The Mistress - Pasquini Livietta

Meet the mistress aka "Lev's".  She was introduced to the wife as a gift a while back.  I must confess, I often sneak out of bed early in the morning, while trying not to disturb the wife, in attempt to have some alone time with ol Lev's.  I've been accused many times, for perhaps bringing Lev's into our home for my benefit :)

Exposure1/59, Aperture: f/2.8, ISO Speed: 1250



















Legal Addictions' Upgrades - Olympus OMD EM-1

Below are a collection of random shots since the new camera crawled its way into my hands.  The camera is just getting warmed up for the arrival of Baby Mac.  The EM-1 is simply amazing, hopefully the images below will speak for themselves, if you need a more in depth written info / reviews on the brand new EM-1, here are a few very well done reviews

ATMTX PHOTO BLOG
SteveHuff Photo.com

DPreview.com

**All images are reduced in size for Web sharing**
























Dunton - The best wedding ever (according to most) 12/8/12


Nestled deep in the San Juan mountains of southern Colorado is a dreamy little place, Dunton Hot Springs.  A little mining community that was established in 1885. It sat as an abandoned ghost town for quite some time before the current owners took seven years creatively restoring the ghost town, with beautiful interior renovations, while keeping the exteriors rustic.  There is the old dance hall, saloon and library. The original bath house with indoor and outdoor hot springs, not to mention four more natural hot springs spread throughout the town.  We rented out the whole town for a few days and had.... well... as said by many "The Best Wedding Ever!"  





I probably would have needed help anyway but broken hand didn't help - WAG Photos

Chuck went for one of his normal pre work mountain bike rides behind our house and ended up taking a spill 1 week before our wedding and breaking his hand. He was thoughtful enough to have his cast match his tie :)


Crafty family - homemade wedding dress and stump - WAG Photos

The stump creatively made by both Morgan and Ryan Casey.  If anyone ever runs through Dunton, CO could these please pick up the stump for us.  Somehow we managed to leave the stump behind :(  The wedding dress was amazingly made by my "crafty and clever" mother Debbie Casey. It took her all of 1-2 days to finish!

The Walk - Father n Daughter - WAG Photos


Gangsta Ring Bearers WAG Photos
                                   
Our handsome nephews Brodie Stach and Riley Casey


We had the privilege of having the Reverend JP Casey marry us :)- WAG Photos


Boys and Their Toys - WAG Photos


Some Slick FellasWag Photos


The Gang - WAG Photos


The AK Fab Four (partners in crime for best pre-wedding fun ever :)) - WAG Photos

My brother Shane flew in from Portland, besties Noelle and Shanna from AK we convened in Denver 5 days before the wedding and had a blast making our way down to Dunton. My stomach was so sore just from laughing. Spent a great night in Ouray dabbling in brewery and hot springs fun.


Me Moms - WAG Photos

The Peak in the background is a part of the Mt Wilson and El Diente Peak massive.  Well me moms she climbed that with me several years prior....oh ya those are 14,000 foot peaks.  To this day me moms is still one of my favorite 14er hiking partners:)   


Father and Daughter - WAG Photos


The McQuade's - WAG Photos


The Casey's - WAG Photos


Fires, Sunsets and New Brother-In-laws - WAG Photos


The Dunton 42 - WAG Photos


 Cheers - Mr and Mrs. McQuade - WAG Photos

Most amazing wedding due to beautiful location, quaint unique town, amazing/attentive staff. Great gourmet food. And of course amazing friends and family that we are so lucky to have!!

A Little Rumney Climbing & a Stach Stopover


K and I took advantage of one of our cyclical off weeks and pulled together a trip back east to see my sister (aka Sissy) and her fabulous Connecticut residing familia.  We also threw in a few days at what most consider the east coasts premiere sport climbing destination.  You may not guess it since few of us west-siders leave our abundance of flawless stone to climb the moss covered, canuck crawling crags of the east coast.  Kidding…Rumney, New Hampshire is actually home to some amazing stone and very unique climbing.  We had a blast, I wish we had more time to spend in the area.  Beautiful place for sure, my sis may be visited more frequently so we have an excuse to go back to Rumney.

So after a few days climbing in NH we made our way down to CT.  First thing first, I needed the Stach’s (sis and Matt) approval of K, my future wife to be.  They approved!  Jaide and Brodie, my adorable niece and nephew also seemed to be huge fans of miss K.  Chalk up the approvals, the wedding looks like a go!

The visit consisted of countless steamers, the kiddos pebble wrestling (rock climbing) for their first time at Chatfield Hollow, crab catching beach fun at Hammonasset beach, adult only story telling sessions around the fire pit and…..enough said check the pics.  If your wondering were the pics of sissy and Matt are…..well I’m wondering the same, they were camera shyJ  Just wait there will be plenty of black mail-ish pics from the wedding, I’m sure! 

Like always click on pics to see better resolution 

Photo caption ContributionsIf your feeling clever therefore would like to re-caption any of the photos,  leave a comment on the post.  I will then re-caption the photo followed by your name.


Self Inflicted Bunny Ears - meet Jaide and Brodie

:) 
Boy of Many a Funny Face

Styling in the Forest
Looking for the Buried Engagement Ring!

We Forgot..... the Beer Face

Tides a Coming In

Crabby

Who wants Crabs?

Pebble Wrestling - Brodie and Jaide

Asking for round two before back on the ground

Must of Found the Beer Face

High Elevation Engagement

Last week was amazing...

...for my FIANCE and I......yup that's right we got engaged!  Ill save all the emotional sappy stuff for those who wish to call/meet for a beer and get the details.  Ill try and keep it short and concise then let the pics do the talking.

The Ring :
  • self designed Celtic braid, custom made by Mr. Gene Bauer an artist and goldsmith of 30 years.  Gene's studio is in Golden, CO as may soon contain framed photographs of Kristin's rings.  
The Process:
  • Kristin mentioned and found some artwork of a Celtic braid/weave.  We sat down with Mr. Bauer to inquire about taking on the design.  Soon after I choose to cut Kristin off from any further involvement in  the ring designs....for surprise sake.  
  • After several meetings Gene and I came up with the final designs.
  • 3 months later Gene finished what he called one of his most challenging pieces.  
  • At this point I mislead Kristin in believing the rings were in wax and still a ways from being done due to continues design problems.  There were a few other misleading bits of info...like planning to have a lakeside conversation with Mr. Casey during an upcoming family get together in Minnesota.  
The Proposal Plan: 
  • Travel to Ouray/Silverton shortly after getting off work.  Camp at Ice Lakes Basin trailhead.  Then in the AM mountain bike the 3,080 vertical feet and 3.5 miles to Ice Lakes Basin, an area regarded by many as one of Colorado's most stunning alpine basins!  Ice lakes basin contains 4 lakes (one blue, one green and one with a rock island in the middle), countless waterfalls and an abundance of wildflowers.  I knew if i didn't propose mountain biking there was a chance K wouldn't go for it:)
How It Went Down:
  • We were able to bike to the lower Ice Lakes Basin before things got to steep and to rocky to travel via bike.  From here we stashed the bikes and hiked the final 0.5 miles.  Once coming upon Ice Lake, I looked around for the right spot....I wasn't feeling it and we didn't have the area to our selves.  So I suggested we hiked a bit higher to the next lake, one of CO's hidden gems.  Most people are so overwhelmed by Ice Lake they don't bother checking out Island Lake.  She was down with the plan so we hiked a bit further to the most majestic lakes I have seen!  It was perfect....well minus trying to convince Kristin to come down the final 5 feet to the waters edge.  As she was very happy with her view from up above, luckily she fell for the ol "please babe, I want to take some pics from down here"........The rest is history:)     


Night cap - prior to the big day

To One Knee - GPS tracks


Lower Ice Lakes Basin - we changed our wheels for hiking near the huge black headwall near photos center


Skunk Cabbage - the waterfall  is the drainage from Ice Lake

Caribbean Blue - Ice Lake

Columbines

Question soon to be popped - Island Lake

She has no Idea

She Said YES

Gorgeous - the rings not to shabby either

Among the Wild Flowers

My Fiance




Going Back to Kaly Kaly Kaly

Just as Notorious B.I.G had once said we are "going back to Kaly Kaly Kaly"

I often find myself thinking about our trip to the Greek Islands, ok ok and of course the more vivid thoughts pertain to tufa pulling mecca of Kalymnos.  The trip was one of those "once in a lifetime" adventures. Despite the once in a lifetime tag, I'm pretty sure the day we left the islands we started planning our next visit.  Now if only we could devise a way to make a living as both a pharmacist and a nurse in Kalymnos.  Might be a little tough as sport climbers tend to take pretty good care of themselves.  But wait, the Europeans, lets just focus on hoards of chain smoking Europeans that tend to frequent Kalymnos.  Ahh those Europeans; some climbers prefer the post send high five, some feel the need to give a play-by-play rerun of the send, but man those euros they run straight to the pack to light up their celebratory cig.  They did however come up with belay glasses...genius!  Or click here for the US site.

Plane tickets and and lodging are in the books.  

Seen you in October, Kalymnos.  The awesomeness will begin as we arrive in Athens for Kristin's Birthday:)

New Kalymnos Guidebook to the planets best Tufa Wrestling

Old Climbering Grounds & Brotherly / Motherly Surprises

Yup that's right, old stomping grounds: the crazy conglomerate of El Rito, New Mexico.  Little ol El Rito was anything but quiet this past week.  I remember coming here to climb on weekends and nearly having the whole crag to ourselves, perhaps it was the recent feature in Climbing magazine.  Kinda cool to see the area getting some recognition.  El Rito rocks! and don't forget to visit the nearby Ojo Caliente mineral springs and spa on that rest day:)    

In between climbing / camping stints at El Rito Kristin and I traveled a little further south on 5/13 to Santa Fe for a special surprise.  We orchestrated a perfect UN-discoverable surprise...or we thought:)  See, May 13 is my brothers birthday, which also happened to be Mother's day this year:)  Dad was to convince the two of them it was a simple trip to Santa Fe to celebrate the joint b-day / m-day.  It almost worked.  It turned out mom had a slight tip off to the surprise (Dad discussing the surprise with me over the tele....with mom sitting right next to him)  Sean had no idea so we batted a 0.500 on 5/13.

Dad took them both to the Marble brewery taproom overlooking the Santa Fe plaza for a midday brew-ski. At this time we called them on their cell phones to wish them a happy days, after a few words we then walked into room to two really BIG smiles:)         


The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi

Our Lady of Guadalupe

If only she was this surprised when we walked in

Sean n Ol Johnny Cash (his favorite musician)

My Darling Smile

Pops @ Marble
Second Street Brewery - Next visit , McQuade's to CO

Staying dry during an El Rito hail storm

The Scoop - ya thats right the only down skirt being worn in NM....EVER?








Costa Rica - Todd and Zette get Hitched!

Last week we could of been stuck in CO, in the cold, without any snow to play in....nope not true instead we were in Costa Rica exposing our winter white skin to 94 degree UV rays.  Oh ya and by the way we also got to be a part of Todd and Suzzette's amazing wedding at the all-inclusive Hilton Papagayo Resort in Playa Panama....Ill save all the details, emotional reflections, total count of Guapirinha's and ceviche plates consumed.  Let's just say it was a RAD wedding.

My two favorite things about CR:
  1. Guapirinha: Costa Rica's version of the well known Brazilian caipirinha.  Go to any CR bar and hold up four fingers to the bartender and before you know it you'll be presented with the Guapirinha a sugar cane based rum (Cacique Guaro) drink with about a pound of muddled limes.  
  2. Ceviche: a central american traditional dish usually made from raw fish or mollusks marinated in citrus juices for around 24 hours prior to serving.  Pretty sure we averaged 2-4 ceviche plates a day while in CR; seabass, marlin, swordfish, shrimp...
Kristin and I did a bit of exploring for the few days we had after the wedding.  We hitched a ride with Rob and Leah into Liberia (the largest town of Guanacaste province of Costa Rica).  From Liberia we planned on catching some transportation to Rincon de la Vieja. We later found out from the hostel host that the national park is closed on Monday's. Plan B was to make our way to the local bus station and explore our options.  Liberia not being much of a tourist destination, tends to lack English speaking Costa Rican's... Thank goodness I had my personal translator with me.  I cant tell you how many times K saved the day.  I'm pretty sure I would of either paid 200 dollars for a 2 dollar bus fair or ended up on a bus to Panama.  So we ended up on a two hour bus ride with the locals down to Tamarindo to spend a day and a half playing on the beach, searching for nesting leatherback sea turtles by headlamp and eating grilled lobster with our feet in the sand.

Sorry for the lack of pics, camera battery died shortly after all the wedding pics :(


I present to you:    Todd and Suzzette Conner


Doesn't need a Caption - oops just got one :)


Da Boys


Me lovely lady - isn't she just gorgeous


If only you could see what she is blocking :)



Taken while sipping a Guapirinha on the beach in Tamarindo






Black Spiny-tailed Iguana of Costa Rica - costa rica's version of a stray dog





Green Street Theater - Halloween NM Style

Halloween 2011 - Green Street Theater Style, marked my return to NM for the first time since, May of 2010 prior to my departure to Spokane, WA for residency (shout out to club Deac). It was awesome to be back in Albs, seeing the fam and visiting with friends.  Ohhh yes then there was the Halloween party!

The pics below were taken during costume preparation with Suzzette N Todd, and Krisitin  prior to the party.

For actual party scene pics visit Wes's blog   


One of my better moments































Mad Hatter - Todd



























Slutty Cinderella, Naughty Little Red Riding Hood - Suzzette, Kristin






























RAD

Pot Pie Pizza & Da "Bers" - The Windy City

Chicago with the Casey's!  Finally made it out to K's crib:)  This visit was long overdue:)  What a perfect time to visit the windy city, which really was more like the sunny city for our 5 day visit.  I mean really.... a Bears game in early October, in short sleeves, like I said perfect timing.

Trip Highlights (many more then whats listed below)

  • CPOG (chicago pizza & oven grinder company)   
    • Pizza Pot Pies:  what a Chicago welcoming, from the airport to the CPOG 
    • Valentine's Day Massacre: a garage directly across from the CPOG was thought to of housed the sub-machine guns that brought the notorious “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” to headlines around the world. Rumor has it that the house at 2121 North Clark (now CPOG) served as a lookout post for the hoodlum henchmen of the Valentine gunners.
    • Chicago's architectural heritage is considered to be among the finest in the world...what better way to view the magnificent structures then via Chicago River.  Wendella boasts as Chicago's only tour boat company with a dedicated, in-house education department allowing the docents to provide a unique and entertaining insight into Chicago's architecture.  Great idea Debbie:) 
Tribune Tower (On June 10, 1922, the Chicago Tribune hosted an international design competition for its new headquarters, and offered $100,000 in prize money for "the most beautiful and distinctive office building in the world". The competition worked brilliantly for months as a publicity stunt, and the resulting entries still reveal a unique turning
point in American architectural history. More than 260 entries were received.)


One of my favs.  The architect purposefully used specifically curved glass windows to capture the reflection of surrounding buildings

Sears....I mean Willis Tower as it was renamed in 2009. Once the tallest building in the world, now remains as the tallest building in the US (108 floors, 1,451')

 
    • Starting with a taste of tailgating.. NFL style with Chicago's diehards
    • I also learned during a phone call to brag to my pops about getting to watch a game at Soldier Field...It turns out he one upped me - He played at Soldier Field against Navy with the Air Force Academy back in 1966
Tailgating at Soldier Field - Now these guys had the setup!  A convert into a party ambulance:)

Not bad for the "Nosebleeds" - Bears won 34-31 - Do you think in 1966 the endzone graphics were in black and white? :)

  • Wrigleyville  & Bears victory celebration at Chicago's top 3 bars
    • After the bears game, Kristin got this rural raised city slacker on the L (elevated train) to Wrigleyville
      • Formerly a working-class neighborhood, Wrigleyville is the nickname to the neighborhood directly surrounding Wrigley Field, which is more commonly referred to as Central Lakeview.  
    • The top 3 Bars:
      • Sheffield's Beer Garden (located in 3 blocks south of Wrigley Field)
      • The Green Mill Cocktail Lounge (Shades of Al Capone's heyday are found in the wall memorabilia. Ask the bar tender about the famous booth where he and his henchmen could keep a cautious eye on both doors)
      • The Hopleaf (Chicago's best Belgium Style Muscles, and one heck of a beer list)








Waveland Avenue and the Wrigley Rooftops  (Wrigley roofs have dotted the neighborhood of Wrigleyville around Wrigley Field. Venues on Waveland Avenue overlook left field, while those along Sheffield Avenue have a view over right field)



Already looking forward to our next visit to the Casey's in Chicago.  Maybe next time we will remmber to get a group photo:)  In the meantime we will keep working on a McQuade/Casey Colorado Christmas:)