And the two kids traveled westward!

Hello All! Much has happened since leaving New Orleans. Julie and I set out on Tuesday afternoon (after watching some of the inaugural events) destined for Denver. We stopped in Shreveport, LA for dinner at a Japanese restaurant called 'Tokyo'. The food there was very good (miso soup, chicken lettuce wrap, spicy tuna roll, and salmon). Deep in the Dark of Texas we drove on through the night making it somewhere between Wichita Falls and Amarillo before having to pull over and rest for a couple of hours. This was extremely exhausting and the scary 18 wheelers were dominent throughout Texas. The skyline in Dallas at night was very bright and colorful, pretty to look at. Sometime around dawn we hit the road again determined to make it to Denver by dinner time. We crossed the New Mexico/Texas line in the late morning on Wednesday. While Texas had been flat and boring New Mexico began to exhibit plateaus and rolling mountains. It was awesome witnessing the major changes in our countrys' geography. Despite not having slept much at all since leaving New Orleans we felt invigorated to be in a new state and closer to our destination. Soon we were into Colorado where the weather was absolutely beautiful, 70 degrees! The Rockie Mountains are abosolutely breath taking. Our first night at Pat and Sarah's in Denver consisted of a delicious meal purchased at Whole Foods (salmon, steak, shrimp and potatoes) and prepared by Sarah. We were extremely tired and after dinner and soon went to bed. On our first full day in Colorado Julie and I wasted no time in experiencing what this awesome state has to offer. We drove up to Boulder in the late morning and did a small hike on one of the nearbye mountain trails. After a short, but tiring hike we headed west to Hot Sulphur Springs, CO (about 2 hours). We visted the hot springs resort which has about 25 man made pools with natural hot spring water flowing throughout. The suplher may not smell great, but it does wonders for the skin and hair. Julie enjoyed the hottest tub at 112 degrees while i preferred a temp of 108-109 degrees. Around sunset we left the hot springs, grabbed some lovely dinner at a nearbye pizza restaurant, and headed back to Denver. The ride home was little nerve racking at times because Hot Sulphur Springs is nested way up in the mountains where there are some trechorous roads. With the GPS leading the way and warning me of all approaching sharp turns I navigated us back to Interstate 70 successfully and safely. On Friday morning Pat, Sarah, Julie, and myself all left to go skiing at Copper Mountain (about 2 hours away). Pat was able to get us a discount on lift tickets which saved us about 80 bucks. Pat and his best man Chris (who met us there) headed off to the difficult trails while Julie and I tried some easier slopes. Learning how to ski is not something one picks up at the snap of a finger and as Julie stuggled to find her bearings I encouraged her to not give up and keep at it. With my help we were able to get down a few runs before going into the lodge for some lunch. After lunch Pat, Chris and myself all headed back out for some black diamonds and moguls. Julie and Sarah relaxed in the lodge and had some good bonding time. As a small snow storm began to blanket the area with several inches the ride home from the mountain turned into quite a spectacle, ultimately taking us over 4 hours to get home. We estimated that about 40% of all the cars and trucks on Highway 70 were stuck on ice. Traffic was about 5-20 mph for most of the way as people spun tires and pushed cars in the middle of the highway. Luckily, we were in Pat's brand new Susuki which had four wheel drive and is a stick shift. All of Pat's worries on the capibilites of his new car were put to rest as the car successfully made it through the snowy and icy conditions. Later that night Pat went up to Boulder to see a show and Sarah, Julie and myself stayed in and watched a movie. On Saturday morning Julie and I did some yoga and headed to the Boulder Rock Gym. We climbed the walls for about two hours before becoming really hungry. We then went to the Mountain Sun restaurant on Pearl Street in Boulder. I had a delicious burger while Julie enjoyed a Tempe Reuban. This place is great. They give you free apps while waiting for a table and the food and beers were quite tasty. After eating we went back to Pat and Sarah's and prepared to go to a show at the Filmore theater. Umphree's McGee was in town and Pat and all his friends are big fans. The show was pretty good. They are kind jammy with hard rock and reggae elements. We made it home after a long night of music and partying and lucky us; Sarah made the most yummy grilled cheese sandwiches which we violently consumed before falling into a deep and restful sleep. Today (Sunday Jan 25th, Happy Birthday Ray!) was a pretty restful day. We had a delicious breakfast at a place called Lola in downtown Denver and then napped for most of the day. We are now preparing to get some dinner and then rest up for a long drive tomorrow. Originally we were going to travel to Salt Lake City and spend the night. But now with snow moving into the region we have decided to drive South to Santa Fe, have lunch and then head directly West to Las Vegas. My friend Kevin is currently in Las Vegas on a business trip. We will redevous with him. Denver was non-stop and we had a great time. We are thankful to Pat and Sarah for hosting us and look forward to seeing them again in June at the wedding! Goodbye for now friends!

Tim