Back In Salt Lake City, And A Trip To Denver

It took two days of driving with my dad for us to get back out west. I wanted to do the drive alone but I’m really happy he came with me; it would have taken me so much longer to do it by myself and there were a few times during the drive I thought I was going to fade out so it is really, really nice that my dad came. The only bad part of the trip was having to go through Nebraska, Iowa, and Wyoming (pretty much the majority of the trip)… there was nothing there to look at! Just highway, sky, highway and more highway. And the odd herd of cows.

I’ve been back for about two weeks now and training is going well. Being on the short track again is awesome, I really missed it and I feel great when I skate it. There’s nothing better than throwing down a pivot and shooting out of the exit of a turn! Picking up short track again was the greatest thing to do, it makes training and skating feel fun. For a while last season it was like I was pushing against this cement wall and not having anything productive come from it, but now that I’m short tracking again everything feels new, just like when I first started skating in Baltimore, MD.

Yesterday I came back from Denver; I went to visit my cousins David and Jason. David works for Sky West and was able to get me a plane ticket to come out and visit, which was awesome because I had never been to Colorado before. It is the most beautiful and breath taking place I have ever been!

Dillon has the best Frisbee Golfing course in the U.S. (so I was told), and the whole time you’re whipping a Frisbee you get the view of a lake right off the course, mountains with mushrooms on them from avalanches, and comfortable weather that is just right for enjoying the outdoors.

The best part of the trip was attending my cousin’s best friend Fish’s bachelor party. We started in Denver with a 31’ Winnebago that David and I picked up from a downtown rental office. It was the best idea ever for kicking off a bachelor party. On our way back to his apartments we picked up everything we would need for the trip, and not too long after we got back everyone started showing up. When we were set to go we went to pick up the bachelor and then we tore it up.

Dinner was at Elway’s Restaurant the first night, and it was the most expensive and delicious place I have ever been in my life! We had our own private dining room with a 52” plasma flat screen playing basketball in the background while the waitresses brought in appetizer after appetizer, our main courses and lots, and lots, and lots of drinks for the older guys. When dinner was over and the tab came, it was close to $1500. WOAH!

That night we finished our drive up into Central City and went into the hotel casino, where we had our own private Hold’Em table ready and waiting. Everyone was up until 4 or 5 in the morning gambling and having an awesome time. One guy in our group, Marty, cleaned out the place and walked away with close to $400. This guy got hand after hand that no one could touch and fleeced a few locals out of whatever they had.

One guy who came to join our table was as cocky as I’ve ever seen anyone and thought he was going to walk in and bury our party. He wound up getting everything he had taken from him after about an hour and started yelling, cursing, and threatening people in our party. My cousin David told him to chill out and to quit ruining a good night and he lost it even more, almost getting into a serious fight with my cousin. The casino security came and made him leave, and afterwards we found out from them that he was a state trooper. Go figure.

After another night of maybe 2 or 3 hours of sleep everyone left the hotel suite and climbed back into the Winnebago. We met up with the bachelor’s wife to be, Rachael, and continued our drive through the mountains up into Steamboat. Rachael drove in a rental car to meet up with us, and since she wanted to ride in the Winnebago with her fiancé I drove her car and Tyler came with me.

Tyler is one of the more interesting people I’ve ever met. He used to train for moguls and aerials and compete nationally and internationally on World Cup teams and the stories and experiences he’s had are incredible to hear.

We drove up together the rest of the way into Steamboat with the Winnebago trailing behind us. We harassed antelope, peeled out at the continental divide (which was beautiful), drove past where he did a commercial with the rest of the ski team when he was in the area training, listened to the best radio station I’ve ever heard that kicked out one great song after the next… windows down, warm wind blowing through, Aspen trees clustered throughout the mountains like giant green pillows, and wildlife everywhere. Awesome.

When we got into Steamboat we stayed at the Steamboat Grand, an enormous luxury hotel with a view of the slopes and the ski town. That night was even more fun than the last, everyone making sure to let loose knowing that in less than 8 hours the party was over. We ate dinner at The Rio, flipped the place upside down with everyone acting up and then went out for the rest of the night. Earlier that day before we all went to dinner Tyler, Kyle, David and I were talking to a few women outside the hotel. They were there for the Habitat for Humanity Ball (which they paid $100 to attend) and skipped out early from it to come out with us. Needless to say it was a good night.

My trip to Denver was the most fun and probably most memorable time I’ve had so far. Everyone else in our party had a blast too, and everyone got along with no drama involved. This trip to me was one of those very rare times where everything goes smoothly, especially with everything that could have and should have gone wrong. No one ended up in jail, no one died, but we did have one guy go to the hospital. Marty, I hope you’re feeling better and that your surgery works out for the best. One of our guys and an awesome friend, Kyle, put it best. “I spent $3000 in two and a half days, and I don’t feel bad about it all. Best money I ever spent.”

I learned a lot on this trip, and I couldn’t have learned it all from better people. My cousins are very fortunate to have such great friends in their lives; after all, having good people to do things like this with is what makes everything worthwhile.

Unfortunately the party is over, but being back here and training feels great. I’ve got a supportive group of people to work out with and an excellent coach who knows his stuff.

I’ll be posting pictures of the whole Denver trip within the week, maybe give or take a few days; I just need to get them from my cousins first. Keep an eye out for them!

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