We love our job!

Marc and I believe strongly in trying out what you are selling. I mean, how can I sell Chocolate Bread Pudding Tamales unless I know that they are absolutely, amazingly delicious? And how can we rent out ATVs with any confidence if we haven't ourselves taken them out on the trails?

So when our boss very graciously said, yes, you may take the afternoon off and go riding, we jumped at the chance. 

It was all in the name of good business practices of course. We learned how to check out the ATVs to guests, what to look for when they returned, and how to have an awesome time!

We followed a road up above town until we came to the intersection of Rat Creek Trail and the Bachelor Loop. We quickly realized that we were some of the first riders that had been out on the trail this season. 

We traveled as far as we could on our first path, but four wheelers are really made for mud, water, and rocks. Snow, not as much... Good thing we had a fabulous guide to show us the way and help us get unstuck.

Marc is standing in front of what was once the site of Bachelor City. During the mining boom in 1892, this town was home to 1,200 people, a dozen saloons, four hotels, a school, a church, a city hall, and a town newspaper! That's almost three times the current population of Creede! The people of Bachelor City decided it was easier to walk downhill to work from their city at 10,500 feet then it would have been to walk uphill from the valley where Creede now sits.


Below is a picture of the Equity Mine, one of the most recent operational mines in Creede.

 Yep, there's still snow, and it could be there until July!

Even after changing our course and looping around the historic Bachelor Loop, our progress was eventually thwarted by snow. This was fine by me. After seeing the hill we would have had to climb on the ATVs, I was happy to hoof it the rest of the way.

We parked our ATVs way down there and hiked up to about 12,000 feet, huffing all the way.

The sky was a beautiful, bright blue, the perfect backdrop for some great shots.

I think I need to work on my toe touches. My legs aren't quite high enough. Next time!

Marc had been talking about sledding since we arrived in Creede. And he finally got to do it! Unfortunately we had to use our behinds in place of sleds.

After resting and enjoying the view from the top for a bit, we decided to head back, and this time really put the machines to use. We can't wait to go back out when we can actually make it all the way up to the Continental Divide.

We definitely came back muddy! 

I love this shot of Marc. I just can't quite tell if he is enjoying himself!

It was a great day, one that made us very grateful for our jobs and happy to be a part of one of the most gorgeous places to which we have traveled.

Here's to more days like this!

Our life these days...

So Marc and I have been working pretty hard lately! The restaurant was fairly busy for our first two nights. After that we slowed down a bit and we have been steadily training since then so we can be ready for our high season which starts in about two weeks.

We are still taking hikes whenever we have time to enjoy the beautiful sights. The trees are starting to get green here which makes it even more gorgeous!

I spend the majority of my work day in the kitchen. I'll have to say that I have quite enjoyed getting back into a restaurant. I'm having a ball training my cooks and getting to cook everyday.

Marc has been very busy taking care of the bar, the front of house, and managing the cabins. Here he is taking care of business.

Here we are after our first night.

These four guys are our first international students. Can you imagine traveling across the world to a small mountain town of 400 people? They will have a fabulous summer no doubt!

This picture makes Marc very happy. He is using his Jeep for what it is made for, pulling ATVs in the mountains! 

Check back again soon for some pictures of our day out on the ATVs!

Our new home- Creede, CO

Hello from Creede, CO! We pulled into town on Thursday after slowly winding our way up through Wolf Creek Pass. We have to admit that we were a bit anxious as we drove the 21 miles from South Fork to Creede. We had been thinking about this day for a while now and our imaginations had run wild. What would the town be like? Would we find friends there? Would it be all we had expected?

Luckily, Creede has so far lived up to all of our expectations. It is a great small town with very friendly people, cute shops in the downtown area, and a gorgeous panoramic view of the mountains on all sides. 

We didn't get any pictures of the downtown area, we have to leave something for the next blog post, but we did get quite a few great shots. 

Here it is, Cascada Bar & Grill. It is a beautifully constructed restaurant with a spectacular mountain backdrop.

The famous Creede fork

We quickly settled into our home, which is much more than we had expected. It is a cute little two bedroom house with plenty of room for visitors! We have a great backyard area with a custom fence built just for us. 

As we moved all of our belongings from the RV to our new home, the elevation became evident. It will take us a little while to get used to living at 8,800 feet. But I know one way to speed up the process...

go for a hike!

So after two days of cleaning and getting the cabins ready for guests, we decided to take some time and see the sights.

Never have we lived somewhere with such easy access to stunning natural beauty. From our back door, we can see the sign for the National Forest trail that leads up to an unbelievable view of the town. The same trail travels ten miles to Wheeler Geologic Area which we hope to visit before the season starts. 

The portion of the trail that we hiked today is called the Up and Over, and very accurately so. It leads up to a rocky area overlooking Creede, and then over into the older, north part of town.

 Lucy couldn't believe her luck! Her and Max were in their element.















 Fortunately the elevation caused us to stop often during the "up" part which gave us ample opportunities to capture shots like this.

From the top is a 360 degree view of snow capped mountains and jagged peaks.

And the wind was blowing!

Marc gives it a well deserved thumbs up.

To be honest, this picture is not quite as dramatic as it looks. Although climbing up did give me a bit of vertigo.

After hiking up, we traveled over through the forest and down into the north part of town where we saw what is left of the old mining buildings.

Here are the local hockey ponds.

After our hike, Marc was feeling very much like a Captain.

                        

Marc fashioned us some lovely brick steps for the back of our house. 

Max took to them quite nicely.

After four days in Creede, we have fallen in love. We have already met some great people and checked out a few of the local eats. Our season starts on May 22nd, and we are looking forward to a great summer!

On the road again...

So here we are again, on the road. This feels vaguely familiar. Truth be told, we had fully intended on staying put for a while in Kansas City. You know what they say about the best of intentions. 

But when an opportunity like this presented itself, we just couldn't pass it up. 

As most of you know, we are headed to Creede, CO where we've gotten a job managing Cascada Bar & Grill and Cabins. We will be in charge of a Mexican restaurant, six cabins, and ATV rentals. For the past few months we have been obsessively looking at every available picture of Creede on the internet (which are limited) and thinking about what it will be like to live in a small mountain town at over 8,000 feet elevation. 

We are excited to say the least! And while we are sad to be moving away from family again, we are hoping our hard work in the summer will afford us some quality time in the winter. 

So here we go, on to our next adventure!

 Instead of renting a moving van, we did the next most logical thing- buy a 29 foot RV! We just couldn't resist the great deal and the beautiful condition of this 1994 Coachmen Leprechaun that we appropriately named Lucky. 

On our way out of town, we stopped in for one of our famous family breakfasts with our good friends Erin and Zac. We will miss you guys! See you again soon.

At over 900 miles from Branson, MO to Creede, CO we decided to break the trip up a bit. Our first stop was Wichita, KS where we had an incredibly warm welcome from Brad and Kim and got the chance to visit with Elaine who had flown in from LA. 

Brad and Kim have a beautiful home and property which they so graciously let us camp on for the night. We will definitely be back any time we come through Wichita! Thanks again guys!

Our next stop was over the border in Hasty, CO. We stayed at John Martin Reservoir State Park for a couple nights, and although the winds threatened, at 50+ mph, we were cozy and warm in our RV! 

Doesn't she look good next to the Jeep?

Running water, a comfy bed, electricity, and a gas burning stove. What else does a girl need?

I have to hand it to Marc. He handled the RV like a champ through less than perfect conditions in western Kansas and eastern Colorado. The winds roared against us, the dust storms made it almost impossible to see at times, and the stench of cow poop from the feed lots was almost too much to bear. But we kept keeping on, and soon enough... mountains!

And then, 100 miles later, we had almost reached them!

The mountains were so gorgeous that I had to snap a few shots from the car. We traveled west through Alamosa and passed the first physical proof of Creede! 

Although we wanted to turn, we drove further through the peaks to Pagosa Springs where we would spend three nights and explore the town a bit.

After all of our wonderful experiences at National Forest campgrounds on our honeymoon trip, we thought it only right that we would actually be living in a National Forest.

In Pagosa Springs we stayed at a delightful RV resort right off Highway 84, Pagosa Springs RV Park. The owner, Daryl, is very friendly and he greeted us with a complimentary bottle of wine and free ice cream! The RV spots are all grass, and we loved the views. If you ever come through Pagosa Springs, this is the place to stop.

True to form, the next day we sought out a trail to explore. We picked Leche Creek Trail. The mountain side was covered with tall Aspens and clear mountain streams. The snow got thicker the higher we climbed, but the puppies loved every minute of it. 

After our not so long hike- we are working our way up to 15 milers again- we stopped in town for a delicious lunch of Salmon Tacos, Portobello Panini, and KimChi and Tofu Spinach Salad. It was a cute little Cafe called Farrago Market, and all the food was amazing!

Tomorrow we will relax and enjoy our campsite before we head into our new town on Thursday. Until then!