KRISS JOHNSON

Some randomness....

I finally got around to taking some photos off my camera...here are a few cute ones from the last couple of months.

He's gonna kill me for this one! He's always denied ever having a mullet...until my cousin and I put her wig on him-LOL

Dad's new puppy Madie...a few too many???

The day I brought home our boyz Phaedrus and Phineus. They were so small and I can't believe how fast they grow.

Phaedrus catches his first mouse! Soooooo proud :)

Dan's been spending lots of time landscaping around the sauna...and getting the waterfall going again as well.

IABTI mascot tattoo....our trade-show pics from Wichita, KS

Below are the pics from our trade-show trip to Baltimore, MD

Anyways....more to come, I just didn't want everyone to think I've given up on blogging :)

Well, Dan and I have been talking for some time about getting another kitten. It's been a year now since we lost our Charlie, and even though we could never replace that little dude it was time to fill that empty space. I really wanted to get a pair of sibling kittens...they'd have eachother to play with while we were gone and hopefully keep eachother close to home. I found these guys on Craig's list and unfortunately I ended up having to make a very difficult decision...which 2 of the 3 :(

I ended up chosing the little tabby on the right, he was the runt of the litter and had quite the personality!

Anyways...here's our new additions....

Phineus (white) and Phaedrus (tabby)

Colorado-Part 5

After our first evening camping in Almont we decided to ride through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. On our way there we stopped to check out Curecanti National Rec Area. They said that this canyon carries some of the oldest rock in the world at over 1 billion years. Needless to say, Dan had to take home a piece. There was also a great display of the Denver & Rio Grande that once passed through the Gunnison.

The Canyon was incredible! I must say though that it was difficult to stop at every view point, change out of our riding gear, then put it back on just to ride around the next corner and stop. It definately can become a little fustrating wearing so much gear in such heat. We also rode down East Portal Road into the bottom of the canyon. It was incredibly steep, lots of turns and I do believe Dan enjoyed himself a bit too much :)

The next morning we decided to head towards Vail and find a nice place to stay. Unfortunately, the prices were pretty steep and the two brewerys we were planning on visiting were no longer in existence. We decided to skip Vail and head to Dillon. This was my first experience getting stuck in heavy traffic on the back of the bike. It was hot as hell and the 35 miles we needed to travel took us nearly an hour and a half! We couldn't wait to get to our destination, find a shower and relax!

Dillon was a town very close to Frisco, our first destination when Dan picked me up from the Airport. We knew there were a couple of brewerys in town and fortunately the Super 8 that we checked into was within walking distance. We had an interesting evening walking in the wrong directions, getting a bit lost, getting great directions that really lead us astray but eventually did find what we were looking for. The first brewery was called Pug Ryan's Brewery & Steakhouse. The last was called the Dillon Dam Brewery where we had a great dinner and a few beers.

After Dillon, we decided it was time to check out the town of Breckenridge. Dan and I stopped through for breakfast one morning on our way south to Manitou Springs near the beginning of our trip. We wanted to treat ourselves and check out the town. The first thing we did was hit up the visitor information center to see if we could find a reasonable priced place to stay for the night. She told us of a little Bed & Breakfast/Hostel called the Fireside Inn. It was only a couple blocks from downtown Breckenridge and they just happened to have a room available....for only $88 bucks!!! I will definately be recommending this place to anyone who visits the area. Not only was the room cheap, but we were in a huge loft overlooking the entire town, had a great breakfast and internet access to pay a few bills. They even had a handmade hot tub...I believe out of an old beer cask that was very neat. Check out their site-this couple was incredible!

I really enjoyed Breckenridge. The people seemed very friendly, there is a ton of things to do and see and I can't wait to come back and actually hit the ski slopes some winter.

Colorado-Part 4

While in Colorado Springs, we were told that we had to pass through Guffey...a very eclectic little town with an interesting history! According to Wikipedia, Guffey is semi-famous for electing animals Mayor, although such an office does not officially exist. According to local folklore, the two main political parties in Guffey are called the "Democats" and the "Repuplicans".
The last known Mayor of Guffey is a cat named Monster (elected in 1998). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guffey,_Colorado

We headed south towards a town called Salida and a brewery called Amicas. While we were there and planning our evening and route to Crested Butte, we started talking to a few locals about hot springs. There were a couple springs that were suggested and one in particular we thought we'd check out. Unfortunately, the resort-type establishment was not as secluded as we hoped and we decided to move on. We were led across Cottonwood Pass and told to be careful due to the gravel coming down from the top. It wasn't nearly as bad as we thought and a beautiful ride! I also got my first taste of taking pictures while on the back of the bike :)

As we were checking out campsites, and desperately looking for one with a shower-we came across a dam. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures considering our good friends Gabe Taylor and Cynthia Park just got married.

We opted to get the first campsite we could find and after unpacking, then head up to Crested Butte for dinner. We were told that there would be a shower at a campground in Almont. When we found it, it was completely deserted and had secluded sites, but it was right on the river. We couldn't pass up how beautiful and reasonably priced it was.

The brewery we had intended to hit up had been closed down for a few years but we found a great pizzeria with a HUGE selection of beers to try out. On our way back to the campsite we spotted a bear running through an alley in town. It was too dark to take any pictures but at least I can finally say I saw one....in the wild???

Colorado-Part 3

After having a great breakfast with Rachel and Sean and saying our goodbyes, we headed towards Florissant. Since the bluegrass music didn't start until that evening, we decided to check out the Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument. Unfortunately, we didn't stay too long or even take part in the miles of hikes available to us. It was too hot and I think the elevation was starting to take it's toll on both of us. We did manage to see the best parts, the petrified redwoods that were up to 14 feet wide and fossils that painted a picture of a prehistoric Colorado.

As you are coming into the park an old homestead is open up like a museaum for all to see. The story is actually very interesting. "The Hornbek homestead complex, the home of a strong, determined woman who came to the area with her four children in the 1870's. Claiming land under the Homestead Act, Adeline Hornbek defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a prosperous ranch." Here's more of the story: http://www.thefencepost.com/article/20090326/FEATURES/903239994/-1/RSS01

That evening we had a wonderful time listening to the bluegrass music. The actual festival itself didn't start until Saturday, but Les was nice enough to invite us for the open mic/practice session the night before. We got to see pretty much the entire show-and didn't have to pay :)

We also had the opportunity to spend the evening drinking with Les & his friends and listening more music around the campfire until all hours of the night. It was difficult to get a picture because it was dark...but perhaps you can see the Santa resemblance I was mentioning in my last blog entry. Check out his band on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Florissant-Fossils-Bluegrass-Band/70606847963?v=wall&viewas=7426646544#

Colorado-Part 2

So, our next stop was Colorado Springs. We were pushing the limits with the back tire of the motorcycle and were in desperate need of a replacement by the time we got into town. Fortunately, we found a shop, a reasonable priced tire in stock...and didn't have a week long wait to have it put on. We also had a great place to stay that evening.

Thanks to MySpace, I have managed to get back in touch with a lot of old friends. One of them was Rachel Haddock...who just happened to live in Colorado Springs. I sent her a note letting her know that we'd be in town and that I'd love to see her again and she offered to let us pitch our tent in her back yard. It was great getting to meet her husband and little boy Finn, as well as reminisce of days long ago :) Thanks again Rachel for letting us spend a couple of days camped in your back yard...and I promise to continue to keep in touch.

There was a beautiful park next to Rachel's house and there was live bluegrass music there the night we arrived. Unfortunately, about 5 minutes after getting to the park, a huge storm cloud rolled in and the rain hit us hard. It was nice to be walking distance from anything and everything worth seeing in the middle of the city. We were even able to park the bike for an entire day and get a much needed 6+ hours of walking in.

One thing we really wanted to see was the Royal Gorge Bridge in Canyon City which is the world's highest suspension bridge. We rode a half a day there and back just to find out that not only is the bridge kept out of sight by man-made walls, etc. but it is a park charging an unrealistic amount of money just to get through the gate. Even on our way out of Colorado Springs we thought we'd try the south entrance, just to get sight of the bridge from afar and snap a picture....but again, no can do. Here are some pictures that I found online-i.e. what we were hoping to see.

We promised our friends Tom and Steve (the social workers we met in Frisco) that we'd give them a hollar once we got into town and we'd try to get together. Unfortunately, Steve was unavailable but we met up with Tom and his significant other at a great brew pub called the Phantom Canyon Brewery. The food and beer was incredible as was the company. We'll definately have to keep in touch with these guys too. Oh yeah, and thanks for dinner Tom!

Another place we had to see before leaving Colorado Springs was the motorcycle museum. We finally found a little building next to the Harley Davidson shop that definately didn't fit our idea of a museum...that is until we walked in the door.

On our first evenings in town, we walked a few blocks down the street from the house and into a little hole-in-the-wall bar that just happened to be having an open mic. We had ourselves a few drinks and met a musician named Les (he called himself More or Less-lol). He got on stage and played some great old country standards as well as a bit of bluegrass. The man looked just like Santa Claus and had the beaming personality to fit that description. He told us of a bluegrass festival in Florrisant and invited us to come and camp with some of his bandmates and other musicians in a private campground behind a bar called The Thunderbird. It sounded like a great opportunity to meet some new people and hear some great music at the same time...and who can pass up free camping. Dan and I decided that we'd leave Colorado Springs friday morning to arrive in time for the night-before-the-festival open mic and bonfire.

Colorado-Part 1

I've got lots of pictures to share, so I'll have to break up my posts a bit...enjoy!!!

Dan was fortunate enough to have his vacation roll-over in the middle of July, so he got an additional 2 weeks off. We decided that he would take off a week prior to me, I'd fly to Denver to meet him, fly back two weeks later, and then he'd ride home. Here he is taking off on the morning of the 4th of July.

Between here and when I meet up with him...he's got his own story to tell :) You may have to login, but here is the link to his forum: http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95331

Here's our first campsite together in Colorado. After Dan picked me up from the airport in Denver, we headed to the town of Frisco and set up camp on the lake. We set up next to a couple of guys named Steve and Tom. They were retired social workers having their annual guys weekend and we hung out with them all evening. They were both from Colorado Springs and we made plans to meet up with them again once we got there. Talk about a great, and drunken, evening meeting the locals.

By monday (also our 2nd anniversary) we decided to treat ourselves to a motel in Manitou Springs. There were quite a few things that we wanted to see close by, so we decided to check in for a couple of days. Downtown was definately a tourist trap, but very neat. There were random springs built throughout just like in the two pics you see above. The people were very eclectic, the houses were beautiful, the parks were incredible!!!

The Garden of the Gods (p.s. Addie, I did remember to tell them about the $ owed-lol)

Dan and I both found it kind of funny that we hopped on the bike in order to see the Garden and the Cave Dwellings...in the end, both were probably within walking distance of our motel room. Oh well, gave me practice on how to get my riding gear on and off in 100 degree heat :)

One of the things I loved the most about Colorado were the rain storms. Of course some can be a bit scary, especially while going over a pass or riding up Mt. Evans. What I loved most is that it can be hot as hell, a cloud will come over just to cool you off for a few minutes, and then disappear into nothing. Unlike back here at home where when a cloud rolls in, it stays for weeks at a time. Here's the bike getting washed outside of our motel and a few storm cloud pictures I couldn't help but take.