The day after the ribbon cutting ceremony, I took it a bit easy in the morning. I had plans to help out that afternoon/evening with an ASC board member retreat at the President of the Board's house. Please note that the President's house is stunning; it puts all other houses to shame. It's located up in the hills near a road called Jack's Cabin. The road is about 15 minutes out of town, between Almont and CB, and then about five miles up into the hills. The hills, mind you, are completely covered in wildflowers right now. The views of the valley are spectacular! I arrive at the house and am greeted by a joyful man named Ron; he's the housekeeper. He shows me the layout of the kitchen, diningroom, and garden/patio while the Board finishes its meeting...and I am blown away. I am not joking when I say that the patio has more than three tiers, each with its own purpose. I saw a sun porch with lawn chairs, a fire pit, a teepee for campouts, and the arbor complete with grill, wood-burning pizza oven, mini bar, and dining set. It's just too awesome for words. And it all looks out over the valley, of course.
Soon the members are filing out of their meeting and Sara, Rob, and I are ready at the arbor with happy hour drinks and snacks. Then it's off to the kitchen to bring down the lasagna. These lasagnas, there were three, weighed like five pounds each! Mmmmm, deep dish. :) We also laid out salad, garlic bread, fruit, and desserts. Everyone came by to get a slice and then lounged around the patio(s) as the sun began to set. The helpers were invited to eat as well (YES!). It was a very nice evening. After we cleaned everything up and loaded the coolers into the van, it was time to go home. Sara gave me a coffee giftcard and a thank you note, and Ron threw in a bottle of wine. Nice gig, eh? More like nice people. <3
Afterward I drove back to Mt. CB to meet Hannah, Richard, Allison, Kirk, and Kate at the Brown Lab bar patio. We eavesdropped on a concert (the Sam Bush Band) that was happening at the conclusion of the CB Bluegrass Festival. It was $60 to get in even just for the last act....no thanks, we'll just stand on a nearby patio and listen. :) We chatted a bit and watched people dance, but all too soon it was time for my friends to catch the bus back down the mountain. I called it a night after that. Good, calm day.
Sunday the 7th started as usual with the Farmer's Market. I bought more dried cherries, red and green lettuce, a loaf of wheat bread, a orange poppyseed tea loaf, and a bunch of flowers. It's so nice to have this market...I get to support so many independent people and it feels so positive.
Dad called me that morning to see if I wanted to meet him and his friend, Don Hughes, for lunch at -you guessed it- Pitas in Paradise. It's his favorite place by far. After lunch we drove up Kebler Pass to Lost Lake Campgrounds. I hadn't been all the way back into Kebler since my arrival (surely it has something to do with missing Steve and all of the memories we have in Kebler Pass), but it was so nice to see my favorite place again. For those who haven't seen it yet, it starts with a steep valley lined with pines and wildflowers, but then without warning it turns into a dense aspen forrest. It's in the aspens that Steve and I got engaged; he knows me very well to have picked this place. <3
Dad, Don, Dillon (the dog), and I hiked up the Lost Lake trail, stopping to fish at Lost Lake and Dollar Lake for about 30 minutes each. No one caught anything at Dollar Lake, but Don caught four small-ish trout at Lost Lake (Go, Don!). The hike takes you up to Anthracite Falls; a stunning treasure. Lucky for us it's almost completely shaded by pines, but the altitude changes will still slow down someone who isn't accustomed to the thin air. Our hike lasted about five hours including driving time, and by the end I was ready for dinner. I drove back to CB and met Sara from ASC at the Sherpa Cafe (my first visit). It was surprisingly good. Betty, another ASC employee, met up with us as we were finishing our meal. We chatted for a bit and decided to go get ice cream from Third Bowl...sadly the place had SOLD OUT of everything and closed early. Betty was super disappointed. :( She rode off to Clark's MArket to buy herself a pint of something else while Sara and I ambled over to the Lobar. My friend Sunny texted me earlier in the day to say she'd be having her first bar tending shift that night at Lobar and to drop by if I had time. I got myself a watermelon mojito (tasty treat!) and gave Sunny my stamp of approval. :) Then it was definitely time to hit the hay.
Monday meant one important thing: Alli Fischer is flying into Grand Junction and I get to go pick her up! I cleaned and did laundry before hauling it out of town. I took the same route as I had to Montrose (where I got my tire fixed earlier in the trip), and then continued on highway 50 to Grand Junction. Unfortunately, her flight out of Dallas was delayed two hours due to dogs...that's right: dogs. Apparently there were too many on the plane, so they were halted on the tarmac for hours. I would not have wanted to be one of those dog owners, that's for certain! While in GJ I dropped by a grocery store for some road snacks...I figured Alli didn't want to stop at Butch's Cafe which advertises: "HUNTERS WELCOME! We Have Cakes!" Sorry, what??? The whole thing is too much for me; I just have to laugh at it. :) So, snacks in hand, I picked up Alli around 5:45; it was SO GREAT seeing my friend. The three hour drive back to CB passed quickly with a friend's company, but sadly when we arrived in CB it was too dark to see much of the scenery. We decided to eat at the Ginger Cafe, and walked up and down Elk Avenue for a bit before heading to the condo. We turned in a bit late with the promise of a hike the next morning. :)
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