Day 8..Sight of land..

Not much to report today - I woke up early again to snow, then went back to sleep and by the time we woke back up (around noon - hey, higher altitude makes you sleeeepy!), the sun was shining and snow was melting.

We went Goodwill hunting again and finished up getting some basics we needed. Except for the red high heel chair, but I may sneak back to town and buy it tomorrow. Pictures to follow ;)

BTW, the Goodwills out here are amazing. So many diamonds in the rough. Tomorrow I will test out my new mountain bike... for $5! A Trek 990, which retailed for close to $1000 in its glory days. FIVE BUCKS!

Stopped in to Chilis on the way back to the Rustic Hole, and met some new fishing friends from Michigan, theyve been in the area for about 12 years, really nice folks! Everyone around here seems to be.

Jason starts work tomorrow, while I start hunting for work. It has been so nice having this last month off! How stress free people would be if they could live without having a time schedule and having to be somewhere at a set time every day. I will admit I'm anxious to start getting that pay check again, as the $$ is thinning out! Tomorrow I'll visit Wellington Lake, Chatfield state park, Eleven Mile state park, as well as a few other places I can apply for seasonal work.

It has been flurrying on and off today - mom I'll try and get a snowball pictures for you ;)

I'm leaving everyone with pics of our drive from Littleton into Conifer, the photos don't do this drive justice..actually my camera hasn't done an of this area justice! If anyone has any advice on how I can change my camera settings ( a Samsung S630) to correct whatever's going on in my photos ( looks like over-pixelation, is that possible?), please let me know what to do.

More tomorrow, Love to All xoxoxoxxx

The Rustic Rat Hole

I awoke early this morning and peeked outside..only to discover it had snowed 2 or 3 inches overnight! Our vehicles, as well as the ground, were blanketed in bright white snow. I thought surely we were snowed in but apparently this amount of snow is child's play for Bailey. Tonite - 70 percent chance of snow and a lo of 15! (It started snowing as I was typing this)

We ate brunch at a delicious local cafe called the Cutthroat. Breakfast was under $20 which had become an anomaly to us, until we moved here :)

I was able to snap a few shots around Bailey, as well as views from our rustic rat hole. Enjoy!

Mickey "Jason" Mouse outside our little local eatery



Quaint country store next to cafe

View from bridge, walking to hardware store.



View as we trot through Bailey

Still trotting. Real estate office to the lower left.

The Rustic from the outside.

Kitsy the Kitchen

Our beautiful view from living room.

Outside of the Rustic.

What we see stepping out each glorious mornin!

Just Breath!

We do not have Internet at our apartment yet so I am typing today from our local library. The library happens to be a 1/2 mile jog from our apartment which we will be taking advantage of but drove here this afternoon, as we have grocery stores, thrift stores and cell phone stores to visit in Conifer/Littleton once we leave here.

Our little apartment is becoming quite cozy thanks to our crafty furnishings and improvisational decorating! At first we called it the "rustic rat hole" but now it's turned in to a warm humble abode. This morning we awoke, had a leisurely morning that was spent stretching, drinking green tea and eating oatmeal, then went for a 2 1/2 mile jog (Jason jogged, I did a brisk walk..) around our neighborhood. When we stepped outside, it was in the 40s and bright & sunny - it felt wonderful and invigorating. We began jogging and lo & behold, it began to snow flurry! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be jogging in snow flurries at 7,500 feet at the end of March. Quite the experience. I do feel like I'm getting accustomed to the altitude little by little. Jason is having a much easier time, most likely b/c he's lived in the Rockies before and mentioned he thinks his body "remembers" the altitude. He took off up a hill today and disappeared around a bend, just kept running and running (yes, he reminded me of Forrest G.), as I huffed and puffed up the hill and then stopped because I was laughing too much when I saw him disappear.

Internet feigns we are! How did people ever function without it? We're hoping to have it tonite and if so, look for more pictures within the following day.

Much love to everyone XOXOX.

Brrrr...

I was beginning to shrug off the tales of Colorado's unpredictable weather, until I awoke this morning to overcast skies and a mix of snow and rain. We were graced with beautiful blue skies and relatively warm weather our first few days in the state..I knew it was too good to last! I'm actually looking forward to these blustery days and changes of scenery. I did glance at the weather channel and had a tinge of home sickness when I saw the temps in south Florida ; )

We continued our house hunt yesterday and settled upon an apartment we can rent month to month until we decide what we want to do as far as buying or renting goes. The apartment is in a beautiful spot and right across from one of the fire stations Jason will be working out of. No pictures of the actual town (its more like a strip) of Bailey, but while exploring we stopped and ate our lunch (trout and vegetable wraps) on some rocks along the Platte River, here are a few pics -

It seems like there's a Kodak moment around every bend. Today we'll move in to our little apartment and spend the next few days running trails and getting used to running and climbing at these elevations. Would anyone like to join?

Red Rocks

I'm writing this morning from our friend Jamie's house in Littleton, CO. He has been kind enough to take 2 homeless Floridians in until we find a place to rent in Bailey :) Our days so far have consisted of exploring Bailey and house hunting. We already feel like we know these roads better than any in Florida for some reason, probably because we've driven them over and over trying to locate houses for rent. I am seeing classified ads in my dreams. House hunt going slower than we'd hope but we have a feeling today is the day! We'll have an address by tomorrow! Maybe...

Monday we stopped in Morrison and ate breakfast at a wonderful cafe, then visited the Red Rocks Amphitheatre & park. Jason has been there a few times for some Panic shows, but I was in awe, being my first time in the presence of such majestic formations. Red Rocks amphitheatre is an outdoor theatre seating 9,450 people. It was built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps and is at an elevation of 6,400 feet in the 640 acre Red Rocks Park. It is known for having the best natural acoustics on the continent . The amphitheatre is absolutely breathtaking and I can't wait to experience my first show there. The park is open daily and we're anxious to start running/hiking the trails..once we can learn how to breath up here!

Here are some pics of Red Rocks - I have been so charmed by our little town of Bailey that I have forgotten to take any photos - will do today as our house hunt continues.
Much love!


Red Rocks Amphitheatre



Jason climbing the incline to amphitheatre

Red at Red

Red...rock . Red Rocks consists of two natural monoliths, Ship Rock and Creation Rock.
Back of amphitheatre from trail

We Have Arrived!

Home again, home again, jiggity jog! We arrived in Colorado yesterday morning after a smooth trip. Here are a few pics from our travels, I'll write a more in depth entry later - on our way to look at houses!

Goodbye, Hello, Will You Marry Me?

Greetings from Tennessee!

Our farewell to Florida began with a beautiful proposal at the coffee shop...

Jason proposed in front of about 75 people by singing a song he wrote himself. It was one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard and of course, I said yes! It went a little something like this -

Genevieve, will you smile at me, Genevieve will you smile at me, Genevieve will you smile at me...Genevieve will you dance with me, Genevieve will you dance with me, Genevieve will you dance with meee..Genevieve will you walk with me, Genevieve will you walk with meee...Genevieve, Will you marry me..Genevieve will you marry me?..

(crowd errupts into claps and cheers, and I am blinded by camera flashes and my own stars I'm now seeing)

Of course, I would have been happy with a proposal in the parking lot of Wal Mart, being the simple girl I am, but this truly shocked me and I could not have imagined a more romantic and touching proposal, with many of our closest friends by our side to share in this most joyous occasion. Jason made me the luckiest lady in the World and I am so thankful and excited about our love and our life we are about to embark upon.

Many goodbyes were said and we set out towards Tennessee, him in his vehicle and me in the Bandit (RV), both packed to the brim with our belongings. We landed in Dellrose and have been visiting my parents for the past few days, and today we head to Crossville TN for a few days with his rents!

Sorry so short and scattered, but I wanted to get something up here for those curious folks who wondered what happened to us!

More from the road later - much love to everyone.