Recently in Adventures Category

Kelly and I are privileged to live in beautiful Colorado. Scenery of intense grandeur can be found within mere miles of our home near Denver. This is a very spiritual place to live and play, as one feels you can almost reach out and touch heaven from the Colorado High Country.

This article describes our latest adventure-snatched-from-the-jaws-of-disaster involving a mountain. As you know, last year at the top of Mt. Evans, we had issues with wind, Port-o-Lets, and mountain goats. What would happen this year?

Kelly and Eric: Adventure Seekers

Kelly and I have lots of fun together. For example, our weekly date nights are sacred to us. I've lived in Greater Denver about twelve years longer than Kelly, so I am happy to plan and execute most of our adventures due to my familiarity with the local attractions. Kelly calls me her tour guide.

We are always on the lookout for a new restaurant, a new music venue, or a new place to go hiking. I'm usually prepared to the nth degree: reservations, advance tickets, driving directions, parking plan, etc. I'm happy to be the tour guide: I want Kelly to enjoy herself and not worry about logistics. I sure know how to show her a good time.

Some of the fun is even intentional.

On this adventure, Eric and Kelly keep their record of only going to Denver's Elitch Gardens theme park during thunderstorms intact. This time, however, they got six rides in before the lightning and hail arrived. Luckily, they got drenched at Shipwreck Falls just before the skies opened up. This made them strangely indifferent to getting any more wet, and they calmly strolled to the Fudge Factory while all other patrons stampeded out the gates. They did not visit the photo booth, this time; it did not seem a safe place to be during a lightning storm.

Read about our previous trip to Elitch's, here...

Kelly was quick to point out to Eric that there was a tornado watch in the area once again. Eric countered that the Denver radar map was clear before leaving the house and that the weatherman predicted that showers would be so scattered that "most areas of Denver won't see a drop of rain."

At any rate, they learned several things on this trip: (1) You must depart the Shipwreck Falls unloading area quickly, or else, (2) the Fudge Factory still makes good fudge, and (3) hailstones sound really, really loud on the roof of a Jeep.

One of Elitch's tag lines reads: Not to try our fudge is not to see Elitch's. Eric and Kelly think this should read: Not to be electrocuted is not to see Elitch's, and stop using double negatives.

On a recent Jeep adventure, Eric struck a tree with his Jeep deep inside Pike National Forest. Luckily for him, no harm was done to either the vehicle or the tree. Good thing, because he was so remote only his own search and rescue team would have been able to reach him had he become stranded. That would have been embarrasing.

We stormed Ft. Carson Army base looking to recapture a taste of our youth at the Godfather's Pizza restuarant located there. View the rest of the story on America's Most Wanted.

The excursion was in honor of Eric's 40th birthday. We both remember Godfather's from our youth. Godfather's are common in Iowa, where we grew up (Eric in Mason City, Kelly in Cedar Rapids).

We are so thrilled to learn that we have an option in Colorado for a pizza that reminds us of nostalgic times. We'll just have to remember to bring a valid vehicle registration and insurance card next time we try to get on a military post.

http://www.godfathers.com/

Here are some pictures we took at Seven Falls the same day:

Eric and Kelly returned to Glenwood Springs for their first wedding anniversary. During their stay, they hiked to the top of Cemetery Hill looking for the grave of Doc Holliday, only to discover later he is probably buried below the hill in some unwitting person's backyard. So, they get back to the business of serious relaxation by retreating to the vapor caves and hot springs pool.

Eric and Kelly traveled to New York City and saw the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, one client, the American Museum of Natural History, the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, the subway, Radio City Music Hall, the Rockettes, six sheep, three camels, one donkey, and Jeff Goldblum--all in twenty-four hours. In fact, Eric caught on to Manhattan so quickly that he was able to give some foreign tourists directions to Rockefeller Center. (Kelly says: "Big deal--we were standing right in front of it.")

The We Met at Starbucks speaking tour got off to a rousing start in Mason City, Iowa, Eric's hometown, at a well-attended reception at the Public Library. Eric planted his niece and nephew in the audience in case nobody appreciated his humor. Kelly is not sure who got more laughs: Eric's jokes, or the kids. Whatever works! Happy Thanksgiving!

Eric and Kelly treat Eric's niece and nephew to an excursion on the Georgetown Loop Railroad. Eric discovers a new and ingenious use for spare diapers to cope with a catastrophic apple juice spill. They receive several dubious looks from the other passengers and spend the rest of the ride apologizing for not being parents.

Kelly and Eric's attempt to summit Mt. Evans on foot is aborted due to high winds and frigid temperatures. Kelly has a terrifying experience in a port-o-let at 13,000 feet. They drive to the top in the Jeep, instead, spend a brief minute at the summit, say "Hi" to the mountain goats, and then race down to find a good restaurant for lunch. Happy Labor Day, 2008!

Pictures added 5/29/2009.