dereke's blog | The Lost Bus

Vail-Alacrity Adventure

Submitted by dereke on Thu, 2011-06-09 03:19

This past weekend was one for the books. We climbed Mt. Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado, on Friday. The views were amazing and we had the best of weather with the best of friends. After the climb we found the note on our door saying "come to Vail for the Teva Mountain Games" from Susan, a person we formerly worked with in New Meixco. So we did. The event was amazing! I had such a good time and met so many fun people. Ben's friend Amy works for Teva and hooked us up with access to VIP sections and events. We had an awesome time and were parked with a lot of the athletes for the whole weekend. To top it all off, I asked Four Seasons if we could take a shower at their facilities and they said we could for as long as we were in Vail.

It's A Long Way To The Top

Submitted by dereke on Sat, 2011-06-04 04:47

This past few days have been some busy ones and wild ones. We picked up Chad finally and all three of us were reunited. We stayed at a friend Stacy's house in Denver for a night so we could do the Denver Cruisers event on Wednesday night. It was awesome! We dressed up in jail uniforms and rode with thousands of other bikers for the night. We were a giant mob of bikers moving through Denver to different locations throughout the night. Thursday was a catch up day and we did some catch up Lost Bus work and made our way to Leadville. We will be staying/working in this area for the next few weeks. Today we climbed Mt Elbert at 14,440ft with some friends and reached the summit at around noon.

Memorial Day to Reunion Day

Submitted by dereke on Tue, 2011-05-31 05:02

The Bus has left Winter Park and it was one of the hardest departures yet. We have made great friends in the town and the whole crew at the National Sport Center for the Disabled will be missed. Our last night in town was spent at a cook out and game night. I have found I push the envelope in Scattegories and have a great talent with drawing in Telephone Pictionary. We had to say bye to Kim and Krista this morning and the Americorps group this afternoon. This memorial day was spent traversing our way back to the Denver area where we ended up in Boulder at a community event. There was live music from Gullah Gullah Island and there were a lot of other tent events to participate in.

Parked in Winter Park

Submitted by dereke on Sun, 2011-05-29 02:45

This past week has been amazing. We have been working with the National Sport Center for the Disabled (NSCD) here in Winter Park, CO. Let me start by saying Winter Park is one of the coolest towns I have ever seen or lived in. This has been concluded for a multitude of reasons which include but are not limited to the scenery, people, mindset, and recreational opportunities. All of the people at NSCD have been a blast to work with and have been more than accommodating to the Lost Bus. The first day we went with them on their raft guide training day and whitewater rafted the Colorado River. We had some chilly weather at the start but it was an awesome time.

Cabin Fever

Submitted by dereke on Wed, 2011-05-18 08:10

What a wild weekend. It has been a roller coaster of emotions that have come from a very wide spectrum of activities and events. This past weekend we started with bus problems. The bus progressively got worse with starting and finally kicked the can and wouldn't turn over. Chad and I consulted several mechanics and decided it was the glow plugs. We went and picked eight new ones up and talked to a mechanic John about the "simple" process. We both thought we were capable and went and researched it online quick the next morning before getting started. We read about the dreaded 'swollen glow plug' that cracks off and is stuck in the header which kept us feeling great as every one came out in one piece.

Kayakin Colorado's lakes and "whitewater" (snow)

Submitted by dereke on Fri, 2011-05-13 04:31

We have landed the bus in Golden, Colorado after a few days of travel. The first couple days were very relaxed. We had beautiful weather leaving Montrose and ended up staying at the Blue Mesa Reservoir for a night and almost the whole next day. We couldn't resist the opportunity to get the kayaks out and in the water. For two days we cruised the reservoir and explored Dillan's Pinnacles, Marrow canyon, and the river inlets. We did a lot of hiking and climbing and really acted like kids on a playground. Nothing was left unexplored and we had a blast recreating in this beautiful area. We spent the following night in Buena Vista with fair weather that the next morning took a turn for the worse. It started snowing and we had several mountain passes to navigate on the way to Denver.

Good Friends, Good Times

Submitted by dereke on Mon, 2011-05-09 17:02

Colorado, what can I say about this beautiful state. Late last week we had driven the million dollar highway which was by far the most scenic stretch of road I have ever driven. We met up with some long time friends this past weekend and went on a little camping excursion in the Escalante Canyon. We did some fun hiking, climbing, and good ol fashion camping. We had perfect weather and did some swimming in a waterfall. This waterfall was freezing cold and also had an abundance of sucker fish laying up on the rock behind the waterfall that I would stand on. I was able to grab them and throw them out of the waterfall which must have looked petty wild from a bystanders perspective. We also were fortunate to have a group of big horn sheep pass right behind our camp in the morning.

Spontaneous Work, Rado Livin'

Submitted by dereke on Thu, 2011-05-05 04:55

We have crossed the border of New Mexico into Colorado! Colorado is a state I have never been to but one I have always wanted to see. We drove through Pagosa Springs straight to Durango where we had another air line burst. Our exhaust is now a problem for the under body mechanics so we will have to be doing work on it tomorrow. Today though we had a lucky $10 dollar fix where a man named Bob brought us a replacement hose. From break down to fix was only around half an hour and we were back on our way into Durango. We met an awesome group of mt bikers averaging 12 years old that were on a ride for a club that they are in. Many of them looked like they may leave us in the dust but they were nice and showed us a trail head which is a central hub for hundreds of miles of trails.

Taos Adventures

Submitted by dereke on Sat, 2011-04-30 01:14

Taos has been an amazing adventure where I have met new friends, explored new areas, and tested my physical and mental limits. Before even reaching Taos, we found a man and dog hitch hiking our way. We picked up Elias and his dog crow thinking we would merely drop him off in Taos upon arriving to the town. Elias is an amazing man and instantly grew on all three of us. We invited him to join us in finding a hot spring that we were tipped off about and he was all game. He is a free spirited man who left the East side of the country for a future in the West. His destination was New Mexico and his enthusiasm for life and adventure inspired me to follow suite. We eventually found the hot spring that was butt up against the Rio Grand.

From Sea To Summit

Submitted by dereke on Sun, 2011-04-24 02:58

Santa Fe... New Mexico.... It is the gateway to the Rockies. So far, our trip has been the flats, swamps, and glorified hills of South East America. Upon arrival to Santa Fe, I found my self surrounded by mountains and the inevitable possibility for outdoor adventure. There is something about mountains that sparks adventure and the idea of pioneering in people including myself. When I see a mountain, the idea of climbing to the top and conquering is always first in-line. We went for our first "mountain bike ride" of this trip to the top of Atalaya. If you look at reviews on the trail and bike trip, it will sell its' self as extremely difficult and for experts only. Some sites will tell you not even to attempt the climb on a bicycle.