10.10.05 - Denver, Colorado
Well, we had a great time and another Great Adventure.
Nat's transfer case on his truck went bad. Our furnace broke in the middle of a snow storm, power went out & we couldn't use the well for water or flushing toilets. Nat had just removed all the doors off of the bathrooms for remodeling purposes so we all got to know each other better. Gene was surrounded by wasps getting sun burned mowing the grass for six hours straight. There were 60 cities without power including Denver along the front range on the day our screening was scheduled. But it all came together & the screening once again was a hit.
We left at 5:00 am Friday morning and drove straight through, arriving in Parker, CO around 4pm. We got cozy in our home and unloaded. We went to dinner and had a relaxing evening.
We woke up Saturday morning to beautiful sunny weather. Nat had to work on our property. We have an old style quad level home that sits on five acres with a four-horse stall barn and chicken house all fenced in. It's my favorite place to be besides with all of you. Nat started to weed eat the weeds around our fence line and he had to mow the grass around the house. Not the whole 5 acres just the exterior area of the house. Gene, with his very beautiful white self, didn't want to go to the mall with Misty and I so he stayed with Nat and cut about an acre of grass with wasps flying all around him getting sun burned. This was Gene's first day with us in our home in Colorado. When Misty and I got back Gene was sun burned, I thought Joan was going to kill me. Nat was too exhausted to go to dinner so Misty, Gene and I went to an Italian restaurant where one of my friends works and brought Nat home dinner. Nat and Gene went to sleep and Misty and I went to the movies to see "In her shoes".
On Sunday morning, Misty and I woke up, went to town, got breakfast and delivered it to the men. It was very chilly. It was starting to rain and trying very hard to turn into snow. Misty and I decided to go back to town for some tea at this cute English teahouse and plan the rest of the afternoon. However, Nat's truck died and it started snowing. I called Nat and said your truck is broken, please have our neighbor take you to come rescue us. Parker is a quaint little town. Everything in Parker, CO is closed on Sundays so I got my first experience towing Nat in his truck with my neighbor's truck to Mr. Transmission. Having Nat ten feet behind you in his truck, hooked to you and not being able to use your brakes is enough 'car stuff' for me. Nat thought his transmission had gone away. Now we're without a vehicle until the next day when Enterprise opens at 7:30 am. So we just hung out at the house, prepared Bob's poster and ordered Chinese to be delivered. The Chinese place told me on the phone they didn't take credit cards on delivery but they accepted checks. They delivered, but then they didn't want an out of state check. After a few phone calls back and forth to the restaurant they finally took a credit card. We ate great food and watched TV all together on our bed since we have only one TV in our Colorado home, which is located in our bedroom. Nat & I just use this home as our getaway so the bare minimum is there. After this trip we will be bringing back the furniture that is sitting in storage to furnish this home. Gene brought his great portable queen sized airbed, it was as big as a boxspring and mattress. It was really cool. We had Savanah's bed still in one of the rooms and we found a really nice airbed for the extra room when Paul arrived. It was perfect. All with flanned sheets and heating blankets, what a blast.
Monday morning, we awoke bright and early, called Enterprise and got their last 4X4. That's all you can drive in the snow and we got a foot of snow on the ground with drifts to three feet. Ok, so now we have a truck. Nat and Gene went to pick up Paul. Misty and I started getting ready for the screening. Our furnace decides to break. A brand new furnace breaks. We thought it was the gas and called Suburban Propane. They come out with their big 4X4 and get stuck on our property right at the gate. In a foot of snow they're shoveling out and not happy campers. Misty and I started a fire in our fireplace. I thought I opened the flue but when the guys got back the house was a little smoky. Nat checked and said I closed the flue instead of opening it and Paul thought we were all going to die of carbon monoxide poisoning or something like that. Just as we were about to make another pot of coffee the power went out. Now I can't use the curling iron to curl my hair (this, of course, was the first real emergency of the weekend). We called Denver and the power was out where were going to screen the film. Nonetheless I said, "press on, when we arrive the power will be working and everything will be just fine." That's just what happened. I curled my hair at the theatre and Monday night at the screening was a big hit.
It was cold when we got home but we all had heating blankets and comfy warm slippers. The power came back on but the furnace was still broken. Mr. Transmission called and fixed Nat's truck and it was the transfer case not the transmission but still cost a lot of unexpected dollars.
We got up Tuesday morning, gave Paul a tour of Parker, returned the rent a truck, picked up Nat's truck, loaded up and got back on the road home to Vegas. We picked up a few sandwiches and Nat got food poisoning. I found out Gene doesn't like it when I quote Johnny Depp from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, "You're mumbling". Here, in Las Vegas we are planning our next trip!!!! Colorado went so well we will do it again within the next two weeks.
It was a total blast!!!!! Don't let any minor roadblocks keep you from your dreams.
-Michele