Climbing a Fourteener

This past weekend my brother-in-law and I headed out to take the first step in a long-term goal we set together.

In the state of Colorado, there are 54 mountain peaks that are over 14,000 feet tall. We decided we wanted to climb them all. So, we started by selecting two peaks that we could climb in the same day, packed our backpacks and drove out.

Mount Shavano and Tabeguache Peak were the first two to experience our hiking boots on them. It was a great experience, though a grueling physical challenge, perhaps the toughest I've ever had. While running a marathon was tough, it didn't last 10 hours. I've got some great stories to tell and lessons learned from 14 thousand feet that I will share later, but for now, here are some pictures of the event.

This is us on top of Mount Shavano. Some guy, who took our picture, handed us this piece of cardboard with the mountain's name and information on it. I'm not sure where he found cardboard at 14,000 feet, but it makes us look like a couple of homeless guys trying to hitch a ride to Denver.

Here we are on top of Tabeguache Peak. By the way, check out my cool hat. I got it or Father's Day this summer in anticipation of climb. Not only is it stylish, but it is extremely practical as the sun is much more intense at 14,000 feet and will actually cause your head to blister if you don't wear a hat. Trust me... or better yet, trust my brother in law (the one without the hat).

I'll post more this week about my experiences puking and hallucinating and how that relates to business. I've got some other lessons I learned, and will pass them along as well as some more great pictures of the beautiful views.

Gone, But Not Forgotten

I left Thursday morning on my way out of town to fly with my wife to Washington DC. She's returning next Monday, but I'll stay on for business until Thursday. Then on Thursday I fly back to Denver and meet my wife at the airport so we can drive up the mountain to do a little skiing at Copper Mountain until the following Monday. Then finally I'll be back home and able to sleep in my own bed.

I'll make sure to post as often as I can about my adventures in DC, both personal and business. As I was running around packing and double checking my lists of what I need to do and pack I created a list of what I want to accomplish in DC.

1. See as many sites as possible with my wife
2. Eat as much good food as possible
3. Convince my wife that a Subaru is the perfect choice for our next vehicle
4. Finish reading and write a review for at least one of the two books I was given and get it posted (good book - not enough time)
5. Make some "political connections" with some of the other 70 plus people traveling to DC on this trip
6. Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night
7. Experience at least two new things
8. Learn as much as possible

Trading Snow for Sunshine

Tomorrow, I'm headed to Mesa, Arizona to see Grandma and Grandpa Barrett and take advantage of Marting Luther King Jr providing me with a 3 day weekend. It's been a long time since I've seen them, and an even longer time since I've seen them at their home in Leisure World. Seriously, that's the name of it. People drive golf carts on the roads and play cribbage all day. Sounds odd, but I love it there. While all my friends in college would go to Padre Island, or Mexico for Spring Break, I went to Leisure World.

Mostly, I'm excited about getting back to some warm weather. Colorado has been unseasonably snowy lately. The picture is the snow in our back yard. 3 weeks ago the airport closed. 2 weeks ago people died from the snowy conditions. Last week an avalanche buries people alive and they had to be dug out. This Friday we're set up to get more snow. I just hope my plane makes it out before it gets too bad.

Following the food theme of yesterday's post, I'm looking forward to eating at my Mesa Favorites like the Organ Stop and Luby's. Okay, obviously they aren't my favorites because of the food, but because of the memories I have eating there with my grandparents. I also want to make a trip to the Orange Patch to pick up some great oranges to eat.

If you've never been to the Organ Stop, think Chuck E Cheese for old people. There's nothing like a room full of senior citizens swinging their beer mugs in the air and singing the Iowa state song to the sounds of a HUGE pipe organ. If you've never been and you're in Mesa, you have to go. It's an experience.

Also on my trip, I'm going to be hooking up with some dear old friends from back in my Oklahoma days who took refuge in Arizona. I can't wait to see everyone and catch up on what's been going on. Hey, maybe we can all go to Luby's for dinner! - No, not really.