Fun in Denver

We went to our niece Robin's and her boyfriend Ross's cool loft in Denver last weekend. It was Robin's 28th birthday and she cooked us a delicious dinner.

Before dinner we walked to a bar for drinks.

This is the view of Coor's field from the roof-top bar.

That's Nathan, Rena, Ross, Robin, me and Dennis. It was a beautiful warm evening in Denver.

Ross with the birthday girl. Thanks for a very fun evening and wonderful dinner.

A Nerve Racking Journey

Dennis getting advise from Susan Kirkland about hooking up the RV to the van. Susan's neighbor gave this 24' trailer to Rena and Nathan. We volunteered to trailer it from Lake City to Longmont for them.

This was our first time pulling a trailer. Too bad it was on winding mountain roads with multiple passes going up and down.

Here we are taking a break at Monarch Pass, elevation 11,312 feet.

At least the view were beautiful. I felt bad that Dennis was such a wreck but he did a fabulous job and we delivered the trailer safely to a storage yard in Longmont.

The Aspen trees were gorgeous. Thank you God for being with us on our travels.

Mountain Biking in Gunnison

We stopped in Gunnison on our way to Lake City to go mountain biking at a place called Hartman Rocks. The area was deserty and rocky and a lot of fun. We only rode a few of the trails and all of them except "Rattlesnake" trail (which was WAY too technical) were very enjoyable.

As you can see this area is open to lots of different sports.

There was a nice view of the city of Gunnison from up on the hills.

Taking a break among the rocks.

This trail was called Sea of Sage and it was really cool riding through the desert.

Rena is Published!!!

We are so excited and proud that Rena's article has been published. I don't think anyone who hasn't done this sort of thing realizes the work and hours involved. She spent many a sleepless night working on this and her other studies. Her article is called "Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction, Motivation and Exercise in Older Adults" and it was published in a journal called "Activities, Adaptation & Aging".

Last summer a lot of you "older" adults helped her on this article by filling out a survey about your exercise habits and motivation. Thank you to everyone!

We make it back safely from Lake City on Friday with the trailer. I will post pictures soon. Love, Dana

Lake City

Dennis and I are heading to Lake City, Colorado tomorrow to finally pick up the travel trailer for Rena and Nathan. On Thursday I am meeting a fellow in Gunnison to talk about a sales rep job for a company that produces a supplement powder called "Acli-Mate". I'm not sure it will come of anything but I am going to look into it anyway. We will be heading back here on Friday. Wish us luck with both the trailer and the job prospect.

Enjoying the Rocky Mountains

About 2 weeks ago Dennis and I went for a great hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. The hike was only about 7 miles but we haven't hiked in so long that it about killed us. No, not really, but we were pretty darn tired by the end of it. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was spectacular.

We hiked past Cub Lake. It was almost covered with lilly pads.

Dennis in the high country.

I'm smiling in this picture because it is so beautiful and because the hike is almost over.

As we were driving down the dirt road after the hike we saw a couple who were headed toward the parking lot and we asked them if they wanted a ride. They had done the same loop as we did and the last part involved walking 1.5 miles on a dirt road back to the trail head parking lot. They said yes and when they got in the car they said they were thinking of asking us for a ride before we offered! They too, were totally wiped out. They were a sweet young couple from 'Kentucky. We enjoyed chatting with them and they were very appreciative of the lift. We love meeting new people!

Job Hunting

I know all of you are wondering about our job situation. I haven't mentioned it since there isn't really much to say. We have only been seriously looking for 2 weeks now so I guess we shouldn't start to panic yet. Dennis is mostly looking for business opportunities and has also applied for a day bar-tending position. I have applied for about 12 jobs and have not heard from any of them. I am mostly applying for clerical, data entry and customer service type jobs. Dennis is looking for pretty much any kind of business that is in the area, is in our budget and seems like something we would like to do. We are enjoying our semi-retirement in the mean time but we hope and pray that we find jobs soon. Keep us in your prayers!

Riding in the Rain

You can't really tell but it was raining out in the picture of the boys. The jeep belongs to one of the neighbor kids. The boys love it!

Pretty soon they'll be ready for the Tri-Zinger!

Here they are getting warm after the ride in the rain. Grant is pretending to suck his fingers.

Carsten, Grant and Rena looking out the window at Dennis and Nathan.

Nathan and Dennis washing their bikes off after returning from a ride in the rain. They said it only rained at the end of the ride and they were soaked to the skin but had a great time.

Caribou Ranch

The old recording studio. (above)

I already wrote about Dennis'37 mile mountain bike ride on Saturday with the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance but I have not told you about my day. I had such a fun day and met some interesting people.

First I went on a bike ride with a guy named Mike (the BIG guy in the photo) and a few other people who were not riding in the event. While we were riding Mike told me all about the Caribou Ranch where the event started and ended. The ranch is owned by the Guercio family and was home to a recording studio in the 70's. Apparently a lot of well known bands and artists came here to record their music and enjoy the Colorado mountains. Just to name a few were Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears, Elton John, John Lennon, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. We got to ride a loop around the property and see the "compound" where the family lives and see one of the old recording studio buildings. (One of the buildings burned down in 1983.) I also got to meet Will Guercio who was 7 years old when the fire happened which pretty much ended the recording studio days. Will also said that Amy Grant also had her beginhing at the ranch. He said his parents liked her because she was Christian and wasn't into drugs like some of the others. Will also told dad and I (after the ride I introduced dad to Will) that Michael Jackson wanted to buy property from his dad and his dad told him that he thought the altitude would be too hard on him so he suggested he buy property in San Inez, California which he did which eventually became Never-Never Land ranch.

So for more history on this place, about 20 years ago the Guercio family gifted a large amount of their land to Boulder County to create the Caribou Ranch Open Space. The only problem is that when the "deal" got made the county excluded bikes and dogs from being on the property. So, mountain bikers had never been able to ride in this area. There are negotiations going on to reverse this but in the mean time the Guercio family decided to open up their private property to the Boulder Mountain bike folks. This was quite a big deal and we felt fortunate to be in on the first Caribou Classic Mountain Bike ride. It was really cool meeting Will and hearing him talk about growing up here and the vision he has for future use of the property. He wants this event to turn into a joint music venue within a couple of years and wants to have other events besides mountain bike rides.

So, I rode around with Mike but wasn't getting much of a work-out because the poor guy had to rest quite often. It's amazing that he mountain bikes at all considering his size. Anyway, we ran into another guy from the club who was just checking out the area like us. Mike and I were on our way back and this guy named Hershil wanted to ride the same loop we just rode. I asked him if I could go with him and he said sure so I rode another loop with Hershil and I got a great work-out with him. He was about 60 years old but in very good shape.

When Dennis got done with his ride he was pretty impressed when I introduced him to Mike, Hershil and Will. After chatting with everyone, Dennis and I went to check out a booth where they were giving out free samples of a product called Acli-Mate. It is a altitude and energy relief aid in a powder form. We tried some and talked to Doctor Roanne who created the product and the company. She was very nice and the product was interesting since so many people have difficulty in high altitude. After we talked with her a bit we got food and beer (all donated by Oskar Blues-a local brewery and food place) we ended up sitting right next to Dr Roanne and her husband Jonathan. It turns out they are from Gunnison which we drive through on our way to Lake City where Nathan's mom has her cabin. We enjoyed talking with them and we told them all about moving here from Ca. I happened to mention that we are looking for jobs and she said she is always looking for sales reps. SO, I am investigating the company further and maybe I will end up working for them! How weird would that be! I will keep you posted but in the mean time I have gone on long enough.

Love to all, Dana

Caribou Classic Mountain Bike Ride

Looking good before the ride.

Lined up and ready to go.

What a beautiful place to start a ride!

Pedaling on the double track.

After 37 miles and 6 hours, 28 minutes he's still looking good!

This was a ride put on by the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance and the first ever Caribou Classic. Dennis was not very prepared to ride this many miles especially at 8000 ft but he did it anyway. It was a beautiful day in the beautiful Colorado mountains. The ride started on the private property of Caribou Ranch which was an incredible place to see. This place has quite a history which I will tell you more about in my next blog. I did not do the "ride" but I had a great day riding around the area and meeting some interesting people. I also had the thrill of seeing a heard of elk running through a pasture and right across from where we were parked. It was a sight I will never forget.

House Pictures

This is the fireplace and bookshelves in the living room. I have them decorated with the grand kids pictures.

The bike shop portion of the garage. (and the chair repair area)

The other side of the garage is not as exciting.

The little antique table in the kitchen eating area. Dennis, you need to get those chairs repaired.

The view from the back yard. I just can't get enough of this view.

More House Pictures

The guest room is ready for all of you to come visit!

Office/sewing room.

Master bedroom.

Looking into the master bathroom.

I finally have a real laundry room...love it!

Getting Settled

A lot of you have been asking for more pictures of the house now that we have everything in so here you go. The above shot is taken from the front door looking through the entry area to the family room beyond.

Here is anorther shot of the living room. We have all the leaves in our table!

This is the RED wall in the family room. I had a very hard time arranging quilts and pictures. I had to arrange them to cover up old nail marks besides trying to find things that didn't look to wierd against the red. I'm not super crazy about it but I can live with it for a few months. It's much better than having nothing on the wall.

Here is our new couch with the kitchen in the background. I will post more pictures on additonal posts......

Moving In

Dennis playing with the kids in the empty house before our household goods arrived.

Starting to unload....

Getting it done with help from Rena!Empty truck---yeah!

Laney checking out the table top. What a cute and happy baby she is!!!