No Apologies on GameDay and Lionel Richie Sunday...

I promise you my friends, that title will make a lot more sense as  you read on:)  So Jennifer Evans was ready to leave Atlanta and head for the mountain life here in Colorado, so a last minute trip was scheduled.  "Jevans" is so far the best guest I have had because she brought me a present...not just any present, an autographed football signed by Vince Dooley.  Epic!  So of course, what did i do...make her take CME out here as I was too busy with work to pick her up and of course her flight was delayed, she missed CME by 15 minutes and ended up waiting at the airport for about an hour and a half for the next ride.  HOWEVER...she made it and we caught up over a few beers and talks about our Friday.  Now...Jevans wanted to climb a mountain and I challenged her to see if she thought she could do a 14er.  Again, for those who have not been reading, climbing a mountain higher than 14,000' is a big deal here and Jevans assured me altitude sickness would not be a problem and was game for the climb.
We started out Friday, September 28 around 8:30 for our hike to the summit.  Our goal was the peak of Mt. Democrat (ironic as I'm a Republican) which was 14,148' and currently covered in snow.

We started the ascent in Alma at just around 12,000'.  Temps were good, but our ski gear helped out a lot.  Fully loaded with packs, microspikes, trekking poles, etc...we actually looked like we knew what we were doing.  The first part of the climb is not that bad (although Jevans after the first 1/4 mile was a bit winded...I'll give her a pass since she just got to altitude:)  Had I been bit more honest with her about what was in store I think she would have possibly quite maybe I'm not too sure...bailed:)  We made good time and hit the saddle about an hour and a half into the climb.  The above picture is the view there.  Turn left for Mt. Democrat and right for Mt. Cameron.  Quick photo break and breakfast spot...

At this point, we are just over the 13,000' barrier and the pitch really starts to get steep here.  I think Jevans may have begun to doubt herself but I reminded her I had beer in my pack for the submit and she was ready to go.  Honestly y'all I have to admit...going from sea level to 5,000' in Denver is something...going from sea level to 14,000' within 24 hours is pretty unbelievable.  Jevans did great...key was slow steady pace, lots of water and obviously the amazing views along the way.  So we get close to the top and really the pitch gets pretty extreme...Mt. Democrat is a Class 2 climb so not only did we take Jevans up to altitude quickly, we took her on a more challenging 14er.  Regardless she said (and I agree) it so far has been worth it.  Here she is crossing the 14,000' barrier.

At this point, we have just a small ways to go and we are there.  Along the way, we met a man who kept cheering us on and was waiting for us at the summit.  His name was John Ford and we could not disappoint so up the final climb to the peak...and we were not disappointed.  Jevans was speechless (I think breathless might be more appropriate but we will let her tell you she was just in awe:)  I still am amazed every time I climb a 14er the views at the top.  It is something you can never recreate in pictures and never comprehend until you are there.  Just amazing.  Here we are!!!!  Hey NOW!!!!!

So with our ascent complete we enjoyed lunch at the peak with our new friend John and to quote Jevans..."Life Changing"  I think we have a new mountaineering addict.  I am so glad you enjoyed it Jevans...like I mentioned earlier...it is truly an amazing experience.  So with our climb complete and our legs a bit tired, we ended the night with dinner at the Cala and drinks at the Snake River Saloon (both local dive bars).  We immediately crashed the minute we got home...literally, me on the chair and Jevans on the couch and readied ourselves for GameDay.

A quick trip to Vail as Jevans had never been there, we toured the village and had lunch there, but hurried back for GameDay in Breckendridge.  Now, as we were walking down Main St looking for a good bar to watch the game we here "Touchdown Georgia" and people cheering...low and behold we walk into Ollie's and see the game on the main screen along with the sound.  This begins the demise we will call Saturday:)  Sitting at the bar is a girl dressed as any proper souther girl is dressed on GameDay holding a Georgia koozie.  When she saw me dressed in khaki pants and Georgia polo she immediately bought me a shot and I found my GameDay drinking buddy.  So the show began, Georgia beat Tennessee and Jevans and I along with our new friends at Ollie's celebrated like only proper southern football fans can.  Now during one of the celebratory shots, our new friend accidentally spilled a drink everywhere and apologized, to which Jevans and I responded "There's no apologies on GameDay"  Mark it people...  We had a great time in Breck and so glad to have met our new friends.

Now Sunday arrived and there is only one cure...Bacon Bloody Mary's at Haywood Cafe.  We made our way there for some breakfast and bloodys.  Unfortunately, they were way too good and we started singing Lionel Richie (God knows why) at 8 am.  After coining Lionel Richie Sunday (patent pending) we danced and did a little Falcons tailgate drinking at my place until Patty and Kurt (my awesome neighbors) suggested a bar for watching the games.

We hit Frisco and watched the Falcons mount an amazing comeback while continuing right where we left off in Breckendridge.  It was an epic day, we bar hopped through Frisco, hit dinner at our favorite Mexican place and then went back to the house for the traditional fire and sunset.  All in all an epic day and one of the most fun weekends I have had.

Jevans...thanks for making the trip out and for my autographed football...along with all the good times! See you ski season (which is just around the corner).