144 Consecutive Hours With People
It was the best ski trip with 8 other people in 2005 ever.
(click on a photo to see the photo in all its glory)



Here are some highlights documented with my new digital camera. Even though what happens in Colorado, stays in Colorado, some stories need to be told.

(note: names have NOT been coded or changed to protect the innocent.)

We started here:



We drove here:



During the drive we discovered that Jen is obsessed with my atlas.



After Luke yelled at the Jeep full of girls for stopping to get gas BEFORE the gas light came on, Luke ran out of gas.





Luke was embarrassed, he apologized for being gasless, and he told us that we were very, very smart to get gas when we did, like he didn't.



Then Carter, Brandon, and Jess arrived with the most expensive gas can ever, to save Luke.



We finally arrived here:



The next morning we woke up to find a lack of snow, but a beautiful cabin in which we would live for the next four days.



We took the town of Creede by storm, doubling the population with our mighty gang of 9 people.





We found wildlife in the town. (look closely)



Then we took a stroll through an enchanted forest.



We found a snow angel.





Then I spotted a Big Horn Sheep using my animal tracking skills (look closely and note the tiny white speck - that's the sheep).



And the last adventure of the day was to stand on a river that was not entirely frozen. That probably wasn't smart.



The next day there was skiing. We started off with the hottest in ski fashion.
Sunglasses - nonbroken (here modeled by Jen)


Ski pants - silver, shiny, and manly (here modeled by Luke)


Sunglasses - broken (here modeled by Christy)


Then we hit the slopes. Jen was a first time skiier.



She fell a bit. But mostly she didn't. She is planning to be in the Olympics in four years.



Christy seemed to end up on the ground a lot. We eventually had to call the Ski Patrol to rescue her.



(NOTE: there are no pictures of The Tyrant skiing or falling. Draw your own conclusions from that.)

The next day everyone except Luke and The Tyrant went skiing again. Luke and The Tyrant took the day off from winter sports. Instead, they stayed in the cabin and watched nine episodes of The West Wing Season Five, and helped the mountain man fix the toilet that was somehow mysteriously clogged after Jen discovered that it was clogged.

(NOTE: there are no photos to document the West Wing viewing or the clogged toilet that Luke had to carry down the stairs)

The last day started with a three hour breakfast. The Tyrant ate three boxes of Rice Krispies, challenged by the rest of the cabin to do so.





She did it and still had room for more. Which was good since Brandon and Jess made bacon and eggs and we all proceeded to eat everything breakfast-related that was left in the house.



Then, we hiked. Jen sported the latest in hiking fashion, which happened to be Carter's canteen.



We drove up the mountain. We hiked. We got tired. We stopped for lunch.



Then we went back to the cabin to get ready for our New Year's Eve Eve party, celebrating a day early due to driving home the next day on New Year's Eve.

We took the party to this local establishment.



The Tyrant may have found some distant relatives who left their mark at the establishment long ago.



There was a live band. We were their biggest and loudest fans.

Fun was had by all.





Brandon demonstrated Le Tigre.



John showed off his Magnum.



And we also found this guy, who we believe to be the love child of Benanti and Mitchell. We call him Erison.



The next day we drove home, leaving Erison behind.



At midnight on New Year's Eve we were at this gas station. We celebrated by leaving after filling up the Jeep with gas.



Other highlights from the trip include:

DVDs consumed -
Legends of the Fall
Waiting for Guffman
A Mighty Wind
Tombstone
Zoolander
Napolean Dynamite
Saved
14 episodes of The West Wing
not quite all of The Cooler

DVDs NOT consumed -
A Walk to Remember
The Notebook

Theme Songs over-sung from DVDs consumed -
STOOLS! from Waiting for Guffman

Christy found a hunk, although it wasn't the manly hunk we hoped for.



We also did a lot of this:



But what we learned most through this adventure is what this matchbook taught us:



I'm convinced that the best lessons learned in life come from matchbooks in Creede.

God bless this road trip and its participants, one and all.

C.T.