Count down: Triple Bypass

The Triple Bypass is only forty days away! Our training schedule has been getting more and more serious. We ride five days a week and we're increasing the distances of our routes. The longest ride so far has been about fifty-two miles. We both have noticed that we feel a lot stronger, twenty mile rides seem very easy. Its great to see the training paying off. We are looking forward to this fun challenge.

The big ride

Training hard

Why we do it. Above all else, it's God's beautiful creation that motivates us to get out and ride.

Memorial weekend desert trip

Memorial weekend 2007, once again we drove to the middle of nowhere and attempted to stuff numerous people down a canyon. It has become a tradition, these last few years to hike slot canyons over memorial weekend. Last year, we hiked Upper Chute Canyon and Bluejohn Canyon. This year, we hiked Moonshine Canyon and returned to Bluejohn Canyon to hike a different branch. We entered Bluejohn through the east wing again, and then we hiked the west branch instead of doing the main branch. The west branch of Bluejohn wasn't quite as impressive and it was a little less technical. We had a very large group, so a shorter less technical route was a good choice.

Climbing out of Moonshine.

A sheep bridge across Moonshine Canyon. I don't think I would want to cross it!

Hiking through Bluejohn. This was a small obstacle, a down climb with some water. Other parts of the canyon required class three and four scrambling, repelling and hand lines.

Robber's Roost, UT just outside of Canyonlands National Park.

Common Globe Mallow, one of the many blooming desert flowers.

Fun in the Park

Last Saturday, most of Team Junk Show got together for a fun day of biking and skiing in Rocky Mountain National Park. Part of Trailridge road is still closed, so we brought bikes and trailers. We managed to haul ourselves, our gear, BBQ and beer to Upper Hidden Valley. Some of our genius friends even rigged up a trailer with ski racks! After our short ride, we skinned up to the ridge of Upper Hidden Valley and had a nice slushy run back down to the road. Such a great day for some spring skiing. The rest of the day was spent eating hamburgers and brats, basking in the sun and taking turns attempting to kill ourselves on a jump we found. It was a beautiful day in the Park with wonderful friends. (Go to the photo album to see more pictures)

Do we have enough gear?

The jump



A beautiful day and a beautiful view.

Rocky Mountain Raptor Program

I have recently begun volunteering with the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program here in Fort Collins. Volunteering with RMRP is an amazing experience. The program specializes in rehabilitating injured birds and releasing them back to the wild. I am learning to feed and care for birds of prey. I am now learning to handle the birds, educate the public and tend to minor medical needs. Here are some pictures of birds, hope you enjoy! I am sure there will be many more pictures to share in the future.

Rough-legged Hawk

Peregrine Falcon

Great Horned Owl

Mexico Beach

We are so blessed to be able to go on so many fun trips. This last month we had the opportunity to go to Mexico Beach, Florida for a week. I have a lot of family in Florida, some who I haven't seen in quite some time. My parents decided to rent a beach house and invite some of the Georgia family down so we could all spend some time together. Our first night in Florida, John and I stayed with a friend of mine that I grew up with in Grand Junction. It was great to see her and to meet her husband. We had a great time with them and hope we will have the chance to do it again someday.

The next day we met my parents and brother in Fort Walton Beach and then it was off to Mexico Beach. We got to the beach house fairly late, so it was already dark outside. We could hear the surf, but we didn't know what kind of view we would have. When we woke up the next morning, we were all exited to look out the window and see a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico.

The beach was just across the street, so we went for walks almost everyday. We saw Dolphins jumping in the Gulf just about every morning. A highlight of the trip was sea kayaking in the bay near Cape San Blas. It is a beautiful area and the water is very shallow for a long way out, so we were able to see a lot of aquatic life. We found sea stars, horseshoe crabs and hermit crabs. We also saw stingrays and quite a few birds.

Apalachicola, FL has some of the best raw oysters in the world.

St. George Island

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park




Beautiful Sunsets

New Job

After months of job hunting, John finally has a new job! He will be working at Ayres Associates here in Fort Collins. John will continue as an entry level civil engineer, but will now be focusing on water resources. We are very excited about this new opportunity and we are glad to be staying in Fort Collins.

Red Mountain Pass

John and I began the new year with six wonderful days of skiing. Five of the six days were in the back country. The best part was beginning the year with a ski trip to Red Mountain Pass and skiing the beautiful San Juan mountains. On January third, we skied US Basin. The trail reaches an elevation of over 10,000 feet and requires climbing skins and avalanche gear. Skiing through the trees and first tracks are well worth the climbing. We had a great group of people on this trip. There were thirteen for most of the trip and one of the nights we had fifteen people! I can't imagine a better group of friends and family. The skiing was amazing!

A little blurry, but I think thats most of us.

Getting ready to go...

Earing our turns...

An absolutely beautiful day of skiing.