My time in Ft. Collins

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Ok, quick recap of my time with C.Lowe, Nate Dog! and Lora from the 4th of July to the 7th.

Watched a lot of TV on their huuuuge 47" flat screen, played with Nate Dog!, had some great one-on-one time with both C.Lowe and Lora, took short bike rides through out the neighborhood, found some nice trails, and snacked my face off.

We went to Kat and Dave's house for a 4th of July cookout. Dave cooked up some AWESOME food on the grill, including 2 chicken breasts that Lora and I had marinated over night in the fridge. I was so impressed with how well they were cooked -- absolutely perfect! Tender, juicy, great flavor, no charred parts, and over all delicious. I simply cannot cook chicken that well. The rest of the meal was also delicious, high lighted by grilled ears of corn and fried onions.

We had planned to attend the local fireworks show a few blocks away once the sun had set, but the on & off spouts of rain during the afternoon had turned into full on fun-ruining rain by the time the show was suppose to go down. We spent the rest of the evening watching one of the original Star Wars movies and having a very enjoyable conversation with an abundance of laughter -- entertainment courtesy of Nate Dog's adorable 2 year old antics.

The next few days were quite relaxing for me and were the perfect opportunity for my legs to rest and heal. The high lights were spending time at the park with Nate Dog and adventuring a portion of the Poudre River (pronounced locally as "poo-durr"). The water was at most waste high, but with a strong and fast current -- too strong to swim.

I saw a large boulder out towards the middle of the river, just before a bend, that Lora and I thought would make for a great picture. So I entered the water a good ways up stream from the boulder and approached it cautiously. Once I got to it and climbed on top, Lora took some good pictures of me. After the photo shoot opportunity had been successfully executed, it was time to get back to the shore...

But I was stuck out there! The current was way to strong for me to just step back into the water and walk back! The current would instantly grab my lead foot and sandal and start taking them down stream -- my first step of the boulder was certain to be faulty and send me down the river. And on top of that, every other rock under the surface was SUPER slick from the type of algae that grows there. After several wimpy attempts to get off the rock (and a whole lot of giggling at my situation) C.Lowe picked up a 10 ft tree branch and tossed it out to me.

I used the tree branch as a stabilizing tool and made it safely (and really slowly) back to the shore. Nate Dog hadn't stopped throwing rocks into the river since we got there, he had no idea I was in any kind of trouble.

We ate at several awesome places around the CSU campus, including a thai restaurant and a sub sandwich place called "CHeBAH HUT". Their menu and atmosphere is priceless.

There is a lot of other small details and stories that I could type up, but I think I'll just keep them for me and my Ft. Collins friends.

On Thursday, while C.Lowe was at work and Nate Dog! at the baby sitter's, Lora drove me to the greyhound station and dropped me off. I decided that the big distance between CO and OR was just to vast and barren of friends to try to hitch hike across. And also my mom really wanted me to stop hitch hiking!

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