Dunes, Arizona, Vegas, and LA

We left Matt and Jacqueline on Saturday morning and drove to Great Sand Dunes Nat'l park along CO160 in southern Colorado. we camped in the park.. the wind picked up in the night and blew our tent around like crazy. Probably would have blown our tent over if we hadn't been weighing it down. (pics to follow)
After that, we drove through CO and got stuck in a HUGE dust storm all the way from Cortez, CO to Kayenta, AZ. Navajo Land is NOT prime real estate. We stayed the night in a motel run by Navajo in Tuba City.
We saw the Grand Canyon the next day, it's so unreal. It all used to be underwater, but as the Rockies rose out of the sea, the land in AZ rose too, and the river (whose flow was estimated to be exponentially stronger than it is today) cut through to the coast, carving out the Grand Canyon on its way as sediment eroded the sandstone and the sides of the canyon collapsed. We would have camped the night there, but it was supposed to get down to 19F, so we drove to Flagstaff, AZ, a hip little town. Had some dank sushi nomnoms.
Drove to Vegas the next day and Dean got his ticket cherry popped on Route 66. Cop was cool and marked his speed as lower, so it's a $100 ticket.
Stayed with Dean's Cousin Lauren in Vegas and saw a couple Casinos. The Wynn and the Encore are incredible. I failed at slots. I'm not much of a gambler. Had a really delicious cocktail, though.
After Vegas, we drove to Long Beach. Hung out at Huntington beach, ate some delicious food with Zoe, and went to a house party in LA. There was a pinata full of condoms and a really diverse crowd. Everyone kept saying I look like Jack Sparrow. I guess dreads aren't very common in LA. Hippies tend to stay away? We met these Brits from this band, Purple Melon, and one of the guys kept touching my hair. Too much tequila that night. Food has been amazing and I don't want to leave, bonfire tonight and then Zoe leaves for Virginia tomorrow and we go to Venice Beach then camp at Leo Carrillo. San Fran by Friday....

Keystone and Boulder

So, we drove to Keystone on Saturday to stay with Erica. Repped really hard in Pong for Austin, but really regretted it when we hit the slopes the next day. It was Dean's first time riding, and we both were feeling the altitude and the night before. We seriously did one (long) run and then went home to sleep for a while. Luckily Erica hooked us up with $45 lift tickets. We went out the next day and had a great time, rested Tuesday and went out for St. Patty's, then I hit the mountain again Wednesday with Erica, Matt, Jacqueline, and Tom. We have definitely gotten better, but our asses are sore. Got to boulder Wednesday night, ate some sushi with Matt and Jax, and tonight, we're hot tubbing, drinking wine, making dinner, then going to Cantina Laredo for Top Shelf Guacamole and 'ritas.

a few pics from Boulder












On Tuesday, we saw watchmen. I highly recommend it.

Texas and Colorado

we are in Littleton, CO right now, staying with cousins. We had a great time in Lubbock with Benny Mo, Cameron, Travis and company, then made it to Canyon City, CO the second night. stayed at an overpriced motel and saw Royal Gorge, the world's highest suspension bridge, which is very touristy but nonetheless spectacular. It's off season, so we got cheaper tickets and there was hardly anyone there.
(click pics for full version)
texas

royal gorge



the 'omg we were here' pic



get it?

cute goat>.<

geese at a park in Littleton








craziest thing was when we got here, to Denver. We wanted to go to this show, Alela Diane and Blitzen Trapper. Found out it was sold out the day before. Checked craigslist and everything for tickets, no luck. We had talked to Alela once before on myspace... so Dean sent her a message asking if she could get us in, much to my embarrassment. No response, so we just went to this little pub in Littleton. I check my phone (which I had left in the car) around 930 and see that, Lo and behold, Alela responded and actually got us on the guest list. She was literally supposed to be going on the moment we got the message... But as fate would have it, we were already on the right street and just followed it all the way to Denver. Saw half her set and talked to the drummer the rest of the night. Great show, though it was packed.
Today we walked around Denver and got coffee. Tried to play music in the park while coming down, which ended in frustration and weariness. Though a little boy with a mohawk and an adorable mom did give a dollar.
Tomorrow, we go to Keystone, and Sunday... we BOARD!

cell phone pic of alela. great shot, i know.

that's all for now. took damn near forever to upload and edit all that. hope you enjoyed and we'll see you next week with another addition to Dean and Laura's Excellent Adventure: The Blog.