June 08 Colorado Trip

Hello Friends and Family,

It has been a while since I have made an entry and I know some of you are sad and others probably not so much! No matter, there is absolutely no way to get off this email list so don’t even try!

Our last junket was a little road trip in honor of Melissa’s 34th birthday. We hit the road and in usual fashion made the first stop in Santa Fe to, once again, sponge off the hospitality of Brian and Anna. Pancho was a complete pain in the ass as he could not leave Olive alone for one minute. He slept in the car and was banished from the house. It was distressing to learn that my dog is now a registered sex offender. Other than that, it is always so nice to go to Santa Fe. I just love that town but I guess anything is great compared to ELP!

Next morning we made a B-line to Denver via I-25. That stretch b/w SF and the CO border is very pretty and I highly recommend it for anyone willing to pay the gas.

So why Denver you may ask? Well, Dottie (aka .E, aka “insert Hasher name not appropriate”) and JP (my high school roommate) all live there. Also, we were determined to enter a race called the Beermile which is a Hash sponsored event that almost defies description. It goes like this.

1. Meet on track that has a quarter mile loop.

2. Blow whistle.

3. Chug beer #1

4. Finish Beer # 1

5. Run Lap

6. Finish Beer # 2

7. Run lap

8. Finish beer #3

9. Run lap

10. Finish beer #4

11. Run lap.

There are some other details to the race but I wont bore you with them. Your imagination will prove to be the best medicine at this point.


Lined up waitin for the whistle to blow........
Army Meets Navy in a no holds bared duel!!!!!!!
The El Paso Hashers Drink Tecate with Lime!
Keg in the parking lot? Don't mind if I do.

Finish strong if you can stop laughing!
Panchito pacing the pack!
Melissa with a burpy look on her face!
JP and Melissa telling stories (lies) about me.

Circle UP!
Jen and I have some stories of our own!

Needless to say, neither me nor Melissa nor .E nor Pancho won the Beermile but we all made strong finishes. As we are ever in training, I can only expect that we will continue to represent and make our respective families and countries proud.

After that painful fiasco, we made a short trip up to Boulder to visit Jakob Kramer and Dave Rogers both good ole boys from the high school where I made my first try as a Sophomore. It was so nice to see Jessica again but especially little Ivy. She is 14 mos old now and is just so unbelievably cute. I guess that is not hard to understand when considering her parents.


Jakob and Ivy!
Jessica, Jakob, Melissa and Me.
Dave Rogers and me.

Also of extreme noteworthy mention in the Boulder area is Ms. Christa (Crazy As Can Be) Ambrose D.O. from the medical school days. Christa is doing great and has devoted herself to caring for medically underserved and needy folks in the Boulder area. Hats off to you Christa because you walk the walk.Christa, How did it end up that this was the only photo I have of you from the whole weekend?

Anyway, we all met up, went to the Boulder Theater and boogied on down to Maceo Parker. Hot hot hot hot show! Maceo may be 1 million years old but he still throws down hard and The God Father of Soul continues to be proud post mortem.

Now we get to part 2 of the story. On to Carbondale, CO where Melissa’s cousin (1 of 1000) Stephanie lives with her husband Tim and two kids Jacob and Jenna. We had a good ole family BBQ with Titi Peggy, Jessica, Patrick, Tim’s dad, stepmom and brother Greg. Good food, fun and lots o kids and dogs runnin wild! Thanks everyone, it was so much fun. Also a shout out to the Big Bird Camper!!!!!

Recently, there has been a developing contest between all the male cousins to see who is the coolest. ALthough everyone keeps his own score card, John Fritz, I just have to say that Tim has widened the gap in an almost insurmountable fashion. He woke us up at 0400 and we drove up Independence Pass with plans to Hike West Geissler (elv.13, 301) and ski down. I have never done anything like that before and was a little nervous. Tim and the fellas showed me the ropes and thus, I have officially been bitten by the back country bug! Anyway, here are some very cool pics. What are missing are the photos of the altitude sickness that manifested itself the next day.

Parking lot at top of Independence Pass
Burt with his cloths on!
Super Dog pulling Mountain Man up the hill. This guy slept the night on the ground in the parking lot. Hard Core!

Getting Steep and Deep as we reach the top. Had to use an ice ax at the end.

Tim leads the way kickin the toe holds.
Don't fall!
Lungs and heart have exploded. Still havin a good time!
Lets go fly a kite.

Majestic Mountain Dog
Beautiful panoramic views.

Burt.... and the cloths come off!

So what next u ask? What could be better than Burt's strip tease......? The answer would be Dr John and The Neville Brothers at the Snow Mass Chille Pepper and Brew Fest. Steph, Jessica, Patrick, and Tim Braun made a day of it and to be honest, the chille was just ok. The beer and the music were fantastic and the view from the venue was absolutely epic! I just could not get over it and was often distracted form watching the bands to look at the mountains.


Beer Man Gets the Chicks!
Papa Funk Layin Down the Groove
Cyril and Aaron
Epic Views!

Dr. John played a great show complete with all his usual flair.
Showin the troops some respect



Wow! What a fun trip. Thanks to all the folks who put us up, entertained us and showed us the love.

Signing off,
Pedro