Around the House – Our Custom Bar

October 15th, 2013

Our New Home Bar During Construction
Our Custom Bar, Mid-Construction

Our New Home Bar - Post Construction
Finished Product

I Love Our New Bar!
Time to Enjoy!

Rather than having a Dining room, we decided we’d rather have a Home Bar. We went to several box stores around Denver and nobody had a bar which suited our needs, so we decided to have one built. We ended up going with MJB Woodworking. We are very happy with our decision, as we love our new bar!

First, an interior design consultant comes to the house and measures the space. They talk about preferences in type of wood, surface for the top, colors, style, and take measurements of the space. Then, the designer draws up some specs and they send you a few options. You pick what you like in a price point which will work, and then Mike and his brother at MJB actually build you the bar. It’s a very simple process and they consider every detail. Finally, they come to your house and put it together on site.

Social Event – OSU vs. UW, Columbus, OH

September 27th, 2013

Tailgating at OSU

We decided to take a long weekend and head to Columbus, Ohio. Our friends, Justin and Crystal, moved back there after a stint in Denver. We were psyched to visit with them, tool around Columbus, and see OSU play UW. Since Red is my favorite color, I was excited to see over 100K people all dressed in Red! Read the rest of this entry »

Mountaineering – DeCaLiBron via North Ridge of Mt. Democrat

September 21st, 2013

DeCaLiBron Loop TOPO Map
DeCaLiBron Loop Hike Topo, Via North Ridge of Mt. Democrat

Mt. Democrat North Ridge
The North Ridge of Mt. Democrat, oh that it were longer! 0.5 miles of fun scrambling does not make up for the 6+ mile boggy approach.

DeCaLiBron Loop Elevation Profile
This elevation profile is not quite accurate. 4900 ft is in the right ballpark, for the elevation gain, but the distance is short by about a mile!

Doug and I decided to squeeze in a few more 14’ers before winter and so we aim for DeCaLiBron (De=Democrat, Ca=Cameron, Li=Lincoln, and Br=Bross). I’m not sure why it’s called DeCaLiBron and not DeCaLiBross, but that’s a topic for some other time.

To make it more interesting, we decide to climb the north ridge of Democrat, then climb Cameron, Bross, and Lincoln. Ending the day by descending the Lincoln Amphitheater, to get back to the truck above Montgomery Reservoir.

Launch: 5:50am
Begin Mt. Democrat North Ridge Scramble: 9:40am
Summit Mt. Democrat: 10:40am (We take a short lunch break on the summit).
Summit Mt. Cameron: 11:40am
Summit Mt. Bross: 12:20pm
Summit Mt. Lincoln: 1:12pm
Begin Descent of Mt. Lincoln via the Amphitheater: 1:25pm
Finish: 4:15pm

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Social Event – Cliff & Betsy’s Wedding

September 8th, 2013

Cliff Reading the Vows

My colleague Cliff, got married in Beaver Creek and we were lucky enough to get an invite. Beaver Creek is a super nice place to go for a weekend get-a-way! In any event, there was a schedule of events for the wedding weekend, so we were excited.

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Mountain Biking – Shrine Pass

September 7th, 2013

Just Before the Trail Head at Shrine Pass

Map of Vail Pass Trails

View From Shrine Pass

Dennis and I spent a couple hours riding our mountain bikes around the gravel roads of Shrine Pass. We actually never made it to the single track, since we just had a couple of hours. It was a pleasant place to ride due to the sweeping views. And, since we got there in the middle of the day (right before thunderstorms started up!) the roads were not totally crowded with 4wd’ers.

Sometime, I’d like to ride the single track into the back bowls of Vail, but that will have to wait until next summer!