Rome - Saint Guanella panoramic

Pompei - Dia duo

Our first night and second day was spent in Pompei.  The hotel we found was bare but it was only 50 Euro and just a few blocks from the ruins of ancient Pompei.

During Roman times,  Pompei was a prosperous Roman city founded on the fertile hillsides of Mt. Vesevious.  It had a population of 30 thousand until 47 BC when Mount Vesevious erupted, buried Pompie in 30 feet of ash and instantly killed everyone and everything.

In the mid 1900s the excavation of ancient Pompei was began.  Today you can walk the streets of ancient Pompei and imagine what it might have been like 2000 years ago.

Roman Colleseum

I took long but pleasant walk by myself from the Vatican to the Colleseum and back today.  While at the Colleseum I met a group from Switzerland here for Saint Guanella.

Rome to Pompei via Sperlonga - Day 1

We arrived in Rome around 8 am.  It was a beautiful blue sky day and we departed the airplane on the tarmac because Rome's airport was old and small.  From there we tracked down a rental car because we had no reservation.  Fortunately it is the off season so securing a car was rather quick.

From there we hopped on the Autostrade (Italian Interstate) for Pompei.  However the Autostrade was rather boring because the guardrails were taller then our small car and you are so far removed from everything.  So we quickly found an exit and side road heading south.  The side road led to one side road which led to another side road but kept heading in the general direction we wanted with know set agenda.  We were rewarded with the sights and smells of true Italy including winding roads, vineyards and countless small towns that blended into one another.

Finally we hit the coast where we found clear blue waters and white soft sand beaches.  We stopped several places along the way but Sperlonga was our favorite.  It was a small ancient city with narrow alleyways built out on a point overlooking the sea.

From there we continued south along the coast to Naples where we thought about spending the night.  But after seeing the city and not being very impressed we pressed on.  Eventually we found ourselves in Pompei where we quickly found a hotel near the ruins before it got dark.

Italy - Pompei to Postiano panoramic

Italy - Pompei to Postiano

Rome to Pompei - Panoramic

Italy Rome to Pompei

Shadow the racoone catcher

Shadow dog caught a racoone tonight. He was a cute little racoone and
we let him go.

Green Mountain - Mountain Biking

After several days of rain it felt good to get on the bike and ride
Green Mountain again. It's hard to believe such a cool trail with
such fun single track is in the city.

U2 360 Tour - Denver May 2011

Wow!!! The U2 360 tour in Denver was amazing!!!!

U2 has been around for 30 years and instead of getting old or dated
they just get better and keep on rocking. Bono and the rest of U2 are
true performers. They sang, played and performed every song with
passion and energy like I have never seen before. It's with good
reason that U2 is the worlds biggest rock band.

In addition to the energy transmitted by U2 to 80,000 plus fans at the
concert U2 had the most technological stage I have ever seen. The
stage was modelled to look like a spaceship. U2 played in the center
and overhead was a giant 360 degree screen that showed the band and
other stuff related to U2 music and education. U2 brought the energy
but the stage definetly help harness and focus the energy.

Check out a U2 concert if you ever get a chance. It's a bucket list
type of event.

May 1st Snowmobiling - Amazing

Can you say snow!!! Because that's what's it's been doing all
winter / spring in the Colorado mountains.

We went snowmobiling at Rabbit Ears on 4/3/11 and it was 50 degrees
and slushy. Today, a month later at Rabbit Ears on 5/1/11 it was
endless untracked powder and blue skies. Eventually we made it to the
Buffalo Pass radio tower which was buried by 17 feet of settled snow!

What an awesome day. Thanks for going Dustin.

Will we be sledding in June?

Deer Creek Canyon Mountain Biking

We mountain biked Deer Creek Canyon tonight with Kendra and crew.
Motivation for most of us was lacking when we started and the initial
climb took it's toll but the upper loops and downhill were worth the
pain. Tonight was my first time riding upper Deer Creek but will not
be my last. If you look at the picture backgrounds you can see
downtown Denver.

Rattlesnake Arch Walking II

While Jack and I climbed up under the last arch then walked back via the canyon rim and arches, Judy and Mark took the dogs back. From the trail below Judy was able to take a couple pictures of us from the trail looking up.

Rattlesnake Arch Walking

While hiking up the canyon there was a gentle breeze which felt good
and helped keep us cool. But when Jack and I climbed on top of the
canyon so we could explore the arches that breeze turned in a gale
force wind. We walked two of the arches which was my first arch
walking experience. It was a little scary but a real rush.

Rattlesanke Canyon Arches

Sunday I joined Jack, Judy, and Mark for a hike up Pollock and
Rattlesnake Canyons to the Rattlesnake arches south of Fruita. It's
usually 14 miles total out and back but Jack and Judy have an access
point from their rock house that saved us several miles. The arches
were amazing and maybe even better then those in Moab because there
are no crowds and you have full access.