Free at LAST . . . FREE AT LAST!

Sam's preferred mode of self expression: NUDITY!

"Jo Jo was a man who thought he was a woman"

Getting in touch with his feminine side . . .

This is what happens when you leave him home all day alone with mom.

sangre española . . .

This evening, Sam enjoyed half a bottle of stuffed manzanilla olives (product of spain) before bedtime. Perhaps he has "sangre española" in him afterall, which would be great . . . but Becky would have some serious explaining to do.

Adeu Subaru . . .

I know many of you have pleasant memories of the Subaru, so I am posting this photo so you can share one final good-bye: After incessant overheating and head gasket problems, we finally put the Subaru down. I tried to sell her back to a Subaru dealer in Glenwood Springs, but after they took a look, they offered me a whopping $0. But Craigslist did the trick. This morning, the Subaru was towed away forever, and I was left standing in the snow with the proceeds: enough to cover the initial tow-job to Glenwood Springs and lunch at the "Village Smithy" in Carbondale on the way back to Aspen.

The whole sad episode reminded me of a scene from the film "Motorcycle Diaries," where Ernesto and Alberto's 1939 Norton 500 (below), which they named "The Mighty One" broke down for good and was tearfully loaded on the back of a truck to be shipped off for scrap.

But this morning, we shed no tears. And all in all, I am glad to be rid of the Subaru even if I couldn't get anything for it. Adeu Subaru . . .

Mom leaves for a few hours and . . .

Walking . . . Like a Drunken Sailor

In a matter of hours, Sam went from having to walk while holding your hand . . .

. . . to stumbling along on his own like a drunken sailor, and he is fired up about it!

Becky skis the BOWL!

We got hammered with 14 inches of new snow Friday evening, so on Saturday morning, I convinced Becky to climb the Highland Bowl up to an elevation of 12,392 feet. The exposed ridgeline was beautiful (on the photo above, you hike right up the right side shoulder, which Becky said she didn't like because of the steep plunges below). And then from the summit, we popped into our bindings and skied through deep, soft snow from 12,392 feet down to 8,100 feet.