Another weekend another visitor another good time...

This past weekend, Nikki came to visit from Chicago.  She was welcomed as everyone else who has visited was welcomed by getting lost in the Denver airport.  Y'all....I'm serious is is the worst airport ever.  I swear if you take a wrong turn you end up in a black hole that may or may not take you to Narnia.

Regardless, she was kind enough to bring the nicest weather we have had in a long time.  Literally there was not one drop of rain nor a hint of it the entire time.  We began the weekend as all weekends begin with happy hour up at 11,700 on top of Keystone.  I'm now on a first name basis with many of the bartenders but still has not yielded a deal yet:)

After that we hit my favorite local Mexican place Dos Locos to meet up with some friends and get ready for a blue grass concert at River Run...Nikki was kind enough to sport a tutu for the concert and was the talk of Warren Station.  Farewell Drifters opened up and lead into Oakhurst.  I personally liked the Drifters better but all in all both great bands.

The next morning was probably the highlight of the weekend.  We rented ATVs and hit Vail Pass for a morning of off road riding.  Seriously, I had not been on an ATV since high school/college and I completely forgot how much fun they are.  We started off with the guide warning us that 713 was full of mud and to be careful...so of course we went to 713 and decided to play in the mud.  Best part of the ride easily, we were moving through amazing technical terrain with tons of mud and had a blast.  I think I am going to be purchasing one for next summer, there is just too much fun terrain to go through on one.

That afternoon was a trip to Vail Village where Nikki ran into some folks she knew.  This was both good and bad...we met up with Brian and Ashley who suggested we party with them in Vail that night. Well, Vail is about 30 minutes from my house so a night of partying makes for a disastrous trip back to Keystone.  Problem Solved!  Ashley works for the Ritz Carlton and was able to get us this badass suite for the night.  I mean the suite was 3x the size of my place.  So with no excuses, we went back to Keystone, packed up, fed Houdini (who at this point hates us), and went out in Vail.

I have been to Vail but never done any partying at night there.  I found out the Red Lion is where it is at and this place cracks me up but so much fun.  We started there and met this great couple from Arvada who shared their table with us.  After a few drinks, we loosened up and the crowd wanted to go to a dance club called Samana.  Not my scene but great people watching regardless.  After a big day, I fell asleep the minute I hit the hotel.  We still had one more day to go and the main reason Nikki came out...the Beer and Bluegrass Festival at Keystone!

Sunday began a little slower than normal, although everyone complained when I was up at 8...I mean when you are up everyday at 6:30 8 is like sleeping in!!!  Anyway, I was sooooo excited for the festival and roused the zombies to get back home, shower and get out to River Run.  First though, I was asked if we could get some medicine to help get everyone going...no problem

We headed out to the festival and I have to thank RJ and Lesley for hooking us all up with free passes! After our bar tabs in Vail it really helped.  The festival was exactly what I hoped it would be...three stages with some awesome covers and great bluegrass bands.  There were 30 vendors sampling about 3-4 beers each and giving away stickers.  Yup, took a sticker from each one and decorated my laptop and mountain bike:)  We became best friends with the girl at the O'Dells (by far my favorite beer) tent.  Nikki and I got one more pic toasting our weekend and we also were talked into another more embarrassing pic.  Regardless a blast...our friends Brian and Ashley joined us again and we all agreed to call it an early night after the weekend.

I want to thank Nikki, Brian and Ashley for such a great weekend!  Nikki...thanks for making the trip out and I am so sorry you missed your flight.  We should sue the old lady at Walgreens!  Brian and Ashley...thanks for showing me around Vail and for hitting the festival with us.  I'm sure we will see each other soon!