on the dashboard

Marathon Training Begins

2012-02-13T21:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I embarked on the first of many runs in preparation for a full on 26'er.
Although we are not sure exactly which one to run just yet, we are thinking of running in
Newport, OR (coatal)
Vancouver, BC (inner-city)
Winthrop, WA (mountainous, not the run though)

Keep me motivated!

2012-02-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

VITAMIN-D, I needed it.

Maiden voyage for the 'new to me' vintage Titan's (skiis). I acquired them from a friends moving party recently. He was going to donate them to the Goodwill, instead he donated them to me! The boot fit pretty well, other than a small hot spot on my heels by the end of the day. The plans were to head up to Snoqualmie Pass and absorb as much Vitamin D as possible on the beautiful weekend that was foretasted for the Pacific Northwest!

We did just that. Rose in the morning, had a typical saturday breakfast (eggs sandwhich on a toasted english muffin with cheddar and a very tasty fake sausage) and were off with our cross country skiis on the roof. After a bit of a slow start and a few extra looks at the map, we were finally off with huge grins on our faces. The sun, the warmth, the snow, the adrenaline, the amount of smiles on peoples faces and the adventure ahead. I was hoping to make it to a hut a ways back, but after making it half way there on the green trail we were wondering if we had enough time.We gave it our best for the next hour on the intermediate trail and nearly made it to the hut. I really wanted to check it out and thus pushed on for another 20 minutes knowing it was going to be a much shorter trip back (hopefully). Jim Brooks Hut - Check.

We sheltered from the wind for a few minutes and then quickly headed back out into the sunny winter wonderland. I was so happy! In the woods, with my baby, in the sunny serene winterwonderland. The only thing that could have made it better is if we were going to spend the night out there.

The way down had a bit of nervousness looming above our heads. There were a lot of people on the trail and some of them were coming down very fast, with little room for error. I think it gave us both confidence and scared us for the up and coming trip down....

Down was fun! it may have taken a fall or two to get the hang of it, but it was really fun. Very different than downhill skiing. Once we completed the intermediate section we were pretty much on flat ground and still had some work to do to get back to the car. Another 30 minutes of 'nordic track-esque' movements and we could see the ski area. The car was near and we were hungry.

We headed on trail 17 along Keechelus Lake and then up the intermediate trail to the hut.

Trapeze - Check

2012-01-27T14:04:00.000-08:00

So, a few months back Andrea and her friend went to a trapeze class and loved it. Andrea loved it so much, she wanted me to experience it and thus booked us a lesson. When we arrived we walked into the arena and there were ropes and swings and people doing tricks. It was pretty exciting knowing that we were about to be the ones doing such acrobatic tricks. Quickly we were put through what we were to accomplish and how that was going to happen. After several practice attempts, we had to have it just right in order to be caught by the other swinger, the time came to complete a catch and release trick.

I swung, I hung, I was caught and released.

Post adventure, as we were driving home, Andrea and I both agreed that we need fun things on the weekend nights. Our blood just seemed to be flowing with a bit more excitement that night. Swinging at heights and doing fun tricks is definitely a plus in my book.

Moto Tribute

2011-10-19T18:51:00.001-07:00

Let the good times roll...

I have mixed emotions as I just watched the new owner of my moto drive away. In the past year, since moving back to Seattle from the Olympic Peninsula, I have ridden my moto little, yet simply knowing that I had the moto downstairs in the parking garage was a good feeling. At a moments notice I was able to saddle up and cruize the neighborhood streets, highways, farmroads or seaside highways. The GZ250 gave me a sense of freedom and an exhilarating feeling while captaining the two wheeled motorcycle. I know that the new owner shall feel the same emotions and hope that I never forget the moments Andrea and myself had on the moto.

Peace be with you moto.

Application

2011-10-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

Whew. It is out of my hands now. Husky or not?

DQ Blizzardless life

2011-05-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

As a child the occasional visit to a DQ was indeed a treat, mainly with my dad as I remember. Walking in and pondering what sort of frozen treat I was going to have them make was always a tough decision. Typically a blizzard. Well... to this day those memories are still great, but something else has changed. And that fact is that the quality of my most recent DQ adventure, one I was very much so looking forward to, was a complete disappointment. The day finally came when Andrea and I were driving back from Portland and stopped to enjoy the "on the road snack." I ordered the blizzard of the month, a mint oreo. As many of you may know mint and chocolate are two of my most favorite things! I was waiting for the perfect moment to return to a DQ and taste the tastey treat and it was finally presented itself. Needless to say, I had a bad enough experience to write DQ and give them a firsthand account of my experience. Below is the copied text that was sent to DQ.

It has been a few weeks now and I am still unhappy about my experience at the aforementioned Dairy Queen. As a past loyal visitor during childhood I have even made a vow to never return to a Dairy Queen. I simply will settle for the quality of the blizzard I was served. The blizzard was a small mint oreo of which I was extremely excited to try. After a very long wait time I received my treat to find out that nearly 99 percent of the treat was ice cream and very, very little oreo! So little cookie in fact that I felt like I was eating a cup of mint flavored ice cream only. I was shocked at the amount of cookie that has been reduced from years past. To this day I regret not taking it back and gaining an explanation on whether it was a mistake or rather a reduction in the amount of cookie. Thus I am saddened to see the quality of the once delicious blizzard be reduced to what I purchased a few weeks back. Thank you for listening to my complaints and please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Best Wishes,

Tyson Goeppinger

Recently I have been loyal to the companies I deal with, whether it has been regarding sunglasses, hummus, camping equipment, or tastey treats. I treat each purchase as a vote towards the company and thus am careful of which products and companies I choose. This past experience compelled me to write the company and inform them about their decisions on quality. Cheers to homeade blizzards!

On the Dashboard

2011-05-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Bike:
Have recently acquired a rear derailleur from craigslist which had some unseen imperfections. I am dealing with those now, but should be shifting smoothly as soon as I purchase some new jockey pulleys. New shifters/brake levers just arrived in the mail. Yesterday Andrea and I were looking through REI's gear garage and found a sweet deal on some pedals for half off retail! Still trying to land a good deal on a headset.

Garden:
growing up and up. Radishes, various lettuces, spinach, green onions, shiraz beets, and rainbow carrots. I have also constructed a 'gutter garden' which turned out really well. It is quite fun to come home and check on the garden for various reasons and see that we have a bounty of veggies and lettuces and herbs (as bounty as our urban oasis can offer). It is giving me excellent practice for the day I am able to have a real garden. That potentially could be this summer as I have been on contact with a school program that needs some help with their community garden over the summer months when the kids are out.

Wedding update:
All major events/spaces/ideas/concepts are set up and scheduled now we are working on the smaller details. It is going to be the small things where we are going to be able to display our characters. We have been much more lackadaisical about the planning and we both agree that we need to pick it back up and get our butts in gear. Need to stay on schedule to keep this event from being a stress factory.

Mountaineering Course:
Started on May 5 with the first classroom portion as a 2 hr. 'get to know ya' and what the class is going to entail. Have since had a day trip up Mt. Washington involving some rain/snow where our group of 8 really got to know each other in more detail. Have learned about gear do's and dont's. Heading on an all day outing tomorrow at a local ski area to work with our navigation skills and ice axes. Weather should cooperate this go around. Just one more day closer to climbing Mt. Baker on June 18-21.

Little Garden

2011-04-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

What better day than today to celebrate my first, on my own, gardening experience. Happy Earth Day!

After completing the novel "Farm City" by Novella Carpenter, I have finally been pressured into caring for a garden of my own. As small as ours is it will not produce much, but this is an experiment and a means to gain gardening experience for the day the City of Seattle will loan me a pea patch (10 x 10 ft community plot). Our garden currently consists of two flower planters hanging over the balcony (2 square ft) and a small circular pail (0.8 square ft) totaling nearly 3 square ft. Sarcastically HUGE, well big enough to have an herb garden and grow a few veggies on the side.

I have chosen a few local easy to grow plants to start with and they are currently poking their heads out of the soil. French Breakfast Radishes - heirloom. Rainbow Carrot Mix. They are originally from Bellingham, WA and soon will be in my belly and perhaps yours too.

Meet my friends the Radishes... and

Carrots

Andrea keeps asking me, "why again are you growing radishes? neither you nor myself eat them." I will eat them and if I do not, then perhaps I will give them as a gift to someone or to some people who are in need of food. They are great on tacos or in salads. Perhaps I will unearth my harvest, in a few weeks and just .... ^& crunch #@.... bite into it and bask in the glory of growing food for ourselves. Ah... the life of a farmer, and urban farmer.

Parts to the puzzle

2011-04-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

A few months later and a few more parts are under the bed/leaning against the wall on my side of the bed. They are patiently waiting to be assembled. Just a few parts more...

Mavic Wheelset

SRAM rear cassette, all those pretty gears, sigh.

Kore Brakes, FSA Stem, SRAM Chain

Also not pictured is a tube of nano-ceramic lubricating grease I acquired from my brother, apparently some of the best stuff you can get. As well as a FSA SL-K crank set, the part your pedals are affixed to and pull/push on the chain.

Still seeking a few items:
Headset
Bottom Bracket
Front & Rear Derailleur
Pedals
Seat Post & Saddle
Handlebars
Shifters
Good Times on my 2 wheels!

Happy & Safe Riding

Winter Bike Build

2011-02-21T21:40:00.000-08:00

My winter project this year is a bicycle build, since I have yet to replace my stolen Redline Conquest. It is something I have always wanted to do and now that I have the time and money set aside... I present to you the SOMA Double Cross. Here is the beginning of what I shall soon be commuting, racing, touring, cruising and all things 2 wheels on. I have been slowly acquiring parts and pieces to complete this bicycle through various sources.

The first step for me was to have my frame prepared for the build. I took my frame to the local bike shop, Velo Bike Shop, and had them do some tool specific work. They faced my bottom bracket and head tube; chased the bottom bracket and any other brazed on threads (such as the rear derailleur hanger and luggage rack mounts); and reamed the seat tube of any burrs that could damage my seat post. This is likely crazy bicycle jargon to many, but it basically removes any unwanted paint buildup from areas where perfection is needed. That is right... perfection. I cannot wait to be zippin' through traffic on this bad boy or perhaps circumnavigating the Olympic Peninsula on a multi-day trip. More to come as parts arrive!

40 Yards

2011-02-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

Exact words per my friend Rob's email:

"Thanks to our incredibly powerful and influencial friend, Jonesy, the time has come for T-Bone to prove his kicking prowess! This one-time high school place kicker and current nature guru will have the opportunity to showcase his skills (or lack thereof) at the home of the 2010 NFC West Divisional Champion Seattle Seahawks; the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton, WA.

Mr. T-Bone will be placed inside the indoor training facility, at the 30 yard line, and will have one (1) attempt to kick a 40 yard field goal. If he is successful, he will claim his just prize of a steak dinner at any restaurant establishment in the Greater Seattle Area. Obviously, failure to accomplish said goal will result in him treating Mr. Robert R. Leslie to a medium fillet mignon at Daniel's Broiler.

Now, Mr. Christiansen brought up a fair point that NFL field goal posts are narrower than high school, therefore Mr. Leslie is willing to renegotiate the deal and offer T-Bone one (1) extra point attempt (ball placed on the 10-yard line) prior to his 40-yard fg attempt. But please be advised, those will be the only two (2) kicks attempted of any kind once on the hollowed grounds of VMAC.

Those parties included in this email have been invited to attend this epic wager. Mr. Leslie will supply the offiicial football to T-Bone prior to leaving for the VMAC. The kick will take place directly off the field turf and T-Bone may select any of the attending party to act as holder.

Here are the necessary details:

DATE: SUNDAY, FEB. 6

MEETING TIME: 11:30 AM

ARRIVAL AT VMAC: NOON

PRACTICE PAT ATTEMPT: 12:10

FG ATTEMPT: 12:15"

I will let the picture below speak my words.

Let it be known that neither this picture nor any words can describe the feelings after watching the ball travel end over end, in what seemed like slow motion, through the uprights.

After a drizzly day of practice on February 5 with a ball that was not quite inflated properly I was confident in my accuracy, but not sold on my distance. Figuring that a fully inflated ball and the adrenaline of the moment would give me the edge I needed, I ended my practice and was confident. Sunday morning came and my dearest friend and fiance Andrea kept giving me words of encouragement! The moment was drawing nearer. We all arrived at the facility and I was taken back to my days as a competitor in the Track & Field arena. I was mentally prepared and focused. We were greeted and taken on to the playing field... wow was it amazing! The energy from the field felt very powerful. As we walked in and were astonished by the facility I began to get nervous. Crossing the 30 yard line, which coincidentally had an "X" on it, was the point of peak nervousness. It seemed so far! During the practice kick at the 10 yard line I simply thought to myself, "kick this as you were kicking the 40 yarder," to get a feel of my power. The ball was set and... kick... GOOD, with ease. This is all when the nerves settled a bit for me and when Rob began to feel the tension. The walk/jog/stretch/hop back to the 30 yard line felt good. This time looking at the "X" seemed much more attainable. The ball was set and... music plays from a smart phone (Eminem) and I do not take much time. The ball is set and... kick. It starts out a tiny bit wide right, but enough to miss and then about halfway through the ball starts to curve in. At this point all I can think is, "now its good, it just needs the distance." Again, time was in slow motion. Waiting, waiting and... GOOD! Holy S$%t, I cannot believe it. Well I can, but at the same time it was an unbelievable feeling. Rob dropped to the ground and I began running and jumping for joy! Accomplishment and joy were pouring out of my smiles.

After winding down quickly we made our way out of the field and were given a tour of the facilities. Incredible. Many thanks to our host Mr. Jones for a great opportunity and tour!

Films & Memories

2010-12-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

A day in the life of a Bicycle [SHORT FILM] from jeroen Klokgieters on Vimeo.

Alive & Kickin

2010-10-21T20:52:00.001-07:00

My blog heart does indeed pump, just had a period of stillness. As I have recently come upon a few interesting moments, now which I cannot remember, I felt the need to write about them. Thus, here I am saying hello. Hello.

NZ Road

2010-04-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

On the road since the 5th of April and will be flying out of Auckland on the 13th. Plan to see heaps of NZ sights. Will be posting whenever I am able. Cheers.

Motley Crew

2010-04-04T04:28:00.000-07:00

Finally after several 'leaving parties,' today I had to actually say goodbye to many of my friends and co-workers at the Skyline Restaurant. It was pretty sad to say goodbye. I visited the restaurant one last time to drop off my uniform and sign some paper work and gave away my hugs and well wishes to those working and then headed down the gondola with Andrea to play some soccer with most of the other friends. Luckily I had to rush out of there after about an hour of playing because I sometimes do not do well with goodbyes. I will miss you all and wish you the best this winter and in your future endeavors, wherever they may lead you. Thanks for all the memories.

Routeburn Rain

2010-04-03T04:05:00.000-07:00

Please see Andreas Blog as she has been better at posting lately. www.andreafranzen.blogspot.com
This photo pretty much summarizes our trip. Rainy fun!

3 Years

2010-04-01T04:33:00.000-07:00

3(sun in Japanese) wonderful years with my main squeeze and they have been amazingly fun and full of excitement and love. I love you baby, bring on the next year!

Weeks 10 & 11

2010-03-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

I am a bit late in this post, seems to be the norm these days. Again in quick style so that I can bring you up to speed. These weeks I put in my two weeks notice at work (which is weird to say now that I am no longer working there), I learned a bit of Japanese, watched the exciting NCAA tourny, hiked Ben Lomond Peak, sampled some local brews from the Arrowtown Brewing Company, and began one of many bonding sessions with friends to say good bye and/or spend more time together before we left this crazy town. We have also been getting ready for the Routeburn track - a 4 day backpacking trip we have planned!

a brew with our flatmate at the ABC

hot sake with one of my co-workers

8 & 9 Week

2010-03-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

Our big Milford Sound trip was last weekend and it was amazing! Every direction we looked was a breathtaking vista, hence all the pictures in this post. It is also a combined two week post as it was a very busy social week. Between our camping/hiking/cruising trip, a going away party, a birthday party and getting rid of my bike most of our free time was spent socializing.

As our Milford weekend came closer the weather was looking promising, warm and sunny. We left just after sunrise on Saturday morning and started our trip with a drive up the Remarkables since Andrea had not yet been up there. View was amazing. See for yourself below.
The excitement continued as we made our way towards Te Anau and Milford Sound. While driving I felt like we stopped quite a number of times to take pictures and soak in the scenery.
Drove and drove until we made it to our 1st choice of campground in hopes that it was not full. Success, we landed in the Cascade Creek campground and set up camp. We quickly ate some lunch and packed some snacks and water for our hike up to the Gertrude Saddle. Hopped in the car and drove a few more km's towards Milford Sound then stopped at our destination. When we pulled into the parking lot, our mouths were on the ground. A co-worker recommended the hike and described it to me, but seeing it with my own eyes was worth a million indescribable words.
The summit or saddle rather rewarded us with a view all the way to Milford Sound and the surrounding mountains. Just as we were about to the saddle, we met two other Americans from the NYC area. We started talking and before we knew it we hiked all the way down with them and exchanged contact info, because why not? Back to camp for an earned dinner, a struggling campfire and some rest. I woke up a few times during the night as the moon was nearly full and thus very bright, but it was a good thing as I could see the mountains in the moonlight. That does not happen all that often. Then I set my mental alarm clock for sunrise so I could get some good pictures, and sure enough I woke at dawn to watch the sunrise and show its rays on the mountains. After playing around a bit and waiting for Andrea to wake, I fixed some breaky (breakfast). We ate, packed up and then started the drive to Milford Sound, through the Homer Tunnel and on to the ocean! Day two was full of excitement. It was a beautiful day, despite a very cool night and morning. Again, with our jaws to the floor the entire drive we made it to the sound at about 9:30 am. Relaxed a bit, and then headed to our boat for a lunch time cruise of the sound. An hour and a half of being on the water and seeing the sound from a different perspective showed us how beautiful and unique this area truly was. The mountains rose directly out of the water.
After the cruise we took our time and enjoyed the scenery as we slowly prepared for our journey back towards Te Anau and Queenstown, stopping at many sites along the way. It was still midday as we made out way to the Chasm, a quick walk to a spot where the Cleddau River quickly falls several meters and shapes the unique rock formations. Swirling water over time has given the Chasm an array of circular and rounded indentations all while flowing through a canyon with very steep side walls. I had previously been told of an area where one could jump into the refreshingly cold and crystal clear water at a height of approximately 25 ft. We found the secret spot, and coincidentally our flatmate who happened to be in the area as well, watched as a few friends jumped in and then jumped in myself. Brrrrrrrr.
Whew... just thinking about that again and it was great fun!

From the Chasm to Te Anau, we stopped at a few other places to take some photos and attempt to capture our time in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. All during this time our poor little Rav4 rental was making its way towards an empty tank and our minds were becoming weary of running out of fuel. *Backflash* On our way towards Milford Sound the first day there was a very important sign stating that fuel was not available at Milford Sound. We had a half a tank at this point and I had no doubt in my mind we would have plenty of petrol. *End Backflash* As our needle hit the E we still had nearly 65 kms left, but the fuel light indicator had not come on yet, which was giving me much hope, ha. We kept eeking closer and closer to Te Anau and the needle keept dropping further and further. My foot on the accelerator became very faint and every slight change in pitch of the road made me feel like the car had finally run out of fuel. Somehow by some magical powers fuel fumes we managed to make it to Te Anau and filled 'er up. Sigh of relief... we both were expecting the Rav4 to quit, but not this day and this place.

Once in Te Anau we found a spot to grab a bite to eat just before we had planned on attending the Fiordland Cinema which was showcasing a movie about the Southland Region - Ata Whenua. A local helicopter pilot had spent 6 years taking footage on the area and the differing seasons, and with a little bit of help from the LOTR crew was able to put together a short 35 minute film. It was similar to an IMAX film with incredible footage. Afterwards we began our drive home and were feeling lucky to have seen such a beautiful landscape!
The sun setting our our way back to Queenstown.

Another great adventure I went on was a birthday celebration for one of my co-workers. We had organized a wine tasting through work at the Gibbston Valley Winery just outside of town. It was a perfect day to sit outside and enjoy a glass or two, especially when they were given for free. Since we sell their wine at work we were able to take the tour and have a few bottles to sample for free whilst we celebrated Aneta's birthday. This picture is where the actual tasting took place, in the cellars or caves amongst the barrels. After the tour we chatted outside at a picnic table under an umbrella while we enjoyed a few more glasses. There Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris was my favorite.
Last but not least is the selling of my NZ bike. This was a great thing as I sold it for more than I originally paid for it and put minimal work into cleaning it up. Nothing like a quick fix and some extra cash in the pocket. It was great to have for a quick ride to work or a ride up the road for some exercise, but I was happy to sell 'er off. Makes me want to buy the frame I want back at home and build the bike of my dreams. One that I can hop on to get around town, one that I can possibly race in a cyclocross race, or one that I could throw a rack and some panniers on and tour the world. This bike is the Surly Cross Check. Size 58 cm and light grey in color please.

Cheers, 2 more weeks + 4 days in Queenstown.

Week 7

2010-02-26T17:14:00.000-08:00

The newest excitement is the map you see below! We have plans to be on it starting in April. During a morning/afternoon off for me and a day off for Andrea we decided to get the Routeburn Track booked. We will be completing the Routeburn Track from east to west and then connecting the Caples Track to make it a loop. One night in the Routeburn Falls Hut, one night in our tent at Lake Mackenzie Campground and another night in the tent near the Upper Caples Hut. We are both pretty excited to get some nights under the southern stars.

This upcoming weekend is our planned weekend off together, we do not have many days off together. We are going to make the drive to Milford Sound on Saturday morning. It is said to be about a 3 hour drive, and a most beautiful one. A few things still need to be finalized but it is on the books and we are going to camp/hike/sight see the infamous Milford Sound. Everyone says that a cruise is a must do, thus we may take a short cruise on the water to get the full experience.
Hopefully the weather cooperates and allows for some magnificent views. The excitement will be building all week long.

This past Thursday was an evening where a few co-workers and friends were out 'n about on the town after work doing what Queenstowners do best, drinking until the wee hours of the night. After a good evening at work, I decided I should tag along for a few beverages to socialize with my co-workers outside of work. I stopped at one establishment to pick up Andrea and found that she was hanging out with my long lost friends whom I have not seen since starting my job. We cheersed a few beers then headed out to meet my cohort of friends. Walked a few blocks to a place neither one of us had been to find the dance floor filled with my friends from the US, Canada, Korea, Ireland & the Czech Republic. Andrea finally met them and vice versa. Good times were had until about 2 am when a few of us started to get a bit tired. The Irishman, myself and Andrea said our goodbyes and headed up the hill. A good night.

The next day was my friday, but I did not have to work until 5pm at the restaurant. These days are a bit of an irony as I have all morning to do as I please, yet all day the thought of a days worth of work is always a cloud over my head. This 'Friday' of mine, which happened to be the real Friday I woke up and had a day planned with the Drew Bros. (Our flatmate Dave's brothers were visiting for their fathers 70th). We started the day right with a good breaky and coffee at a small joint in town. Then we decided to make the drive up to the Remarkables ski are for a varying vantage point of the surrounding areas (I did not have our camera, thus no pictures yet). It was incredible or should I say Remarkable! This gravel road was quite steep and windy but the 'sewing machine rental car,' as one brother called it made the trip. amazing views on the perfect day. After that trip we then decided we had enough time to drive to the neighboring town of Wanaka for a quick bite and brew. This drive was yet another one with views around every corner. We arrived back in Queenstown just in time for me to head up the gondola for an evenings worth of work. I was exhausted and glad I had two days off to look forward to.

On other notes...
I have updated my photos via facebook if you care to take a look.
Andrea and I have come to love this little product and its manufacturer. Lisa's hummus and dips are the most amazing we have ever tried. They are based out of NZ and I am awaiting an email to see whether they distribute to the states. Yes, I did inquire to see whether they distribute outside of NZ. If you ever get the chance to try them you will understand. The Jalepeno and Lime is by far our favorite. sigh... I look forward to the next time I get to hang out with the dip and a brew.
Cheers.

6 week +3 days

2010-02-22T18:50:00.000-08:00

Time is beginning to fly here as we have hit the 6th week. As I am still working many hours I have seemed to miss my last weekly post, thus here it is in list form....

Worked
Fixed my bike tires
Tracy & Scott arrived back from Christchurch
Grilled some lamb and veggies
Went on a midnight hike to view some local glowworms
Made and ate some cookies
We saw Tracy & Scott off back to Seattle, it was great having them in town
Worked
Got to know the staff at work more personally, they are fun
Watched Olympics
Am no longer the newbie at work (there is another American from Wisconsin)
Have ridden the gondola several times now
Worked
Drank a few beers
Rode my bike up a big hill and then ran, inspired by Vancouver 2010
Finally jumped in the refreshingly cool Lake Wakatipu
Worked
Occasionally hung out with Andrea when time allowed
Hiked the Fernhill Loop, pictures below
Got paid
Researched multiple day tracks (backpacking)
Watched more Olympics

Five Week +2 days

2010-02-13T14:16:00.000-08:00

It has been over a month now, and it feels pretty comfy and exhausting. Working a lot and adjusting to the new schedule, which explains the '+ 2 days' in the title. I am working 50 hour work weeks during this busy time at the restaurant and thus missed my target date for an update every Saturday. Mainly working evenings until midnight and on occasion a full day of lunch, dinner prep, dinner, then prep for the next day. Those days are long, yet it feels good to work 40+ hours and get paid for it so I can start saving for our next adventure which at the moment happens to be Milford Sound on the weekend of March 6. We have to plan a bit more as our schedules do not match up well. Andrea goes to work during the day from 11-7 usually and I am gone to work when she arrives back. Then I arrive back at home when she is usually in bed. We are kinda bummed about it, but just have the understanding that we have the mornings together and the fact that we are going to work a lot now and save our money for the fun times ahead.

On other working notes, we are both liking our jobs. Andrea likes the people she is working with and I the same. I feel like I am in a bit of an international arena. Korean, French, Great Britain, Canadian, Brazilian, Romanian, Irish, Chinese, Japanese, Czech Republic, and American. Everyone is fun and friendly despite the 12 hour work days occasionally. It is a very social group. People getting together to do many activities for whatever reason.

Scott skipping rocks on the Shotover River

Other than work, I have been able to spend a few more moments with Tracy & Scott while they are in the Queenstown area. They rented a car and had a little tour of the area before they headed to Te Anau/Milford Sound and discovered some new scenery.

Scott is reminded by a sticker on the dash to drive on the left side of the raod.

We drove the scenic 60 kms to Glenorchy to see the beautiful area and get in a small hike. We were hoping to spot some orcs or hobbits as it is one of the places visited by LOTR tours. No luck, although I did feel a bit like I was in Middle Earth somewhere.

In Glenorchy

Tracy & Scott have since been in Christchurch and arrive back tomorrow afternoon for one last day.

Four Week

2010-02-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

Just some fun camper vans.

As we have been getting more and more settled in, week four was the climax of us becoming locals. We moved into our new place on Strawberry Lane and its fabulous in so many ways. Our flatmates are overly nice and easy going. We are much closer to town, not to mention that the 20 minute walk to town is one giant view the whole time, see picture below. It starts by walking down a steep hill with amazing views of Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding mountains of the Remarkables, Mt. Cecil and Mt. Walker. Once at the bottom of the hill there is a city park walkway along the lake's edge all the way into town. People are out sunning themselves, reading, cooking at the barbecue, napping, having a hui - the Maori term for a meeting, jumping off the wharf into the frigid waters to cool off, relaxing with some beer/wine, doing their dishes from their camper van, you name it. New place, new people and we needed new groceries to fill our empty cupboard.

We embarked on an afternoon full of errands... getting groceries was an adventure for us. We wanted to head just out of town to the grocery store that was less expensive, but more importantly had much more of a selection. Not having a car is what made it interesting. We emptied our backpacks and and hopped on the bus with our list of items we needed. Made it around to 3 different stores to purchase the necessary items to make our new place feel like home, loaded our bags to the brim and then carried even more to the bus stop. Timing worked out perfect as the bus pulled right up as we sat down. The hot sun beating down on our ice cream was not very forgiving, but alas we made it home with everything we wanted. It felt great to have a place to call home during our adventure, small herb garden included. Considering our exhausting day, Andrea and I decided to treat ourselves to dinner to celebrate our new chapter. We both have jobs, a new place, fantastic flatmates, a shorter beautiful walk to town and a relaxed soul.

Dre skips some rocks, there are endless perfect skipping rocks.

Thursday was my first day of work, I was due in to go over some paperwork. Rode the gondola up took care of everything and had expected to ride the gondola back down in a few hours, but what they had not told me was that myself and the one other new employee where scheduled to have a training night. Thus I was sent to change into my new uniform, eat and then be ready to start my training. I was thrown right in and was not prepared at all as I was thinking in my mind that I was going to have a lazy evening with Andrea on the waterfront with a few glasses of wine... not tonight. First days, per usual, are a lot of information to digest and can be quite stressful. I was exhausted after the first day and made it through the evening with only spilling two glasses of wine on one lady wearing a white sweater, no big deal (heavy sarcasm). I felt so bad at the time and was very apologetic, but in hindsight with everybody telling me their accident stories I could look back and laugh about the matter. I am laughing right now as I type, ha. After that first day, everything was quite simple and days 2 and 3 were a piece of cake. The view from the restaurant is breathtaking and every so often a para glider will float on by, a victim will jump from the bungy platform below, and a helicopter will fly in to pick up or drop off some visitors. I am happy to content with working at the restaurant despite the late nights and demanding labor. The employees are all enjoyable and from all over the world. It is fun to talk to everyone about their travels, future plans, or hometown.

After 3 days of work, my schedule allowed for some time off while Tracy & Scott are due to visit. They just arrived and I am excited to have them here to visit. I am excited for them to have an adventure, they have some great plans ahead.

"Just another day in paradise," I have been noticing myself use this one quite a bit lately. Mainly when I take a moment to look at my surroundings and take in the beauty of this country.

Cheers Mates.

Room w/ A View

2010-02-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

Looking through a giant 10'x 6' window in our new flat. We finally feel settled! Sigh, its a great feeling.

Three Week

2010-01-31T00:53:00.001-08:00

It has already been 3 weeks, time has flown by here in kiwiland. This pas week was fairly relaxed and single goal oriented. Find a job, simple as that. I wanted to find a job that I could not find back at home. A job that would be a part of this whole experience. Before moving here, I wanted to be involved with something "Queenstown-esque," such as bungy jumping, rafting, mountain biking, or some sort of adrenaline junky type of employment. I also would have loved to work on a farm/orchard/vinyard and get a feel of what it is like to live and work on such an operation. I also love working outside, with plants and with my hands. Well my decision has been made...

After arriving in town, I quickly realized that we are kinda far from any of the farm/orchard operations, remove that possibility. Most of the adrenaline type work was popular and usually taken by locals or people who have been waiting for the vacancies long before I, nix that possibility. So i started to get less and less picky about what I was going to be doing to earn my keep in the country. Although, I did not loose hope in doing something I could not do at home. I kept at it and talked to people, put my name out there, even chatted people up during hitch hiking adventures (nearly found two jobs that way). Side note: People are quite friendly here, oh, and hitch hiking is totally accepted. I/we have hitched a few times back to our place from town to save some time and everybody who picks us up is more than friendly and has a unique story to tell. I gladly listen and thank them for the ride. End side note.

I was beginning to get nervous as nobody has shown an interest with a call back, even with applying at the hotels as a last resort. Then all of a sudden, an unexpected call arrived from the Skyline Gondola. They wanted an interview. I was excited and come to think of it had no idea what type of work they wanted as they are a large complex of many activities. The interview went well and turns out it is for a position in the restaurant serving. I just found out they want to hire me, thus I accepted. I will be riding the gondola up to work every day, which will be exciting for a while at least. I have found my "Queenstown-esque" employment. It may not be working directly at the bungy platform, zipline tour or luge attraction, but it is right in the vicinity. Sigh of relief as I now feel like I have a place in this community as a worker. I will have money coming in to save up for our next great adventure.

Other adventures this week... went on a short 1 hr. hike on the Moonlight Track with Andrea and Caitlin. Below are a few pictures we snapped.

I also rode my bike to the nearby town of Arrowtown. Mainly to get a workout in, but also because I had the time and have heard it is a beautiful ride. A great 15 kms there and a windy 15 kms back. Mountain views in every direction as I rode through the hills of farmlands. This photo below depicts how the buildings have maintained the architecture of the old town. This was a small pub where you walk a few steps down and inside and it is quite cave like, yet comfy and cozy.

Last but not least this is a shot of the sun setting over Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown. We were out celebrating a friends birthday and came across this scene.

Southern NZ

2010-01-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

Andrea, myself, and the backwards driving Nissan Sunny went on an adventure this past weekend. Picked up the rental car and a few more groceries and headed south along the banks of Lake Wakatipu on highway 6. Beautiful and mountainous, all you want to do is stop nearly every km to take a picture, but alas we had a lot to see in the next few days. A lot of driving too. Day one was sunny and amazing as we were both on a high of just getting out of town and seeing an entirely new world. We drove along mountains and lakes for a while, then the landscape turned to rolling hills of sheep, cattle, deer, and elk farms. It was gorgeous, even from the reverse cockpit of the Sunny. We wanted to see as much as we could, thus we drove through the town of Invercargill just to pop through and see what it was like. Well we stopped at some Irish pub downtown to have a celebratory beer and then got lost a tiny bit on our way to Curio Bay.
Soon we were driving on a gravel road through farms and could see the ocean off in the distance. When we arrived at the campground, neither of us could believe where we were staying. It was directly on the coast and breathtaking. Staked our ground for the night, filled a glass of wine and walked around to get to know our new surroundings... beaches, cloud cover, waves, rock cliffs, fur seals, mice, and many other camper vans. Not knowing our exact plans for the rest of the trip, we made dinner and discussed options. Wanted to play some cribbage, but forgot the game back in Queenstown. Relaxed and fell asleep in the tent. I love sleeping outside.

Day two, still cloudy when we woke to some fisherman who parked about 20 feet from our tent while they prepared. Ate some breakfast consisting of a breakfast bar and fruit, then headed in to the office to get some info. Learned of a nearby ancient coastal forest preserved by a massive mudslide. Checked it out in hope to see some penguins, but only another fur seal lazily resting. Returned to our campsite and decided on a whim to pick up camp and continue along the southern scenic highway in hopes to see more country and discover more. McLean Falls was the next stop, a short hike through jungle like environment and we arrived at the falls.

Back to the car and the next stop was the Cathedral Caves on the coast. A small $5 fee because we apparently traveled on some private land and another short 10 minute hike to the beach. Low and behold the sun came out during our hike through the coastal forest. We popped out on the beach and it was glorious. I had an instinct to run around, thus I ran and in no particular direction. We walked a few hundred meters to the cave to find it in a towering cliff. It was huge! Huge it may have been, but not very long. The cave was basically a large horseshoe, in one way, make a turn, and out the other way. Amazing nonetheless. On the way back I could not pass up the opportunity to break out the feet and walk around in the water. The sand was amazing and the water cool, but not freezing.

Back to the car for some more driving. By now I am pretty much used to using the blinker and seatbelt on my right side instead of the left. At first, I was always flicking the wipers instead of the turning signal and reaching to the center console for my seatbelt. This driving was fun too. the highways around here are nothing like interstates, only two lane curvy roads. Made me wish I were on my moto. After a few km's there was a lookout we could not pass up. Florence Hill Lookout viewing over Tautuku Beach:

Beginning to wonder where we were going to camp and seeing that we were getting low on petrol, we drove with a campsite in mind. Found one spot that was recommended, but after seeing that our campsite was the size of an average persons bedroom (and basically right on top of the nieghboors) we decided to pack up and head to another recommendation. Kaka Point was our last option. 20 km north and we came across the small town and loved it. Extensive beach right in town, a small pub that overlooked the beach, boogie boarders on the waves, and a campsite just up the hill. We settled into our campsite, which charged per person and had a large kitchen, showers, and laundry. Not an ideal camping area, but we figured we were only going to sleep here, and that we did. Immediately packed our dinner and headed back to the little pub for a celebratory beer. Speights, yum! Then we headed back on the road to check out Nugget Point. It was a place to view the yellow-eyed penguins coming in for the evening to feed their juveniles. We were both ecstatic to see some penguins in their habitat! That we did, but from afar. We read and learned that the penguins are very sensitive to disturbances. Thus, the beach was closed and we had to view them from about 200 yards. Also at Nugget Point was the Nugget Point lighthouse. We had planned on making our dinner at the lighthouse, but the wind was relentless and powerful. We took in the cloudy views, watched some fur seals playing on the beach 250 ft. below and turned around as we were getting quite hungry.

On the way back to our campsite we found a table and chairs made out of large wire spools in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful beach views avalaible, so we decided to stop and cook. Thai chicken curry for dinner. Back on the road, and considered another night cap of Speights at the pub, but it was quite busy and we had some wine and chocolate back at the campsite.

Day 3, woke up to some light rain, packed up and headed back on the road towards Balclutha to get some much needed fuel. The morning was a bit rainy and cloudy, but as we made our way on our inland route the sun started to show its face. Its amazing how powerful the sun is here. We were making our way through the fruitlands of Roxborough, Alexandra, and Cromwell and this work of art was displayed at the gates of Cromwell.

We drove by countless fruit orchards all selling their bounty of delicious fruits. Neither one of us had cash and were thus hesitant to stop, but we looked at each other and we knew immediately that if we did not stop and get fruit we would be missing out. Pulled over at the next stand to see all the delicious fruits... numerous cherries, peaches of all sorts, berries galore, juices, and even freshly made real fruit ice cream. The smells were unforgettable as well. Both of us were making mental lists of what we wanted to munch on as we perused the rather large fruit stall (they called them fruit stalls instead of fruit stands). We were sure they would take a credit card, but I wanted to make sure first. This was the moment of utter despair and the feelings of rejection. Our dreams of eating fresh fruit while we finished the last legs of our trip were crushed. Alas we left the stand with visions of plums and white peaches danced in our heads. We drove on and tried another stall, nope. Another, nope. Another, nope, then finally gave up hope.

As we were leaving Cromwell we began driving through the Kawarau Gorge and saw some amazing views. This photo was early on as we drove along the dammed Kawarau River.

The water was the definition of turquoise. Also along this gorge was THE worlds first & most famous bungy site on the Kawarau River. We had to stop and check out the adrenaline seeking people jump from an old bridge to fall 43 m (142 ft) with a giant rubber band strapped to their ankles. It was crazy. I was never tempted to bungy while here, but after watching this a few times and seeing that this place to jump was breathtaking, I mentally considered doing it in the future. Andrea did the same, so much that she tried to trick me into doing it on the spot while we were there. As we were walking out, she said "I think I'm going to do it now." I could not believe her, but I still was not sold on the whole deal. My heart definitely skipped a beat, but then she said no. She definitely had me going, but I was not about to pull the trigger, just yet. hmmm.....

We were now coming to the end of our journey as Queenstown was the next town. Neither of us wanted to end the journey just yet so we sidetracked to the small town of Arrowtown, a neighboring town to Queenstown. Andrea had already been here with some girlfriends to watch a movie and knew how quaint and 'old school' the town was. She wanted to spend more time exploring the small town. The buildings are all very old and have not changed much. We manged to spend a few hours walking around and exploring the options. Popped into a corner pub called Tap to grab a brew with some locals. Walked around a bit more and then went back to the Tap to get some pizza that sounded amazing from reading the menu the first visit. Sure enough it was delicious! Left the town and drove about 15 more minutes back to Queenstown. We were exhausted, whew... what a trip! We got to see many differing landscapes and heaps of southern New Zealand. Our eyes were opened up to this country and its beauty.

Two Week

2010-01-19T03:10:00.000-08:00

Let the job hunt begin. Resume, or CV as they like to call it here, updated and all the pertinent info showing. I began walking around town to get my name out... this included hotels, fruit stands, clothing stores, restaurants and bike shops. After searching and searching, which is very exhausting, I started to get a bit nervous. A few different people were telling me that I am a bit late, that people are getting let go at this time. Others were very helpful and guiding me towards other possibilities. I am still looking and hopefully will find something sooner than later.

On other notes Andrea and I have found it quite difficult to get to and from town being ~6 km (3.7 miles) from town. Even though, I purchased a used road bike, it is a bit of a trek as the terrain is hilly and mountainous here. Thus, after some chatting with our current friends/roomies, we have decided to move closer to town. Searching and searching newspapers and message boards at the grocery, we called numerous people, saw two places and narrowed it down to one. We move in on Feb. 1st. This place is still up a hill, but much closer to town.

One more problem that has been solved is the communication with family and friends. I was not exactly sure how I was going to keep in touch. Skype became the answer, www.skype.com. It allows me to call phones from my computer, and if other users are online I can even video chat, which has proven to be quite fun. My dad, sister and brother-in-law all just got a video camera for their computer and thus we can all skype. I told my dad about the program over the phone on a Saturday night. On Sunday, I woke up to a message saying "Craig and Jackie would like to be on your address book." I gladly accepted and within a few minutes they signed on and we began our inaugural chat. I could see my dad and he could see me, despite we are on opposite sided of the world. Its great and I look forward to keeping up with family and friends as Andrea and I continue our adventure.

Then there was the day that was January 19th, my birthday. It was a great day. Sunny, productive, fun and good food. We caught a ride into town to get some things taken care of and then started a short hike to the Skyline Gondola attraction. A steep ~40 minute hike up the mountain side leads one to a restaurant, luge, bungy jump, giant swing and take-off point to paraglide. Andrea treated me to a few luge rides, and they were way fun! It was an adrenaline thrill, perhaps not a bungy jump or a skydive, but enough of a thrill for my 27th B-day. It was incredibly fun! Just now, as I am writing about it, I really want to go do it again. Then we headed back to our place to grill some delicious foods and sip on a few Speights to celebrate the day. Of course we had some chocolate cake with milk.

In the next day or so, Andrea was offered two jobs at clothing stores and was working with both companies to figure out which one would suit her. She struggled a bit as one was part time and paid more where the other was full time and paid a little bit less. In the end, she had decided and begins work Tuesday. She chose the full time spot as it gave her a better vibe and she liked the clothes better. Right as Andrea was taking the job we pulled the trigger to rent a car and tour a part of the country as it seemed like the right time before we started working. We had the weekend ahead of us and were recommended to drive to the southern coast. Thus we decided that is where we will drive.

27

2010-01-19T03:03:00.001-08:00

Cheers to me on 27 years.

One Week

2010-01-16T11:42:00.000-08:00

One week of New Zealand is under the belt and what do I have to say for it --> NZ is beautiful, people are great and the sun is powerful. Since we arrived we have been doing more vacation type things, tourist activities. We kinda wanted the quick track to know the town and surrounding area. What better way to do this than watching some rugby in town, visit a local winery to sample the local eats and wines, drive a few kilometers out of town and go on a hike around Moke Lake, white water rafting on the Shotover River and have a few walks around town. All of these things were guided by our gracious local hosts Caitlin and Loren. We have also been eating well. Combined efforts to make amazing meals (mostly Caitlin) have been outstanding. What better to go along with dinner than local brews... Speights, Tui, Monteiths, Steinlager. Although they are tasty, I am missing out on a few tasty selections from the west coast.

Our Seattle friends Rob and Claudia have also been traveling abroad and stayed in Queenstown for 5 days. It was great to discover NZ with them and start our big adventure. From the moment we first landed up until now I am still in awe at the beauty of this landscape. Queenstown is nestled right up against Lake Wakatipu and the backdrop in every direction is towering mountains. Population 13,333, first settled in 1860, 310 meters above sea level. After discussing a few facts, it was brought to my attention that Queenstown is the sister city of Aspen! Funny how some things work out.

It has also been stressful getting settled. We are staying 4 km out of town and without a car it is a bit of a problem. Despite our hurdle, we have made the best of what we can the first week. We have caught rides with our hosts into town and walked back as it is a beautiful walk. I purchased a used road bike to get to and from the city center and Andrea is still looking for a bike. I have taken temporary ownership of one of our hosts old local cell phone to use while in town. I have also set up my Skype account so that I can call home. We have set up bank accounts, with ambitions to fill them with NZ dollars. We have spent a few hours walking town handing out CV's to potential employers. We purchased groceries. We are now looking at moving closer to town to make things much easier on ourselves. There are plenty of options available for people looking for 'flatmates.' We are going to see a few of them today and hopefully make a decision within the next few days. We have also discussed the option of purchasing a van to live out of and travel around the south island, considering it would cost the same to buy a van as it would to pay rent. Thoughts of it being an investment and having a vehicle to see the country and then hopefully sell the van before we depart makes sense. Just a fun thought for now. Well, our friends just left to travel back to Seattle and that is about all I have for this past week. An amazing expensive week full of great times --> the highlight was definitely finally having nice weather and rafting the Shotover (we rafted 170 meters through a tunnel!).

Wish us luck with jobs!

Welcome New Zealand

2010-01-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

The whole travel experience was new for me as I have never traveled abroad, other than Canada, eh. Learned a few lessons, played some games, met some nice people, watched some movies and caught some Zzz's. Everything was going smoothly at first, despite the amount of luggage and bike in tow. When we arrived in LA, we found our airline and learned that when we were to arrive in Sydney we were to go through customs, pick up luggage then go back through ticketing & security. What fun we thought, but had no choice.

Flight to Sydney was 15 hours. We watched The Hangover together then a few other things on the personal TV screens provided. Ate a dinner and breakfast, and were provided with snacks in between if necessary. Slept quite a bit, not exactly sure but on and off for about 6 hours we think. Arrived in Sydney at 6 am and missed an entire day. It felt great to be across the world; it was sunny and beautiful. My first overseas flight complete!

Then on through customs to pick up our luggage, or so we thought. They would not let us through because we did not obtain Australia visas. We kindly explained we were told to pick up our bags by the airline and transfer them to the next flight ourselves. The customs girl, who was very nice and helpful, explained that our bags should be transferred automatically and that we could not make it through to pick them up regardless. Roadbump. I was simply thinking we had no choice so no sense in worrying whether our bags were going to make it to New Zealand. We turned around and started walking where directed while thinking about many things: where are our bags going to end up? what gate are we headed to? how do we get our boarding passes? WHEN IS OUR FLIGHT? (that's right, we did not know anything about our flight). We started to be a tiny bit frantic as those are all very important questions. Why didn't we print out the information? Just forgot, ooops. Once we found our gate, we then had a few more snafus with regards to our visas and boarding pass. We showed our necessary paperwork to the agent and after about 10 minutes and a large line building up behind us we were told everything was ok, other than the bag situation which was still an unsolved mystery. Boarded the plant to NZ thinking it was a 4 hour flight and turned out it was only 2.5 hours over the Tasman Sea. Landed and it was beautiful. We were nervous to go through customs knowing we did not have 2 items we needed: my bank statement showing current earnings and our return ticket. As the line became shorter and shorter, more and more nervous. Finally we were next and a gentleman was pre-checking our passports and arrival cards with declaration information. He calmed our nerves saying that if we had working visas we were fine and dandy. Made it through! Victory! Now onto the luggage situation...

Waiting, waiting and waiting. Andreas large bag came through and I pumped my fist in the air. If one had arrived then the rest should be behind. The bike showed up immediately after, 2/5. Well 2/5 is the best the airlines could do for us apparently. We waited until there was only one lonely black bag circling the baggage carousel before we headed to the counter for file our claim. The gal there was very helpful during the process. We gave all the necessary information about the missing bags and headed through NZ customs where they proceeded to check a few of our items for possible unwanted travelers to the country. It was a process that Andrea and I had never experienced but were impressed with the precision as the two gentlemen began removing every single bit and piece of dirt or plant matter from the bike and then vacuuming it up with a dust buster. It was quite the scene, and the two gentlemen were to chat with as we patiently waited.

Finally, everything was cleaned (well everything we had in our possession) and we proceeded through the doors to wonder if our friends were still there as we were making our way through customs for nearly an hour. Tried and true, our friends were patiently waiting.

The New Zealand Chapter begins.

Adventure

2010-01-06T08:35:00.000-08:00

Well, New Zealand is on the dashboard for the next 4 months. Andrea and I will be living/working/traveling in the country for the next 3.5 months. Then 2 weeks in Australia, not bad eh? 2010 will start with a new adventure. It has been a lot of planning and logistics, but the time has finally arrived. Check back for updates, see you in the Southern Hemisphere!

Also, check www.andreafranzen.blogspot.com

John West Salmon

2010-01-03T13:13:00.000-08:00

one of my favorite ads out here.

Ski Resorts Across WA Open!

2009-11-13T12:23:00.000-08:00

The early ski/snowboard season opens, and its a good thing b.c Andrea and I are headed to New Zealand for the winter. Yes, yes I know they have opposite seasons, and yes that means I will be missing a winter full of snowboarding in WA. I will also be basking in the sun of the Southern Hemisphere, a place I have never been! Let the adventure soon begin. I have spent some time making this video of a Mt. Baker ski/snowboard trip that happened earlier this year with a handful of friends.

Let the adventure continue.

final beard. fun. beardless

2009-09-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

final beard ~5 mos.

some fun

beardless

beard.

2009-07-24T18:00:00.001-07:00

www.findyourspot.com

2009-07-20T14:53:00.001-07:00

Chatting with some great friends back in the Midwest (all of which I love dearly and had a great time with this past week), I was presented with this site. Since it is a question that has been a topic of many of my recent conversations, especially with Andrea, I wanted to see what the WWW had to offer. My top 5 places to live, according to the never wrong WWW.

1. Eugene, OR "The Emerald City"
2.Corvallis, OR "Heart of the Willamette Valley"
3. Fort Collins, CO "The Choice City"
4. Kent, WA (ha, a suburb of Seattle) "The Heart of Puget Sound"
5. Tacoma, WA (Nate R., that is for you) "Port City of the Cascades"

other interesting places on the list:
6. Anchorage, AK "City of Lights & Flowers"
7. Portland, OR "City of Roses"
10. Seattle, WA "The Emerald City"
16. Denver, CO "The Mile High City"
18. Missoula, MT "Cosmopolitan Mountain Town"
21. Loveland, CO "Rocky Mountain Splendor"

I want one please

2009-04-28T21:43:00.001-07:00

So I have passed a motorcycle safety course and now have a state issued license to drive a motorcycle. 98% on the written exam and 100% on the skills test. Yes, I am that good. I was taking the class to get a feel of whether or not I would want to eventually own a motorcycle. The class was well taught and coached, now I want one. Period.

2 weeks until I start my new job as a Trail Crew Leader for the Olympic National Forest. Excited for a summer in the woods!

2 YRS. & A Sigh of relief

2009-04-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

Today marks a special date --> 2 years for Andrea and I. We have been together for 2 years. It has been a great run! We have had so much fun together. So many new experiences together, both good and bad. We have grown together and I am excited for what the future brings us. Let the adventure continue.

Today was also a special day for job hunting. It all started when I received an email from a past supervisor saying that he had received 2 calls this morning regarding 2 positions I have applied for, one in the Pacific Northwest and another in Colorado. Just as I was writing back to say thanks for the help, I received a call from Colorado. It was a gentleman from the Gunnison Ranger District offering me a position. We talked and it was GREAT. The feeling of accomplishment! To be wanted as an employee at something I really want to do... Whilst I was on the phone chatting away, I received another call from the Quilcene Ranger District informing me that they would like to offer me a position as well. TOOK IT! It is a GS-5 Wilderness & Trails Ranger Position. Although it would have been nice to make it back to Colorado, whether it was Aspen area or Gunnison area, I am glad I will still be in the Pacific Northwest. Bring on the summer in the woods.

I have decided to celebrate with a delicious Franziskaner Dunkel Weisse and some Annies Deluxe Mac n Cheese. I deserve it, ooh and it is so good.

01.19.1983

2009-01-25T00:17:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to me.
Turned out to be a beautiful day in Seattle, sunny and a bit chilly. 25 was yet another great year, so many experiences, life lessons learned, and great times had. 26 can only get better! I just want to say right now that I am thankful for the years I have had... health, friendships, family, and adventure.

forever tasty... champagne

Washington Riding

2009-01-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

Andrea and I went up to Alpental Ski Area and this is what we came up with. (yes i do have extra time on my hands).

... for now check out her blog ... www.andreafranzen.blogspot.com

On other notes, I have been able to check out a few of the local ski areas -> Crystal Mountain & Stevens Pass. They are both fun and provide the much needed adrenaline rush that is vital to survive. Snowboarding will always be a part of my life! Some people need internet time, others perhaps gaming system, or gyms; not I, I need snowboarding.

over n out.
TG

things

2008-12-12T13:48:00.000-08:00

my new thing withing the past 6 months or so I would say is to not buy new things. things. things. there are plenty of items out there everyone is looking for that are used/slightly used and wanting new homes. Sweaters, shoes, Christmas ornaments, tree stands, jackets, belts, dressers, watches, on and on... keeping these things out of the landfill is my motivation. some people have problems with wearing someone else's clothing and such, but not I. it is usually cheaper and it just feels good, to me, to have things passed from person to person. kind of like a hand me down. being the youngest of 5 siblings may very well be the reason for this trend of mine.

well I was walking in REI (one of my new places of employment) and saw an amazing pair of wool gloves. I noticed they were carefully hand crafted in Nepal or somewhere across the world. they were amazing. I wanted them. something inside me said, "surely you can make these yourself tyson." after the knitting spark was ignited, i sadly learned that gloves are extremely hard to knit. no big deal, I would still love to knit a hat or something, so Andrea and I accidentaly ended up at a local knitting shop and purchased some needles and 2 balls of yarn for my knitting adventure. let the knitting begin. with some help from Andrea, YouTube, and a book called The Knitting Bible I present you... drum roll please (Christmas Vacation style)...

The Hat

Crime Scene

2008-11-20T14:29:00.001-08:00

it was locked up just behind the car and sign.

All I can ask is Why!? (emphasis!)

2008-11-19T00:12:00.000-08:00

My 2008 REDLINE Conquest bike was stolen this evening, and my mind is blown away. All i can think about is who did this, why would they do it, when did they do it, did anybody see it happen, do they realize how much that bike meant to me, would i punch him/her in the face? (YES) It was my only means of getting around the city and i loved it. Maybe i was too attached to my bike, but i am having a hard time with this. I simply cannot believe this just happened tonight. I locked my bike up while at work, and thinking its a good spot since I am staring at it across the street all awhile i am working at the hotel. Low and behold i glance towards my bike and notice, not my bike but another bike. immediately thinking, my bike must have fallen over or this other bike rack user must have moved mine so he/she could get his/her bike on there too. taking a closer look, i notice my bike is not there at all. did i lock it up there? did i even ride my bike to work? did somebody play a trick on me? all things running through my head. well i ran across the busy street that is 4th Street to notice that my lock was on the ground and snipped right in two. my jaw/stomach dropped! I cold not believe it, what do i do now? I called the police. On the corner of 4th & Virginia just outside the Dahlia Lounge Restauruant, my bike was stolen between 5:00 and 7:30 pm on Tuesday evening the 18th of November. Thoughts will run through my head about my Conquest for a long time to come. Karma!

Bike, are your out there?
Regretfully your old owner

here we go...

2008-11-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

bringing you up to date from... the end of May when i moved from Colorado to Washington up until winter of '08. Many things have happened during this time frame, thus many pictures and not a whole lot of explanation, see previous post "man of few words".
Death Valley and Tim & Ann's Wedding in Sonoma, CA

Wedding, wine tasting, and packing up to drive the Coastal Highways

Drive thru tree, Paul Bunyan (he talked!), somewhere in Oregon

Oregon dunes, welcome to Washington party with Rainier beer, hiking in Leavenworth

More leavenworth and Lisa B's pool party place for summer relaxin'

Tracy is half an iron-man, my fu manchu while enjoying Lake Minnetonka, MN with the Franzens, team Ballgium represents at Mason Lake Beer Olympics

Seattle sunset, La Push beach camping w/ friends, sailing adventures with Lauren B visiting

Mt. Rainier sunrise on the way to the triathalon, swimming, and finish

my new waders for salmon research position, Tracy + Scott join us to hike Mt. Si., and pumpkin patch picking

carving with Rob + Claudia, Andrea and I hike halfway up Mt. Rainier to Camp Muir base camp. proudly drinking a Rainier Beer while on Rainier, it was given to us by our new friends we met while chillin (literally) at base camp

karaoke for Andrea's 30th celebration.

Vote.

2008-11-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

I voted today in the State of Washington.

Man of few words.

2008-10-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

So it has been a busy summer/fall. I will soon hopefully post a plethora of pictures to recap my new experiences in the Greater Seattle area. I may have lost my few followers, but if you are still out there and wondering of my whereabouts and adventures, I plead you to stay tuned. It has indeed been an incredible summer/fall!

Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington

2008-05-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

Driving the western states to California for Tim and Ann's Wedding, my brother and soon to be sister in law. Toby arrives in aspen to pick me up in a rental car and we start our great western adventure through the states. Stopping in Death Valley National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Kings Canyon National Park before we make it to Glen Ellen, California. Hang out with the family, which is going to be great since we are rarely all together these days. Then I drive up the west coast with Andrea and possibly my mother. Excitement!

Goodbye to Aspen hello Seattle.

leaving... sad

2008-05-16T22:50:00.001-07:00

As the day comes near, i begin to realize how special this place is. The past 2+ years have shaped me to be the man i am today. The love for the outdoors, the ecofriendlyism (not a world... until now), the work experience, the fun!, the snow, the learning of both who i am and what this place is all about, the partying, the $$$, the aspen culture, the tourists, the offseason, the 'i wont wake up early unless its a powder day,' and most of the the friends and relationshiops. Whenever i go somewhere in this town these days i take just a little bit longer to absorb everything. What it means to me and why it is special. Whether it is a park i rarely went to or the pub i frequently had beverages at after a day of snowboarding. Suddenly every little thing means a little bit more. Until that final day, the day of no more. The day where i ask myself 'will i ever come back here?' The day of will we ever cross path's again? It is all becoming very sad, but at the same time very exciting! New experiences. New places. New People. New job. New things! It is such weird place to be... very sad, yet very excited. I hope all those who have touched me know that i cherish their memories and relationships. I also hope they know that I feel the same way about them and will never forget the good times. These pictures are a BRIEF snapshot of my life in aspen. I will never forget this place!

They are in no specific order

Desert World

2008-05-06T15:35:00.001-07:00

Last day of work at The Sky Hotel, then I quickly packed my camping/backpacking gear and we headed out of town in the snowy coooooold weather --> one of the reasons we wanted to skip town for the desert. Mollie, Jeff, and myself set out for a 4 day trip into the Moab, UT area.

We first drove to the Colorado National Monument Park to spend our first night. Arrived in the dark to set up camp and relax as we have not been camping in a while. So nice to relax and forget about everything other than the moment. It was cold the first night, but felt nice to crawl into our bags. Awaken by the sun, we all amerged from our warm bags and began cleaning up so that we could check out this site a bit before we continued our drive to Arches National Park. Arches was amazing... like nothing I have ever seen. We embarked on Mollie's favorite hike into the Devils Garden and here are a few photos. All sorts of arches and amazing sandstone features. Several portions of the trail were all rock and we were allowed to play around and climb and walk where ever we wanted as long as we were not trampling vegetation and cryptobiotic soils.
AMAZING!

partition arch

Mollie & Jeff underneath landscape arch

Next stop was the town of Moab to get some information on camping and much anticipated putt-putt golf. Although this course was well below par as far as its condition, I excelled and was victorious. Prize=small fry at the nearby McDonalds. No hole-in-ones were awarded unfortunately. This place was seriously the most ghetto putt-putt i have seen. Seems more like it was a place to ride go carts and they just happen to have a putt-putt course set up that has not been worked on in the past 5 years.

After claiming the last campsite, we started a fire and cooked dinner (chicken and rice). Sleepytime. Slept in a bit more than planned b.c we were surrounded by canyon walls. Quickly gathered everything and prepared for our backpacking adventure. Arrived at the Canyonlands National Park Visitors Center to find my friends Austin & Rob! I guess it is a popular place to go for people in the Roaring Fork Valley. They did not have a reservation ahead of time so they just jumped in with our group. Apparently all of the good spots are reserved a few weeks in advance. Up to 7 people are allowed at each site, thus we combined for maximum adventure fun.

Austin Squeezes

Let the backpacking begin. We had to pack in all our water as there are no water sources. That makes for a heavy pack on the first day, but alas we all had high hopes of the adventure. Every step is simply awe inspring! This landscape is such a contrast to what we are used to seeing, and for me to what i grew up around. Hiking and hiking on we played in this canyon, sat and had a snack, discussed geological topics, and soaked it all in. We arrived at our campsite around 3:30 knowing we would have time to explore a bit more w/o our packs. In my opinion this was the climax of the backpacking trip. So much exploring and playing... seemed like endless amounts of fun. I kept thinking to myself, this is a gigantic playground for outdoor enthusiasts. We explored until dinner time and we were all thirsty. Heading back, we were all still in amazement of the landscape of rocks. Watched the sunset and then started cooking dinner, which turned out to be quite the surprise for mollie, jeff, and I. We bought a soup mix that made a half gallon of chicken noodle (or what we had thought was chicken noodle). After thinking about it, we wondered how there could be chicken in the tiny little package... turns out there was none, ha. It also said on the package "add more noodles if desired," thus we wondered if
there were enough noodles in the mysterious package. Finally, it was time to reveal this mystery. Turned out to be pretty much mostly broth with a few carrots, celery, and noodles. We did purchase a delicious loaf of bread to dip in the soup luckily for our hungers sake. After the dinner adventure we had the glow-in-the-dark frisbee adventure in our own little canyon. Evantually turned in for the night, which happened to be gorgeous. Woke up the next morning and pretty much cleaned up camp and were on our way back out via a different route. Again, such beautiful country to travel through and experience. By the time the last mile or so came though, most of us were ready to be back at the cars and out of our shoes or sandals. All together it was a great adventure, one that i will remember for years!

view of the sandstone wilderness

Sunset at from our camp

ladder on the trail

Offseason

2008-05-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

The mountains have closed (well maybe) and everybody has returned to their respective homes, other jobs, schools, and countries. Not many are left in town, but those who are love it. Quiet streets, a reduced selection of where to get lunch or dinner, bikes are coming out, walking to and from town, relaxing in the sun, poolside time if weather permits, and the feeling of knowing most everybody in town. It is a special feeling as I have never experienced it elsewhere in my life. Aspen is truly a resort town, people come here to work and visit only certain months of the year. Spring and Fall are NOT them, ha... it is seriously extremely quiet compared to the summer and winter! A welcome break from the busy seasons. Now onto the wonderful Rocky Mountain Spring Season, which has already brought us a decent snow storm on May 1 + 2. Enjoy the spring!

Season Ends.... finally (kinda)

2008-04-29T17:06:00.001-07:00

Last day of skiing Aspen Mountain and party at the Sky Hotel Patio... all good things

random powder day mid march

2008-04-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

Some powdery fun with Jesse & Jeremey on Aspen Mountain.

Fresh Cord

2008-04-16T15:25:00.001-07:00

Jeff (pictured) drives a snowcat for Aspen Highlands. He offered me an early trip up the mountain in order to get some fresh corduroy. Twas a beautiful day for it. We drove up to the Merry Go Round, a restaurant halfway up the mountain where jeff typically parks his cat for the day. Ate some breakfast and relaxed on the roof a bit before our earlybird adventure. We were able to get on the upper mountain lifts before anyone else, and thus ski/ride the untouched groomers a few times! It was amazingness. thanks jeff

A n' Friends visit & Bio Returns Home briefly

2008-04-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

a little behind on informing my friends and family, but this is about a trip over Presidents weekend, Feb. 15-18. Andrea and Lisa visit, Lisa who is commonly referred to as Diesel and now in the environmental world Biodiesel hence the Bio.

So andrea planned to visit a while back. Turned out her friends from back home (MN) who have a house in Snowmass were visiting as well. Plenty of good times were had... she arrived, eventually due to inclement weather, on Valentines Day Night. planned on having a date that night, but since she arrived late we just headed to the Sky for a drink and to relax. happened to be that friends there had extra tickets to the Galactic concert. It was so much fun! I had to work the next morning for 4 hours then had a break which is when i met up with andrea for some lunch and then headed back to work for another 4. Andrea met up with some/most of the friends who were coming to visit and they hung out at the hotel while I was working. when i finished at 8 we headed up to the Snowmass house. Had a few beverages, played some cards, caught up with old friends, learned about new ones, and just relaxed in the amazing house. pretty much did this all weekend until everyone had to leave. Some good days of snowboarding followed by hot tubbing were participated in. We had a delicious dinner prepared by ???? one night and headed to the Snowmass Club, thanks to the Ryan's, another night.

It was good to see andrea! we had a lot of fun spending time together and with friends, new and old. Also so much fun with Lisa, shreddin' up highlands just like last year... man! Lisa, this year is full of snow, but its still not the same w/o you.

Hut Trip

2008-03-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to do a hut trip since last year, when i was unable to go on one. This year JP took the initiative to get one going and reserved our spot at the Fritz Hut of the Benedict Huts. I was so excited... and we still had 1.5 months before we started the journey. The day finally came on February 26th as we took care of last minute packing and drove to the trail head which was just outside aspen city limits. The journey began on a beautiful sunny Colorado day.

This hut is not particularly known for its access to backcountry skiing so JP and I hauled a sled and an inner tube up the 5 mile trek in fresh snow we received two days prior. Others, Jeff, Mollie, and Zach, had and/or rented ski gear. JP nor I had the necessary ski gear so we snowshoed.

The climb was a bit more difficult than I had anticipated, but fun and exciting none the less. Cruising during some portions while struggling at others. It took somewhere around 5 hours before we arrived at the hut (pictured above). The last half mile before the hut was a brutal uphill battle that separated the team. As we met back up at the hut we all rejoiced and celebrated by relaxing. Getting to know the hut and all its amenities was the first task. Getting a fire going to warm up the hut and melt snow for water were among the first tasks. It such a good feeling being away from it all, no worries other than when we were going to eat and who was going to go outside to collect snow for melting. After settling in and grabbing a snack to replenish the many calories burned we headed outside to explore around the cabins. The bathroom, or toilet, was amazing (pictured right). Two large glass walls for one to ponder the vastness of the Rocky Mountains. Beautiful! There was so much snow we could practically walk onto the roof of the cabin, but there was another 5-6 feet of snow on the roof so we had to cut out steps. We wanted to watch the sunset from atop the roof to get the best view. We succeeded.

The pine marten pictured in the middle was a local and showed his face several times. Notes inside of the cabin made us aware of his nature of eating any food he can get his paws on, thus we had to take certain precautions when storing food in the cold room.

As you may imagine the sledding was a lot! of fun. we built kickers into the endless powder and had hours and hours of fun.

A hut trip or any variation of being in the middle of nowhere with a few good friends has become a new hobby. summer/winter, colorado/wisconsin, boys/girls... it does not matter, much fun will be had. I cannot wait for future trips into the wilderness!

Brothers

2008-02-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

Another visitor --> my brother Tom!

I knew his visit would be everything other than usual. we had so much fun together and time flew by between the boarding, spur of the moment trip to beaver creek, jumping off the roof into massive amounts of snow, aspen hockey games, beer, tubing/sliding/mattressing down buttermilk mtn., and poaching the hot tub at the molly gibson.

tom & JP showing off the massive amounts of snow and walking back from the hot tub... or 'hot tube' as the german liked to call it JP's superman pose i go for distance
tom flips

our friends kyle, val, and mollie (sp) made the trip up to aspen from denver to play for the evening+night and then head back the next day and ski at beaver creek-hence the random trip for tom and I. we grabbed some beverages to enjoy during the hockey game and then headed to Bentley's for some delicious burgers and other selections.

buttermilk adventure night pre-trip photo

Davimal & Jenimal

2008-02-01T18:19:00.001-08:00

2 of my wonderful friends, Dave and Jen, arrived in aspen for a 4 day visit. We created many memories in college... and as expected in Aspen. It was great being able to hang out like nothing has changed. I will miss you both until next time.

eating at the Cantina

skiing at highlands... they were able to experience ~6" of powder
dave
myself
jen
I drove them around and showed them a few sites in the area. this giant open field of snow was just yelling at us to jump in. so much powder=so soft landing and snow in every crevasse of your clothing.

Jen climbs 'Bob's Mountain elevation 15 ft.'

Whistler Birthday

2008-01-31T21:39:00.000-08:00

i managed to get some time off from the bellman life of pleasing guests and headed up to Whistler/Blackcomb in the British Columbia of Canada. This was to be my birthday trip, a trip to visit my favorite girl -Andrea- along with many other great friends, and my first time out of the country we like to call the United States. A big trip for me, and all done in 4 days +.

we all had much fun. Arrived in Seattle in the afternoon and headed straight from the airport to Whistler. With a little bit of traffic and a boarder crossing we made it there that night to crack a celebrational beer. Woke up the next morning to eat a wonderful family style breakfast and head out onto the mountain. It snowed a bit that night and kept snowing most of the morning, which made for great snow, but horrible visibility. could barely see 5 ft. in front of you at times. we all pushed through the rough conditions until it cleared up for a few more hours of skiing/boarding in the beautiful funshine. and of course we had to get some post skiing aka apres beers in the village.

back to the condo for some relaxation via hot tub and homemade dinner. sidestory, the hot tub is where i lost my fleece, or rather where someone stole my fleece. i left it there, or think i did, overnight and when i returned in the am to retrieve it..... nothing! end sidestory. we ate like kings this trip. chili, cornbread, and a tortolini artichoke concoction that night. then a little bit of apples to apples before a few decided to crash and call it a night while others stayed up and carped the diem.

and then... Blackcomb Mt. the next day! a few of us decided to ski today and a few did not. those of us who did had to brave the cold, ~10 degrees F. Sunny all day and very fun. unfortunately we did have to head back down to seattle after skiing nearly another full day. my time in Canada was over, for now. on the drive back south, 7 out of our crew of 11 stopped in Bellingham, WA from some dinner at the Boundary Bay Brewery, yum.

and then there is my sick time spent in seattle. little did i know that a little cough i had all weekend would turn into a much worse cough, slight fever, runny nose, and fatigue. just in time for my flight back to aspen. Andrea took me to the airport to find out that my flight had been delayed and thus i was going to miss my connection in Denver. United put me on a flight the following morning. This allowed andrea and I to hang out for one more day. since my illness would not allow for much, we decided to take a stroll around her local neighborhoods and parks. perfect timing for the sunset. then some delicious soup and OJ to battle my painful throat, thanks for all your help andrea!

are you out there fleece?

2008-01-24T23:33:00.000-08:00

aside from my wonderful hairstyle... if you have seen or see this fleece please (not to be mistaken for another b.c of the tiny Canadian Ski Team pin on the collar which has sentimental meaning!) remove it from the current wearer and explain to them that karma comes back around. I apparently left it by the hot tub when at our whistler condo over my birthday. returning to the hot tub the next morning found that the fleece had other plans then to be on my shoulders/neck/arms/torso. somebody has stolen my fleece! sad face. i was okay about it at the time b.c i was about to shred the slopes of Blackcomb Mt. with friends, but am now finding out that it was a very nice fitting, warm fleece. and cannot find a replacement. Please keep your eyes open, LOOK FOR THE PIN.

AGGGHHHHHH....... sigh
i hope you are making somebodies life better mammut fleece (the brand is mammut).

Snow & Snowing & Baselayers

2008-01-23T23:56:00.000-08:00

so it seems it has snowed nearly every day this winter. December broke records for amount of snow in the area and January started out the same way. monthly averages were broken in the first 2 weeks for snowfall in january. craziness! but that means incredible conditions to play in. it also means incredible amounts of snow to plow/shovle/blow. we here at the bunkhouse have definitely been busy keeping the parking lot clear and the sidewalks shoveled. I am A-Ok with snow removal volunteer hours. so enjoy some (perhaps much anticipated) photos of my 2nd winter in paradise.

love and miss you all
tyson

also. what better way to celebrate massive amounts of snow then a baselayer party. a few people joined together -in their skiing/boarding baselayers- to have a few drinks and join in good company.

Happy Holidays

2007-12-26T21:13:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Since I could not snowboard on Christmas Day, i decided to go Christmas Eve [picture with my santa hat atop Highlands Bowl on Highlands Mt.]. my Christmas Day was spent volunteering for the Forest Service-its how i earn my housing for the winter. I along with a partner, happened to be Phil-our wildlife biologist, snowmobiled to the top of a mountain to check on a precipitation weather station the forest service maintains. Has to be checked every Tuesday as part of a nationwide study on precipitation... National Atmospheric Deposition Program. With the ~10 inches of new snow Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day, the snowmobiling was a bit difficult, but so much fun! After all the volunteering was finished, i headed home to relax for a bit before our big dinner party. Ham, potatoes, corn casserole, numerous dips as appetizers, rolls, salad, green beens, eggnog, wine, fudge, and pumpkin pie! all delicious. 10 friends were able to get together for the enjoyment. After dinner we all relaxed and let our food settle/digest as we watched Charlie Browns Christmas. My roomates and I believe our tree is a version of the Christmas branch... a slightly larger version. All in all a great holiday season thus far. Would be nice to be with family, but if not with family then in good company with great friends. May everyone have a wonderful holiday season and let the new year bring health & happiness.

everyone relaxing in anticipation of Charlie Brown

amazing view from the top of Highlands Bowl

Snow Arrives

2007-12-07T12:29:00.000-08:00

snow... so white and fluffy. I love snow. when I wake up and see a foot and half of it on the ground, i know its play time. Yet i am not alone... this entire town is out on the slopes. Shops, restaurants, and business' post signs in their windows saying 'powder day, open when i get back.'

what a great day. plowed the USFS parking lots, got to surf the powder, some spots up to my hips, and working at night. I am currently a very content man.

Giving & Thanks

2007-11-27T15:44:00.000-08:00

The aspen feast was nothing short of amazing. 5 people together, away from their families, constructed a great meal. Turkey, taters, stuffing, veggies, corn casserole, blueberry muffins (a tradition in my family), wine/beer, bacon, and pumpkin pie made by yours truly. All delicious creations.

I could not help but to think about all the people and families who are not as fortunate. To be able to celebrate with such bountiful food and family/friends is a wonderful gift. how lucky we are. Thanksgiving Day also marked opening day for one of four mountains, Snowmass Mountain. Very little snow fall has been seen in the valley, pushing the Ski Company to rev up the snow guns. The following day Aspen Mountain opened a bit of terrain for skiers and snowboarders to get their feet wet; I was definitely in attendance. Hopefully much snow is in the future forecast. Until then i will enjoy what snow we have. This Saturday is the first annual 'pray for snow ceremony' at the base of aspen mountain... perhaps i should go help the cause.

T.J. Burke & Dexter Rutecki

2007-11-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

back in the aspen extreme.

after arriving nearly a week plus ago from my extended vacation with family and friends winter has finally arrived. It has been gorgeous up until last night, sunny 55-60 degree days without a cloud in sight. no snow in sight either, as one could tell with an article about it in the local newspaper nearly every day for 1.5 weeks. well, since some of the snow has arrived according measures must take place. my roomate and I had a vision to give life to a man made of snow. yes he does have 3 balls, 2 sticks, charcoal mouth, top hat, scarf which is not quite big enough, buttons, and a highlighter nose. all items we found at our immediate disposal until the normal facial devices can be created (or purchased). We have a vision to keep our friend, to be unnamed at this point, alive until the 1st of May 2008. also heres to a great THANKSgiving Day, the first of which I will be cooking homemade pumpkin pie and the turkey in the oven myself. hopefully it turns out well.

it will be yet another holiday spent without my family, sad but they know i wish i was with them.

Illinois

2007-11-13T14:45:00.001-08:00

fun in the midwest. Haloween party in chicago and Homecoming celebrated at UofI - tailgaiting style.

mummy wrap contest... who do you think won?

brownies and friends

Dave + I as foosball players

bobbing of the apples competition

bob action of sam dropping the apple during our competition

mons with a victory

tailgaiting crew minus many.
ILLINI win vs. Ball State
Got to hang out with some family: brothers [tom and toby], mom, and step dad. do not get to see them much anymore so gatherings are not taken for granted. we had much fun as usual at the tailgate. arrived at 6:30ish + had breakfast [donuts, milk, sausage, beer of course]. much bags/cornhole games were played with tom and i as victors; if i recall about 12 games or so. hamburgers, beer n' cheese soup [thanks to dave, yum], perhaps a veggie burger, pumpkin seeds, and hotdogs consumed throughout the day. many a cups of highlife ended up in tummies. pumpkins were also carved. all good fun and great memories. I heart UofI and my friends and family.

last tidbit of seattle.

2007-11-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

more city fun

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

as my 2+ week trip to seattle comes to a close, a few more activities. Andrea's new condo has a rooftop deck with amazing views. beautiful views on a clear day of the skyline and needle with the Olympic mts. in the back. next was a hike with tracy, that seemed like a good idea at the time. started driving northeast in the rain with eager hopes it would clear as the day before. Since we missed/forgot how to get to our original destination we headed to the ice caves in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Although a short hike, it was far from adventurous. we arrived to a sign saying 'bridge out ahead impassible.' figuring we could get across still we pressed on only to find out the bridge was long and over a large river.

we spotted a tree across the river, but did not want to risk slipping and falling into the deep coldness. instead we spotted a shallow section, ~2ft deep. we de-shoed and socked and started the extremely cold ford. made it with cold feet! it was raining this whole time as well to add to the story. then about another 15 minute hike and we arrived to the ice cave seen below.

Scott, Tracy, Andrea, and myself had a saturday night full of activities. Seattle Aquarium, homemade pizzas, and cranium. only pictures we took are of the aquarium though....

finding nemo exhibit!

last night in seattle :( andrea and I needed to get some more ping pong in. Jillians it is! again this time we had to wait/kick people off the tables. finally got to play and it started out bad for me as andrea was warming up like a pro. as game time approached my game greatly improved. it was sad though as andrea had to work the next day and i was to leave at 1:30.

we had so much fun together and learning much more about each other made it hard to leave. alas, i was still chicago bound minus andrea. would have been nice if she could have joined me. and so the adventure continues...

pacific NW adventures

2007-10-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

downtown seattle experience. everything from street performers at the marketplace to the iconic space needle. i truely have come from the mountainous jungle to the concrete jungle.

it is great; so much to see.

'pitch n putt' - a round of ~75 yd. holes, 9 of em

backpacking to snowlake, a very popular day hike east of seattle about 1 hour. 3 miles in and we found this beautiful lake. josh packed in his float tube for some fishing. all 4 of us 'decided' to sleep under the amazingly beautiful stars due to the misplacement of some tent poles.

first days of seattle...

2007-10-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

to andreas surprise i arrived a day early... caught up with some friends, celebrated her birthday [oct 9th], met some new people, walked around town a bit, checked out a small snowy portion of Mt. Rainier National Park, and relaxed.

as you may guess, i nearly hit the camerawoman.

andrea showing off her birthday present from our cab driver [an orange] and taking the first bite out of birthday pecan pie.

more to come. more seattle. chicago on oct 25. Homecoming on oct 27

! shoulder season vacation !

2007-10-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

I AM EXTREMELY EXCITED!

that time of year again. when my seasonal occupations shift gears... ranger to bellman.
soon, very soon, i will be departing to the land of Seattle, WA to spend some time with family and friends. after ~2 weeks there i fly out to chicago! thats right folks.... ILLINOIS! a great place to call home; i have missed my home state. i will arrive just in time for University of Illinois' homecoming... of course i will be attending! orange & blue thru & thru.

after the busy alma mater weekend, i get to hang out with my parents for a few days. then head back up to chicago and spend time with friends [darc] until i hop on the train for a 24 hr. trip. [roughly, and if it is on time which it never is] arrive back in the roaring fork valley to start my position with the Sky Hotel, pretty much immediately. sigh -> i cannot wait to finally get a break; feel as if i have been working constantly for the past couple of months. much needed r&r will be had before the busy snowy season ahead.

snowboarding, fine dining, tourists, beverages [beer, wine, spirits], and work of course. what a great place to work.
i love it when i can ride my bike/walk to the slopes!

speleological adventures

2007-09-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

spe·lunk·er
Pronunciation: spi-'le[ng]-k&r, 'spE-"
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin spelunca cave, from Greek spElynx; akin to Greek spElaion cave
: one who makes a hobby of exploring and studying caves

so i had some time off and a couple friends have been wanting to go to a nearby cave to explore. i had known of this cave and briefly explored 1 year previous when in the area for a Forest Service week long training. title of the training was primitive bridge building. this time around we were there to camp and explore the cave to its fullest extent, and that we did to OUR fullest extent (some rooms in the cave were extremely hard to get to). after a bit of research via the .com world, a map and complete description of the cave was obtained. Map &Info. after a mesmerizing fire, s'mores, and the chilly night of curling into our sleeping bags mother nature broke our slumber with a beautiful day and brisk winds. camp was cleaned up and a quick 5 minute drive to the fulford cave trail. .75 mi. hike and one arrives at the main enterance seen here...

a culvert that climbs downward into a mountain, some people may shy away from such things, but not myself, Molly, and Jeff. headed down into the world of darkness and roughly 40º; first order of business >> turn off all lights for 5 minutes allowing eyes to adjust. it begins, the self guided tour through fulford cave: flowing water, stalagmites, stalactites, large cave rooms, other interesting formations, and tough maneuvers. through our approximate 4.5 hour adventure of anti-sunlight the 3 of us quickly found out how much we appreciated our helmets. numerous times did i have helmet to rock contact. clothes and exposed skin quickly became covered with the finest mud i have ever played in. all in all a great, safe trip with much exploration.

ps. we had easy cheese and ritz. when was the last time you had easy cheese? long time... huh? exactly why we decided to purchase it. tasted wonderfully and provided for an entertaining lunch as we took part in a decorating contest.

goodbyes

2007-09-21T22:31:00.000-07:00

the bad and the good...

garth & I; hanging lake; canyon we hiked

one of my best friends left the aspen summer seasonal lifestyle in mid september. his name, Garth Dickerman. Garth, myself an Erica Lindgren (his wonderful gf) became close through work, leisure activities, and off-time adventures. both, garth and erica, from the east coast returned to the homestead at the end of this exciting summer. Garth and I went on a well known and popular hike around the Glenwood Springs, Colorado area -> Hanging Lake. starting with a magnificent ~10 mi.bike ride, we made it to the TH (trailhead), following the raging Colorado River and I-70 the entire time. after stashing the bikes a quick, steep hike bagan. 1.2 miles while climbing 1,020 ft through a steep canyon lead us to our destination. great people, great friends.
you will be missed Dickerman & Lindgren.

seasons change ->

2007-09-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

as my current job comes to a close i am often reminded by numerous other factors that my job is not the only thing about to change...

. perfect weather, warm during the day and cool in the evening
. 'green to gold,' the aspens are changing colors to the vibrant gold
. snow!
. much less forest visitors in the backcountry
. close friends whom i have lived with the entire summer departing
. offseason vacations (which i have come to realize as a ski town thing)
. the town relaxes, perhaps to gear up for the long snowy winter ahead
. did i mention SNOW!

ever since i have left the world of higher education i have spent my time/life in the mountains of the roaring fork valley. initially moved out here to work as a ranger during the summer months. hiking in the backcountry, camping, and educating forest visitors on proper Wilderness ethics is what brought me to the land of beauty. did i mention i get paid to do it as well. unfortunately, or fortunately, this career path is only a seasonal position (may-september). thus i have to find another career option for the remaining months of the year, bellman sounds good. this upcoming winter will be my second year as a bellman for the Sky Hotel. not exactly down my intended career path, yet allows me to thoroughly enjoy the winters full of snowboarding and save mucho dinero. the great part about this whole seasonal life situation i am currently in is that i get to take time off between jobs, as much as i want. with that said here are a few pictures of recent events.

my office

finally saw a porcupine

reflection on a beaver pond seen during work

self portrait while hiking the four pass loop (working of course)

new.. ish

2007-09-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

after thinking about how much i use this information highway -the www. world- i put 2 and 2 together and with much debate decided to invest some time into this site for ya'll. i read about many of my friends this way and thought it may be a means for my family and friends to experience/kinda know whats going on in my head. hope you enjoy