about my move for several reasons:

1. So that any friends and family can keep up with my life if they want to.
2. To give anyone interested some insight into moving to Colorado.
3. Most importantly, it's a great way for me to document a very exciting time in my life.

If you are reading this, thanks for your time, and I hope you enjoy.