Day ride to Lake City

Thursday June 5th, 2014

I spent much of the early morning writing travel blogs because I'm so far behind.  Angela offered to make pancakes so I could keep writing.  I had to ask allot of questions to remember everything that we've done.  Getting old sucks, but that's part of why I write these blogs, so I can remember all the good times.  Just a few minutes reading my old blogs and the memories and great feelings flood back.

The plan for today is to ride to Lake City and back.  Nannette surprised us again by saying she wanted to ride part of the way.  But she wanted to ride up onto Wolf Creek Pass with Angela driving the car, then Nan would take the car and drive back to the timeshare.  She wants a down day, and that's ok.
The
So we prepped the bikes and headed North toward Wolf Creek Pass.

Nan and I were listening to songs from my iPhone as we rode and talked.  Nan likes to sing  with the songs and I enjoy listening to her.  But the music kept cutting off.  I could get it to play again but unplugging the cable from the iPhone and plugging it back in.  It would play a few minutes then stop again.  It was driving us crazy.  Finally I gave up and left it off.

The drive up to the Wolf Creek overlook is beautiful and once again, the temperature was great.  It was in the mid 70s and felt great.

I was disappointed when we arrived because it meant this part of the ride was over.  Nan and I got off the bike and stripped off our gear.

Angela parked the Highlander and walked over to us.   The first words out of her mouth were "Your stereo is really messed up.  It kept switching songs for no reason." and suddenly I knew what had been happening to my and Nannette's music.  We'd get close enough to the Highlander for my iPhone to connect to the stereo via Bluetooth, then I'd unplug and plug it in which would break the connection.  We had a good laugh about all of us being frustrated by the same problem in 2 different vehicles.

We took pictures, then Nan got in the car and headed back to Pagosa Springs.

John, Angela, and I kept riding towards South Fork, Creede, and ultimately Lake City.

We stopped for pictures on an old wooden bridge, then stopped for gas and a drink in South Fork.

From South Fork we turned onto a highway that has very little traffic.  We rode beside the Rio Grande river (the same one that eventually gets to Texas/Mexico) and headed towards the headwaters of the river.

About 20 miles from South Fork we arrived at the town of Creede.  Just before we arrived, John suddenly started swerving and slowed way down.  After a few seconds he stopped the bike completely and Angela hopped off quickly.  John started scrabbling at his leg and said he'd been stung by something and it was killing him.  He pulled his pant leg up to reveal a small red dot that was obviously some sort of sting.  We didn't really have anything to put on it except some hand sanitizer.  Within a few minutes the pain reduced greatly and we continued the ride.

We still don't know what it was.  Maybe it was a bumble hit bee that was retaliating for all the bees John and I have hit on these rides.  Ever time we stop, there are masses of black and yellow bodies all over both bikes.  We'll never know.

Usually when I pass through Creede it's as fast as the speed limit allows.  I only stop if I need gas.  But this time John slowed and turned up a street I hadn't ever noticed before.  It turns out that Creede has a downtown that I never knew about.  We passed many restaurants and shops, and allot of motorcycles parked along the streets.  I had no idea that Creede was this popular.

We kept riding all the way through town and eventually we stopped in front of a cave that is also the town's fire station.  Really.  The fire station is inside a cave.  John said he's toured it before and they have the trucks and everything inside.  All we could do was take pictures out front.

We left Creed and continued toward Lake City.

The road meanders through valleys along the Rio Grande for a long way, then abruptly starts climbing away from the river.  We wound through trees and small meadows, always climbing.

We had decided earlier to ride non-stop to Lake City, then catch the scenic turnouts on our way back.  That's usually a euphemism for "we're not going to stop".

Eventually we reached Slumgullion Summit and began descending toward Lake City.  The road wound steeply down and around the side of the mountain.  After about 5 minutes of descent we caught up to a group of 3 Harleys.  They were going very slow, much slower than the road warranted.  John figures the last rider was a very new rider because he held his brakes all the way through every turn and weaved back and forth through the turns.  I just hoped John didn't notice my rather wavery line through my own turns.

We reached a long straight away and zipped past the bikers.  The whole descent took allot longer than I expected.  We kept reaching what looked to be level ground, only to go around a corner and see another long, steep section of road.  Eventually we reached the bottom and Lake City.

We turned off the main road and cruised down a side road trying to decide where to eat.  Eventually we settled on Southern Vittles.  We sat out on the front porch of the restaurant and ate our lunch.  We all picked BBQ of some sort.  John and Angela have had burgers for several days in a row and they've all been disappointing.  These sandwiches were all good.

As we ate, Angela read to us from the history of Alfred Packer, otherwise known as the canibal of Lake City.  Apparently he accidentally ate his 5 companions during a mid winter trip long ago.  There is a hotel in town almost entirely dedicated to him.  After lunch, Angela walked over to the museum, but it was closed.

We finished lunch and started our ride back toward Pagosa Springs.  About half way back up the mountain we did pull over and ride up Windy Point Overlook.  There was a beautiful view so I took a couple of pictures.

We chatted with a few other people who had stopped.  One guy was on an old 90's Travel Glide Harley.  He was on a day ride from Montrose Colorado and was just about to start his return journey.

Back on the road, we passed several other scenic turnouts.  John swerved into a couple but only slowed for a quick look and continued on.  I stopped for a few quick pictures, then followed on.

The ride back was pretty but not much different than the ride out.  We reached the timeshare by about 5:30.

Nannette had bought a few things for us to cook for dinner.  I cooked teriyaki chicken, rice, and vegetables.  We ate and talked about what was going to happen tomorrow.

John and Angel decided that they needed to head for home.  John's dad and son need him for some things on Saturday, so they were going to leave early.  We played Apples to Apples until we were all starting to yawn.


Posing on the Wolf Creek Pass Overlook


Stopped on a bridge for pictures


John's pretty Road Glide


My Goldwing


The road to Creede


John's drive by bug bite


Creede Fire Department


Descending into Lake City


Beautiful views


Windy Pointe


More petty views


Rio Grande river

2014 June 4 - Pagosa Springs - Day 4 of 8 - Day Ride to Silverton

Wednesday June 4, 2014

I slept in this morning.  It was nearly 7 before I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep.

This morning's plan for breakfast was crepes, so I started getting things ready.  I didn't have butter, milk, or a good pan to cook them in.  But it seemed to work out eventually.   When cooking crepes, I'm always looking for that sear pattern that looks like lace when I flip them.  It's a tricky combination of batter thickness, pan temperature, and a good pan.  It usually takes me 4 or 5 tries before it starts to work right.  I'm always disappointed in those first few "ruined" crepes, but funny enough, no one ever hesitates to eat them so maybe I'm just being fussy.

We still had a  lot of black berries and raspberries left from the wedding to fill the crepes, but,  we needed whipped cream so John and Angela ran to the store for some.  Nan also wanted peanut butter and jelly to fill hers so they got that too.

I cooked the crepes while they were gone, so that by the time they were back, we actually had the table set and we sat to eat a meal like civilized people around a table.  It was nice because no one was in a rush today and we ate till everyone was finished before clearing and cleaning up.

The Gaggle is headed toward Mesa Verde today, then home tomorrow.  So we said our goodbyes to them, then set about getting ready for our own day trip.

Today's plan was to ride to Durango, then turn North on the Million Dollar Highway stopping in Silverton, then Ouray for lunch.  Nannette wasn't riding with me this time, she would be driving her Toyota Highlander.

It started out well with a nice drive to Durango where we stopped for gas, a drink, and a stretch.  The owner of the gas station we stopped at was very chatty.  John and Angela kind of ignored him and walked outside, but Nan is way too nice and actually engaged with him.  When she walked outside, he followed and kept talking for 15 minutes while we all tried to get on our bikes and leave.  Nan finally just got in the car, closed the door and drove off.  He didn't seem to be offended in the least and just kept talking to us as we started the bikes and followed.

I've ridden the Million Dollar Highway many times but it's always a thrill and never fails to awe me.  This was an especially good ride with clear skies, cool but not cold, and nearly empty roads.  We stopped at the first pass to take pictures and maybe a bio break, but the bathrooms were still closed for the season, so we just took pictures and motored on.

The next pass was likewise closed for the season.  While we were taking pictures we chatted about how empty the roads were and how nice but odd it was.  I expected to see streams of motorcycles riding the highway but we only saw a very few bikes.  We finished taking pictures and as we left the parking lot, there was an electronic highway sign that said the road was closed North of Silverton.  That would explain why the roads were empty.

We parked in Silverton and started looking for someplace to eat.  We wound up in some "1912" restaurant right by the train.  The train was sitting there as we parked the bikes, but when I got all my gear tucked away and turned around, the train was gone.  I'd heard the bell clanging, but I hadn't heard anything else.  It was kind of spooky that the train left so quietly.

Lunch was just ok.  I think the restaurant was so close to the train that it was more about speed and convenience than making good food.

After lunch we walked around town for a bit.  Nan found a nice bracelet and some earrings.  John got a T-shirt from the Harley shop.  Angela just got a headache.

Over lunch we had double checked the road condition.  It turns out there was a major rock fall on the highway in January, and it was still very dangerous to drive, so they only open the road for a few hours a day.  We were out of luck getting to Ouray.

By the time we were ready to head home, Angela's headache has gotten worse despite a few Advil, so she opted to ride in the Highlander with Nan rather than riding with John.

In most of our riding together, John and I have the tendency to ride harder when headed home than we did on the way out. Faster speeds with fewer stop, and today was no different.  We zipped back toward Durango much quicker than when we came out.

As we got to Durango, Nannette and Angela decided they were going to visit the local Ute tribe cultural center for a while.  Neither John nor I cared to go with them, so we waved goodbye and twisted the throttle even more as we headed to the timeshare.

For my fourth time and John's fifth, we traveled the road between Durango and Pagosa.  Its a well paved road through some beautiful hills, but it's also crowded with cars, and because of all the traffic, I don't much enjoy riding on it.

Back at the timeshare, I started uploading pictures and working on the blog.  John did more realtor work, and we waited for the wives to get tired of native american hospitality.

When they called to say they were on their way back, we agreed to meet them at Boss Hogs restaurant.  The food was ok but a little expensive.  My mussles were very good, but about half failed to open so the waitress took them off the bill.

After dinner we played games till 10:00.  It was a very relaxing evening.

Stopped for a pictures and a nap


Coal Bank Pass


Molas Pass


Silverton


Silvereton

2014 June 3 - Pagosa Springs - Day 3 of 8 - Day ride to Chama

Tuesday June 3rd, 2014

I woke up at 6:30.  We have 7 people in the timeshare and I knew that if I wanted a shower, I'd have to be early and quick.  Plus I knew that if I got my shower done, my wife's sisters could use the shower in our room rather than making everyone use the common shower.

Last night, when I asked what everyone wanted for breakfast, no one really had any suggestions.  So I started throwing out options till the idea of pancakes was accepted.  This morning I ran to the store for a few ingredients (all of them) including mix, butter, syrup, sugar free syrup, and a few other necessities.

Cooking the pancakes was quick, so I fed everyone as they emerged from showering and soon everyone was fed and ready for the day.

Nina, Nola, and Raenie were headed for Durango this morning.  Nina and Nola are Nannette's sisters, and Raenie is Nola's grand daughter.  I've taken to calling them "The Gaggle" because they're always moving and making noise.  The Gaggle are driving to Durango, then taking a bus from Durango up to Silverton, then riding the train back to Durango.  Doing a full round trip between Durango and Silverton is just too long, so bussing half way is allot better.

John, Angela, Nannette, and I were planning a ride over to Chama New Mexico, then over to Taos.  Pobably not all the way to Taos because the last 30 miles is miserable, and Taos isn't actually that pretty or fun.  So we plan to ride till the trees start to run out, then turn around and come back.

On these motorcycle trips, Nan has always followed along in a car rather than riding behind me on the bike.  She says she feels so out of control sitting behind me like that, and I always have to remind her that she's not supposed to be in control in a car's passenger seat either.  She just doesn't enjoy the feeling of riding a motorcycle and that's OK with me.  These trips are meant to be enjoyed, not tolerated.

So this morning, when Nan announced that she'd brought my spare motorcycle helmet and was willing (wanted might be a strong word) to ride behind me to Chama,  we were all dumbfounded.  I asked her several times if she was sure and she said yes.  Holy Smokes, she must really love me.

We got the bikes prepped and headed out to gas up the bikes, then through town to the Chama road.

Nan and I chatted as we rode along.  We have CB radios on all the bikes and in Nan's car, so we often chat, but chatting over the bike's intercom is allot more fun.  Nan was singing along with the music and I was taking extra care to avoid bunps in the road.

The morning was about as perfect as you can get.  Clear skies, about 70 degrees, no wind, and just a great feel to the air.  I hope she was enjoying it.  She said she was, but like I said, she loves me enough to lie to me to make me feel good.

We stopped on the New Mexico / Colorado border for pictures and to stretch our legs.  Nan was still doing good and willing to keep going, so after a good rest, we mounted up and continued the ride.

After about an hour of riding, we reached Chama.  I'd planned to at least take a break here, but Nan said she was reaching her half way point.  We all talked a bit and agreed that we should eat lunch here, then we'd figure out what to do next.

We rode through town and picked a little cafe for lunch near the North end of town.  There were some Harleys pulled up out front, so we figued that was a good sign.  We were a bit disappointed in the food, but the conversation and company was top notch.

After lunch, Nan said she was tired.  She said it would be ok for us to ride on toward Taos and she'd wait for us in Chama, but we all agreed to head back.  I did ask Nan if she'd mind a short ride North out of town up the Cumbre Pass and she said sure.  So we rode up a beautiful little valley with a gently winding road to the top of the pass.  We turned around, then stopped half way down to take more pictures.

The wind was blowing just a bit, and the temperature had dropped to the point of being just a bit chilly.  The road isn't heavily traveled, so it was very quiet.  A small farm house sat in the middle of the valley and we talked about what it would be like living in seclusion like that.  I don't think I could do it, I need to be around people, even if I don't always like being around people.

We mounted up again and headed back towards Pagosa Springs.  This was where I made my biggest mistake.  We turned the bikes North West and twisted the throttle, thinking that getting Nan back soon would be the best thing, but we should have continued taking the breaks every 20 minutes or so.  The hour long, non-stop, ride to Pagosa left Nan with a bad headache.

We got back by 4:00 and Nan took a nap while I went to get groceries to fix dinner.

Nan brought some of the pulled pork that was left over from the Wedding Reception.  I bought corn on the cob, rolls, butter, and salad.  Actually, I forgot the salad and Nan had to run back with me to get it.

We had it all ready by 6:30 when the Gaggle returned from Durango.  They had a great trip and loved riding the train.

We all sat down to dinner and shared our stories of the day.

After dinner, Nan and her sisters went to the hot springs in Pagosa.  The resort sells discount tickets to the springs for about $21.

The rest of the evening was peaceful.  Raenie and I watched some chick flic movie and talked about her high school graduation and her plans for the future.

I went to sleep about 10 while Nan and the Gaggle talked and enjoyed their last night together.


Ready for our ride


Riding toward Chama.  That's Nan on the back of my bike


More proof that Nan was on the bike


Some real beauties


Colorful Colorado


Riding toward Chama


Stopped on Cumbres Pass above Chama


Posing on Cumbres Pass


Chama New Mexico


Headed back to Pagosa


Cumbres Pass with the Cumbres Toltec railroad tracks

2014 June 1 - Pagosa Springs - Day 1 of 8 - A Week of Relaxation after 3 months of stress

Sunday Morning, June 1 2014

Wildflowers in fields

Long before Kadi's wedding, Nannette and I had scheduled a motorcycle vacation to Pagosa Springs with friends.  The trip was to start June 1st, the day after the wedding.  The money for the vacation was already spent, so we figured we'd just do the wedding and hope for the best, and the best is what we got.  The wedding went great and now it was time for some stress relief.

I woke up at 5:30 and started thinking about maybe packing for the 7 day vacation I was stating today. But as soon a I got dressed, I heard people moving around the house. We still had a house full of people from the wedding plus my mother in a nearby hotel and they'd all be wanting breakfast. So I hurried down stairs and started getting things ready.

I decided that crepes would be the easiest thing to feed a large household, so I prepped the batter.  I think crepes work better if you can let the batter rest for a bit before cooking.

About that time I heard my grand daughter Jessie start to cry. She slept in our room last night when all the "younger" crowd went to the movies.

I got Jessie up, changed her, and gave her some cereal to eat.  We started watching a movie and did a little more pepping for breakfast. At 7:30 my daughter Klair came up to take Jessie so I could drive to pick up my mother from the hotel she's been staying. She's probably the only sane relative left because she had that time away from all the wedding chaos.

Once we got back, I began cooking the crepes and bacon. Koren and her kids showed up and took over the bacon, Klair cut the fruit, and soon everyone was happily stuffing their faces with fruit and whipped cream stuffed crepes. It was fun to laugh and talk with everyone around the kitchen table.  Allot of stories were told about little mishaps and coverups from the wedding, but I won't share those here.

At 9:30 Kadi called to ask what was for breakfast.  They both have work this week, so they put the honeymoon off for a few weeks.  They can't move into their apartment for another week either, so they have to stay with us, or more correctly, they have to stay with Kyle, Klair, Sean, and Sydnee, because Nan and I will be on vacation.

All of the crepes were gone so I started another batch and we cooked more bacon.  We probably should have waited till they arrived because all the extra food was nearly gone by the time they got there.  I'm not sure how much they actually got to eat.

After the food was done I finally got serious about packing for my trip.  I threw together a few things, my cameras, chargers, cpap machine, laptop, and a few other odds and ends.  Nan is staying for the day to help everyone get home, but I had to meet our friends and check into the timeshare.

I kissed my mother goodbye, hopped on the bike, and headed South down the freeway.

Normally I'd avoid the freeway, to ride on back roads, but not today.  It was nearly 11:00 by the time I left, and I had over 5 hours to go, so freeways it is.

Freeway riding isn't very fun so there's nothing to report.  I grabbed lunch at taco bell in Walsenburg, then tuned East for the 200 mile ride on highway 160 to Pagosa Springs.  I expected the weather to really heat up.  Let me say that to us Coloradans, 90 is hot, and I don't like riding when it's that hot.  John and Angela were riding in 110 degrees, so I should count my blessings, but I'm not gonna.

By 4:00 I was descending Wolf Creek Pass and nearly there.  I stopped at my favorite overlook for a break from the riding.  I admired the view for a few minutes, then hopped back on the bike for the final 30 miles.

I checked us into the timeshare, met John and Angela, moved our stuff into the room, then headed off to find some dinner.

By 9:30 we were back at the timeshare and I was ready for sleep.



Monday June 2nd

The day started at 5:30 when I just couldn't sleep anymore.  I showered, then quietly went out to the living room hoping not to disturb John and Angela, but John was already awake and browsing on his iPad.

I prepped veggies and ham for omelettes, then went out to get a few pictures of the spectacular morning we were having.

By 9:00 we were loading up the bike for a ride to Telluride.  Because Nan isn't here yet, we figured we'd do the longest, hardest ride we could think of, and Telluride is it.  The road between Pagosa Springs and Durango had allot of traffic and construction.  We stopped several times to wait our turn on one lane roads as the temperatures slowly rose from 72 to 85.  Did I mention I'm a heat wimp and don't like the temperature to get up near 90?

We stopped in Durango for gas and to stretch our legs a bit.  It was about this time that John got his first work call.  He's a realtor and one of his house deals was having issues.  He spent 30 minutes texting and calling, trying to get the full scoop on what was going on and get his client to understand the issues as well.  Finally he said there was nothing more he could do and we continued the ride.

In Mancos, 30 miles West of Durango, we turned North off the highway towards Dolores where we picked up the highway to Telluride.  Then we stopped in the town of Rico for a drink, a rest, and for John to spend another 30 minutes on the phone.  We did take some picture of the yellow wildflowers (probably weeds) out behind the store.  The roads around here are all lined with these pretty yellow flowers.

Farther along the road we came to Lizard Head Pass.  Both John and I have stopped here many times, but today we just blew past because it is such a long ride and we're trying to minimize the stops.

The road is fun to ride, and the mountains around us are majestic and stunning.  There is still allot of snow on the high peaks, but the snow is starting to get that dirty look as the upper layers melt and the bits of dust and dirt accumulate and turn it all brown.  But it's still beautiful.

As we rode the final mile into Telluride, John came over the CB and announced that he had to turn around for a picture.  I'm an OK rider, but John is an expert.  He whipped his bike right around in the width of the road, but I took the road, and someone's driveway to get turned.  Back up the road a few hundred yards was a pullout next to a HUGE field of wild flowers.  We whipped around and parked the bikes for some pictures.  Several other cars and one big truck also stopped.  The truck half blocked the highway and started to cause a big backup right by us before he finally figured out what he was doing and left.  It was scary a couple times as cars raced down to road and only at the last second realized there wasn't room to pass him without going into the other lane.  Idiot.

After we got our pictures (safely), we continued into Telluride.  We cruised the main street a couple times looking for restaurants and parking.  Its hard to pick out restaurants because they all have odd names and very little real signage.  We eventually settled on Brown Dog Pizza for lunch.

After lunch we walked over to the Gondola for a free ride to the top of the mountain.  There were pretty views from the top.

The ride home was much like the ride out, but even fewer stops.

Nannette's sisters, Nola and Nina were coming to stay a couple nights in the timeshare with us, and I had to text them directions.  We left a room card hidden nearby and they managed to find the place and get in without trouble.

Nannette was also driving down to meet us today.  She took quite a few detours and made the day very fun for herself.

No one else was hungry, so John, Angela, and I left again to get chinese food (and to avoid hauling all the stuff Nan brought up to the room).

We played a few games of ImagineIf, then went to sleep exhausted but happy.

Our Timeshare in Pagosa Springs. An Eagles Loft

Taking a break in Durango

The road to Telluride

Wildflowers in Rico

More Wildflowers in Rico

Gas station in Rico

John and Angela riding beside the river

Riding to the Mountains

A field of Wildflowers by Telluride

More Wildflowers

Riding the gondola

Parking in Telluride

90 days of prep, 10 hours of frantic happyness

Kadi and David Stoffey

My youngest daughter is married. It's over, done, and the world is right once again.

When my daughter's boyfriend phoned me 3 months ago and said he'd like to take me to lunch, I had a strong inkling of what was coming.

We met at a local Mexican restaurant that I enjoy, and he told me how much he's come to love my daughter, and that he'd like to spend the rest of eternity with her. I pointed out some of her bigger flaws and he said he was aware of them and loved her all the more for them.

I pointed out that they haven't known each other all that long and I wish they'd take more time to just date and get to know each other better, but he said they were very much in love and they were sure they could make it work.

After a long talk and a great meal, I eventually gave my blessing.........and the madness began.

The first question was a date. Both Kadi and David are in school. They both have jobs (or multiple jobs in David's case). Family schedules have to be considered, weather, locations, etc.

Eventually they settled on Saturday, May 31st.

Location was the next issue. David loves the outdoors, hiking, biking, walking. And especially mountains. He's climbed many of the 14,000 foot mountains here in Colorado. We considered several parks around the area and eventually settled on the scenic overlook of Palmer Park right in the middle of Colorado Springs (more on that later, obviously).

David is also very political and while picking out dates, I had jokingly suggested July 4th with Red, White, and Blue as the colors. The date didn't stick, but the patriotic colors did, but they warped them into a 50s theme with polka dots.

The hunt for dresses began and thankfully I wasn't drug to 50 places, but my loving wife was. I don't know all the details, but eventually a compromise was made between form, function, finance, frillery, filligre, flamboyance, fixups, and flipouts. I love the final results.

About 45 days before the wedding, David contracted an illness while travelling for his job. He became very ill and several organs began to shutdown. It left us all very concerned and praying for his health. Kadi spent most of every day with him. Allot of thought was given to pushing the wedding off till the end of summer, but he recovered and plans proceeded.

I lost track of how many things were ordered from Amazon and Ebay, but my Amazon Prime more than paid for itself in toule orders alone. Just how much lace does it take to get married???

Before we knew it, the wedding date was just days away. My mother was the first to arrive on the Wednesday before. She was the smart one and stayed in a nearby hotel where she could actually rest and avoid some of the crazyness. Then Nannette's sisters and a niece, then her mother.

Nan's sisters were especially helpful. They cooked food for the reception, put all that toule to good work decorating boxes, books, cups, center pieces, chairs, tables, and dresses. Most nights I went to sleep around 10 and those ladies stayed up laughing and hot gluing the world together.

We've been having heavy rains most afternoons, so the idea of rehearsing the wedding out at the park wasn't going to happen. Instead we decided to meet at the church where the reception was to be held, rehearse, and have a nice informal dinner together. The best punchline for the rehearsal dinner was given by Kadi's niece Sydnee, she said "I already know how to eat, why do I need to rehearse it?"

The decorations had a few snags between mis-understood agreements with the decorators and late deliveries, but in the end, it was a very beautiful setting.

The morning of the wedding I woke up at 5:00. I thought I was up pretty early, but just minutes after I got out of the shower, the first bride's maid knocked on the door. The final push had begun.

As people arrived or awoke, they were thrust into the assembly line of hair drying, plucking, gluing, and frufru'ing. The pancake makeup alone could keep Max Factor in business for a year.

I cooked eggs for breakfast, prepared the pulled pork for the reception, and loaded stuff in the car. Other than that, I tried to stay out of the way and not get myself shellacked to chairs.

By 9:00 most people were ready to go, except for the bride. She'd been busy doing everyone else's hair and she still had a few things left including strapping her into the wedding dress. The only room big enough for her, the entourage, and the dress was our living room. All the men promised to sit in the family room and stare straight ahead while she dressed, but of course my grandson Beckham kept trying to get up and run to look in the room he was told he couldn't look in.

By 9:35 we were ready to go. As carload after carload left, I kept wondering who was going to drive Kadi to the park. It wasn't till the very end that I realized I was taking her.

We drove to the park which is 20 minutes away, then met up with a bunch of others to carpool to the top. All of the parking was taken by the time we got to the top but since most of the cars were ours, I just parked behind a few cars and hoped for the best.

Kadi didn't want to be seen by the groom yet, so she waited in the car while we all got things ready.

There is a 100 yard walkway leading down to the overlook, so it wasn't quick to run back and forth between the group of bride's maids and the other wedding party getting things coordinated, but finally the cameras were all ready, the music was ready, and the bride was.... still sitting in a parked car 30 yards away.

Nola (Nan's sister) got her out and over near the beginning of the walkway. Then the bride's maids formed a scrum line to block any view of her from the groom and they walked most of the way down the path.

Let me pause to set the stage here. This is a public park that is very busy with health conscious hikers, bikers, joggers, and runners. And this is one of the most scenic spots in the city so there are also tourists by the droves coming up. You can't "reserve" the overlook for exclusive use, you just have to respect other people and hope they respect you. And that's what had us so nervous. We had no idea how the other people in the park would react to our dominating this area for 30 minutes. Already we had seen a large group of mountain bikers come up, then sit and joke loudly about their ride and where to go next. But they weren't rude to us, so we hoped it would stay that way.

So now we're set. Groom and his men lined up along a low block wall with Pike's Peak behind them. The Bishop in the middle ready to perform the wedding. About 30 people spread around the area ready for the wedding. 10 strangers meandering around but being very courteous. Bride and her maids 30 yards up the trail looking like a football huddle waiting for the ref to blow the whistle and start the music. Nan's sisters along the walkway ready to coordinate it all.

Finally Nola raised her hand and the music started, but we couldn't hear it so everyone starts waving and signalling to come. Kadi's nephew Beckham lead the way. Early in the planning he'd been told he would be the ring bearer, but he said that "No! I'll be the RING MASTER!!"

Beckham lead the procession just perfect. He didn't run, he didn't wave his arms, he was just a perfect little gentleman walking dignified right toward the video camera till someone waved him off to stand with the groomsmen.

The Brides maids followed Beckham toward the groom, then they all lined up along the block wall. The sky was a perfect blue with some scattered clouds and a gentle breeze cooling everything off. With the mountain range and Pike's Peak behind them all, it was about as idealic as you could imagine.

The wedding itself was fairly short. About 5 minutes of advice from the Bishop, and 3 minutes for the ceremony itself. All of the bystanders were courteous and quiet throughout the whole thing and several made comments about how beautiful it all looked.

After the wedding, we quickly staged pictures with the various groups both with and without the bride/groom. We were packed up and back out of the park before 11:00.

Back at the church we met up and finished the last of the decorating just in time for the first guests to arrive at noon for the reception.

The reception line was just the Bride and groom, and the parents. We greeted about a hundred people for 40 minutes and as they left the line, people would get food and sit at the tables chatting.

The reception was a full sitdown meal including pulled pork sandwiches, macaroni salad, fresh fruit salad, cupcakes, cookies, rootbeer in brown bottles, Coke in the classic bottles, and various other sodas and water. Judging by how many bottles were left on the tables, the Rootbeer and Coke were big hits. And judging by how little pork and macaroni was left, that was a hit too.

There was a "photo booth" setup in the entryway for people to take pictures, including some funny hats, scarves, signs and other props.

The background music was all 50s songs. There was a first dance by the bride and groom, and the cake cutting. But there was so much laughing and talking going on that we let most of the other traditional wedding festivities pass.

By 2:00 the reception was winding down. We met out front of the church, but instead of throwing rice, Nannette had bought small vials of bubbles, so we filled the air with floating bubbles for the bride and groom to walk through.

As we began cleaning up, the "Mormon Miracle" happened as usual. The sound of that first chair snapping closed is like a signal, and all of the men instantly start folding chairs and tables. Within 10 minutes the room was clear of furniture. The food and decorations took a bit longer, but by 3:00 we were closing the doors and heading home.

The marriage has had a great start. I hope it continues with as much success, but maybe a little less chaos.

Bridal Shower

 

Kadi

The Wedding Party

The Ring Master (Beckham), his mom Koren and his sister Sydnee

The Ring Master

The Bride's Family

The Reception Line

A stencil on the dance floor

The reception tables

The ambient lighting

First Dance

The Groom and his Mother

Kadi and her Grandmother dancing

The bride's grandmothers

Cutting the cake

Sharing the cake (no cake crammed in either mouth)

Nina, Nannette, and Nola with a photo bomb by Peri

A bubble sendoff for the bride and groom