Ain't no party like a Crested Butte party

Sorry it's been a while since I caught up with the blog...here goes!

Sunday:  Day two of the Bridges of the Butte ride was awesome!  Several people rode all night with only a few short breaks.  Many of my ASC peers rode with only a three hour break for some sleep and food.  Dedication!  I started course marshaling at 7:00am.  When I got to my corner at second and Elk (the main street in town) the sun was just starting to peek over Mt Crested Butte, and the smell of breakfast was wafting through through the streets.  There were about 20 riders still going around the course when I arrived, but as time went on more and more people came back to the race.  My shift went from 7:00 to 11:00, and luckily the Farmer's Market set up around 9:00 at my corner.  The Market blocked off a lot of the traffic, so my job became keeping pedestrians aware of the oncoming bikers as they crossed the street.

Once my shift was over I visited the Market.  I ate a crepe with strawberries and nutella, and I bought a fresh loaf of bread, truffle lemon honeyed goat cheese, a new bunch of flowers, some spinach, two zucchini squash, and a cinnamon roll.  Delicious goodies!  While walking around, Dad called and asked me to meet him at Pitas in Paradise for lunch.  Dillon was in the car next to our table outside; she's so cute with her perked up ears!  Dad told me about how excited he's getting for his fishing/rafting trip on Tuesday.  Catch a big one, dad!

I dropped off my market finds at my condo, took a quick shower, and then rode my mountain bike down the mountain for the first time.  It's a little bit of a white-knuckle ride, but really fun for all that. :)  I met the ASC peeps at the Bridges after party hosted byt the restaurant Ryce.  Prizes were awarded, and the winner for most miles was announced.  The winner rode 120 laps around the course, which equals  something crazy like 300 miles.  Amazing!  Following the after party, the ASC team partied at  Brick Oven Pizza, more commonly known as "the brick".  We sat, through rain and shine, on their patio for quite some time.  Believe it or not, the interns decided to keep the after-after party going at Kochevar's (another bar)...the more wise and mature crowd (including me) went home to sleep. ;)

Actually, I caught up on my latest tv obsession, The Killing, before finally hitting the hay.  Steve will attest to the fact that I was practically asleep while watching it, though. (Must...stay....awake.....for......tv........show!) :)

Monday:  Monday began with sleeping in and some chores.  I mailed off some letters, I did a huge amount of laundry, and I bought a few groceries.  NBD.   Then I did some cooking for the week.  EXCITING NEWS!  I made the lavender linguini that I picked up at the Denver Farmer's Market with chicken marinaded in soy sauce, olive oil, and lemon juice with thyme and lavender.    It was so yummy! And I have enough to last me about a week.  Hooray! :D Additional perk: I Skyped with Steve while I was cooking, and got to see the furry family members lounging around the house.  Miss my loves!

Mondays mean Alpenglow, an outdoor concert on the outdoor stage at the Center for the Arts building.   While that goes on, my Ultimate Frisbee friends and I are throwing frisbees in the school's soccer field a short distance away.  It's a perfect environment.  I wish you all could see the sunset cast its light on the surrounding mountains while we play and listen to live music.  That day there was even a golden eagle flying overhead.  I can't get enough of this place! <3

Monday night ended with an ASC staff/instructor gathering at Kochevar's bar.  Once I arrived I bumped into Susan and Raynor, the couple who own a gallery in town.  I bought one of Raynor's photographs of Paradise Divide (where Steve and I camped the year we got engaged) when I went on the Art Walk around town.  I chatted with the sweet couple for a bit while I waited for the ASC peeps to show up.  When they did some people played pool and the rest of us sat at tables and chatted.  I have plans to go see a movie with Hannah Sarah, and Betty on Saturday; those three ladies have been a great support/friend system while I've been here. :)  We talked about meeting at a benefit ball for the CB museum tomorrow night.  More fun plans. yay!

Tuesday:  Today I went to the ASC office up on the mountain (I rode my bike there!).  I learned a lot about their computer systems and filing systems from Betty and Brooke.  I helped for several hours with various jobs and left around 2:30.  Afterward I met Sunny in town at J.C. Leacock's gallery to chat for a bit in the sun.  She and I discussed attending the Black and White Benefit Ball for the Crested Butte History Museum.  It's an annual even that gives funds to the museum; apparently it's an essential event to keep it going.  I decided to meet her there after a trip to Gunnison for a few essentials.

My trip to Gunni didn't take long, and when I got back I picked up a long black dress for the benefit ball.  Unfortunately, when I got there nobody I'd agreed to meet was there. :(  I waited around for about an hour listening to a mediocre band play some tunes and eating finger food, and then decided I was done with the benefit.  I walked to Lil's Land and Sea to eat some sushi and drink some tea.  Sunny came to meet me at Lil's for some tea, and then we went on to meet her friend, Eli.  We walked to the Last Steep bar together and sat on their patio to drink, you guessed it, more tea. :)  The waiter was really cool about it, and we tipped him very well. :)  We stayed up pretty late chatting about traveling, living in CB, opening a shop in CB to fill the pie/bubble tea/organic juicing/kolache niche that is desperately needing to be filled in town, and traveling to a peach orchard soon so we can bake cobbler. :)  It was getting late so we parted ways, looking forward to the dream of pie and cobbler in our near future.   I <3 this town and its people!