Rocky Mountain High

My great uncle John decided to take up technology in his late 80s.  He's now mastered the use of the internet, and he sent me an email the other day that in effect said "must be about time for a blog post".  Ok, Uncle John.

All the districts in which I sub had Spring Break the first week of April, and I wasn't quite ready for the snowboard season to be over, so I headed West to visit some friends.  Here's a map to follow along.

It wouldn't be Iowa without a barn welcoming you to the state.  My first stop was to see Ellen Voegele, a good friend of mine that I met in Florida.  She's now living in Waterloo, Iowa changing young lives in a local parish.

Aside from talking each others' ears off about what we've been doing the last two years, our big event was Baconfest.

Baconfest brought together restaurants all over the area to schowcase their best bacon-laced foods.  Like these amazing bacon cinnamon rolls.

And our favorite item of the day, bacon-wrapped doughnut holes (seriously...so good).

I love the disclaimer here.  Essentially "bacon isn't healthy."  Also, note the bacon eating contests.  I chose not to participate.

Those who did regretted it.  They used this pre-cooked Hormel stuff that they ate cold.  No thank you.  The "winner" was the one who ate closest to a pound in 10 minutes.  Then they brought the winners of the three rounds together for a championship.  I feel like everyone lost in this contest.

Back on the road on Sunday afternoon.  A student gave me a coupon for a free Shamrock Shake.  I'd never had one before, and it was pretty good!

I had not counted on entering Missouri on this trip.  Every time I've driven to Colorado I've taken 80 across Nebraska, but this time I took a little detour to see Sarah!

Avid readers will remember Sarah from our multiple adventures in South America.  She's now back home in Falls City, NE substitute teaching.  We strolled down memory lane with some Chilean refreshments.

Then on Monday I made the long haul across northern Kansas (another new route for me) to the rockies.  It was good to see them again!

Ciara, in the orange coat, is another great friend I met in South America.  She lives in Colorado Springs, and her dad, to her right, has a place in the town of Breckenridge.  They graciously hosted me for two nights and two awesome days of riding.

Ciara is getting married this summer!  That's her fiancée Bill on the far left.  Congratulations, guys!

The Peratt's place is awesome, a little mountain chalet with plenty of bedrooms to hold the huge family when they all come back to visit.  I had a great stay and hope to be back soon!

Day 2 on the mountain.  We had great snow, especially considering it was April.  Now I feel like the season is really over.

After my time in Breck, I stayed two nights in Denver with some friends from the ACE program.  I did some planning for my long-term calculus job that was about to begin and had an interview with a school in China that went well.  Things for next year are still up in the air, but the school seemed excited to talk with me.

I spent my last night on the road with Molly, a good friend that was in my high school class.  She's living in Independence Iowa working for a company that uses stats (hey! math!) to assess the impact wind farms have on animals and their habitats.  Cool stuff!

She also has adorable pets that are very cuddly.  Great to see you Molly!

My last stop was a timeless burger joint in Albert Lea, MN that we first saw on the news maybe 12 years ago.  We stopped on the way to a family reunion that year, and I hadn't been back since.  Things haven't changed, and the burgers are still delicious.

Last week I was with my new Calculus and Stats kids that I'll be teaching the rest of the year, but since Mrs. Galt hasn't had her baby yet, they told her she had to come back to work.  So I'm back on the sub lists until the little Galt is born.  Pray for a healthy mom and child--and that it comes soon!