Ever since I was six years old and my father took my family on our first ski trip to Colorado, I have been enamored with the Rocky Mountains, cold weather, snow skiing, and outdoor activities in general. Well, building on this 15 year old borderline obsession of mine, I applied to law school at the University of Colorado - Boulder. When I was accepted, I decided to go visit, despite the possibility of me going being slim to none, at best, because of financial concerns.

Needless to say, I took the acceptance as a chance to take a trip. Boulder seemed like a great place - school or not - to visit. Having been to the Rockies only during winter for snow skiing purposes, I capitalized on the chance to take a summer trip and escape the synonymous temperature humidity situation in Baton Rouge, La.

The next concern was financing this little sporadic journey out west. I did not really want to fly, because rising fuel costs mean that airplanes aren't the only thing soaring these days. Prices have taken on a nature similar to a NASA test rocket in the 1970s. They just keep on rising, rising, rising, and you guessed it, rising.

A week before I left for Boulder, this trip was not even a possibility. After having lunch with an old professor of mine, though, my situation changed. It just so happened that he was moving to Idaho the following Tuesday and needed help on the long drive. He said I could hitch a ride with him if I was willing to trade shifts behind the wheel. So, you guessed it - I hitchhiked with a professor from Louisiana to Denver, Colorado where I jumped ship at a sketchy-at-best bus transfer station in East Denver. I then navigated my way to downtown Denver and caught the $4 bus to Boulder.

I got off the bus at the University of Colorado campus, wandered around, had a banana nut Odwalla bar while laying down in a random quad on campus with my backpack. For imaginative purposes, I looked like a fairly well cut hitchhiker/squatter in the field. At this point, I had lined up a couch to surf on for the time, but arrived a day early. Not wanting to intrude any more on my host-to-be, I had contacted an old Louisiana acquaintance who attends school at CU Boulder. He graciously agreed to let me crash his couch, and even let me borrow his extra bike to get around town. Consequently, Boulder is THE biking city. Getting around any other way would seem slightly ridiculous.

Thus, I spent the next few days riding, hiking, and wandering around Boulder. I did, however, have many new friends to share these experiences with. Andrew, my host, his roommates and friends, and my couch surfing host who met up with me for a rather tasty set of local beers on Pearl St.

----- To be Continued.

So... you're a true beer connoisseur? Really? If you think a Sammy is a high end dark beer and that Heineken is a fine import, you can quit reading. Just go away, shoo. Though, if you worship at the alter of truly extraordinary beer, get on your knees and make the pilgrimage to the Avery Brewery Tasting Room. All right drive. Actually, better yet, find someone to drive you. People who spew terms like Belgian lace, ester volatility, wet versus dry hopping, vinous qualities etc, should already know of Avery. These beer crafting monks cleverly disguised as Boulder dirtbags love beer more than you do. They create massive beers that are unique in their complexities, intensities and, holy crap, alcohol content. Their Belgian Grand Cru, the Beast, is a seasonal ale with a 14.9% alcohol content that gets compared to a Caribbean rum redolent (love that word) with honey, nutmeg, and orange aromas and a palette full of dates, plums, and molasses. If you are a hop fan, their IPA and their Imperial IPA will make you question god’s existence. How could he make you wait so long for a beer so good?? Most brewers make ambers, reds, and might get fancy with a blueberry something or another. These chemists brew weizens, dopplebocks, English strong ales, Saisons, Triples and Quadruples, whites and barely wines. And everyone of them explodes with flavor. Honestly, beer lovers, you need to come to this tasting room. I promise you won’t regret it. Hit their website for directions and times. And if you don’t get to the actual sacred ground from which these beers spring forth, don’t worry, several of them are poured from taps throughout Boulder.

Who needs a born on date when you can be in the delivery room? The Twisted Pine Brewery’s beer is so fresh that you want slap your pint’s ass and pass out cigars. While off the beaten Pearl Street path, The Twisted is easy to get to; its on Walnut just two blocks east of the new lemony fresh 29th Street Mall. So the building is boring, just a warehouse amongst other warehouses. The interior is pretty flat, too; cement floors, exposed ceiling… sorta dark. Yeah, so what? The regulars and all their dogs running around are the true decorations. The place just begs for people to yell Norm! Reilly, Bob the owner’s golden retriever, will be your best friend. That is till he figures out that you are just another jerk who won’t give him any peanuts either. They have da foose, a dartboard and great outdoor seating with spectacular views of the front range and the parking lot. Hmm, look another Subaru. Winners of many national and world beer awards, their beers truly shine. Hoppy Boy, screams with fresh and aromatic hops. Need a little heat in your cold one, try Billy’s Chiles. The espresso stout is a much better and higher carb version of a vodka Red Bull. They also have blondes, wheats, reds, and ambers for you to try. And do just that, saddle up to the bar and ask for a sample or six before you very wisely trade your hard earned money in for a well made beer.

Tuesday was THE DAY to climb up the mountains and visit Boulder.  We took the bus to the AVIS rental car, got maps and headed up north.  AVIS was suppose to give us an economy car but but we got a white Honda Coupe instead - a much faster car & got the low rate as well.

Our ears were popping during the ride.  The landscape is still filled with snow and green trees.  Which reminded me of Vermont during the winter.  Kyrstal decided that we should visit Nederland town first (http://www.town.nederland.co.us/index.php/?i=Recreation), which is a hippie mountain town - think of Woodstock, NY but smaller.

Did you know that Nederland is filled of Elks?  Yes, we even bumped into one on the side of the road.  I have to call it like a dog so the head would turn-up for us to take a photo.  We kept saying deer until we were corrected by the locals. 

Nederland's Visitors Center is also a small wooden cottage too.  The great thing was their bathroom was clean & filled with toilet paper.  Yes, it is true, the bathrooms in NYC sucks!  The best thing is NYC do have toilet paper galore.  Next to Visitors Center is a trail to Barker Reservoir which had a frozen lake.  But our shoes were not prepared for the mud, slush, and puddles we entourered.  We basically walked half-way and took our photos with the frozen lake on the background.

The guide told us that horse back riding season didn't start yet in Nederland.  We have to go to Estes Park (http://www.estespark-colorado.com/horses.htm#horses)  On the road again for the other side of the mountain.  My gf told me that the famous Stanley Hotel which the scary movie 'The Shining' was inspired was located in Estes Park.  Actually, the Jack Nicholson & Shelley Duval version was shot in Oregon.  The tv movie version with Rebecca DeMornay & Tim Daly was made here.   Got our pictures and luckily a dog show is being held at the hotel the next day.  We saw the CUTEST & FUZZY wusy dogs that day. They were SO Huggable! We forgot the name but it was a European breed.  The panaramic view of the Stanley Hotel was perfect bec we have all the snow-capped mountians on the background.

We found the Sombrero Ranch at Estes and YES, Krystal's wish of nature riding is going to happen.  It was $35 bucks for 1 hour with the trails for the private Sombrero Ranch overlooking the rocky mountains.  A family, 10 of them, also joined us for the ride.  I told the ranch hand that I'm horrible with horses.  I was provided a helmet and they assigned a horse named 'Slim.'  He is huge black thing but very keel tempered.  I would ride him again bec he is very smart.  He avoided most of the water puddles on the trail eventhough about guide leader told us not to get the horse off the trail.  Krystal's horse is Artemis who we think has a crush on Slim bec she just follows what Slim does.  I felt like a mountain woman that day and breathed that FRESH AIR!  Aahhhh....

We headed out about 4 am from Boulder. I took the first shift on our way to St. Louis. It really wasn't too adventurous. We drove straight through and got to St. Louis about 5. Ate dinner at Stake n' Shake. and then headed to the KOA in St Louis. it was nice but the bugs and the humidity were so horrible. When you live in Colorado you just aren't used to humidity. It took us about 10 hours to get here and well we are exausted.

Alzheimer's insidiously, day by day, little by little takes your life away.  Everything you have done, built up and accumulated through the years are slowly eroded into oblivion. All the experiences, all the love, the memories and smiles and accomplishments washed away into a big vast emptiness. What are we but our memories. To see this process happen to a loved one is horrifying. There is nothing to do but offer support and love and unfortunately a sternness and guidance. Alzheimer's has robbed my mother of her freedom. We took the keys away a little more than two months ago and it has crushed her. She can't understand why either. Perhaps that is the worst part of this disease, it works from the inside and doesn't allow the victim to even know what is going on.

Rewind a little. Mom is my hero. She is a teacher through and through. She taught my sister and I (and dad) the absolute beauty of this planet and the importance of seeing every last bit of it. From her first solo trip to Europe on the Queen Elizabeth in the 50s, to being shot at in Checoslovakia in the 70's, to going about her business while the navy couped in Thailand to trips into the interior of china in the 80s, she never stopped traveling.  My childhood is full of slide shows from all their trips. Starting in Jr. High she and dad started taking my sister and I along to Europe. It immediately ignited something in us

...tbc

    Another day has begun. It was a day of driving through Wyoming and into Colorado, our first tap into each state! Come Colorado, Boulder was explored and Green Leaf Restaurant (during the Vegan Happy Hour) was dined by two lovely chickadees! 

It doesn't cost much to go hiking, but the gas prices will get you right now. Boulder is also on the more expensive side as far as hotels go. However, there is a Youth Hostel! Try Chautauqua Park for every level of hiking. There's also an auditorium on the park, and places to eat downtown - which is only a few miles away!

I'm frantically gathering all I need to leave...  I hope the weather in Oslo will be nice when I arrive!

I leave Saturday... so much to do!  I'll post photos as soon as I can of Oslo and surroundings.

We left Annalise's house really early to give us plenty of time to drive to Durango in southwest Colorado because we heard the drive was gorgeous. Thank you to everyone who told us about the drive, it was beyond breathtaking. In the morning I was in a bit of a bad mood, but I cheered up at Monarch Pass which was our first run-in with the continental divide. It felt great to officially be in the West again after about four looong months of East Coast-ing. We rode "gondolas" up to the top of the pass but it was too windy and cold to go out for long. There was tons of snow everywhere and we were in flip flops! We got some fudge in the gift shop and continued on our way, stopping in Montrose for lunch. After lunch I got to drive Red Rock Pass, which took us through Ouray, known as the Switzerland of America, and Silverton, an old mining town. The views were breathtaking and I kept making Auni nervous by pointing at things and sometimes even stopping on the road to look at things. We made it just FINE though, my driving is not that bad, Auni (if you're reading this, which you should be).  We got to our friend Anne's house in Durango which is a cute little town. She showed us around the main street and then we ate delicious New Mexican food. We told the waiter it was Matt's birthday (which was only a few days away- we weren't REALLY lying!) and got sopapillas with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Wonderful. We spent the night at Anne's wonderful house that has an oldfashioned stove and many other fun western-type touches.

These cats know what they are doing when it comes to Latin American Cuisine. In all our millions of visits, we have yet to have anything less than extraordinary food. Their ceviche is always fresh, the scallops on black rice are stunning, and the shrimp taquitos are a staple of my diet. Fitting for Latin cusuine, they are masters of bold, creative flavors. You have to try their house made hot sauce, it is a perfect blend of heat and actual flavor. On top of their incredible food, they have a beautiful and relaxed atmosphere, great art and a completely unpretentious attitude. And they have wonderful outdoor seating. There is nothing better than sitting outside at Aji for their generous happy hour (3-6), drinking one of their many beers or a mezcalrita, eating fresh fish and watching the crazy world of Boulder wander by. The staff are friendly and exceptionally attentive. If you are in Boulder, check them out if only for a snack and some people watching on their patio.

Dan and I have been taking drives through the mountain area before he goes into work everyday to see the landscape. Today we're heading to Boulder Falls. Its about 11 miles west of Boulder in Roosevelt National Forest. Its a small area but very peaceful. Theres a pulloff on the side of the highway where a stream runs. After crossing the roadway, theres a curious rock that's been hollowed out by years of erosion. Dan and I coudn't resist the temptation to stop and take a quick picture inside it before making our way down the pathway to reach the falls. Once at the base of the falls is hard to tell that you're only feet from a major highway.

Today Bryon and I drove 550 miles from Wichita to Boulder, CO to stay at the Pi Kapp house @ University of Colorado- Boulder. The guys there were all cool and very welcoming. The UC Boulder campus is so amazing! It's the most gorgeous college campus I have ever seen! I also saw a picture of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's former dorm (South Park creators)! We had dinner that night with a Pi Alpha from 2002 and my ex-Project Manager from when I cycled in 2003. It was really great seeing him and catching up with everything he's been doing. We had some good pizza from a place just off of campus. We all went out that night and hit the little main strip of Boulder and just had a fun night with the guys. Since I needed a travel companion, I bought Boulder, the turtle!

Here's Boulder's website .  No history page, but it does have one.  Unfortunately the town itself isn't as interesting as it used to be.