Mile High Fourth of July

We hope everyone is having a great and relaxing Fourth of July week! We decided to forgo the usual beer and food-laden activities, which usually leave us sated and patriotic, but just as often bloated and lethargic. Instead we decided to go on a healthy, calorie-burning hike through the beautiful Colorado front range.

Julia got me some great gifts for my birthday, including The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (could he be our next president?) and a couple of excellent hiking guide books for Colorado. We dove into the hiking books and chose Button Rock Preserve, a 5.9 mile hike near Boulder that brought us to beautiful rolling meadows, a giant gushing dam, and the usual beautiful rocky mountain vistas. Our only complaint was that a large portion of the hike seemed to take place on rocky roads suitable for vehicular traffic, as opposed to true walking trails.

On the way home we happened to see a banner on Mile High Stadium advertising a July 4 Major League Lacrosse game and fireworks show. How could we resist? One of the reasons we moved to Denver was because we love to try new things, and we had sure never attended a professional lacrosse game, much less one at the palatial home of the Broncos.

We decided we had to give this a try, and we weren't disappointed. Lacrosse is a surprisingly fun game to watch. It's kind of like a soccer or hockey, but extremely high scoring (The Denver Outlaws beat the Chicago Machine 22-14, huzzah!). A fight even broke out at one point. Add fireworks to the mix, and what more can you ask for at a live sporting event?

As a final note, my last post was a rather crestfallen look at the state of Colorado Rockies baseball. Well since then, they have proven me wrong by winning like crazy, culminating in a series sweep of the Yankees, and now a sweep of the Mets, marking the first time in over half a century that an MLB team has swept both New York teams in one season. As Julia's aunt Mary from Maryland wrote us, "You think the Rockies are bad?! Check out the Orioles AND the Nationals." Touche.

I swear I used to hate sports. Something about the high altitude (lack of oxygen?) in this state must be turning us into crazy, outdoors-loving, extreme sports-hungry jocks. Colorado will mess you up!

Update: Here are our July 4 photos, newly posted by Julia.

what happens in deadwood, stays in deadwood

We finally went on our long-awaited trip to Deadwood, SD. After watching the HBO series religiously we took an awesome road trip with our two friends (who have also made Swearengen and Woo household names) to get a little taste of the West. The seven-hour drive, a big chunk in Wyoming, gave us a glimpse of the vast terrain and I was having a hard time imagining what it would have been like riding in a wagon pulled by oxen. In fact, I noted I was probably the one who would have died from dysentery.

Deadwood was quite the refuge. Saloons, shops and casinos lining Main St. left nothing to be desired. We happened to make our visit during the Wild Bill Hickok Days festival so streets were closed off and basically we participated in a block party for two days. Beer was cheap, feasts were cooked outdoors, and the music was almost as loud as the characters filling the streets. The West should only be experienced with such excitement!

Drake and I attended our first World Championship for the Cowboy Fast Draw as well as a team penning competition. We also visited the graves of Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok and Seth Bullock (infamous business-owner and sheriff of Deadwood). When history was exhausted, we played penny slots. Then, on the drive home we stopped by Mt. Rushmore. Because really, when's the next time we'll be over that way? Despite discouraging comments from others, Rushmore was actually worth the trip. But why the hell did they put this huge monument in the middle of nowhere? I mean, it's REALLY nowhere.

The trip was so worth it, but I have to admit I'm glad to be back in a place that serves tofu and water as choices as opposed to beer and buffalo as the main course.

snow in june, really?

The biggest news to report is that Drake and I are buying a house! Contracts have traded hands and we close July 9; by August we will be fully moved-in. It's an adorable little house in the historic district, Park Hill, near downtown. Park Hill is one of the most coveted 'hoods in Denver and we feel very lucky to have found such a great home. We can't wait to have everyone come visit!

Although buying a house has been very time-consuming, we still have managed to find time for us. Drake bought new Rollerblades this weekend and, in an attempt to try a new sport, I bought some cheapo used ones. A new summer sport is sure to come out of this! Drake thinks after an hour of practicing that I'm ready for major blading. His optimism is flattering.

Hiking is becoming a regular outing of ours and I'm always amazed at how different each trail is - and at how different each part of the trail is. Today we hiked up to the top of Chief Mountain. A recent storm in the mountains left most of the trail covered in deep snow so we had to trek through a bit of snow. At one point my entire left leg had sunk all the way down leaving my bare leg freezing! The snow also led us to deviate from the trail and do most of our hike straight up (as opposed to zig-zagging with the switchbacks). With a 1000 ft gain in elevation, and already about 10,600 ft up, it was quite the hike. But the view and wildlife at the top was well worth the strain.

Off to Deadwood, SD this weekend to partake in the Wild Bill Hickok Days Festival! Ironically it looks like Sister Hazel will be giving a free concert - who'd thought we see them there of all places? I'm just there to see the gunslingers.

Always persevere.

Drake and I took our first Colorado hike together this Sunday. It was a four-hour, five-mile hike with about a 2000 ft gain in elevation. The couple hours up the mountain definitely pushed my strength and endurance to the limits. The sun was hot and my heart rate maintained a brisk pace that left me periodically resting for breath. But the feeling of reaching the top and the slight burn in my bum today made it all worth while. What I learned from this hike is that I definitely prefer a trail that goes up and down throughout. This trail went up, up, up to the top and then down, down, down to the bottom leaving my knees begging for Advil.

We also made our first bid on a house this weekend. After viewing about 20 houses over the last month we thought we finally found the one. A mini bidding war ended with us offering 10k over the asking price and then finally losing to the younger couple who's parents were backing them. Yes, it left a bitter taste but there's another house out there waiting for us to make our home. We must keep moving forward.

Springtime = Baseball!

This weekend, Julia and I attended a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field. Coors Field is a gorgeous, spacious stadium, in one of the sunniest, most beautiful cities in America, complete with a waterfall and scenic rock garden, and renown for its homerun-inducing thin air. What more can you ask for as a baseball fan?

The problem is that the Rockies are pretty terrible. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy rooting for the underdog - after all, the Chicago Cubs are my favorite team, and they haven't won a World Series since 1908. But unlike the perennially struggling Cubs, who are willing to spend ludicrous amounts of money - arguably in a misguided manner, but hey, at least they're trying - to win, the Rockies seem built to lose, and the owners don't really seem to care. At the game we saw, they committed some pretty embarassing errors, displayed an anemic offense, and eventually collapsed in a 10-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals (yes, the Royals).

Interestingly, on the light rail trip to the stadium, most of the people in our car were there for the game, but you couldn't tell by looking at them, save for a baseball hat or two. Whereas on the el train to Wrigley Field, people are excited and dressed to the nines in Cubs paraphernalia, people on the way to a Rockies game largely look like they're going to the mall. As the friendly dude sitting across from us said, "I'm just going to party on the Rockpile - every once in a while someone will ask about the score, but I'm just like 'Hey - throw me a hot dog!'".

Actually, now that I think about it, that guy knows exactly what he's doing.

livin' on the edge

My job is going wonderfully. Some girls dream of a white wedding, well I have dreams of being a big-city, business woman and that's exactly what I'm living. It's great. I'm very excited to see where this job leads me.

I took the longest hike of my life last weekend! Eight miles and six hours, whew. It was awesome. I visited Johanna in Fort Collins and we checked out Greyrock. Some of the scenes were breathtaking others were a bit scary. Like, at one point really close to the top of the mountain, the trail markers seemed to disappear and I'm pretty sure we were following bear paths. Seriously, bear crap, swarms of flies, some primal smell, no people, no markers - yeah, all the signs were there. Nonetheless, we came out alive, invigorated and sore.

I got a job!

Monday I start work as a Communication Specialist with one of the nation's largest gatherers and processors of natural gas. After almost three months of searching, and turning down a few, I finally got an offer I really want and am excited about. Many thanks to Drake for supporting me, both financially and emotionally, in making the right decision. He also taught me to go with my gut and after the interview I knew I wanted to work with them. The people I met with were super and I feel this could be a start of a wonderful career for me. The company itself seems very progressive and even does charity matching for its employees. Though the first month or so is on a contract basis, I"m sure I will be a good fit for them and they'll want to keep me ;)

On another note, Drake and I tried Frisbee golf (frolf) for the first time last weekend. What fun! I had no idea how serious people are about it but the number of others playing the greens proved me otherwise. Luckily we didn't keep score and just played for fun because I was way over par (is that how it's said, over par?). You really need a strong arm for this sport!

Our house hunting continues and we're starting to get more serious now that I have a job. We've narrowed it down to one neighborhood - Park Hill. It's like the Duckpond of Denver with historical homes both big and small. We're eying the smaller ones as the large ones can be a couple million. Yikes! But the area itself has proven over time that it maintains its value even when Denver's real estate market slumps.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Cinco de Mayo! Eat a taco or two.