Wallwork Girl Adventures

Early Thursday morning Erin and I hit the road heading West. We arrived in Breckenridge in the morning for a guided hike of Breckenridge Mountain.

A girl about my age led us on a 3 mile hike over one of the peaks at Breck, and taught us all kinds of things about the wildflowers, views, and history of the town.

At the end of the hike we got to ride an alpine slide down to the base, then take the Gondola back to my car.  In the afternoon we had lunch and explored Breckenridge, which is a cutesy-toursity-ski town. It was chilly, and then the rain rolled in, which chased us to a movie theater in Beaver Creek where we saw Moonrise Kingdom. It was a nice old theater, not too big, and had soft serve ice cream. After the movie we sat in this area with a cup of coffee and read some books.

Back to Breck, we watched the Olympics in the common room at the bed and breakfast we stayed in, where Erin made friends with a couple from Kansas. This B&B was the same one I stayed at before, on my first way through during my drive to Denver. We went to a local pizza place and got a late dinner. In the parking lot, I got out of my car and stood up to find a large Doberman hanging out of the car adjacent to mine. We were face to face when I let out a scream that suggested the black beast was about to attack. My shriek alarmed the dog, who started barking wildly at me, and I fell backwards into my car. About this time I noticed there were two people sitting in the front seat of the vehicle containing the demon dog. Shaken and embarrassed from this encounter, I shouted to the man sitting in the front seat, "you better buy me a beer for that!!", to which the only reply was an incredulous and judgmental look. Once inside we could hardly contain ourselves from laughing at that ridiculous encounter. After dinner we returned to the B&B and climbed into our shelf-like bunk beds and fell asleep.

 In the morning we ate breakfast in the town next to Breck, Frisco. With no real set plans, we set back on the road and stopped frequently at the little old mine towns along I-70.

Silver Plume:

This town didn't even have paved roads. This guy drove something around that seem to smooth out and re-form the gravel roads.

Georgetown:

We jumped off the highway and explored Lookout Mountain, a part of the famous Lariat Loop:

In the afternoon we relaxed by the pool and enjoyed the dry Colorado sunshine.

The evening was an exciting ending to Erin's visit.  We enjoyed a concert at the outdoor Red Rocks Amphitheater 

Beautiful sunset behind the hills.

There were vendors there bombarding us to sign up for things, one of which was voter registration.  While I'm not hugely involved with politics, I do normally like to have somewhat of an opinion on things and to exercise my right to vote.  The guys working helped me sign up, as my PA registration is no longer valid, but was totally confused as to where to register. Am I a CO resident? PA? Ugh, I don't know. Can't I just check the box that says "American" and let that be enough?

By dusk, the bands we came to see started playing and we were totally psyched to be there listening to them. 

Band of Horses

My Morning Jacket

At one point, I left Erin at our seats and walked around the amphitheater. The view was stunning. See the city in the back ground?

There was an artist painting during the show who was really cool to watch.

We left a few songs early because it was late and I had to work today. Our early escape helped us avoid traffic, and we got to see this guy..

Erin left via Shuttle Fare (shared van service), shortly after I left for work this am. Unbeknownst to her, the original scheduled flight had been cancelled and they told her she may not leave til much later in the day. Luckily, they were able to squeeze her on another airline where she got a direct flight, and landed almost two hours prior to her original landing. Lucky day. 

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So I've learned that an extension at this hospital is currently not being offered to any travelers. My recruiter and the lady at staffing told me that may change, but I'm not betting on it. I've been looking at jobs, both local and travel, temporary, and staff. I don't know what's next for me, but I've got about a month to figure it out...