Check out our trek to Buena Vista, Parker, and home

Julie and I slowly working our way up to an overnight ride to Durango CO. It’s about 370 miles from Longmont to Durango and Julie’s motorcycle has a range of about 120 miles per tank so we have to break that up into several smaller segments. We don’t like to push it, so we usually only do 60 – 80 miles per stop.

Our first “big” trip was to Sidney NE. It was 168 miles. This last Friday, after a crazy and difficult week, I gave myself the day off and Julie and decided to ride up into the mountains where it would be a little cooler. We chose Buena Vista CO since we’d never been there before and had heard it was an amazing place.

Our first stop was in Conifer CO for gas. Then we made our way to Fairplay CO. The next stop was Buena Vista. What a quaint little place. Had no idea it was one of the hottest (not temperature wise) whitewater rafting destinations in the country. We had ice cream at Punky’s and while sitting there decided to see if Jes and Paul wanted to have dinner at a Cheddars they had found in Aurora/Parker. So after tooling around Buena Vista for about 45 minutes we headed to Cheddars.

Then after a great dinner we headed home. 331 miles total. That was almost Durango distance. We were really exhausted when we got home though so we have some riding stamina to build up still.

Oh, the chicken nachos at Cheddars… WOW! Still the same and LOVED them.

Father's Day Hike 2011

Yesterday was our second annual Father’s Day hike for the extended Kendall family. Two years ago, contemplating what I wanted to do with the family for Father’s Day I realized I wanted to depart from the normal let’s have a meal somewhere and watch a movie. I wanted something simple and something that afforded us the opportunity to take advantage of the gorgeous Colorado we moved back to in 2007. The idea for a short family hike was conceived.

Last year, our first we went to Chautauqua near Boulder. It was a great trip. The day began with us meeting at a local grocery store to purchase simple meal items and throw them into a backpack. Then a short drive to Boulder and off we went. It was a great experience.

Yesterday we all hit the grocery store or made our lunches before we met at our place in Longmont, CO. Then we took off through Lyons, CO on our way to the Sleepy Lion Trail in the mountains just West of Lyons. The drive was less than 30 minutes and then we ventured on foot into the gorgeous mountains. The Sleepy Lion Trail is moderate beginning hike for anyone who has not been hiking much. It’s got some great inclines as well as a really nice meadow of grass and flowers you hike through. Vistas include the view of Ralph Pierce Reservoir along much of the trail. The spot pictured above is a huge outcropping of rocks/boulders where we stopped to takes some fun photos.

It was a great time. Can’t wait for next year!

She had chili with cheese and onions

Occasionally you see a movie, read a book, or hear a story about someone inspiring and hope to meet the person. Then there are the once in a lifetime opportunities you have to not only meet that person, but to get to work with her (or him). Late last year I found out there was a project on which I might be working with my friend Dan (of Vendor Hippo). The project was amazing in and of itself. But then came the part about the “talent” for the video project.

I had never heard of Temple Grandin till that day. About a month ago, as part of preparing the shoot I viewed the Made for HBO movie about her life and was moved to tears by — well, many things in the movie. Today I got the rare privilege to direct a shoot with Temple explaining the ins and outs of handling sheep. What an amazing morning.

It was awesome to hear her explain the things the movie depicts but related to sheep. Her passion for helping people understand livestock so the handling of the sheep is less stressful on the animals and the humans was evident.

Claire Danes… I’m impressed. What a great job of portraying this special person. You definitely deserved the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini-series or Movie Oscar you won for the portrayal of this bigger than life lady.

Those of you who even think you have a tough life and need a leg up to move forward in this life… see the movie!

Great times! Thanks Amy Trinidad from the American Sheep Industry and Dan Borgmann of Vendor Hippo for all the help!

The tomato plants we got from a friend that were in a little Target starter pack (seeds, soil, envelope — just add water) started out great in the starter pack, but once transplanted went to pieces. So we replaced them with a starter plant from a local nursery and added two other types of tomatoes as well as red, green, yellow and orange bell pepper starter plants, a jalapeño starter, an Anaheim green chile starter plant (thank you Rod Grice for introducing us to these as hors d’oeuvres to be placed on the grill as it’s heating up and eaten while the real meal is cooking on the warmed grill), and last but certainly not least a cucumber starter plant.

It’s only been 2 months and we’ve already learned so much and can’t wait to set out next year’s “crop” based on what we’ve learned so far. Nonetheless I’m really enjoying tending the small plants and watching the beginnings of the fruit (or veggies) of our efforts. Today we added tomato cages around the tomatoes and bell peppers so I thought I’d snap some photos to share.

"Caged" Tomatoes

"Caged" Yellow, Orange, and Red Bell Peppers

"Caged" Green Bell Peppers, Jalapeño, and Green Chiles

A winter statistic:

98% of Americans scream before going in the ditch on a slippery road. The other 2% are from Colorado and they say, “Hold my soda and watch this”.

NOW:

You’re from Colorado if You’ll eat ice cream in the winter.

When the weather report says it’s going to be 65 degrees, you shave your legs and wear a skirt.

It snows 5 inches and you don’t expect school to be canceled.

You’ll wear flip flops every day of the year, regardless of temperature.

You have no accent at all, but can hear other people’s. And then you make fun of them.

‘Humid’ is over 25%.

Your sense of direction is: Toward the mountains and Away from the mountains.

You say ‘the interstate’ and everybody knows which one.

You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard.

You buy your flowers to set out on Mother’s day, but try and hold off planting them until just before Father’s day.

You grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat.

You know what the Continental Divide is.

You went to Casa Bonita as a kid, and as an adult.

You’ve gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities.

You always know the elevation of where you are.

You wake up to a beautiful, 80 degree day and you wonder if it’s going to snow tomorrow.

You don’t care that some company renamed it, the Broncos still play at Mile High.

Every movie theater has military and student discounts.

Everybody wears jeans to church.

You actually know that ** South Park ** is a real place not just a show on TV.

You know what a ‘trust fund hippy’ is, and you know its natural habitat is Boulder

You know you’re talking to a fellow Coloradoan when they call it Elitches, not Six Flags.

A bear on your front porch doesn’t bother you.

Your two favorite teams are the Broncos and whoever is beating the crap out of the Raiders.

When people out East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.

You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels ‘sticky’ and you notice the sky is no longer blue.