red dirt and sunshine

"Adventure starts when things go wrong" said Andy fortuitously as five of us loaded up the Ram with bikes, ropes, and gluten-free chocolate sea salt cookies. Hearts set on having a good time, we knew the weekend wouldn't disappoint. It didn't. Although it was not the most convenient location, we rented a lovely adobe style home outside of moab and pack it 9 adults, 2 tots and one griffindor. We rode slick rock, bouldered at Big Bend, cliff jumped, celebrated T-Bake's Birthday, road the full enchilada, and watched the desert sunset. Surrounded by friends we adore and the amazing scenery of Moab, whats not to love.

As for the " when things go wrong" part, as a total group we had 4 flat tires, one tacoed rear wheel (with a trail side fix), one broken derailleur hanger (bike turned single speed), one broken pedal, and a temperamental rear brake. Numerous crashes - with Jake winning the hardest fall award for his high speed collison with the rocky trail on Porcupine Rim.

Despite the tribulations, and the sore bodies Monday morning, we had a fantastic Moab weekend.


Slick Rock -

Our Crew

my handsome husband

Mel Jen and I

the last big climb!

Bouldering:

Andy D

Me

Cliff Jumpin'

The Colorado River

Jake

Mark

Freezing cold Boys

The Full Enchilada -

We started on the other side of those mountains. no joke.

approaching tree line in the La Sal's

tired hands after 36 miles, 1000 feet of up and 6000 feet of down.

The "we survived" beer.

Melissa Eggert is Awesome

On an early morning run through maloit Park Mel said, "I can't believe you guys live here, its like living in a national park". Melissa is blessed with the ability to capture images that also capture the essence of a place. Check out Melissa's photos of our casa.


Ps: Meet Melissa and Andy
Andy is our newest addition to the Del Boca Vista Family.

Highlights from a road trip with Nana

A taste of our adventures.
Nana and I explored Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and North West Wyoming.
Highlights:

• sleeping in a tent almost every night with the dogs
  
• cooking every meal at camp
  
• experiencing an awesome storm in the Tetons
• coming face to face (through the car window) with a bison
• meeting wonderful camp hosts and tow truck drivers
• exploring the beauty of our national parks!

Kobe's boo-boo

Kobe took off across the road at full Sprint, in hot.pursuit of the coyote that had just slipped into the bushes.  Blinded by his determination to play with the.coyote, Kobe ignored my shouts and ran infront of the oncoming fifteen passenger van.  The van won.

The van slammed on the breaks, but hit Kobe's rear haunches, sending him tumbling. Kobe jumped to three of his feet, holding the fourth up he ran into the woods and hid.  The drivers jumped out, my neighbor.ran out, and I sprinted after Kobe.

I found him on the trail to school behind our house and scooped him up.  His wounds were. Leering, and the two guys from the van helped me look at Kobe's leg, put blankets on the seat and get Kobe in the car.  The drivers were shaking and very apologetic, and offered any help.  I washed the blood off of my self, and off to the vet.

Xrays showed no breaks. Yay! He had three deep lacerations stiched up and has a.severely bruised leg muscle.  He is one sore pup, but atleast he is on one peice.

On the road!

Nana, Kobe, ripley and I are packed and ready to go!

Avett Brothers at Red Rocks

Red Rocks Amphitheater.
The most beautiful venue for a concert.

Add the beautiful music of the Avett Brother and the night is almost perfect.



For the final touch, add our dear friends, good food and good drink for our tailgate. And you've created a beautiful, memorable summer Saturday night.

Kari and Melissa


Kari, Jake, Mark, and Andy, enjoying a pre-concert picnic.

Maloit Park Moose

For the last six weeks, Minturn-ites have been telling stories about this Mama Moose and her two babies that have been hanging out in the wetlands of good ol' Maloit Park. For six weeks, I saw nothing. Then the moose trio started showing their pretty faces across the street in the swampy area. Mama moose must have heard that there are rooms available at the Bangtson Hostel because she and her two babes are hanging out in our back yard. Seriously, they are less than 20 yards from our house! wild...

Because I revere the mighty moose you'll have to forgive my lack of more clear photos. I wanted to get closer, I really did, but ever since I ran into a moose when I was 8 I've remembered that moose are big. HUGE really. And they can run faster than me.

Anyhow in the above photo, Mama moose is lounging in the lower left corner and the two babies are directly behind Jake's target.

I don't see why Jake hasn't got an elk yet, or how Bob never shot his moose. It looks pretty easy to me.

Tough Mudder - June 26, 2011

The Tough Mudder.

Beaver Creek Village hosted 9000 racers over two days. Crazy costumes, mud, blood, sweat, and all smiles. I've participated in fun races, challenging races, and awesome events, but NONE compare to the Tough Mudder. At the very last minute, thanks to the help of Tim Baker, I joined Mark and his sister Alli and the three of us, clad in old MMS uniforms, took on the Mudder. Unfortunately Jake had to work, but we already have it on the calendar for next year! We started 150 yards up a ski run at Beaver Creek where we were warned of the perils that lay ahead of us. The coolest part of the Tough Mudder is the emphasis on camaraderie. It's not about winning, or time. Infact they don't even have a time clock at the finish, and you only know your time if you go and ask. The Mudder is about team work. Seconds before we started, we stood with the 500 other competitors in our heat and took the Tough Mudder pledge.

The Pledge:

As a Tough Mudder I pledge that…

* I understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge.

* I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time.

* I do not whine – kids whine.

* I help my fellow Mudders complete the course.

* I overcome all fears.

And then we started the 10 mile course; 5 10 foot walls, mud pit covered in barb wire, crawling through drainage tubes that spit you into cold muddy water, sprinting up a ski slope, jumping over hay bails while people are aiming fire hoses directly at you, carrying a log for 200 yards, swimming under obstacles in 36 degree water, ice baths, cargo nets over the river, the mud mile, scaling hay bales, crawling up a snow covered ski jump underneath a net, giant slip and slides, dark tunnels, monkey bars 20 feet high over a pit of mud, and the grand finale - running through electric shocks.

Ali Mark and I

Our trio running through some icy water from snow makers, making our way to the giant slip and slide.

I went hands first, which in hind site only increased the amount of water in my face.

Mark on the other hand had much better form.

This looks MUCH easier than it was. Its a 1/4 pipe for skate boarding. Covered in vegetable oil.

And the electric charges. I was seriously concerned about this, but figured if 7000 other people could do it, I could too. After all I am one tough mudder. Turns out it does hurt, just for a second, but it hurts. I got shocked 3 times, and screamed like a little girl, much to the pleasure of the 100's of spectators.

Alli taking the heat as well.

Our fantastic team crossing the finish line.

Donning our awesome new sweatbands, and ready to change and be warm!! At many points we were covered in mud, but the multiple dunkings and dousings of icy cold mountain water left us fairly clean, and freezing cold!

I had a fabulous time, couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate my birthday, and can't wait to do it again next year with my hubby and an even larger crew of friends. It's worth a trip to Colorado to participate (hint hint)!