Friday the Colorado Mountain College booth had gotten all sorted out and no one was trying to figure out where we were supposed to be setting up. Our item of the day was to hand out the Colorado Mountain College stickers that we had which had information about a text raffle on the back. We also had chapstick, ice scrapers, and caribeaners.
Saturday, I spent the day working the CMC booth. We were still trying to get all of the stickers hand out for the raffle taking place this morning. We were also trying to get rid of ice scrapers. We also seemed to have a lot of people interested in the brochures. The weather was really nice and sunny for most of the afternoon. Unfortunately, for about the last 45 minutes it suddenly got colder.
Finals take place today. They start at 10:30 so I'm about to head over to Breckenridge. From what I've been told, you can't take photos or videos of the finals. Maybe I can manage to interview a couple of athletes. We'll just see how things go.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Winter Dew Tour: Day 2
Today I was in Breckenridge once again for the Dew Tour. The Colorado Mountain College booth had a bit of a slow start as there were so issues that had to be sorted out as to where exactly our tent would be. We did eventually get set-up though.
Since there ended up being six of us hanging around the tent, we were able to take turns walking around. A couple people walked up to watch part of the halfpipe skiing event. Bobbie, who is one of the bloggers in Steamboat, and I both tried out the mechanical bull at the Jack Links tent and got Andreas Wigg's autograph at Toyota's booth. Nike 6.0 had blaze orange beanies for people who had 3 of a kind on their ticket. Mountain Dew was making custom screen-printed bandanas and applying stickers to snowboards. I did a mock interview in FuelTV's tent and decided that I was much better with interviews when I prepared what I was going to say ahead of time. Food samples were provided by Totino's Pizza, Mountain Dew, and PowerBar. Paul Mitchell also had chocolate to give away.
If you are at the Dew Tour tomorrow, you should come check out CMC's booth has we have a gazillion stickers to give away along with chapstick and caribeaners. We also have class schedules for the Breckenridge campus and brochures for various programs.
Since there ended up being six of us hanging around the tent, we were able to take turns walking around. A couple people walked up to watch part of the halfpipe skiing event. Bobbie, who is one of the bloggers in Steamboat, and I both tried out the mechanical bull at the Jack Links tent and got Andreas Wigg's autograph at Toyota's booth. Nike 6.0 had blaze orange beanies for people who had 3 of a kind on their ticket. Mountain Dew was making custom screen-printed bandanas and applying stickers to snowboards. I did a mock interview in FuelTV's tent and decided that I was much better with interviews when I prepared what I was going to say ahead of time. Food samples were provided by Totino's Pizza, Mountain Dew, and PowerBar. Paul Mitchell also had chocolate to give away.
If you are at the Dew Tour tomorrow, you should come check out CMC's booth has we have a gazillion stickers to give away along with chapstick and caribeaners. We also have class schedules for the Breckenridge campus and brochures for various programs.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Winter Dew Tour: Day 1
Today I spent the day in Breckenridge for the Winter Dew Tour. For those of you who don't know, the Dew Tour is a freestyle ski and snowboard competition. As part of the Dew Tour, I was given the opportunity to interview a couple of competitors.
The first person I interviewed was Dan Marion who so kindly explained to a Breckenridge employee and myself, why they were painting multiple blue lines on the landing of a jump (it makes it more visible). Dan is a skier whose favorite Disney character is Peter Pan and his favorite ski or snowboard movie this year is Wild Stallions. His typical meal on the mountain is a PB&J and if he were not a skier, he would be a golfer. During the summer he surfs, skateboards, participates in water ramp training, and hikes. His parents got him into the sport of skiing. He skis professionally because he loves to ski. Having fun, progression, and video segments is what motivates him to work hard at the sport. His most memorable moment was getting 5th at the X-Games. He believes that diet definately has an impact on performance and that it's part of being a professional.
Next I interviewed Brett Esser who is a snowboarder. His favorite Disney character is Miley Cyrus. Black Winter is his favorite ski or snowboard movie this year. A typical meal on the mountain for him is a Pepperjack Chicken burger. He spends his summers skating and at Mt. Hood. If he weren't a snowboarder, he would be a Sushi Chef. When Brett was 7, his older brother got him interested in snowboarding. He snowboards professionally because it's fun, the progression, and the people. Money, sponsors, and babes motivates him to work hard at snowboarding. His most memorable time snowboarding was the first time he ever went snowboarding. He believes diet has an impact on his performance.
Jordi Carlinski's favorite Disney character is Aladin. She is a snowboarder who eats granola bars while on the mountain. During the summer she works and enjoys going outside. If she weren't a skier she would be a full-time student. Her parents got her involved in snowboarding. Fun and competition are her reasons for snowboarding professionally. Enjoyment and progression motivate her to work hard at riding. Iceland was her most memorable snowboarding experience. She believes diet has an impact on her riding performance.
Nils Mindnich's favorite Disney character is the racoon in Pocahontas. Before he thought of the racoon, his favorite character was the dwarf off of Snow White who doesn't talk and whose name is possibly Dopey. He doesn't watch ski and snowboard videos, so he didn't have a favorite. He asked me what my favorite was, but I don't watch them either, so I wasn't able to be of much help. On the mountain he eats french fries and Ramen noodles. During the summer he hikes and skates and he would be a surf rat if he weren't a snowboarder. His parents got him involved in snowboarding. Fun and opportunity are why he snowboards professioanlly. 80's pop music motivates him to work hard. His most memorable snowboarding experience was heli-boarding in New Zealand. He also believes diet has an impact on his performance as a snowboarder.
Fun fact: One of the snowboarders who was competing in the men's halfpipe open qualifier is a Breckenridge local who jogs to the ski area to ride.
I was actually surprised at how friendly the competitors that I talked to were. You hear about professional athletes being jerks, but the ones I talked to weren't like that at all.
Tomorrow I am helping out at the Colorado Mountain College booth. I will also try to do a couple more interviews with competitors, as I realize today's interviews were focused on snowboarders and males (due in part to I was standing in the "holding area" for the men's snowboard halfpipe open qualifiers).
The first person I interviewed was Dan Marion who so kindly explained to a Breckenridge employee and myself, why they were painting multiple blue lines on the landing of a jump (it makes it more visible). Dan is a skier whose favorite Disney character is Peter Pan and his favorite ski or snowboard movie this year is Wild Stallions. His typical meal on the mountain is a PB&J and if he were not a skier, he would be a golfer. During the summer he surfs, skateboards, participates in water ramp training, and hikes. His parents got him into the sport of skiing. He skis professionally because he loves to ski. Having fun, progression, and video segments is what motivates him to work hard at the sport. His most memorable moment was getting 5th at the X-Games. He believes that diet definately has an impact on performance and that it's part of being a professional.
Next I interviewed Brett Esser who is a snowboarder. His favorite Disney character is Miley Cyrus. Black Winter is his favorite ski or snowboard movie this year. A typical meal on the mountain for him is a Pepperjack Chicken burger. He spends his summers skating and at Mt. Hood. If he weren't a snowboarder, he would be a Sushi Chef. When Brett was 7, his older brother got him interested in snowboarding. He snowboards professionally because it's fun, the progression, and the people. Money, sponsors, and babes motivates him to work hard at snowboarding. His most memorable time snowboarding was the first time he ever went snowboarding. He believes diet has an impact on his performance.
Jordi Carlinski's favorite Disney character is Aladin. She is a snowboarder who eats granola bars while on the mountain. During the summer she works and enjoys going outside. If she weren't a skier she would be a full-time student. Her parents got her involved in snowboarding. Fun and competition are her reasons for snowboarding professionally. Enjoyment and progression motivate her to work hard at riding. Iceland was her most memorable snowboarding experience. She believes diet has an impact on her riding performance.
Nils Mindnich's favorite Disney character is the racoon in Pocahontas. Before he thought of the racoon, his favorite character was the dwarf off of Snow White who doesn't talk and whose name is possibly Dopey. He doesn't watch ski and snowboard videos, so he didn't have a favorite. He asked me what my favorite was, but I don't watch them either, so I wasn't able to be of much help. On the mountain he eats french fries and Ramen noodles. During the summer he hikes and skates and he would be a surf rat if he weren't a snowboarder. His parents got him involved in snowboarding. Fun and opportunity are why he snowboards professioanlly. 80's pop music motivates him to work hard. His most memorable snowboarding experience was heli-boarding in New Zealand. He also believes diet has an impact on his performance as a snowboarder.
Fun fact: One of the snowboarders who was competing in the men's halfpipe open qualifier is a Breckenridge local who jogs to the ski area to ride.
I was actually surprised at how friendly the competitors that I talked to were. You hear about professional athletes being jerks, but the ones I talked to weren't like that at all.
Tomorrow I am helping out at the Colorado Mountain College booth. I will also try to do a couple more interviews with competitors, as I realize today's interviews were focused on snowboarders and males (due in part to I was standing in the "holding area" for the men's snowboard halfpipe open qualifiers).
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Winter Activities in Leadville
Tonight I headed over to the Lake County Ice Rink which is really a basketball court that they flood with water. Someone had told me earlier in the day that they had free hot dogs this evening since it was their opening day. Turns out that they also had free skating and skate rentals. I am definately not much of an ice skater, but it was fun for the short time that I partook in it. If you don't mind dodging small children wearing ski helmets and holding onto miniture chairs for dear life, middle schoolers congregating in large crowds, couples holding hands, and a hockey game that you didn't realize you had skated into the midst of, the ice rink was the place to be.
Dutch Henri sledding hill is currently closed, but once it does open, sledding is free if you provide your own sled. Tube rental is available on Saturdays and Sundays for $5/hour.
Another free activity in Leadville is corss country skiing or snowshoeing on the Mineral Belt Trail.
Ice skating is $4.25 for admission plus skate rental. Monday nights from 6-9pm is drop in hockey.
On Monday and Wednesday nights, from 6-9pm, the Lake County Middle School Gym is open for those that are 18 and over. Admission is $2.
Thursday evenings there is half-price swimming for adults from 7-9pm.
There is also downhill skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, ice fishing, and dog sledding.
Click here for more information about recreation in Lake County.
Don't forget about the Winter Dew Tour in Breckenridge next weekend. Hope to see you there!
Dutch Henri sledding hill is currently closed, but once it does open, sledding is free if you provide your own sled. Tube rental is available on Saturdays and Sundays for $5/hour.
Another free activity in Leadville is corss country skiing or snowshoeing on the Mineral Belt Trail.
Ice skating is $4.25 for admission plus skate rental. Monday nights from 6-9pm is drop in hockey.
On Monday and Wednesday nights, from 6-9pm, the Lake County Middle School Gym is open for those that are 18 and over. Admission is $2.
Thursday evenings there is half-price swimming for adults from 7-9pm.
There is also downhill skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, ice fishing, and dog sledding.
Click here for more information about recreation in Lake County.
Don't forget about the Winter Dew Tour in Breckenridge next weekend. Hope to see you there!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Finals Week
This past week was finals week. I only had one final since all of my Ski Area Operations classes ended at Halloween. My one final was in Principles of Accounting and I felt like it took FOREVER, but we were able to take it home and work on it, so it wasn't that bad.
I finally got my "Drive Up From Denver" video uploaded earlier today.
Earlier this week we finally got the snow that everyone had been waiting for. Ski Cooper has on-snow instructor training this weekend and is hopefully opening for the season next weekend.
The first stop on the Winter Dew Tour is the Totino's Open, which will be held at Breckenridge Ski Resort, in Breckenridge, Colorado. It takes place from December 17th-21st.
"At each event there are a total of six competitions amongst men's and women's snowboarding and freeskiing in superpipe and slopestyle."
A couple of us bloggers are helping out at the Colorado Mountain College booth, which will be at the village at the base of Peak 8. We will be around Thursday-Sunday to hand out freebies and talk about our experiences at CMC. We also have the opportunity to interview a couple of Dew Tour athletes on Wednesday, which I think is pretty awesome.
Monday night was "Night Breakfast" in the cafeteria and on Wednesday there was karaoke in the cafeteria. I was asleep before Night Breakfast started and I didn't stay for much of the karaoke, but the part I did see was entertaining.
As for what's in store for the next couple of weeks...
This coming Wednesday and Thursday I'll be in Breckenridge for the Dew Tour. I should have some interviews, photos, and videos to post afterwards.
After that it is teaching snowboarding at Ski Cooper for my SAO internship.
The dorms open back up on January 6th and classes start on the 11th.
Enjoy your Christmas break! :)
I finally got my "Drive Up From Denver" video uploaded earlier today.
Earlier this week we finally got the snow that everyone had been waiting for. Ski Cooper has on-snow instructor training this weekend and is hopefully opening for the season next weekend.
The first stop on the Winter Dew Tour is the Totino's Open, which will be held at Breckenridge Ski Resort, in Breckenridge, Colorado. It takes place from December 17th-21st.
"At each event there are a total of six competitions amongst men's and women's snowboarding and freeskiing in superpipe and slopestyle."
A couple of us bloggers are helping out at the Colorado Mountain College booth, which will be at the village at the base of Peak 8. We will be around Thursday-Sunday to hand out freebies and talk about our experiences at CMC. We also have the opportunity to interview a couple of Dew Tour athletes on Wednesday, which I think is pretty awesome.
Monday night was "Night Breakfast" in the cafeteria and on Wednesday there was karaoke in the cafeteria. I was asleep before Night Breakfast started and I didn't stay for much of the karaoke, but the part I did see was entertaining.
As for what's in store for the next couple of weeks...
This coming Wednesday and Thursday I'll be in Breckenridge for the Dew Tour. I should have some interviews, photos, and videos to post afterwards.
After that it is teaching snowboarding at Ski Cooper for my SAO internship.
The dorms open back up on January 6th and classes start on the 11th.
Enjoy your Christmas break! :)
Friday, December 4, 2009
The Drive Up From Denver
The video does not actually start in Denver. It starts more in the Sterling area on I-76. Denver sounded like a more identifiable location than Sterling though for people who are not familiar with Colorado.
When I started filming, I could see the mountains in the distance, but apparently the camera could not.
However, as you can see, the mountains appear soon enough.
The 5th "clip" (the one where there are all kinds of cars on the other side of the interstate) is the outskirts of Denver, still on I-76. I really did not get any filming done as I went through Denver as I value my car staying in one piece and Denver has more traffic than I am used to.
The 7th and 8th "clips" are on I-70.
The 9th "clip" is on the way into Silverthorne. You can see Dillon Dam on the in the distance. It starts off on the left but due to the road and my filming ends up more towards the right, and then goes back to the left before disappearing.
The clip after that is after taking the Copper Mountain exit. Note to my concerned parents: I was looking where I was going and the light was red and there weren't any cars in front of me
I think the sun on the last clip looks pretty cool.
And that is it. The drive from I-76 somewhere past Sterling, through Denver, onto I-70, and then onto Hwy 91.
Adventures At Home
Last Friday my aunt and I went to the mall in Sioux Falls for the Black Friday sales. My mom however, was going to have no part in this- she hates the mall, and shopping, and crowds. Although the mall opened at 5AM, we really did not feel the need to be there that early. Arriving at 9:30 worked just fine for us. Aside from the mass of people that filled Younkers and the line at Old Navy that went from the front of the store all the way to the back of the store, we did not find any crowds. JCPenney's had all kinds of employees around to help you and I found a $20 robe for my brother for Christmas that was originally $84. Macy's was handing out Craisins to "give you energy to shop". We also stopped into Naturalizer where my aunt was able to find a pair of shoes. After that, my aunt had a cup of coffee and I had a pretzel while waiting to get my hair cut. Then we left the mall, made a quick stop at the grocery store, and headed home.
Since my dad had to work on Friday, my uncle and brother just hunted on our land, but they didn't get anything.
Saturday my mom, aunt, and I headed to Mitchell, SD to go to Cabela's to look at winter coats. Unfortunately, their selection of winter coats was rather slim. While standing under the "Women's Outerwear" sign we found 2 coats. Being rather disappointed with the selection, we went to the hunting section, found my dad what he told us to get, and went through the checkout. We then put our stuff in the car and my mom suggested we eat at the restaurant inside. So, we head back inside and find a couple more women's winter coats along with the UnderArmour that was on sale that my mom saw in the ad and we then forgot about. We then discovered that the restaurant was no more. It was now a fudge shop with miscellaneous other items. We each got a free sample of fudge though. We then ate at Culvers for lunch which was packed- as in if you wanted to sit down to eat you basically needed to wait for someone else to vacate their table. Then it was back onto the interstate to go to Scheels in Sioux Falls which had a lot more selection and a salesman who was determined to not let me use the big hook that is used to get down coats that are too high to reach. Not allowing me to use the big hook was probably in the best interest of the rest of the store, as I had no clue how to use it.
Then it was another quick trip to the grocery store before we headed home, where my dad, uncle, and brother were hunting after my dad and uncle had not had luck finding pheasants elsewhere.
Sunday my aunt, uncle, and their 2 dogs left. Then I cut my brother's hair since he doesn't trust my mom to do it. I think his original plan was "Cut it short so that mom won't try to cut it before the end of February when we are coming to visit you". However, my mom says it's short enough now that it won't need to get cut until my graduation at the end of April. Words of wisdom: Don't assume that your 17-year-old brother knows what blade should be used to cut his hair. Then, while my mom and brother went to church I attempted to finish drying some sheets that I was planning to taking back to Colorado with me that afternoon. My dad and I headed into Sioux Falls a little later and met my mom at a snowboard shop where I was hoping to get boots, but that didn't happen because apparently I'm too picky about how the boot fits. Then we went to Perkins where my mom had to have her usual debate of whether she wanted to eat breakfast or lunch before my dad went to the auto parts store to get some fluids to put in my car and my mom and I went to the cell phone store and the mall before picking my brother up from a movie. A little while after getting home, my mom and I had to go back into town to get an additive for a fluid that my dad was putting into my car. Then it was an attempt at going to bed early since I was getting up at 2AM (1AM Colorado time) to drive back. I made a video of the drive up from Denver and I will be posting it in another post, as I'm not totally sure how to upload a video and I wish to have as few things as possible to make disappear, re-arrange, or otherwise mess up.
Monday morning I was not exactly raring to go when my alarm went off and the fact that I tried to make hot chocolate with only hot water is a sign of that. I woke up soon enough though and enjoyed the wonderful 14-hour drive back to Colorado. At the Student Government meeting we didn't have enough people to vote on anything and since this coming Monday will be finals week, we don't have a meeting again until next semester.
Tuesday in Accounting we were told we'd basically have a take-home final. She is posting it this weekend and then we can come in on Tuesday to work on it, otherwise we can do it on our own. While Accounting was an enjoyable class this semester for the most part, I don't think I will be taking "Part 2" next semester as it has yet to "click" and so it results in more frustration than anything.
To say that it has been chilly in Leadville lately is an understatement. Yesterday morning it was -15. Yes, negative. Today it was a balmy -12 when I got up. It's now -2. At least it is sunny though. One of my friends was joking this morning that a heat wave must have come in overnight. Many of us are getting impatient with the negative temperatures. It would be one thing if there were snow on the ground or if it were currently snowing. But it's not. It's just ridiculously cold. Those of us working at Ski Cooper this winter are really wishing for snow about now. Hopefully we'll get a bunch of snow this weekend, as they announce on Monday whether or not they are opening for the coming weekend.
Since my dad had to work on Friday, my uncle and brother just hunted on our land, but they didn't get anything.
Saturday my mom, aunt, and I headed to Mitchell, SD to go to Cabela's to look at winter coats. Unfortunately, their selection of winter coats was rather slim. While standing under the "Women's Outerwear" sign we found 2 coats. Being rather disappointed with the selection, we went to the hunting section, found my dad what he told us to get, and went through the checkout. We then put our stuff in the car and my mom suggested we eat at the restaurant inside. So, we head back inside and find a couple more women's winter coats along with the UnderArmour that was on sale that my mom saw in the ad and we then forgot about. We then discovered that the restaurant was no more. It was now a fudge shop with miscellaneous other items. We each got a free sample of fudge though. We then ate at Culvers for lunch which was packed- as in if you wanted to sit down to eat you basically needed to wait for someone else to vacate their table. Then it was back onto the interstate to go to Scheels in Sioux Falls which had a lot more selection and a salesman who was determined to not let me use the big hook that is used to get down coats that are too high to reach. Not allowing me to use the big hook was probably in the best interest of the rest of the store, as I had no clue how to use it.
Then it was another quick trip to the grocery store before we headed home, where my dad, uncle, and brother were hunting after my dad and uncle had not had luck finding pheasants elsewhere.
Sunday my aunt, uncle, and their 2 dogs left. Then I cut my brother's hair since he doesn't trust my mom to do it. I think his original plan was "Cut it short so that mom won't try to cut it before the end of February when we are coming to visit you". However, my mom says it's short enough now that it won't need to get cut until my graduation at the end of April. Words of wisdom: Don't assume that your 17-year-old brother knows what blade should be used to cut his hair. Then, while my mom and brother went to church I attempted to finish drying some sheets that I was planning to taking back to Colorado with me that afternoon. My dad and I headed into Sioux Falls a little later and met my mom at a snowboard shop where I was hoping to get boots, but that didn't happen because apparently I'm too picky about how the boot fits. Then we went to Perkins where my mom had to have her usual debate of whether she wanted to eat breakfast or lunch before my dad went to the auto parts store to get some fluids to put in my car and my mom and I went to the cell phone store and the mall before picking my brother up from a movie. A little while after getting home, my mom and I had to go back into town to get an additive for a fluid that my dad was putting into my car. Then it was an attempt at going to bed early since I was getting up at 2AM (1AM Colorado time) to drive back. I made a video of the drive up from Denver and I will be posting it in another post, as I'm not totally sure how to upload a video and I wish to have as few things as possible to make disappear, re-arrange, or otherwise mess up.
Monday morning I was not exactly raring to go when my alarm went off and the fact that I tried to make hot chocolate with only hot water is a sign of that. I woke up soon enough though and enjoyed the wonderful 14-hour drive back to Colorado. At the Student Government meeting we didn't have enough people to vote on anything and since this coming Monday will be finals week, we don't have a meeting again until next semester.
Tuesday in Accounting we were told we'd basically have a take-home final. She is posting it this weekend and then we can come in on Tuesday to work on it, otherwise we can do it on our own. While Accounting was an enjoyable class this semester for the most part, I don't think I will be taking "Part 2" next semester as it has yet to "click" and so it results in more frustration than anything.
To say that it has been chilly in Leadville lately is an understatement. Yesterday morning it was -15. Yes, negative. Today it was a balmy -12 when I got up. It's now -2. At least it is sunny though. One of my friends was joking this morning that a heat wave must have come in overnight. Many of us are getting impatient with the negative temperatures. It would be one thing if there were snow on the ground or if it were currently snowing. But it's not. It's just ridiculously cold. Those of us working at Ski Cooper this winter are really wishing for snow about now. Hopefully we'll get a bunch of snow this weekend, as they announce on Monday whether or not they are opening for the coming weekend.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thanksgiving with the Thompsons and Willards
Monday night after a very brief student government meeting, I set off going east on I-70 to start my drive back to South Dakota. I-70 was less than delightful as it was covered in snow and the 3rd lane that cars were driving in may or may not have been the driver-side shoulder. There was a CDOT plow spraying chemicals on the road, but as far as I was concerned, he was essentially a slow moving obstacle which I needed to avoid. Luckily, a couple miles east of the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnel, the road cleared up and I was able to go faster than approximately 30 miles/hour. Normally I start my drive early in the morning, but this time my dad suggested I break the drive into 2 days. However, in the future maybe I'll just do it in one day when it was snowing earlier in the day. I stopped in Sterling, Colorado for the night and then I only had 11 hours of driving the next day instead of 15. I think my mom appreciated the 4 hours sooner that I got home though as the house was still a mess and relatives were arriving in a few hours.
For the past 10 years (minus a year or two when they couldn't make it up, and last year when my parents, brother, and I went to see my grandparents) my aunt and uncle from Missouri have come up for Thanksgiving. On and off throughout the years, another aunt, uncle, and 2 cousins have come, but that has not happened for a few years as they have been busy with other activities.
Well, this year is no different. Tuesday evening, after stopping in Sioux Falls to eat dinner, my aunt and uncle arrived with two dogs in tow. See, the reason for this whole Thanksgiving get-together is pheasant hunting. The dogs change throughout the year, some years there is more hunting talent than other years, but there is always at least a couple dogs. This year Turbo (ours) and Domino (theirs) were the only dogs hunting. Our other two dogs- Sonic who is gun-shy and Dusky who likes to bark too much too be a hunting dog- stayed at home and kept Bonheur (pronounced Bone-er) the puppy (theirs) company. Sonic, Turbo, Domino, and Bonheur are all French Broques. Dusky is the lone German Shepard.
My dad and my uncle go hunting while my brother, my mom, my aunt, and I stay at home. Occassionally my brother goes out to hunt on our land with my dad and uncle.
Wednesday the 4 of us (my aunt, my brother, my mom, and I) went into Sioux Falls and my aunt went grocery shopping while my brother had an appointment while I accompanied my mom to the place where she works. After dropping my aunt and brother off, Bonheur was sitting in my mom's lap and my mom said "She smells like fish oil" and after a couple minutes we decided that she must have rolled in something. After my mom went to work and we picked up my aunt and brother, we headed home where Bonheur got to take a bath so that she was more enjoyable to hold. Considering that I was the one who got to give Bonheur a bath, I greatly appreciated her bath-taking skills. Our three dogs (Sonic, Turbo, and Dusky) HATE baths. They will leap out of the bathtub and splash around as much as possible. By the time you are finished giving them a bath, the bathroom is soaked along with the person giving the bath. Bonheur however calmly stands there as you pour water all over her and coat her in shampoo and then rinse her off. She even stood nicely as I dried her off.
Today (Thursday/Thanksgiving Day) "the men" went hunting again. There was no snow and it was approximately 50 degrees today, which is much nicer than a lot of Novembers in South Dakota. While out hunting, Domino decided that he would visit with a skunk and got sprayed. So, he got a bath this evening. Domino is also a very well-behaved bath taker. I think I found the bath more torturous than he did, as I was covered up to my elbows in tomato juice which I then began to think I was allergic to once my arms started itching like crazy.
During the day, we cooked "Goliath Jr." who ONLY weighed 22 pounds. Two years ago we cooked "Goliath" who weighed 40 pounds and was a beast to wrestle in and out of the oven, to say the least. After Domino's bath, we had our more-or-less traditional Thanksgiving dinner (we had a goose one year and ham a couple other years, so we're not exactly the leading example of traditional Thanksgiving). Yesterday we had apple pie, today we had pumpkin and chocolate pecan pies, and hopefully at some point I will be able to talk my mom into helping me make a chocolate pudding pie, so by the time I go back to Colorado, I should have gotten my pie filling for awhile.
Tomorrow my aunt and I are off to the Empire Mall in Sioux Falls for Black Friday while my parents work. I'm not sure what my brother and uncle are doing. There was talk that they could go hunting on our land tomorrow. Otherwise I'm guessing my uncle and the dogs will enjoy a day off. Then my dad and uncle are hunting again Saturday and Sunday. Monday my aunt and uncle are headed back to Missouri. I'm either headed back Sunday afternoon or really early Monday morning.
Sunday evening I was in the dorms and the white board was announcing a Thanksgiving dinner for those living in the residence hall who were not going home for Thanksgiving.
Last Friday I handed in paperwork to move back into the dorms. Last April I was all keen on moving out of the dorms. I came in July to find an apartment and was all excited about not having to live in the dorms, and how there would not be any false fire alarms in the middle of the night, and I could eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Realistically, that is not what happened.
Living in the dorms is way more social than living in an apartment by yourself. You get so used to the noise in the dorms, that it's a little difficult to get used to so much quiet so much of the time. When you're in a lonely mood or you really want to go do something but you don't want to go alone, it's really nice to be able to walk a few doors down the hall and ask someone. If they can't go, you go another few doors. It is much faster than calling/texting half of your phonebook and then getting frustrated because they didn't respond in the first 5 minutes.
My apartment might not have any false fire alarms, but it does have strange noises at 1AM, people talking/playing guitar/watching TV next door, and cops and fire trucks driving past with sirens on.
I might be able to eat whatever I want whenever I want. I eat breakfast. After that it's a matter of chance whether I eat lunch or dinner. If I do eat either of those meals, their nutritional content is as varied as night and day. Sometimes a bag of popcorn sounds like a perfectly acceptable meal and other days I end up with 3 or 4 food groups on my plate. My food-time-schedule still revolves around "I'm hungry now" not "Maybe an hour from now I'll want to eat baked chicken".
I never thought I would say this, but I am actually looking forward to living in a dorm full of guys next semester, with fire alarms going off at 4AM, and cafeteria food.
So, before enthusiastically moving out of the dorms when your one-year contract is up, I suggest seriously considering whether you actually have the motivation to make 2 or 3 meals a day. Also consider how social you are and how motivated your friends are to come see you / how motivated you are to go see them.
Until next time, enjoy your Thanksgiving leftovers, try not to spend too much money shopping on Black Friday, and hope for some snow to fall in Leadville so that Ski Cooper can open.
PS: For those of you who are loyal readers and are wondering why I came home two weeks ago and then came home again now, I came how two weeks ago with the idea that maybe I would be working at this point. Ski Cooper doesn't have their necessary foot of snow though, so they are not open yet, so I came home now since I am SURE Ski Cooper will be open by Christmas. If they aren't open by then, lets just say me and everyone else from CMC trying to do their internship there, is doomed.
PPS: Saturday for Ski Cooper training we went over the Ski Cooper Ski School handbook, watched a video about ACL injuries, and our bosses talked to us. Sunday we did not have training because it's rather difficult to have on-snow training without any snow.
For the past 10 years (minus a year or two when they couldn't make it up, and last year when my parents, brother, and I went to see my grandparents) my aunt and uncle from Missouri have come up for Thanksgiving. On and off throughout the years, another aunt, uncle, and 2 cousins have come, but that has not happened for a few years as they have been busy with other activities.
Well, this year is no different. Tuesday evening, after stopping in Sioux Falls to eat dinner, my aunt and uncle arrived with two dogs in tow. See, the reason for this whole Thanksgiving get-together is pheasant hunting. The dogs change throughout the year, some years there is more hunting talent than other years, but there is always at least a couple dogs. This year Turbo (ours) and Domino (theirs) were the only dogs hunting. Our other two dogs- Sonic who is gun-shy and Dusky who likes to bark too much too be a hunting dog- stayed at home and kept Bonheur (pronounced Bone-er) the puppy (theirs) company. Sonic, Turbo, Domino, and Bonheur are all French Broques. Dusky is the lone German Shepard.
My dad and my uncle go hunting while my brother, my mom, my aunt, and I stay at home. Occassionally my brother goes out to hunt on our land with my dad and uncle.
Wednesday the 4 of us (my aunt, my brother, my mom, and I) went into Sioux Falls and my aunt went grocery shopping while my brother had an appointment while I accompanied my mom to the place where she works. After dropping my aunt and brother off, Bonheur was sitting in my mom's lap and my mom said "She smells like fish oil" and after a couple minutes we decided that she must have rolled in something. After my mom went to work and we picked up my aunt and brother, we headed home where Bonheur got to take a bath so that she was more enjoyable to hold. Considering that I was the one who got to give Bonheur a bath, I greatly appreciated her bath-taking skills. Our three dogs (Sonic, Turbo, and Dusky) HATE baths. They will leap out of the bathtub and splash around as much as possible. By the time you are finished giving them a bath, the bathroom is soaked along with the person giving the bath. Bonheur however calmly stands there as you pour water all over her and coat her in shampoo and then rinse her off. She even stood nicely as I dried her off.
Today (Thursday/Thanksgiving Day) "the men" went hunting again. There was no snow and it was approximately 50 degrees today, which is much nicer than a lot of Novembers in South Dakota. While out hunting, Domino decided that he would visit with a skunk and got sprayed. So, he got a bath this evening. Domino is also a very well-behaved bath taker. I think I found the bath more torturous than he did, as I was covered up to my elbows in tomato juice which I then began to think I was allergic to once my arms started itching like crazy.
During the day, we cooked "Goliath Jr." who ONLY weighed 22 pounds. Two years ago we cooked "Goliath" who weighed 40 pounds and was a beast to wrestle in and out of the oven, to say the least. After Domino's bath, we had our more-or-less traditional Thanksgiving dinner (we had a goose one year and ham a couple other years, so we're not exactly the leading example of traditional Thanksgiving). Yesterday we had apple pie, today we had pumpkin and chocolate pecan pies, and hopefully at some point I will be able to talk my mom into helping me make a chocolate pudding pie, so by the time I go back to Colorado, I should have gotten my pie filling for awhile.
Tomorrow my aunt and I are off to the Empire Mall in Sioux Falls for Black Friday while my parents work. I'm not sure what my brother and uncle are doing. There was talk that they could go hunting on our land tomorrow. Otherwise I'm guessing my uncle and the dogs will enjoy a day off. Then my dad and uncle are hunting again Saturday and Sunday. Monday my aunt and uncle are headed back to Missouri. I'm either headed back Sunday afternoon or really early Monday morning.
Sunday evening I was in the dorms and the white board was announcing a Thanksgiving dinner for those living in the residence hall who were not going home for Thanksgiving.
Last Friday I handed in paperwork to move back into the dorms. Last April I was all keen on moving out of the dorms. I came in July to find an apartment and was all excited about not having to live in the dorms, and how there would not be any false fire alarms in the middle of the night, and I could eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Realistically, that is not what happened.
Living in the dorms is way more social than living in an apartment by yourself. You get so used to the noise in the dorms, that it's a little difficult to get used to so much quiet so much of the time. When you're in a lonely mood or you really want to go do something but you don't want to go alone, it's really nice to be able to walk a few doors down the hall and ask someone. If they can't go, you go another few doors. It is much faster than calling/texting half of your phonebook and then getting frustrated because they didn't respond in the first 5 minutes.
My apartment might not have any false fire alarms, but it does have strange noises at 1AM, people talking/playing guitar/watching TV next door, and cops and fire trucks driving past with sirens on.
I might be able to eat whatever I want whenever I want. I eat breakfast. After that it's a matter of chance whether I eat lunch or dinner. If I do eat either of those meals, their nutritional content is as varied as night and day. Sometimes a bag of popcorn sounds like a perfectly acceptable meal and other days I end up with 3 or 4 food groups on my plate. My food-time-schedule still revolves around "I'm hungry now" not "Maybe an hour from now I'll want to eat baked chicken".
I never thought I would say this, but I am actually looking forward to living in a dorm full of guys next semester, with fire alarms going off at 4AM, and cafeteria food.
So, before enthusiastically moving out of the dorms when your one-year contract is up, I suggest seriously considering whether you actually have the motivation to make 2 or 3 meals a day. Also consider how social you are and how motivated your friends are to come see you / how motivated you are to go see them.
Until next time, enjoy your Thanksgiving leftovers, try not to spend too much money shopping on Black Friday, and hope for some snow to fall in Leadville so that Ski Cooper can open.
PS: For those of you who are loyal readers and are wondering why I came home two weeks ago and then came home again now, I came how two weeks ago with the idea that maybe I would be working at this point. Ski Cooper doesn't have their necessary foot of snow though, so they are not open yet, so I came home now since I am SURE Ski Cooper will be open by Christmas. If they aren't open by then, lets just say me and everyone else from CMC trying to do their internship there, is doomed.
PPS: Saturday for Ski Cooper training we went over the Ski Cooper Ski School handbook, watched a video about ACL injuries, and our bosses talked to us. Sunday we did not have training because it's rather difficult to have on-snow training without any snow.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Ski Cooper
Monday of this week was orientation for all Ski Cooper employees. Quite a few Colorado Mountain College students are working at Ski Cooper this year. There are CMC students working in the Ski School, Ski Patrol, Lift Ops, and Chicago Ridge divisions. Some of these are Ski Area Operations students working on their internships and others are just students who were looking for a job.
The rest of the week was training for individualized departments, and my department does not have training until tomorrow, so I don't know a whole lot else of what went on. I do know that they did a lift evacuation practice, which was a lot more fun that I thought it would be. Advice to those who tend to do the "I'll just take one more run before I go in for a bathroom break" thing, you will regret that decision when the chairlift stops and they have to do a rope evacuation. Despite the ski area's best efforts, it is not the speediest process.
There was a hypnotist show in the cafeteria on Tuesday.
Recently in Student Government we have discussed museum field trips, the CMC ice wall, science and math tutoring in the residence hall, a ski movie, lazer tag, and a band based out of Denver. If you are interested in adding your input to our meetings, we meet on Mondays at 4:30 in the cafeteria.
Thanksgiving Break is this coming Wednesday-Friday. I'm not sure what I am doing for mine yet- it depends on the snow forecast.
One of the bloggers from the Spring Valley campus in Glenwood Springs made semi-finals for the Microsoft Winter Games Blogging Competition. Read more about it here.
Well, I hope you all have a fun and safe Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Mountains Glow
You may be thinking the title "The Mountains Glow" is a rather odd title. Normally if someone told me "If you ever drive towards Copper Mountain at 3AM, you can see the mountains glowing!" I would probably wonder what sort of illegal substance they were using. However, last Wednesday morning I got to witness these glowing mountains for myself, and I can assure you that I was not under the influence of any such illegal substances. During my early morning drive to the airport in Denver, the mountains were covered in snow, and the reflection of the moon off of the snow made them appear as if they were glowing.
Interesting fact: Between Leadville and Red Rocks, I saw 5 vehicles headed eastbound, and 157 vehicles headed westbound.
I made a video at home. Once I figure out how to do some editing on it, I'll post it.
Humor of the week: In the Omaha airport, an airline ticket agent was explaining to a customer that she had to pay X amount of dollars for her suitcase. The upset customer than protested saying that she flew a different airline last week and was not charged a baggage fee. The ticket agent then replied "Well, that company is in the business of pleasing customers. My company is in the business of making money.".
When I got home I discovered that there was now a moose on the living room wall. I am aware of the fact that there are people who might enjoy seeing a moose head every day, but I personally found that I wanted to scream every time I saw it because I never was expecting it there. There is also now an antelope on another wall, but he is slightly less fear inducing because 1- He is considerably smaller and 2- He lived on the wall when I was younger so I've seen him before.
Other than that, nothing too exciting happened while I was at home.
Yesterday afternoon I pre-registered for classes for spring semester. I will be doing my co-op work experience and taking an Intro to Business class which is online. Then at the end of March Ski Area Planning and Ski Area Seminar take place for about a month. Then it is graduation on May 1st.
Last night in Accounting class we did a problem called "Appendix D". As far as I could tell, it was a review problem.
Well, I'm off to free gym night now. Until next time, have fun. :)
Friday, October 30, 2009
Snow!!
Snow was the theme for the week.
This past weekend was the Outdoor Emergency Care Refresher class. It consisted of Ski Cooper employees, Chicago Ridge employees, and a couple of Colorado Mountain College students who are not currently employed with a ski patrol but wanted to keep their certification current. We reviewed spinal immobilization and backboarding procedures, helmet removal, and did a couple of scenarios. We also went over pelvic injuries and then practiced using a pelvic splint and then a simple sheet to control the injury. The pelvic splint is really neat because it's like a belt and it clicks when it's at the proper tension, and then you just have to maintain that tension while you fasten it. Using a sheet took a little more thinking in order to maintain the tension through the use of knots.
Sunday morning I woke up to my car being covered in snow. After some frustration at my windshield wipers for not clearing my windshield to the degree I wanted them too and my procrastination of not buying a windshield scraper/brush, I finally got the snow brushed off.
Then on Monday I went to Alco and bought a windshield scraper/brush. Turns out that the official name of it is a Mallory Snow Brush. Usually we have student government meetings on Monday but due to three representatives being absent, we did not have the necessary 2/3rds to vote.
Tuesday in Snowmaking lecture we reviewed for our final exam. That evening our two snow guns were fired up and have been running continuously since then because temperatures have been in the low teens all week. Tuesday evening in Principles of Accounting I, we learned about payroll. This involved figuring out regular pay and overtime pay, unemployment, income tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and other withholdings such as union dues and medical insurance. We then completed entries in the General Journal related to payroll taxes. We are learning about payroll taxes again this coming week.
Thursday we took our final exam in Snowmaking. The people who normally sit in the front row decided to be over-achievers and get there ridiculously early to review as a group, so those of us that normally take the seats in the back, were in the front row. We are jokingly blaming those that took the back row seats if we did less than spectacular. Although, in all honesty, it's probably my own fault for not knowing what the name is of the piece of equipment that keeps oil out of the snowmaking system.
Today, Friday, attendance at Risk Management was less that outstanding. Nine of us had shown up 15 minutes into class and half of those were ready to leave when the professor hadn't shown up after 15 minutes. However, as they were walking out of the classroom and down the hall, the professor walked out of the elevator. Then we had a quiz since so few people showed up. Probably the easiest quiz I will ever take- if I don't know what town I go to classes in, I should really start figuring some things out.
This weekend is Halloween. I've heard students talking about going to Steamboat or Boulder for weekend festivities.
Also this weekend is the Ski Cooper job fair.
Some pictures of snowmaking taken earlier this week:
This past weekend was the Outdoor Emergency Care Refresher class. It consisted of Ski Cooper employees, Chicago Ridge employees, and a couple of Colorado Mountain College students who are not currently employed with a ski patrol but wanted to keep their certification current. We reviewed spinal immobilization and backboarding procedures, helmet removal, and did a couple of scenarios. We also went over pelvic injuries and then practiced using a pelvic splint and then a simple sheet to control the injury. The pelvic splint is really neat because it's like a belt and it clicks when it's at the proper tension, and then you just have to maintain that tension while you fasten it. Using a sheet took a little more thinking in order to maintain the tension through the use of knots.
Sunday morning I woke up to my car being covered in snow. After some frustration at my windshield wipers for not clearing my windshield to the degree I wanted them too and my procrastination of not buying a windshield scraper/brush, I finally got the snow brushed off.
Then on Monday I went to Alco and bought a windshield scraper/brush. Turns out that the official name of it is a Mallory Snow Brush. Usually we have student government meetings on Monday but due to three representatives being absent, we did not have the necessary 2/3rds to vote.
Tuesday in Snowmaking lecture we reviewed for our final exam. That evening our two snow guns were fired up and have been running continuously since then because temperatures have been in the low teens all week. Tuesday evening in Principles of Accounting I, we learned about payroll. This involved figuring out regular pay and overtime pay, unemployment, income tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and other withholdings such as union dues and medical insurance. We then completed entries in the General Journal related to payroll taxes. We are learning about payroll taxes again this coming week.
Thursday we took our final exam in Snowmaking. The people who normally sit in the front row decided to be over-achievers and get there ridiculously early to review as a group, so those of us that normally take the seats in the back, were in the front row. We are jokingly blaming those that took the back row seats if we did less than spectacular. Although, in all honesty, it's probably my own fault for not knowing what the name is of the piece of equipment that keeps oil out of the snowmaking system.
Today, Friday, attendance at Risk Management was less that outstanding. Nine of us had shown up 15 minutes into class and half of those were ready to leave when the professor hadn't shown up after 15 minutes. However, as they were walking out of the classroom and down the hall, the professor walked out of the elevator. Then we had a quiz since so few people showed up. Probably the easiest quiz I will ever take- if I don't know what town I go to classes in, I should really start figuring some things out.
This weekend is Halloween. I've heard students talking about going to Steamboat or Boulder for weekend festivities.
Also this weekend is the Ski Cooper job fair.
Some pictures of snowmaking taken earlier this week:
Friday, October 23, 2009
Another week at CMC
Hello all.
Tuesday in Snowmaking lecture we discussed system maintenance issues. That evening in Accounting we learned about cash short and over and petty cash funds. Although I think we all caught onto the lesson really well, the thought was raised "I must be doing something wrong. It did not take long at all to do my assignment.". Fortunately, it appears that the assignment was just short and easy.
Wednesday evening I made snow again. Since I was the only one who had made snow before, I was the shift leader. Boy, was that interesting. I've made snow twice before. The first time was a month ago and the second time was two weeks ago. So, I was definately testing out my memory of how things worked. It all worked out though. A bunch of new snow appeared on the hill and there weren't any disasters, so evidentally I remembered what needed to be done. With Jason's help, we were also able to get the snowgun at the top of the hill working.
Thursday morning in Snowmaking lecture, someone from CHS Snowmaking came and taught us a little more about the snowmaking gun we have at the top of the hill, along with talking to us about system maintenance, and explaining the little snowmaking gun that we will be using behind the residence hall this year.
Today in Risk Management we went over Worker's Compensation.
It's really exciting to think that all but my Accounting class end next week. The idea of classes ending the last week of October probably sounds weird to those of you who are not acquainted with the Ski Area Operations program at Colorado Mountain College, but it's really not. See, part of the requirements for a SAO degree are that you do a paid internship at a ski resort of your choosing. So, we spend the first 10 weeks of school in class in order to get our classes done, and then we are able to go work starting in November. If you already have a job lined up, great. If you are like some of us, you are still looking for a job and/or planning on working at Ski Cooper, in which case you might have a little more freetime than you desire. But hey, lots of free time means lots of time to find a job.
One struggle of classes ending when they do, is Snowmaking lab. We have to have all of our hours in by October 30th and for some people, that is a challenge. Myself and a few others were on the ball and started getting our hours in as soon as Jason was willing to fire up the system. However, some people procrastinated and now there are approximately 10 people all trying to make snow for 30 hours in the next week. I wish them luck.
In other news, this coming week is Mental Health Wellness Week. On Monday someone from Blue Earth is giving massages. On Tuesday there is a workshop on Feng-Shuing your dorm room. Wednesday there is a session on relaxation techniques, guided imagery, and testing your anxiety. Thursday there is a lunch and later on there is a session on partying without drugs and alcohol. Friday morning there is a 10-mile bike ride. Halloween costumes are optional and all who complete the bike ride get a tshirt. All activities, except for the lunch, are free! Check out the flyers posted in the library or the New Discovery building for more information.
Tuesday in Snowmaking lecture we discussed system maintenance issues. That evening in Accounting we learned about cash short and over and petty cash funds. Although I think we all caught onto the lesson really well, the thought was raised "I must be doing something wrong. It did not take long at all to do my assignment.". Fortunately, it appears that the assignment was just short and easy.
Wednesday evening I made snow again. Since I was the only one who had made snow before, I was the shift leader. Boy, was that interesting. I've made snow twice before. The first time was a month ago and the second time was two weeks ago. So, I was definately testing out my memory of how things worked. It all worked out though. A bunch of new snow appeared on the hill and there weren't any disasters, so evidentally I remembered what needed to be done. With Jason's help, we were also able to get the snowgun at the top of the hill working.
Thursday morning in Snowmaking lecture, someone from CHS Snowmaking came and taught us a little more about the snowmaking gun we have at the top of the hill, along with talking to us about system maintenance, and explaining the little snowmaking gun that we will be using behind the residence hall this year.
Today in Risk Management we went over Worker's Compensation.
It's really exciting to think that all but my Accounting class end next week. The idea of classes ending the last week of October probably sounds weird to those of you who are not acquainted with the Ski Area Operations program at Colorado Mountain College, but it's really not. See, part of the requirements for a SAO degree are that you do a paid internship at a ski resort of your choosing. So, we spend the first 10 weeks of school in class in order to get our classes done, and then we are able to go work starting in November. If you already have a job lined up, great. If you are like some of us, you are still looking for a job and/or planning on working at Ski Cooper, in which case you might have a little more freetime than you desire. But hey, lots of free time means lots of time to find a job.
One struggle of classes ending when they do, is Snowmaking lab. We have to have all of our hours in by October 30th and for some people, that is a challenge. Myself and a few others were on the ball and started getting our hours in as soon as Jason was willing to fire up the system. However, some people procrastinated and now there are approximately 10 people all trying to make snow for 30 hours in the next week. I wish them luck.
In other news, this coming week is Mental Health Wellness Week. On Monday someone from Blue Earth is giving massages. On Tuesday there is a workshop on Feng-Shuing your dorm room. Wednesday there is a session on relaxation techniques, guided imagery, and testing your anxiety. Thursday there is a lunch and later on there is a session on partying without drugs and alcohol. Friday morning there is a 10-mile bike ride. Halloween costumes are optional and all who complete the bike ride get a tshirt. All activities, except for the lunch, are free! Check out the flyers posted in the library or the New Discovery building for more information.
Friday, October 16, 2009
2009 CMC Am Ski & Snowboard Movie Premiere Night
Last night, the MPR was PACKED with people. No, there was no mandatory meeting of everyone in the dorms. It was packed because of a ski & snowboard movie premiere night that a student organized.
A couple weeks ago, the student presented his idea to Student Government and we approved the idea and money to be spent on snacks.
At approximately 8:05 when I showed up, people were standing because all of the chairs and couches were occupied. Believe me, it takes a lot to fill up all of the couches and chairs in the MPR.
The first movie shown was "Hit Or Miss" which was produced by CS Films. It was composed of mostly skiing but did have some snowboarding in it. Filming locations included Lake Placid, NY; Burlington, VT; Plattsbury, NY; Crested Butte, CO; and Keystone, CO.
Next was "Recession Proof" followed by "Summerdays" which were both produced by I Heart Snow Productions. They both featured snowboarding all over the East Coast, followed up by a movie shoot at Mt. Hood, OR that took place this past summer.
Lastly, was "Salty Days" by Janky Films. This movie featured skiing and snowboarding at Alta, UT; Park City, UT; Snowbird, UT; Copper Mountain, CO; Leadville, CO; and Mt. Hood, OR.
This movie night was a nice alternative to the bigger name movie premieres that have taken place in Boulder, Breckenridge, and Keystone, as it did not involve much travel. There was also no cost to attend. I know that at least some, if not all of the big name movie premieres have charged an admission fee. Another nice feature of the movie premiere last night was that some of the riders were people who we went to class with and who we actually knew.
A couple weeks ago, the student presented his idea to Student Government and we approved the idea and money to be spent on snacks.
At approximately 8:05 when I showed up, people were standing because all of the chairs and couches were occupied. Believe me, it takes a lot to fill up all of the couches and chairs in the MPR.
The first movie shown was "Hit Or Miss" which was produced by CS Films. It was composed of mostly skiing but did have some snowboarding in it. Filming locations included Lake Placid, NY; Burlington, VT; Plattsbury, NY; Crested Butte, CO; and Keystone, CO.
Next was "Recession Proof" followed by "Summerdays" which were both produced by I Heart Snow Productions. They both featured snowboarding all over the East Coast, followed up by a movie shoot at Mt. Hood, OR that took place this past summer.
Lastly, was "Salty Days" by Janky Films. This movie featured skiing and snowboarding at Alta, UT; Park City, UT; Snowbird, UT; Copper Mountain, CO; Leadville, CO; and Mt. Hood, OR.
This movie night was a nice alternative to the bigger name movie premieres that have taken place in Boulder, Breckenridge, and Keystone, as it did not involve much travel. There was also no cost to attend. I know that at least some, if not all of the big name movie premieres have charged an admission fee. Another nice feature of the movie premiere last night was that some of the riders were people who we went to class with and who we actually knew.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
NSAA Risk Management Seminar
Last weekend the “Wii Olympics” took place at the dorms. There were about 15 different events including bowling, golf, baseball, archery, and tennis.
Our current assignment in Snowmaking lecture is to write a 1-page paper about what we have learned in the class so far due to some not so outstanding grades on our last test. Snowmaking lab has been going well. Some people have almost completed their 30 hours while others have yet to start. At times we feel like we’re not accomplishing much while attempting to make snow because we seem to be blowing more ice than snow, but at least the snow is sticking around now.
Thursday, October 8th was National Depression Awareness day and there was a table set up in the lobby area of the building where the library and bookstore are at school, with information from West Central Mental Health about depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). They also had a screening form for depression, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and PTSD that was available for students to take and fill out.
Friday, October 9th was the National Ski Areas Association Risk Management Seminar at Copper Mountain, which 16 students in Colorado Mountain College’s Risk Management class attended.
There was a presentation on “A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words” and we were able to hear different people’s opinions of the pictures. Some examples of pictures were how different sign arrangements were or were not distracting, how wording on signs could be confusing, and how the eye is drawn to the words in big, bold, colorful letters and others may be ignored.
The question was also posed “Do you think most people actually read signs?”. It would be interesting to hear your answers- at a place such as a ski area, do you read the signs, or do you assume that you have a general idea of what the sign says? One person pointed out that while people may not stop and read the signs at the entrance to a terrain park, if you randomly picked some people out of the park and asked them what the signs at the entrance said, they could give you a general idea.
Next there was a discussion on different types of injuries and how they relate to the number of claims that are filed against a ski area.
After that, we walked over to the Woodward complex and had boxed lunches and looked around the facility. If you want to know more about Woodward, read Ali’s blog.
Once we had finished our lunches, we walked back to the conference center and a presentation was given on the “Top 10 Things that Impact Your Risk Management Program”. Then, after a break, a situation was demonstrated in which following those 10 guidelines could have made a difference in the outcome of a trial.
It was a long day- I got on the bus at school at 7:15AM and didn’t get back until 5:30, but it was well worth it.
Tomorrow a van is going to Denver for the day to visit the art museum and aquarium.
Thursday, October 15th, there is a ski/snowboard movie premiere night happening in the MPR.
Activities like the free swim, gym, and field nights, the trip to Denver, and the movie premiere night are all possible because of Student Government. I encourage any interested students to get involved. Meetings are on Monday nights in the back room of the cafeteria. They start at 4:30 and are generally over by 5. Both on-campus and off-campus students can join.
Our current assignment in Snowmaking lecture is to write a 1-page paper about what we have learned in the class so far due to some not so outstanding grades on our last test. Snowmaking lab has been going well. Some people have almost completed their 30 hours while others have yet to start. At times we feel like we’re not accomplishing much while attempting to make snow because we seem to be blowing more ice than snow, but at least the snow is sticking around now.
Thursday, October 8th was National Depression Awareness day and there was a table set up in the lobby area of the building where the library and bookstore are at school, with information from West Central Mental Health about depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). They also had a screening form for depression, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and PTSD that was available for students to take and fill out.
Friday, October 9th was the National Ski Areas Association Risk Management Seminar at Copper Mountain, which 16 students in Colorado Mountain College’s Risk Management class attended.
There was a presentation on “A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words” and we were able to hear different people’s opinions of the pictures. Some examples of pictures were how different sign arrangements were or were not distracting, how wording on signs could be confusing, and how the eye is drawn to the words in big, bold, colorful letters and others may be ignored.
The question was also posed “Do you think most people actually read signs?”. It would be interesting to hear your answers- at a place such as a ski area, do you read the signs, or do you assume that you have a general idea of what the sign says? One person pointed out that while people may not stop and read the signs at the entrance to a terrain park, if you randomly picked some people out of the park and asked them what the signs at the entrance said, they could give you a general idea.
Next there was a discussion on different types of injuries and how they relate to the number of claims that are filed against a ski area.
After that, we walked over to the Woodward complex and had boxed lunches and looked around the facility. If you want to know more about Woodward, read Ali’s blog.
Once we had finished our lunches, we walked back to the conference center and a presentation was given on the “Top 10 Things that Impact Your Risk Management Program”. Then, after a break, a situation was demonstrated in which following those 10 guidelines could have made a difference in the outcome of a trial.
It was a long day- I got on the bus at school at 7:15AM and didn’t get back until 5:30, but it was well worth it.
Tomorrow a van is going to Denver for the day to visit the art museum and aquarium.
Thursday, October 15th, there is a ski/snowboard movie premiere night happening in the MPR.
Activities like the free swim, gym, and field nights, the trip to Denver, and the movie premiere night are all possible because of Student Government. I encourage any interested students to get involved. Meetings are on Monday nights in the back room of the cafeteria. They start at 4:30 and are generally over by 5. Both on-campus and off-campus students can join.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Update
Hello all.
Last night we made snow again. It was definately more successful than the time before. We have the temperatures now to make snow almost any night we want I think.
Friday is the NSAA Risk Management Seminar at Copper Mountain.
We have reached the half-way point of the semester which means mid-terms in Risk Management and Accounting, along with a regular test in Snowmaking lecture.
2nd year Ski Area Operations students are also starting to seriously work on getting jobs for their internships.
Free swim, gym, and field nights are up and running in full force.
Monday-Gym night
Tuesday-Field night
Wednesday-Gym night
Thursday-Pool night
Friday-Pool night
Saturday-Field night
Sunday-Field night
That's about all I have to report.
I'll write more on Friday after the Risk Management Seminar.
Last night we made snow again. It was definately more successful than the time before. We have the temperatures now to make snow almost any night we want I think.
Friday is the NSAA Risk Management Seminar at Copper Mountain.
We have reached the half-way point of the semester which means mid-terms in Risk Management and Accounting, along with a regular test in Snowmaking lecture.
2nd year Ski Area Operations students are also starting to seriously work on getting jobs for their internships.
Free swim, gym, and field nights are up and running in full force.
Monday-Gym night
Tuesday-Field night
Wednesday-Gym night
Thursday-Pool night
Friday-Pool night
Saturday-Field night
Sunday-Field night
That's about all I have to report.
I'll write more on Friday after the Risk Management Seminar.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Pictures
These are from Monday when it snowed in Leadville, and the snow stayed on the ground.
These are from the day it snowed, but the ground was so warm that it pretty much just melted immediately.
The first snow on the mountains surrounding Leadville.
There's not much around campus this week that I haven't already covered.
Yesterday we were going to have homework in Snowmaking, but there was disagreement as to whether we should be multiplying by 12 or dividing by 12, so we instead get bonus points for doing the assignment. Hopefully on Tuesday we will have the answer to whether we should have been dividing or multiplying, because I think we were all rather lost.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
First Snowmakers of the Semester
Normally I am not awake at 2:30AM, but tonight, I am in Snowmaking Lab, hence why I am writing this blog at this hour of the morning.
It was a learning experience for all- both myself, my fellow snowmakers, and the teacher. Since it is the first snowmaking lab of the semester, and Jason Gusaas, the new Ski Area Operations professor, is in charge of the lab, we spent the first hour and a half figuring the system out. Among our discoveries were:
1. The SnowMax system depletes itself awful fast at 100% capacity. 20% capacity is much more economical.
2. The hoses require an adapter to fit the gun/hydrant. We were not able to get the tower gun hooked up, so we are only running the fan gun.
3. Weather reports lie. It was supposed to get down to 21 degrees and snow 1 inch. But the lowest temperature we recorded was 29 degrees and it never snowed. We also got to use our amazing "wet bulb computation" skills. It's a very complicated process. You take the "dry bulb" temperature which is the temperature that a thermometer reads, and you line it up with the % relative humidity on a chart and then you do a little guessing since the temperatures are in evens and the % humidity goes by 10's.
We also played around with the little gun for awhile, that we intend to use behind the dorms to add snow to the little rail yard, but we didn't set it up back there because we determined that it has to be colder than it currently is in order for it really produce any snow.
However, the wind did cooperate with us, as it stayed out of the north or north-northeast all night, which blows the snow up Dutch Henri (the gun was located at the bottom of the hill). Also, no disasters happened, which is good. The most we ever had to do was turn the gun a little bit.
I also discovered that TV shows about a clown and a spaghetti ball are INCREDIBLY amusing at 5:30 in the morning.
While I would not enjoy making snow every night, it's not such a bad job for a night or two.
It was a learning experience for all- both myself, my fellow snowmakers, and the teacher. Since it is the first snowmaking lab of the semester, and Jason Gusaas, the new Ski Area Operations professor, is in charge of the lab, we spent the first hour and a half figuring the system out. Among our discoveries were:
1. The SnowMax system depletes itself awful fast at 100% capacity. 20% capacity is much more economical.
2. The hoses require an adapter to fit the gun/hydrant. We were not able to get the tower gun hooked up, so we are only running the fan gun.
3. Weather reports lie. It was supposed to get down to 21 degrees and snow 1 inch. But the lowest temperature we recorded was 29 degrees and it never snowed. We also got to use our amazing "wet bulb computation" skills. It's a very complicated process. You take the "dry bulb" temperature which is the temperature that a thermometer reads, and you line it up with the % relative humidity on a chart and then you do a little guessing since the temperatures are in evens and the % humidity goes by 10's.
We also played around with the little gun for awhile, that we intend to use behind the dorms to add snow to the little rail yard, but we didn't set it up back there because we determined that it has to be colder than it currently is in order for it really produce any snow.
However, the wind did cooperate with us, as it stayed out of the north or north-northeast all night, which blows the snow up Dutch Henri (the gun was located at the bottom of the hill). Also, no disasters happened, which is good. The most we ever had to do was turn the gun a little bit.
I also discovered that TV shows about a clown and a spaghetti ball are INCREDIBLY amusing at 5:30 in the morning.
While I would not enjoy making snow every night, it's not such a bad job for a night or two.
Monday, September 21, 2009
First Real Snow of the Season
This morning when I woke up and looked out my window I discovered that the ground was white. Considering that it's only mid-September, I was slightly surprised, but really did not mind. I was even more surprised when it continued to snow on and off throughout the day, and it is still snowing now. There is not really any accumulation yet, as it warmed up to the 40's today. I will post pictures in the next day or two.
I originally had the intentions of venturing to the Vail area today to return something, but about 10 minutes outside of Leadville, I decided that it was not worth it because it was a full-blown snowstorm at the time. So, instead, I spent several hours at the Leadville Public Library today. It was quite an enjoyable day and it made me wonder why I never spent more time there last year.
Another place that I've found to be an enjoyable place to spend the afternoon is the CMC Library. Yea, it involves a "trek" across campus if you live in the dorms, but it really is much nicer than studying in your dorm room. For one thing, the chances of hearing someone running down the hall yelling, are pretty slim here in the library. There are also fewer distractions in the library. As unappealing as cleaning, doing laundry, and washing dishes might seem, there are times when they seem like a great way to procrastinate. However, the view of the mountains out the window of the library, is just a tad bit distracting, as I discovered Friday afternoon. But the couches and arm chairs are nice and they even have these neat swivel tables attached to the arm chairs that work great for your laptop. The bookstore is conveniently located next door for when you need a study-break snack and there is a learning assistance center across the entry-way.
For anyone who is wondering, the library hours are:
Sunday: Noon-8pm
Monday-Thursday: 8AM-9PM
Friday: 8AM-5PM
Saturday: Noon-5PM
Discovery of the week: When a professor advises you "You should probably farmiliarize yourself with Blackboard and LexisNexis before taking the first quiz or it is probable that you will fail", you should probably take their advice. While taking my Risk Management quiz, I determined that I really was not quite sure how to use LexisNexis, and I remembered this advice only after I had started the quiz. Luckily, I figured it out after about 15 minutes. However, some of my classmates who are less awake at 8AM, might have more difficulty because the main reason I figured it out was because the professor showed us in class.
As far as other news around campus goes, the free activity nights start tomorrow (Tuesday).
Mondays & Wednesdays are free nights at the gym above the swimming pool. They have a weight lifting area, a treadmill, a "running track" (essentially the edge of the gym with taped off lanes), basketball hoops, and vollyball nets. Last year we also played soccer and dodgeball there.
Tuesdays are free Flag Football out at the new field.
Thursday and Friday nights are free swimming nights.
Saturday night there is flag football for the first hour and a half and Ultimate Frisbee for the second hour and a half.
Sunday night there is free soccer at the field.
All that is required to participate in these activities is your student ID card.
All of the 2nd year SAO classes are 1/2 over. However, several of us are taking Accounting, EMT, or some other class that extends for the entire semester. Resumes have been sent, interviews have been arranged, and internships for this winter are beginning to take shape and fall into place.
I originally had the intentions of venturing to the Vail area today to return something, but about 10 minutes outside of Leadville, I decided that it was not worth it because it was a full-blown snowstorm at the time. So, instead, I spent several hours at the Leadville Public Library today. It was quite an enjoyable day and it made me wonder why I never spent more time there last year.
Another place that I've found to be an enjoyable place to spend the afternoon is the CMC Library. Yea, it involves a "trek" across campus if you live in the dorms, but it really is much nicer than studying in your dorm room. For one thing, the chances of hearing someone running down the hall yelling, are pretty slim here in the library. There are also fewer distractions in the library. As unappealing as cleaning, doing laundry, and washing dishes might seem, there are times when they seem like a great way to procrastinate. However, the view of the mountains out the window of the library, is just a tad bit distracting, as I discovered Friday afternoon. But the couches and arm chairs are nice and they even have these neat swivel tables attached to the arm chairs that work great for your laptop. The bookstore is conveniently located next door for when you need a study-break snack and there is a learning assistance center across the entry-way.
For anyone who is wondering, the library hours are:
Sunday: Noon-8pm
Monday-Thursday: 8AM-9PM
Friday: 8AM-5PM
Saturday: Noon-5PM
Discovery of the week: When a professor advises you "You should probably farmiliarize yourself with Blackboard and LexisNexis before taking the first quiz or it is probable that you will fail", you should probably take their advice. While taking my Risk Management quiz, I determined that I really was not quite sure how to use LexisNexis, and I remembered this advice only after I had started the quiz. Luckily, I figured it out after about 15 minutes. However, some of my classmates who are less awake at 8AM, might have more difficulty because the main reason I figured it out was because the professor showed us in class.
As far as other news around campus goes, the free activity nights start tomorrow (Tuesday).
Mondays & Wednesdays are free nights at the gym above the swimming pool. They have a weight lifting area, a treadmill, a "running track" (essentially the edge of the gym with taped off lanes), basketball hoops, and vollyball nets. Last year we also played soccer and dodgeball there.
Tuesdays are free Flag Football out at the new field.
Thursday and Friday nights are free swimming nights.
Saturday night there is flag football for the first hour and a half and Ultimate Frisbee for the second hour and a half.
Sunday night there is free soccer at the field.
All that is required to participate in these activities is your student ID card.
All of the 2nd year SAO classes are 1/2 over. However, several of us are taking Accounting, EMT, or some other class that extends for the entire semester. Resumes have been sent, interviews have been arranged, and internships for this winter are beginning to take shape and fall into place.
Friday, September 18, 2009
This past weekend it snowed up in the mountains. I'm not sure what you would call what fell in town- perhaps soaking wet snow. It made the ground white, but there were also big streams running through parking lots. I took pictures, but I forgot to grab the memory card out of my camera when I headed up to campus to spend the afternoon in the library.
Now normally, I don't spend a whole lot of time in the school library. I think I came in here once last year, in order to work on a school project. But this afternoon, when I discovered that the internet at my apartment didn't work, the school library seemed like a good place to spend the afternoon. From here I can see the dark outline of the mountains, fluffy white clouds and blue skies. But I can also see rain and dark clouds, and I can hear thunder. If only it weren't 57 degrees right now, snow could be falling. I'm sure the snow will come soon enough though.
Monday in Student Government, Brett filled us in on the dates for free swim, gym, and field nights. Between those three, there is something going on every night for the rest of the semester starting this coming Monday.
Tuesday we took a test in Snowmaking Operations. Then, in Principles of Accounting, we worked with general journals and ledgers. Much to my dismay, I figured out after doing an entire problem that I'd mixed up the credits and debits. That or the business had some serious issues that they should sort out considering that they had negative expenses. However, after being informed that you "add the normal balance" I think the future should be smoother sailing for awhile. Afterwards, I went to the bowling alley to partake in $2 bowling.
On Wednesday, I spent the day in the computer lab of the New Discovery building, working on writing a resume and cover letters to send to various ski areas in hopes of getting a job as a snowboard instructor this winter.
Thursday, I had Snowmaking lecture in the morning. We went over our tests, and to our class's great excitement, not a single person failed. Then we went over snowmaking safety, took an instructor evaluation thing, and were shown where the stuff was for Snowmaking lab. In the evening I went to the pool because it was $2 from 7-9pm.
Today we went over the Colorado Skier Safety Act in Risk Management. We also have a quiz to complete before the next class period.
As for what's going on this weekend. I haven't heard about a whole lot. I know some people are going to Boulder to watch the Matchstick premiere. There are also people going to Brecktoberfest in Breckenridge. There is also a Two Planks Production premiere in Breckenridge. Last weekend there was a Refresh premiere.
If you haven't bought a pass yet and you're looking to, now would be a good time. Colorado Gems Cards are available for pre-order for $10 (use it once and you'll have it paid for). The Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus- College Pass is on sale for $339 if you have a current student ID and proof of being a full-time student (I'll give you a hint... This pass gives you full access to Copper and Winter Park/Mary Jane, plus 6 days at Steamboat and unlimited Friday afternoons... and it's less than the Copper-only pass). Click here for information about the Summit Pass, Colorado Pass, and Epic pass which work at Keystone, Breckenridge, A*Basin, and depending on the pass may or may not cover Vail and BeaverCreek.
Well, the library is about to close now, so until next week, have fun and stay safe.
Now normally, I don't spend a whole lot of time in the school library. I think I came in here once last year, in order to work on a school project. But this afternoon, when I discovered that the internet at my apartment didn't work, the school library seemed like a good place to spend the afternoon. From here I can see the dark outline of the mountains, fluffy white clouds and blue skies. But I can also see rain and dark clouds, and I can hear thunder. If only it weren't 57 degrees right now, snow could be falling. I'm sure the snow will come soon enough though.
Monday in Student Government, Brett filled us in on the dates for free swim, gym, and field nights. Between those three, there is something going on every night for the rest of the semester starting this coming Monday.
Tuesday we took a test in Snowmaking Operations. Then, in Principles of Accounting, we worked with general journals and ledgers. Much to my dismay, I figured out after doing an entire problem that I'd mixed up the credits and debits. That or the business had some serious issues that they should sort out considering that they had negative expenses. However, after being informed that you "add the normal balance" I think the future should be smoother sailing for awhile. Afterwards, I went to the bowling alley to partake in $2 bowling.
On Wednesday, I spent the day in the computer lab of the New Discovery building, working on writing a resume and cover letters to send to various ski areas in hopes of getting a job as a snowboard instructor this winter.
Thursday, I had Snowmaking lecture in the morning. We went over our tests, and to our class's great excitement, not a single person failed. Then we went over snowmaking safety, took an instructor evaluation thing, and were shown where the stuff was for Snowmaking lab. In the evening I went to the pool because it was $2 from 7-9pm.
Today we went over the Colorado Skier Safety Act in Risk Management. We also have a quiz to complete before the next class period.
As for what's going on this weekend. I haven't heard about a whole lot. I know some people are going to Boulder to watch the Matchstick premiere. There are also people going to Brecktoberfest in Breckenridge. There is also a Two Planks Production premiere in Breckenridge. Last weekend there was a Refresh premiere.
If you haven't bought a pass yet and you're looking to, now would be a good time. Colorado Gems Cards are available for pre-order for $10 (use it once and you'll have it paid for). The Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus- College Pass is on sale for $339 if you have a current student ID and proof of being a full-time student (I'll give you a hint... This pass gives you full access to Copper and Winter Park/Mary Jane, plus 6 days at Steamboat and unlimited Friday afternoons... and it's less than the Copper-only pass). Click here for information about the Summit Pass, Colorado Pass, and Epic pass which work at Keystone, Breckenridge, A*Basin, and depending on the pass may or may not cover Vail and BeaverCreek.
Well, the library is about to close now, so until next week, have fun and stay safe.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Colorful Colorado
This past weekend, while some of my friends climbed a 14er (they've climbed one every weekend this school year) and then hiked to Conundrum Hot Springs, I opted for an activity that involved slightly less exertion.
On Friday, while trying to come up with something exciting for my weekend, I happened across a website explaining that you can drive up Mt. Evans. Driving up to 14,130 feet and then walking up a path to 14,264 feet sounded about my ability level, plus now I can say I did a 14er.
A couple facts about the road to Mt. Evans:
- Depending on what source you use for the elevation of Idaho Springs, you climb 6-7,000 feet in 30 miles.
- The Mt. Evans Scenic Byway is the highest paved road in North America.
- The Mount Evans Scenic Byway was built after the road up Pike's Peak (completed in 1888). Pike's Peak was drawing the tourists away from Denver, so the road up to Mount Evans was built to draw them back. The road up Mount Evans was completed in 1927.
- The last 5 miles of the road are typically open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
- From Mount Evans you can see Longs Peak, Mt. Warren, Thorodin Mountain, Rogers Peak, Chief Mountain, Squaw Mountain, Denver metro, Meridian Hill, the Continental Divide, the Collegiate Range, Mosquito Range, Mt. Bierstadt, Mt. Holy Cross, the Kenosha Mountains, Kataka Mountain, South Park, Pike's Peak, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
So, Saturday morning I set off at 8AM to drive to Idaho Springs and then down to Mount Evans. To say the least, the road up to Mt. Evans is not for the faint at heart. I got the following two photos from the Mount Evans Scenic Byway Overview page. Ten of the fifteen miles of the drive, looked like the 2nd picture, only the drop-off looks much worse from the driver's seat.
However, I could not have asked for a better day. The sun was shining on the way over and the trees along the way looked absolutely gorgeous. It was a little overcast at the summit, but I did not mind that much because it was snowing! Technically they were only flurries, but it was snow none the less.
For more information, I recommend visiting MountEvans.com because, in my experience, it was the site that provided the most information. It also has a lot of very nice pictures.
Sunday, I went to Frisco for church, and discovered that the service had been cancelled, so I took pictures along Dillon Dam Road instead.
Well, that's it for my scenic weekend. Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)