It’s been a whirlwind three plus months. My apologies to regular readers for the lack of recent posts. A recap is in order as to what exactly I have been up to. March 15, 2010 or so my wife and I decided to launch a hastily planned attempt to buy our first home.  We went down this same route in 2004 and abandoned ship when it became clear that the housing market was awash with over priced homes. Invigorated by the thought of an $8,000 federal tax tax credit that would apply only if we could get under contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010 we charged forward forcefully. After a lot of looking, researching, showings and a few false starts we found a great house in Broomfield, CO and closed May 13, 2010 and moved in May 15.

To complicate matters I started a new job April 19 at OceansideTen Management, Inc. as a software developer/engineer.  Since the move in it’s been an endless list of to-dos and odd jobs around the house. Last weekend Heather and I drove back to Missouri Valley, Iowa and drove back a U-Haul trailer full of furniture she had been storing at her mom’s house.  Her mom came with and spent the week helping get things in order here. What a blessing! We capped off her visit with a drive up to Estes Park and a hike from Bear Lake to Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.

I am looking forward to more outdoor trips this summer now that things are stabilizing at the new home front.

I live in Westminster, Colorado a growing suburban area northwest of Denver. It’s a mixed profile of semi-industrial areas, quaint residential neighborhoods, parks, schools, and the the usual sprinkle of hustle and bustle that accompanies suburban life. Having lived here for ten years I know a thing or two about some of the local urban legends. For example, “air guitar master” Mark who makes infrequent rounds on Federal Boulevard in the Federal Heights region in retro ’80′s metal rock garb hammering out licks to his walkman.  I hope to highlight him in a future post, but today’s feature character is the “sign dancer.”

Anyone who has driven through the intersection of 120th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard and missed the “sign dancer” when present must have been either very busy behind the wheel or blind.  Tim Farnsworth is the name and Professional Sign Shaker is the game. Forget about your typical lifeless fast food employee ordered to a nearby intersection to stir up business. Tim’s sheer energy, movement, drive, costume and general street rapper vibe catapults the banal sign vegetable to new heights. Tim shakes six hours a day five days a week as his main employment for M&E Painting. He almost always brings a smile to my face and a friendly honk!

Two months ago in early November 2009 Heather, my wife, and I attended our Church’s annual school auction to support Holy Trinity School.  The auction concluded with a hat drawing for the grand prize – an all expense paid cruise to the Bahamas. To our utter amazement we won!  After a few talks with the travel agency we decided to go on our four day cruise January 10-14. Our only expenses would be round trip plane tickets to Orlando, a rental car and a few nights in hotels.  Our grand plan was to fly to Orlando January 7, 2010 rent a car and spend one night in Orlando.  Then drive up the coast to St. Augustine and visit with my wife’s uncle Phil for two days and tour America’s oldest city and by most accounts settlement.  Then drive to Port Canaveral and board the ship for the four day cruise and take a shuttle back to the airport for the return flight to Denver, CO.

The plan came off without any major hitches and we both returned refreshed despite a ten day spell of record low temperatures in Florida during the entirety of the vacation. However, I can’t help but comment on one aspect of this trip – the cruise.  Upfront I have to say I am not a fan. The setting of a boat destined for two ports of call spread out over three and a half days at sea and the concurrent corporal confinement accompanied was only part of the problem.  In short, as I see things:

1. Port of call dilemma.
2. Eating habits.
3. Magnification of worldly ways.

Ports of call present the cruiser with three options.  First, stay on the ship. Second, buy a prepackaged excursion and eat the exorbitant cost (e.g., swim with Dolphins $350).  The advantage of prepackaged is it’s all thought out for you.  Lastly, do it yourself and enter the shark infested waters ashore unabated.  At both ports of call, Freeport and Nassau, we opted for DIY. At Freeport once we had battled the mass of taxi drivers and caught a ride to the Lucayan Beach area we did some window shopping for about an hour. Wanting more adventure we rented a moped and vainly tried to reach Lucayan National Park only to get lost a few times, almost run out of gas, and nearly miss disembarkation. Emboldened by the first DIY experience at Freeport we repeated it at Nassau and spent the day at a public beach being incessantly solicited all manner of beach trinkets and sea scoter rides.  Additionally, on my second ocean swim I received a minor jelly fish sting. The private beaches were all either pay (i.e., $30+/person) or totally exclusive.

The ship offers two options for meals.  A nearly 24/7 buffet with many varieties of general junk food; soft serve ice cream, small boxed cereals, seemingly unlimited supply and variety of grocery store type cakes, etc.  Second, there was a formal dinning hall that served breakfast and lunch.  Breakfast was superb and those looking to eat healthy spartan meals were equally treated.  However, dinner was over the top eating every night.  Decent appetizers, medium to large rich entrees and the usual “it’s so rich I’ll puke” deserts.  I know what your thinking, “what’s the harm in a few decent meals and some rich food – heck I only get one vacation a year and I want to live it up!” I saw enough half eaten dinners, acts of random gluttony and trashed food to probably feed an entire large city’s worth of poor for month.  And at that they would be well feed. Clearly, America is an over weight society and the ship magnifies our problems clearly.

Lastly, all of the worlds ways were on display.  I won’t bore you with a blow by blow account but just one shinning example. Every night there was a “show” put on in the Grand Atrium.  Most nights Heather and I were in bed by show time.  The third night I wanted to see the juggling show, but sleep won out.  Finally, on the last night we went to see what was billed as a “Dance Ensemble”.  The curtain lifted and a Las Vegas style burlesque dance show ensued with barely dressed humans posing in sexual copulations amid a light show that surely pleased the devil.  Who knows what the rest of it was like as my wife and I made a b-line for the exit in under thirty seconds.

The one saving grace was the kind and humble house keeping and dinning crew on the ship who worked tirelessly.  They did their best daily to bear the cross of Christ.

I returned from Europe feeling fresh and my elbow healed.  This short lived period came to a close after my second out door climbing session on an .11c at Mt. Evans, Cary Granite, where I re-injured the elbow. Since the lay off I have been doing volunteer software projects that see my typing tons every day.  This further aggravates my chronic elbow injury.  Currently, I am icing it a few times daily and taking an extended break from climbing focusing instead on mountain biking.

Not even the mountain biking has been that great.  Start of the summer I had a major mechanical which combined with the trip to Europe saw me lossing six weeks of riding time putting me in the worst riding shape of any summer I can remember in the last five years.  In addition it has been the wettest Spring and Summer on record in almost 20 year along the Front Range of Colorado limiting things severely.  Even now as I type it’s been almost 10 days since my last ride due to sloppy trails – almost unheard of in Colorado!

Is summary I can wait for my good health to return and my attitude to perk up.  Crosses are handed to each of us, yet I often try to shrug mine off.  Oh be joyful!

My wife, Heather, and I just returned last week from a two week vacation (see the slide show) to Southern France and Northern Spain to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary.  The trip concluded with a five day pilgrimage to Lourdes, France site of St. Bernadette’s 18 Marian apparitions in 1858.  The main reason for going was to experience Lourdes, but with Heather getting two weeks off and me being unemployed we figured the chance for a lengthy trip of this nature might not come along again for a very long time.  We splurged on a car rental which in hind-sight was great as it give us the freedom to play the travel game at our leisure.

The trip started with three flights to a medium sized city in Southern France called Toulouse.  From there we traveled by car for about 8 days moving in a counter clockwise circle.  Toulouse, Arzujanzx, St. Jean de Luz, Pamplona, Jacca, Sallent, and Lourdes were the cities and towns that we lodged in.  We spent four nights in Lourdes which was easily the highlight of the trip.  In general we found this part of Europe to be easy to travel (i.e., we have both been before and Heather’s Spanish is pretty good and we can both fake it a bit in French) and if one is careful where you stay and eat affordable.  However, with the current exchange rate heavily favoring the Euro I would not call this a “cheap” trip.  The food seemed especially expensive and we always had a Patisarie/Panaderia breakfest which is about as budget as you can get.  Note: if you don’t stop at a Patisarie everyday in France then I would think you are crazy.  The bread is out of this world and you simply don’t know what a Chocolate Croissant is until you have had one in France.

We spent our anniversary in Lourdes attending 6:30 AM Mass the day of at the Grotto – what a blessing!  Lourdes has to be experienced to be truly understood.  The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes probably encompasses 50 acres or so of land on which reside three Basilicas, numerous smaller churches and chapels, Reconciliation Chapel that supplies abundant priests fluent in roughly ten languages, Baths, Grotto, candle burners, Adoration Chapel, daily evening outdoor Rosary procession, etc.  It was unreal to attend a facility where the Body of Christ was continuously active praising and worshiping God.  While I was there I read ‘Bernadette Speaks’ by René Laurentin which help to fill in the history of Lourdes and St. Bernadette’s life story before, during, and after the apparitions.

Tuesday we leave for Colorado.  Can’t say I am excited for the nine hour haul, but it will be over before we realize it.  Maybe when we get back the weather will warm up for some outdoor climing with my friends Rob and Steven.  I am anxious to assist them on Practice Climb 101 in the send quest.  Also, the Holy Trinity web site project needs more time – a few more months and I am sure it can be wrapped up.

The Holy Trinity website project took a back seat the last few months as a long overdue home firewall wall upgrade has been in progress sucking up all free time that climbing doesn’t already consume.  Another week or so and I hope to have that wrapped up and back working on the website.

Heather’s Mom, Anne, was in town for ThanksGiving and it was great to hang out with her and Heather.  We will most likely be visiting her in Iowa for Christmass.  Gotta run.  Peace and blessings to all.

However, there is trouble in paradise.  Where to begin.  First, the nifty shuttle that for a fee whisks riders from Poncha Springs gas station up to Monarch Pass summit three times daily on weekends at 8 am, 10 pm, and noon.  The current shuttle capacity per time slot is just over 40 riders for a grand total of 130 riders per day.  The day we did the ride all three shuttle time slots where at capacity days in advance.  The shuttle is not inherently evil – it meets a need.  Yet, it lowers the barrier to entry for those who would otherwise skip the ride due to the extra logistics of running their own shuttle.

Second, for reasons already illuminated this is a very popular ride.  Our group estimated conservatively that over 250 people did the ride that day.

Third, short sections of the trail, some up to a half-mile in length, have developed into broad loose challenging ‘v’ shaped runnels.

Fourth, recreational riders with poor equipment and skills abound.  I can’t recall any other time when I saw so many riders in sneakers on jalopies (e.g., one with an unleashed dog to boot).  Lastly, riders of all abilities displayed less then stellar trail etiquette on occasion.

Bottom line don’t bother to do the ride if it’s a weekend and you’re a serious rider with other options.  If you have to cow to the weekend scene I advise the following:

1. Lower your expectations.  No matter the start time, shuttle option, solo or in a group, or how sweet the rider your going to have to share the trail like it or not.
2. Communicate.  Ask other riders if they would like to pass or if you can pass.  Try to do so with a kind heart.  Due to the crowds your not going to be setting any time records, so why not make some friends along the way instead of enemies.
3. Stop to smell the roses.  It’s really easy on this ride to get into head down mode.  Take a few breaks with your group, especially early in the high altitude buffed out trail sections, to enjoy your surroundings.