Colorado Springs USOC good-byes

If you every need an ego boost and want to hear good things said about you, just announce that you're leaving!!! As word of my impending departure from the USOC spreads, I have been humbled by the number of emails and phone calls I've received telling me how much I will be missed! Of course the ones who are happy to see you go don't usually email or call, but the sheer number of positive ones I've received gives me hope that I've made more friends than enemies and done more good than harm during my time here!!!

I'm often credited with developing the nutrition program at the USOC. As with any broad-reaching endeavor however, it can hardly be attributed to just one person. I may have initiated the program, but the two Dietitians posing with me in the first pic deserve as much credit as I do. Susie and Adam, along with Terri and Lance have been instrumental in growing the program and ensuring that it's roots were planted firmly enough to weather the current turn-over of personnel. Although Susie & Adam are the only two RDs left, I'm confident that with Terri's continued influence on the program, performance-based nutrition at the USOC with flourish.

After a full day of meetings, Performance Services headed downtown for our annual Christmas party. Kicking off the celebration was the newest naturalized citizen of the U.S. in Performance Services, Susie. In a thickly accented and Aussie-slang-laden speech, Susie lamented my departure but wished me success in my new career. I was presented a US Olympic flag signed by all my coworkers and toasted on to my next adventure. The conversation was lively during the dinner which was quickly followed by the White Elephant exchange. The gift choosing, stealing and bartering was so much fun we often laughed too hard to form complete sentences!

From the Christmas Party, a few of us headed south to the Golden Bee at the Broadmoor to meet up with Lance and Paul (in the pic with me and my yard of beer!). This pub was assembled in the 1960s next to the Broodmoor hotel using panels and fixtures shipped over from a 19th century English pub. I don't know where the name Golden Bee came from, but the waitresses throw embroidered bee patches that stick to you!

Another fun feature of the pub is the ragtime piano player. It reminded me a lot of the dueling piano bar at Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans. The enthusiastic piano player will crank out whatever song you want to sing along to; everything from Margarittaville to New York, New York which Zach and Steve happen to be dancing to in this pic! We sang, laughed, relived Olympic experiences, drank and ate oysters on the half shell as the night slipped by.

Even though the meetings continued for the rest of the week, I headed back to San Diego yesterday to continue wrapping things up here. Before leaving for the airport, the T&T team had a final lunch together with me off complex. As I turned to walk away from my team for the last 2 years, April commented "and then there were four." With the departure of Vinny and myself, the T&T team is down to just Peter, John, April & Zach (in the pic on the Olympic pathway).

I'm typing this post from my apt. on Coronado awaiting my doctor's appt. I started to catch a cold or something prior to leaving for the Springs and all the festivities pushed me over the edge. With so much to get done before I go home for the holidays, I need to be 100% as I wrap up my life in California. Wish me luck that I shake this thing quick and am productive for the rest of the weekend! Hmm, probably could've done without the yards of beer. . .

Quick update from Colorado

After a snow-delayed late night landing in Colorado Springs on Monday, my week has been pretty hectic. I'm here for meetings at the USOC; lots of paperwork to be done, projects to be handed over and people to meet with.

After an absolutely depressing visit to my house here in the Springs, David & Suzanne took me to Mirch Masala for some of my favorite Indian food!!! I won't go into details about my house but suffice it to say that I am extremely disappointed at the former tenants' lack of respect for other people's property and the seeming inability of my property manager to do anything about it. The world would be so much better off if people would just do the right thing. On a happier note, we had a wonderful dinner and really enjoyed catching up. These little snippets of time with Suzanne & David make my trips back to the Springs so much more enjoyable!

As I was flying out of San Diego, Whit & Kathie became parents! The monitoring that Kathie was undergoing revealed that an early delivery would be best for the babies, so at 8:00 pm Monday night Caldwell (spelling?) and Naomi entered this world at 1 lb 15 oz and 3 lb 9 oz respectively. Yes, they are tiny but doing fine. I spoke with Kathie on the phone last night and she sounded great! She didn't know how long she and the babies would be in the hospital, but that all was well. Their long-awaited parenthood journey has begun. . .

I'm here until tomorrow afternoon for more meetings then I head back to the San Diego. So much to get done both professionally and personally before I embark on my next adventure!

Taking a little break. . .

Well, I'm back in Southern California, but not for long. The week in Colorado Springs ended up being quite productive. As much as I like to get things accomplished professionally, I'm always excited to slip a little personal time into these trips. I ended up scooting out of my Saturday meeting early enough in the afternoon to get together with Suzanne again. As I was walking out the door, I called her up and asked if she was up for a little ride. Her excited and familiar response was "I'll be right there"! Not 20 minutes later, she was rolling into the OTC parking lot on her Softtail to get me.

We rode back up to their house where we asked David to join us for a spin, but he bowed out so we could get some girl time in. I don't know many people who have no problems handing over a one year old Screamin Eagle Road King to out of town guests, even knowing how much I love to roll out miles with his wife!! I'm sure the knowledge that I ride 50 miles a day on crazy California interstate roads also reinforces his faith in my riding ability!!

For the next few hours, we spun around Colorado Springs until it got too chilly to be enjoyable. I'm always stunned by how quickly the temp drops at altitude whenever the sun isn't shining down on you. I was glad that I had packed my chaps in anticipation for a little adventure on this trip! It's kind of like a pocket knife, you never know when you'll need it! Just before dark, we rolled up to their house where we spent the evening eating and hanging out with the family.

So I am now unpacking my suitcase from my arrival yesterday and packing it in anticipation for my departure tomorrow. I fly out to San Antonio to help a friend celebrate the end to a 25 year career in the military. I'm sure I'll have some pics and stories to post from the outing!

Snow and coffee

We all knew it was gonna happen. . . the first snow of the season while I am here in the Springs! It's been absolutely frigid the last couple of days, but today the sun came out and it wasn't too bad. I've been inside in meetings most of the days for the last week anyway, so it's only when I'm walking between buildings or going out to dinner at night that I really feel it. I've been fortunate this trip to be able to get together for dinner with David & Suzanne quite a few times. It's nice to leave complex and talk about something other than work!

Just as getting together with Suzanne & David is at the top of my list of things to do every time I roll into the Springs, a trek down to Raven's Nest Coffee is a must. Although the picture is blurry, that's Paul whipping up another amazing espresso behind the counter. I've been gone a year now and he still knows my "usual"! I don't mind Starbucks when I'm traveling because I know what I'm gonna get, but the worldwide franchise giant doesn't hold a candle to the service and java at the corner of Institute and Boulder streets! Paul and his wife Heather own and operate this great little establishment that roasts its own coffee beans. Go there once and you'll become a regular!!

I've got meetings straight through Saturday and will fly south back to San Diego on Sunday. Have a great weekend!!!

You're still here?!

With such a quick turn-around between trips out here to the Springs, a lot of the folks that work out here didn't realize I had gone back to San Diego! I've been continually greeted with "you're still here?" as I walk around complex! Actually no, I left and came back! Just as well, I like to keep people guessing as to where I am!

Now, I won't bore ya'll with my work life and the drama that sometimes goes with it, but let's just say that the last 4-5 days have been draining. I try hard not to take myself too seriously, but I work really hard and do tend to take my work quite seriously. Sometimes I let work get to me too much, but I'm fortunate to have people in my life that don't let me get too wound up in it! Being the true friends that Suzanne and David are, the mere mention of a stressful day of work prompted them to come pick me up from the training center to take me out to dinner! I jumped into the vehicle and was greeted with a glass of wine from Suzanne and David acting as chauffeur for us for the evening. David, you are a good man!!!

We ALWAYS go to my favorite Indian restaurant (Mirch Masala) when I'm in town, but they were determined to force me from habit and drove me to their favorite new Thai restaurant. What a great deviation from routine!!! We ordered family style and enjoyed a little taste of everything. Drunken noodles, spicy garlic shrimp and spicy eggplant. . . it all made my forehead sweat and my nose run, but tasted great! I didn't think I'd want to eat with chopsticks again for a while so soon after returning from Asia, but this meal was definitely worth it!

In a cruel twist of fate, the weather warmed up as soon as I left on Wednesday only to turn frigid again upon my arrival here last night. Besides sharing dinner, we usually all go out for a spin on the Harleys when I'm in town. Unfortunately, the 48 degree temp this afternoon kept us bound to four wheels instead of two on our quest for dinner. It looks like our two-wheeled excursions are on hold until next spring now.

The evening ended with us having dessert at Montegut's on Tejon and laughing over endless stories. It's amazing how different our lives are but how much we still seem to have in common. There's a link to Suzanne's blog on the right side bar of this blog, so if you're curious about the lives of the parents of eight, check out the link to her blog.

That's all for now. I've got some reports to read before tomorrow's meetings. Enjoy your evening and check in again when you get a chance!

Back in the Rockies

Sorry for taking so long to post again. Of course, I have every excuse in the book for slacking, but I'll use the old stand-by of "I've been so busy"!

I flew out to Colorado Springs on Monday and turned around back to San Diego on Wednesday. Today I returned to the Springs and will be here all week for meetings.

I don't have a whole lot to add right now other than to update everyone on my whereabouts. I'm pretty much on the road for the next two weeks but I'm sure some random adventure will present itself for me to post about, so stay tuned. . .

Million Dollar Hwy & Black Canyon

With Sunday being an off-day for the construction crews, we rode off towards the Million Dollar Hwy (U.S. 550) confident that we wouldn't hit many delays. As always when riding in the mountains, it was a bit chilly for my taste, but what an amazing ride!! Snow capped mountain peaks, roaring waterfalls, babbling brooks and grazing deer greeted us all along the route.

Having just been paved, the roads were incredibly smooth but slick. A biker who had just ridden the highway stopped us as we started out to warn us not to lean into the curves due to the fresh oil on the roads. We heeded the warning, but it was hard not to pick up the pace through the twisting canyon with so many miles of smooth pavement and so little traffic ahead of us. We covered a little over half of the distance between Ouray and Silverton before we turned around. We were a long way from the Springs and still had a lot of sightseeing to do before the day was over.

As Ouray slipped away in our rear view mirrors (that's an overview of Ouray in the pic), we made our way towards the Black Canyon of Gunnison. I had never heard of this National Park but I was pleasantly surprised as we rode along the rim of a mini Grand Canyon in Colorado.

After riding along the rim of the gorge and walking out on a few scenic overviews, it was time to explore the gorge from within. We navigated the hairpin turns, 16% grade and loose gravel of the road that took us down to the river at the bottom of the canyon as curious motorists looked on and wondered if we were actually crazy! I usually do some of my best thinking, problem solving and daydreaming while riding, but my attention was keenly focused on the road for this one! The park ranger had informed us as we entered the park that bikers usually either love or hate the ride down into the canyon. I'm happy to report that we fell into the "loved the ride" category!

As we made the trek back towards Colorado Springs, we detoured off Hwy 50 just outside of Canyon City to do one of our favorite rides. Although Skyline Drive is only a couple of miles in length, the sheer drop offs from the single lane paved "road" makes it an interesting ride. I'd ridden this road many times, but it's still a thrill to ride along and enjoy the view from this unique vantage point. That's David in the picture cruising down Skyline Drive.

I'll end this post with the picture David took of Suzanne & me as we were riding down the highway. Ever since we all started riding together a couple of years ago, Suzanne takes the lead with me in the middle and David riding sweep (i.e. interference) when it's just the three of us. Although I find myself as the dominant female in most circles, Suzanne's position as mother of 8 grants her alpha dog status (that's a compliment Suzanne)! Plus, my terrible sense of direction doesn't exactly make me a prime candidate for taking point! So, that's me on the second bike in the picture riding towards the lake. I recently discovered that it's a lot less painful to run a brush through my hair at the end of the day if I wear it in pig tails when I ride. I can feel my hair flipping around in the wind, but I had no idea I resembled Pippi Longstocking until I saw this pic! After riding behind me for 700 miles over the weekend watching my pig tails stick straight out, now I can understand while David always seemed to be laughing at me when we'd stop!!

Well, that's it for my adventures in Colorado Springs. I'm now back in sunny California and as of now, I'm scheduled to stay in San Diego for the next three weeks! I'm pretty excited to sleep in my own bed and run on the beach in the mornings again. Plus, I can use a little time away from airports, airline seats and delayed flights for a little while before my travel schedule picks up again. Looks like I'll be going out to our training center in Lake Placid, NY in mid-August followed by two weeks in Okinawa, Japan for a pre-Paralympic training camp and then on to Beijing, China for a week at the Paralympic Games. I'll post if I embark on any adventures between now and then! Thanks for checking in!!

Riding to Ouray, CO

The stars lined up and I ended up with a weekend free of work obligations! Much to David’s amusement, Suzanne and I were like two little kids waiting for Christmas morning as we planned an overnighter to Ouray! They had done some riding out in that area last summer with their two teenage daughters and were excited to share it with me also.

We got off to a chilly start early Saturday morning with the temp hovering around 60 until we pulled into Canon City for breakfast at Big Daddy’s. The breakfast of biscuits & gravy pretty much set the stage for my food discipline, or lack thereof, for the next 48 hours! Although chilly, the sky had cleared up and we enjoyed a crisp walk around Monarch Pass. As it turns out, the rest area at Monarch Pass is known for their fudge. Are you getting a feel for how my food intake over the weekend went yet?!

The climb in temperature as we dropped down the other side of the 11,000 ft pass brought a smile to my face and a little lead to my throttle hand! The day had turned gorgeous as we rolled past lakes full of weekend boaters and parks crowded with family BBQs. This picture of David & Suzanne and I was taken in Blue Mesa next to the reservoir. We pulled into Ouray with enough daylight left to stroll the main street of the mid-1800s town. It reminded me a lot of the towns of Cripple Creek and Deadwood with its cowboy-Western looking storefronts lining the street.

We had intended on checking into our B&B and unloading our bags then to continue riding out on the “Million Dollar Highway” (U.S. 550) towards Silverton. We decided to wait until the next morning however once we heard that road construction was causing traffic backups of up to an hour on the route. Although not an arduous day of riding, the delay in plans was welcomed after riding about 300 miles. We toasted the day with a glass of wine followed by a perfectly decadent dinner on the patio of Bulow’s Bistro. My culinary discipline was regained momentarily when I ordered the grilled tilapia only to be lost again as I followed that up with a dessert of raspberry baked Alaska!

We greeted the setting sun with a dip in the B&B’s hot tub after dinner. The Softail Deluxe I had rented made me realize what a kidney busting ride my Sportster can be, but I was sore between my shoulder blades from the lack of a back rest on the Softail for so many miles. I know, I know, I’m turning into an old lady!!! Besides the lack of back support, I felt too tall for the bike. The seat was cushy enough, but it was so low I felt like an adult riding a child’s tricycle as my knees rested even with the top of the gas tank! It was much heavier than my Sportster so it was more stable of a ride, but I dragged the boards more than once as I leaned the bike into the canyon corners!

I can only attach a few pics to a post, so I’ll do a separate one for Sunday’s riding. Stay tuned!

Colorado Crawfish!

I guess everyone sent out some on-time-flight vibes because I got back from Ft Benning only 1 hour late on Sunday evening and made it to Colorado Springs on Monday. It's been a long, but productive week of meetings. Although I didn't like living here in the winters, Colorado is pretty amazing in the summer! The weather has been gorgeous since I arrived, plus I always feel like a rock star when I come back to the training center here! So many people to catch up with on complex, it's good to feel missed!

After a late conference call, I met up with some friends at a great Cajun restaurant here in the Springs called Culpepper's. I usually don't eat Cajun food outside of Louisiana, but I took a chance and tried this place out when I lived out here and their red beans and rice tasted pretty authentic. As luck would have it, this restaurant gets fresh crawfish flown in from Louisiana every Thursday and has a crawfish boil. Even though I knew crawfish season is over, I decided to join some friends there for dinner. We were not disappointed!

Paul had called ahead of time and reserved 3 pounds of crawfish. I laughed when he called me mid-day to tell me that. Three pounds, that's not even an appetizer! I don't think he realized the weight counted the shells! April and Paul's wife Karla decided not to partake of the boiled crawfish, so I told Paul we should order at least 5 pounds for him and I and get some sides to go with it. Although a little over-seasoned, the crawfish were really good as were the potatoes, sausage and corn-on-the cob that were boiled with it. We don't really have a name for the dip we make to go with boiled seafood at home but boiled seafood just isn't complete without it for me. I tried to describe to the waiter our Daigle family concoction and he said he would give it a shot. He came back with a huge boil of the mixture that actually tasted pretty close. A couple of Abita Turbo Dog beers to accompany the crawfish and an order of beignets for dessert completed our Louisiana dining experience. The sun setting behind the Rocky Mountains completed the eclectic evening.

Tomorrow will bring a morning of trying to answer the hundred or so emails I've fallen behind on and a couple more meetings. In the afternoon I go to the Harley dealership to pick up a rented 2008 Softail Deluxe for the weekend. I'll ride it to a social tomorrow night then take off for an overnighter to Ouray early Saturday morning with Suzanne & David. This rugged little mountain town out west has been dubbed the "Switzerland of America" and is nestled amongst towering 13,000 foot peaks. It was on my list of places to visit before I moved from Colorado, but time got away from me and I never made it. I'm excited to get the chance to check it out now and to ride there on a bigger, nice bike. My camera broke last week in Ft Benning, so I bought a new one out here. Hopefully I'll get some good pics from our weekend trip to post.

December snow

De je vue. . . I'm in Colorado and it's snowing! I flew into the Springs late Monday evening for a week of meetings. The week started off in the 60s and even 70s at one point I think, but progressively got colder and wetter as the days clicked by. Today it's 16 degrees and it's been snowing since yesterday morning! I'm sitting at the airport right now waiting for my flight back to California. So far, there aren't any delays, so I'm hoping to get out of here before the weather gets any worse!

The last 5 days have been busy but fun. All USOC Performance Services team members converged upon Colorado Springs from Lake Placid, Chula Vista and Marquette. There were close to 60 of us brainstorming, team building and enjoying our once a year meeting of the minds. Although we work in what most would consider a corporate environment, our work is so unique and hands-on that it keeps us passionate about what we do. With the 2008 Beijing Games less than a year away, the New Year will get off to a full sprint start and won't let up until we're analyzing the final Games results.

I'm pretty excited to get back to San Diego. I just signed a lease on an apartment two blocks from the beach that I'll be moving into on the 18th. It's small, but I figured out a long time ago that I don't really need much space anymore. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is having to use coins to do laundry again! But hey, I'm sure I'll forget all about that roll of quarters when I jump on my beach cruiser and peddle towards the beach!

I leave on the 20th for two weeks of holiday vacation back in Louisiana; I'm soooooooooo excited! Hopefully between the move, vacation back home, and my mom coming back to California with me after the holidays, I'll have some pics to post with. Until then, have a great week!!!

Pikes Peak and Road Trip

The last 8 days have been beyond hectic.

Friday (Oct 12): full day at work, fly out to Los Angeles at 5:30 p.m.. for a High Performance summit with beach volleyball players

Saturday (Oct 13): full day of presentations and individual sessions, team dinner

Sunday (Oct 14): morning of presentations and individual sessions, arrive at airport for scheduled 5:30 pm flight. Several delays and two airport meals later, we arrive in Denver too late to catch the last flight to Colorado Springs. We rent a car and drive in the rain from Denver to colorado Springs and arrive at home finally at 1:00 a.m.

Monday (Oct 15): day starts at 9:00 a.m. with the women's national water polo team training camp. Pack up most of my office.

Tuesday (Oct 16): full day of meetings that end at around 6:30 p.m. Finish packing office and bring to transportation to be taken to Chula Vista.

Wednesday (Oct 17): arrive at OTC at 5:15 p.m. for team building hike up Pikes Peak. Realize i don't know where my purse is, assume it's in my office and think to myself that I'll look in my office when we get back from the hike. 6.5 miles into the hike, we find ourselves at Bar Camp at 10,000 ft. Half the group decides to continue on to Pikes Peak and the other half of us hang out at Bar Camp to wait for the cog railway up to the summit. We played Pictionary and hung out in the warm cabin as the snow began to fall. The summit team is forced to turn around due to weather and the cog train picks them up to join us on the ride down. It was 16 degrees F with 40 mph wind gusts at the summit. We get back down to the Springs around 5:30 p.m. Go to my office to pick up my purse. It's not there! Tear apart my office, the room where the presentation was on Tuesday night, my car, my house and every path between all these. Give up the search and go home to finish painting. Get to bed around 10:30 p.m. after a mini melt-down.

Thursday (Oct 18): Cancel all appointments for the day and spend the day contacting security and lost & founds on complex. Realize the purse won't turn up and start to cancel credit and debit cards and change PINs and website passwords (all in my purse because I was moving). Borrow a truck, donate bed and VW Fox. Hire cleaning lady (finally admitted I just don't have time to do it myself) and get repairman over to my house to do check-up on furnace for the winter. Finish packing up house. Pack Harley and move to Suzanne & David's house.

Friday (Oct 19): Go into work by 7:00 a.m. and start meeting with athletes at 8:00 a.m. Go to DMV to get new driver's license. 12:00-3:30 p.m. team building with co-workers. 4:00 p.m. get call from post office. Somone put my purse in a mail deposit box and they have it for me to pick up. Say very quick goodbye to few co-workers I run into on my way out the door as I run out to the post office. $100 in cash in purse was stolen, everything else in purse still there (including now cancelled credit and debit card and driver's license!) Have dinner in the evening with riding friends and here I sit updating you on why I haven't been in touch with friends and family! Sorry that i don't have any pictures to accompany this story, but my laptop is on it's way to California!

Tomorrow morning the road trip starts. I've decided to leave later in the morning so I can catch up on some much needed rest and so it'll warm up for the ride. The first segment of the road trip adventure will be from here to Sante Fe, New Mexico. The weather at that point will determine where I go from there.

Stay tuned for the road trip. . .

Rocky Mountain National Forest

After watching some of the finals of an archery competition going on here in Colorado Springs, I was feeling restless and decided I needed a road trip. I threw a bag on the back of my Harley, tanked up and headed for Rocky Mountain National Forest about 140 miles up Interstate 25.

As my time in Colorado gets shorter, I'm trying to see and do all the things in Colorado that I would regret not doing while living here. Visiting Estes Park and Rocky Mtn Natl Forest were on that list!

After a 2.5 hour ride in the wondrous heat, I spent the night in Estes Park at a very average hotel. The next morning, I donned leather chaps and my winter-weight leather coat and took off for the National Park. For a mere $10 entry fee, I cruised Hwy 34, AKA Trail Ridge Road. At a peak elevation of 12,183 feet, Trail Ridge Road is the highest major highway in North America. Parts of the ride were above treeline in what's known as alpine tundra. Trees may not grow above 11,000 feet, but the yellow-bellied marmot you see at the bottom of this picture was enjoying the sunny day! Click on the picture to enlarge.

It shouldn't be a surprise for those of you who follow my random life, but while taking in the view at this marmot speckled tundra, I met a couple on a Harley from just outside of Baton Rouge! I can't remember their names for the life of me, but we stayed together for a couple of scenic lookouts before parting ways. They asked me questions about living in this region as we sat at a mobile traffic light at 12,000 feet. The road was down to a one-lane rock and dirt path due to winter weather and a portable traffic light had been placed there to signal which direction had right of way!


All along the ride, there were pull-offs to take in amazing scenery. There were tons of bikes out on the road, both motorized and self-propelled! Most of the motorbikes were on the southern trek back home after a week spent in Sturgis, SD for the bike rally. Although I passed quite a few people on the interstate on bikes loaded down with sleeping gear and duffel bags, quite a few folks from more far-flung places trailered their bikes. Just as the couple from Baton Rouge had done, they were stopping along the way and downloading their bikes to ride through scenic areas of the country on their way back home.


I've had my bike now for 14 months and have over 8000 miles on it, most of it mountain riding. Although the scenery was breathtaking, the same could be said for the scenery on most of the mountain rides I've done here in Colorado and South Dakota. What really takes my breath away though is when I stumble upon a mountain lake. On a clear day, the water is a deepest color of blue I've not seen many times in my life. My bike is parked in front of the small lake (a pond really by Louisiana standards) right next to the sign marking Milner Pass (10,758 feet). I crossed the Continental Divide twice on this trip- once from east to west over Milner Pass and once from west back to east over Berthoud Pass. I was so thankful that it was a warm day and that the leathers I was wearing was enough to keep me warm as I rode 2 miles above sea level.


Right before leaving the park, I stopped at a scenic overlook manned by a forest ranger. I had heard about why so many trees were dying in the forests around Colorado, but I wanted to get the story straight from an expert. See all that brown in this picture? That's trees and it's supposed to be green like the surrounding trees. Colorado is in the midst of a Mountain Pine Beetle attack. The life span of the beetles is only a year, but they can come back year after year. I asked the ranger if this was really harmful to the forest or if this was mother nature's way of controlling forest growth. He said that this is one of the worst invasions in recent memory, but that these forests are so dense that it will mostly serve to prune out the slow-growers and diseased trees. It's hard to believe that the forests around Colorado will carry on after seeing so many brown trees all along the mountain range.

Bighorn Mountain Lodge

Now that I've relayed how wonderful my trip to Rocky Mountain National Park was, let me point out the one disappointment of the trip. Most of the folks reading the blog know that I can be a spontaneous gal. I get a wild hair to do something and I usually follow through if it still seems like a good idea after a few moments thoughts. In true Karen fashion, I didn't have reservations for this trip, I just jumped on my Harley and headed north.

Once I got to Estes Park around 4:30 p.m., I pulled up to the visitor's center and went inside. I pulled out my cell phone and started pulling lodging brochures from the pamphlet counter. Not one vacancy in the whole town it seemed. Not having kids, I didn't know that this was the last weekend for family outings before school started back up! Finally, the number in one brochure, Bighorn Mountain Lodge, revealed the last remaining room in Estes Park!

Do you have a room for tonight?

Yes.

How much?

$117 with tax.

Can I reserve it?

Sure, but just to let you know it doesn't have an air conditioner.

I recall the fact that Estes Park is above 7500 ft, chuckle and reply that I am from Louisiana and all I need is moving air.

So I check in, drive around to room 128 and open the door. An average room, nothing to write home about but will do for a night of sleep. Notice the wooden slats under the windows and think that the downward slope of those little slats aren't gonna let much air in the room. Look for the latch to unlock and open the window. Nothing. The windows don't open. It's a little stuffy in the room, but I leave the door open to let some air in and it's not too bad. Except for the family with four little kids staying in the room to my left and using the community kitchen in the room to my right. Good thing I travel with ear plugs. I'll just go take a shower and cool down from the 90 degree ride up. What you see in the picture is what greeted my bare feet.

Now, anyone who has traveled with me may be surprised that I am disgruntled over a little mildew in the shower. I've stayed in lots of hostels that had showers that looked worse than this. But the key word here is HOSTEL! Budget prices, usually half or less than half the price of a hotel room. What you see in the picture is in a $117 a night HOTEL room.

As I checked out the next morning, I asked the nice young lady manning the counter if there was a comment card I could fill out. She looked at me totally perplexed and repeated "A comment card?" Apparently they didn't have any, so this post should suffice as my comment card now! Now when anyone googles Bighorn Mountain Lodge, this post will come up as one of the hits. Perhaps this will help prospective lodgers make a more informed decision.

I don't consider myself a vindictive woman, but I don't like being taken for a ride either. Having the last room in town is one thing, but charging over $100 for a mildewed, budget hotel room is another! Thanks for letting me rant!!!!

Mom & Dad out West (Part I)

After living in Colorado for four years, we finally got my dad out here for a visit! My mom came out in 2004 and helped me with some painting in my house when I first bought it, but she hadn't seen it since I moved all my stuff in. It's nice to know that they can visualize what I'm talking about when I describe something about my job or house now. They were impressed with my little house, but the pergola was the highlight! We sat out on the swing and had breakfast out there in the mornings. Dave, I think you might have more business for pergola building!

After breakfast, I brought them to the Olympic Training Center so they could see where I work. It's always fun to show off such a fun work complex! Sometimes it's a little weird to work at a place where tour buses are parked with hundreds of people taking tours though!

We had a full-0n Western couple of days. We visited an old ghost town (Ghost Town Wild West Museum) that had some nicely preserved stage coaches and cowboy-era country stores, saloons, barbershops and banks. We also toured the Pioneers Museum in downtown Colorado Springs. I hadn't been there before, but it had lots of cool memorabilia of the Pikes Peak region, including relics from the iconic, though now defunct Michelle's chocolate and ice cream shop.

One part of our Western experience was dinner at the Craftwood Inn their first night in town. In this picture is the wild game platter we sampled as a meal. Clockwise starting at 9:00 is sauteed loin of ostrich, pistachio pesto ravioli, grilled elk, braised venison, seared antelope, wild game quesadilla, and grilled bison. I don't think I have eaten as much meat in the whole last year as I did at that dinner! It was all quite tasty though, and you couldn't beat the ambiance and views that we had as we dined on the outside patio.

Mom & Dad out West (Part II)

This saloon picture of us shows how much my daddy loves me! First off, he's not one for having his picture taken at all. On top of that, he's a no-nonsense man. Putting on a cowboy hat wasn't a big deal, but putting on the sheriff shirt and badge and holding the gun is a whole other story! He knew how much Mom and I wanted to do the picture, and how much his grandkids would get an absolute kick out of seeing him this way, so he relented. I think this is my new favorite picture of me and my parents!! It symbolizes a memorable day and quality time spent together. Thanks so much Daddy, I know you did this for me and Mom and it's REALLY appreciated.



A trip to Colorado Springs just isn't complete without a trip through the Garden of the Gods. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating and you can't see Pikes Peak behind the clouds. The weather was uncharacteristically humid and rainy. Figures that after my constant complaining of the dry environment out here that the air felt more similar to South Louisiana than an arid mountain region the whole time my parents were here!



We ended the day at a chuckwagon dinner. The Flying W Ranch is an actual working mountain cattle ranch at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Knowing how much my dad loves Country & Western music as well as cowboy movies, I figured he and Mom would enjoy a cowboy style chuckwagon dinner and show. Unfortunately, we weren't able to explore the "old town" very much because of the rain, but we did manage to explore a little and see how the biscuits were made in dutch ovens covered with hot coals.



The dinner itself was meant to represent food the cowboys ate back at the ranch and out on the range back in the Old West glory days. We had surprisingly tender and tasty steaks, homemade biscuits (yummmmm), baked beans, applesauce, a baked potato and spice cake. All of this was served on a tin plate! Dinner was followed by a performance by the Flying W Wranglers. This group has been in existence for over 50 years and are quite entertaining. The harmonizing was impressive, the jokes a bit corny but funny, and the fiddle playing unbelievable!



One of the funnest parts of the whole evening was the group of 4-5 couples from the Denver area seated at our table. They have been friends for 20+ years and call themselves the "Cruisers." Every other month, they rotate couples to host an adventure. The rules are that it can't cost more than $50 per person and can't be more than 2 hours away. The other couples get hints, but don't know what they will be doing until the day of the adventure. Their adventures over the years have included white water rafting, target shooting at a gun range, horseback riding, visiting a dairy farm, and just about every other adventure you can think of doing in Colorado. It was great to see these folks truly enjoying their retirements!



My dad left on Sunday and Mom stayed until Tuesday. Mom and I enjoyed a great day of just hanging out and working on our family cookbook. She brought a bunch of old family photos and recipes she's collected from our extended family and we began a project that's been a goal of our family for quite a few years now. We're very excited at the progress we made, but most of all thoroughly enjoyed our day of sharing photos and family stories. Our family is rich with traditions, I'm so glad its goint to be preserved for future generations.



Not sure what adventures await me next, but I'll keep yall posted!

Triple Bypass

Yesterday started off with a 5:00 a.m. pickup by my friends Charlene and Brian. They were doing the Triple Bypass bike ride (that's bicycle for all my Harley riding friends out there!) and I was to drive sag wagon (support vehicle) for them. The Triple Bypass is a beast of a ride- the route is 120 miles from Evergreen to Avon, CO. It goes over three mountain passes: Squaw (11,140 ft.), Loveland (11,990 ft.), and Vail (10,560 ft.) and includes 10,000 ft of climbing.

Although competition juices are running, it's not really a race. Rider's can start anytime between 6:00 and 7:30 a.m., so the finish line isn't really a gauge of placing. The ride is capped at 3500 riders and I think they had a full roster by the number of people I saw out on the course! I had driven sag wagon for Charlene back in 2003 when I was an intern and she had done the ride with the USA Swimming intern at the time, Ryan. This was her husband Brian's first time doing this ride.


My job as "sag hag" was to be at every Aid Station along the way to refuel them and to help distribute their gear. According to spectators along the route I spoke with, the weather for last years' ride was so bad that half the riders who started didn't finish. In the mountains you never know what the weather will do and there is a constant change of temperatures, so there is a constant shuffle of warm and/or rain gear. Thankfully the weather was gorgeous the whole day, so Brian & Charlene never had to pull out the rain gear stuffed into the back of their jerseys.


After shooting this pic of them in Georgetown, I headed up to the Loveland ski area to catch them as they were making their way up Loveland Pass. The ski area was obviously shut down for the season (although you can still see snow on the peaks!), so it made a great staging area for entertainment, bike repairs and refueling for the riders. We chuckled on the way home later as Charlene commented on the fact that the majority of these riders baby their bikes all year. Most bikes are well within the $1000 and higher range, so they are usually never allowed to stay outside, rest or rub against anything and are kept meticulously clean and maintained. Take a look at all these bikes laying on the ground at the Aid Station!


As sag hag, my job wasn't just to facilitate fueling and gear exchanges, I was also the cheering squad. I would drive ahead to the next Aid Station, park the car, jump out and set up my lawn chair, get my camera ready and start cheering. In 2003, I wasn't so proficient and missed my riders at a few stops. This year the stars lined up and I miraculously made it to each Aid Station just ahead of Charlene and Brian! I even managed to find time for a photo safari! I took tons of pictures of the riders and scenery in between my sag wagon duties. I ended up taking over 70 pictures during the day!


One of the Aid Stations was at the Vail Pass rest area. The ride organizers had closed off the vehicle access to the restrooms at the rest area. I felt sorry for motorists as I watched them find a rare parking spot and look around wondering what the hell was going on! A group ride of Pikes Peak Harley Owner's Group (HOG) pulled into the rest area complete with their own sag wagon (much more advanced and bigger than ours!!). They didn't stay long as they gazed out over the hundred's of cyclists swarming the facilities of the rest area. I remember having that same pang of sympathy as I did the Gulf Coast Half-Ironman triathlon in Panama City a few years ago and cycled parallel to miles of cars stuck in traffic because of the race. Moral of this story, check to see if there are any scheduled road closures before taking off on a road trip!


I can only attach 5 pictures to each post, so I'll follow this one up with the rest of the day!

Triple Bypass (continued)

As you can see in this picture of Charlene and Brian at the finish line, they were pretty excited about finishing! I think they were shooting for 10 hours, but ended up finishing in just under 9 hours! I have to say that even with the quick pace, they looked great at each rest stop. Other folks would pull up and immediately flop on the ground or start complaining of cramping, but they just rolled up and would say something like "that was a tough climb, but great"! It was really nice being the "sag hag" for riders who were truly having a good time and accepted the day as it came. I'd hear some riders being snappy with their support crew as the day wore on and they got progressively tired and fatigued. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a bit that way myself. Charlene & Brian were an inspiration to me not only in their athletic ability, but in their ability to keep a positive attitude and be in the moment (good or bad) the whole day!



After my arduous day of support (it wasn't arduous in the least, but don't tell them!), Charlene & Brian treated me to a meal at one of their favorite restaurants in Breckenridge- Rasta Pasta! The food was really good and the setting was so relaxing- a patio next to a flowing stream! You know I can never have a good meal without taking pictures of it! This dish is called the Tortellini Jamaica Mon! It was ricotta cheese tortellini, "secret" spices, bananas, pineapple, and grapes! It sounds like an awful combination, but was actually quite tasty! Not an earth-shatering experience, but quite nice. Our entertaining waiter recommended the Juju Ginger beer brewed by the Left Hand Brewing Company out of Longmont, CO. It was very smooth with just a hint of ginger that didn't leave a bitter aftertaste and went well with the subtle fruit flavors of the pasta dish.



While sitting around on the side of the road and walking around on my photo safari, I was wishing that I had a hat that would cover both my face and ears. I had brought a ball cap, but I'm not really a ball cap kind of girl. Right next door to the Jamaican restaurant in Breckenridge, we found a great little shop with lots of straw hats. Although I'm not really a cowgirl by any stretch of the imagination, I had seen my riding partner Suzanne wear her straw cowboy hat to keep the sun off her face (and to cover up her helmet head) after rides and I thought it looked great on her. So, I tried a few on and ended up getting a pretty cool straw pseudo-cowboy hat for myself. You'll have to wait until I wear it out and about for a pic though! We also couldn't resist taking each others' pictures in this Rasta man silhouette outside the restaurant!


From Breckenridge, we took the back roads home and went over Hoosier and Wilkerson Passes. These clouds were just amazing as the sun was setting. At the crossroads of Hwys 9 & 24, we stopped to check out these couple of buffalo hanging out by the fence. There's a little fenced in area with a bench to stop and admire them, so we pulled over so I could get a few pics. It's not often that they are this close to the road.


They are huge animals and are very intimidating. I took a few pictures from a distance to feel out their aggressiveness before I got closer to the flimsy fence holding these gigantic creatures in. Once I got closer I realized why the fence didn't need to be more hardy- it was electrified!

From there, it was an uneventful ride home. We were all pretty tired (Charlene & Brian justifiably so!) and chatted the whole way home about our great day. As my time in Colorado is drawing to a close, I'm glad I got to sight see the little mountain towns another time.

Towards the end of this week I'm back in southern California for a really quick business trip. I'll let yall know if anything fun happens while I'm gone!!

Adam's Mountain Cafe'

For Philip's last night here, we decided to go to Manitou Springs for dinner and for Philip to look for a dream catcher. We set out looking for a small cafe' at which I had eaten a few years ago called Adam's Mountain Cafe'. At first we couldn't find it and then I remembered hearing on the radio once that it had moved. Philip was purchasing his dream catcher as I asked the cashier about the new location for Adam's. As luck would have it, it was right behind the store and arcade!






I can't even begin to describe how great the food was here! This first picture is of our half-eaten appetizer, Crostini with figs and pears. It looked so good that we dug right in and forgot that I had my camera with me! This dish was house baked herb crackers (but they were soft, the way I like them!), accompanied by roasted figs (although I think they were actually dried figs), braised spinach, caramelized onions, Colorado goat cheese, candied pecans, fresh pears and grated Romano cheese.

For the main entree, Philip ordered smoked salmon fettuccine. This was the third time during his week stay at my house that Philip had salmon! I love salmon too, but I'm not crazy about anything smoked. Anyway, here's the description: house smoked salmon tossed with fresh fettuccine in a light dill and dry vermouth cream sauce finished with fresh thyme, capers and asiago cheese.



I had soup and salad. I know this implies that I was eating light, but don't be fooled! The soup was a cup of Cuban black bean soup with a dollop of sour cream on top. The salad (last pic) was a fresh pear and pecan salad: organic mixed greens tossed lightly with candied pecans, fresh pears, Colorado goat cheese and dressed with an apple brandy vinaigrette. This salad, the black bean soup and Philip's salmon fettuccine were served with sunflower wheat rolls.


This meal was great, but do you know what the best part of it was? I discovered that Philip is a foodie too!! He wasn't intimidated in the least by foods he had never eaten and was actually delighted with the strange new combinations of taste and texture. I'm so excited that he has an adventurous palate like me! I definitely see some food excursions in our future!


At noon today, Philip flew away from his last vacation here in Colorado (with me anyway!). He said good-bye to a naked Pikes Peak (no snow right now!) and to my VW Fox! My transfer date to our training center in Chula Vista, CA (just south of San Diego) has been set for November 1. Unfortunately, I'll still have to go through a couple of snow falls before I move on, but I won't have to go through another full-fledged winter!