Spectacular Steamboat Springs
So I realize it's been three full states since I've sent out a blog, and I want to apologize to all who are following me. It's been a long month and I was simply trying to knock out as many miles as possible. So allow me to catch you up over the next few blogs. Now is a perfect opportunity to tell you about how amazing my stay in Steamboat Springs was.
After saying goodbye to my friend Christa, from Denver, on Sunday evening, I called Suzanne Schlicht, the president of the Steamboat Grand Rotary club. She put me in touch with Grant and Tracy Fenton who had agreed to host me for the next three nights. Grant and Tracy are two of the nicest, more fun and hospitable people I've met on this trip. I met them for dinner that evening and we immediately hit it off. It was very easy to connect with them and they were totally interested in who I was and what I was doing. After dinner and drinks, Grant and I drove up to Suzanne's house to visit before heading back to his house for bed. There I met her and her husband as well as bunch of Suzanne's family that was visiting . Everyone there was also extremely curious about my story and we talked for a good hour or two. Everyone was so nice that I met in those first few hours of being taken care of by Rotary that I knew the next few days would be special.
Grant owned his own investment company and was able to work whenever he wished (I really need to figure out how to accomplish this). So, on Monday, I was truly excited to hear that when I had mentioned that I loved fly fishing, Grant happened to own some property and be a member of this ranch development outside of town in the middle of beautiful rolling hills and pastures with surrounding mountains as well, and they just happened to have an amazing river with fishing guides who provide rods, waders, and advice on how to catch some of the most beautiful and huge trout I've ever seen. Even with my extremely rusty technique (I actually hit my guide in the face with my fly and hooked his hat on a back cast) I was able to pull in three gorgeous rainbow trout and brook trout within the first hour or two. The simply don't make trout like that in the Appalachian rivers of North Carolina, where I was accustomed to fishing. Though Grant caught a "tree bass" with one of his back casts, he ended the day going home empty netted. After fishing, we went back to Grants office where I met up with a reporter from the local paper, The Steamboat Pilot. Suzanne happened to also be the publisher of this paper and set me up to be interviewed not only in the paper, but also a 7 minute live tv interview on Tuesday during the local channel's morning show. The reporter was thorough and surprised with many of my answers. They also sent over a photographer to take a few pictures of me with my bike & trailer. That evening we met up with Tracy for dinner at one of their friend's restaurants. We were joined by another one of their friends and his family, who were all very interested to hear my story, so it was good to get to share my experiences some more. After dinner, Grant and Tracy took me up to Strawberry Springs, which is a very naturally built but nice hot springs in the mountains above Steamboat. The water comes right out of the side of the mountain at a very hot temperature, and they've channeled it into a few different pools that are mixed with a cold mountain river at different levels and amounts creating a temperature differential. There's really hot, hot, warm, and you can actually walk into the unmixed waters of the river and get a nice cold shock to your system before returning to the steaming springs. This was great therapy for my weary body.
The next morning Grant and I went to his office to work and hang out until the Rotary meeting at lunch. He ran across the street and came back with a paper and a smile on his face. He nor Suzanne knew how they'd run the article, but I ended up being the main story on the front page with a big picture of me and my bike. The article went on to a second page and was very well written. Needless to say, I was pleased. Grant grabbed his bike to show me where to go for my morning show interview and we cycled over to the paper and tv headquarters building. On our way there a random guy on his bike asked if I was the guy in the article, praised me and congratulated me on my work. It was out of nowhere and a nice light to my morning. Grant headed back to the office and I was introduced to Harper, the very attractive morning show host. She was very personable and made the whole situation very comfortable. It was a quick interview with Harper and they had qued up some graphics from my website to show on the tv while we spoke. When I watched the recording later on, I felt like a dummy, but other people reassured me that it went really well. I went to a really nice creek side cafe for breakfast afterwards and had a delicious meal. The waitresses were excited that I was the guy on the paper and gave me the breakfast for free. During my meal, the table behind me had been reading the article and asked when I had returned from Niger. I told them December and they asked if I knew a guy named Christopher Burns. I immediately started laughing in surprise and said, "Yeah, he was my boss." This man had gone to college with him, and his wife had actually gone to high school with his as well. I was blown away by the coincidence and at how small the world really is. At the Rotary club lunch meeting, I was truly moved by the kind things that Grant said as he introduced me. Apparently, I had made quite the impression on him with my story. After I spoke, the whole club gave me a grand reception, applause and standing ovation. This kind of thing still surprises me, but I'm happy that I can inspire people and move people with what I've seen and done. After all, that's the point of my awareness campaign. Suzanne and Grant both started a verbal pledge throughout the club saying how they were going to donate a hundred dollars each and challenged the other members to join them in order to reach the $500 mark where the WFP can start a school garden with that sum. School gardens are an important and quality project in developing nations, as a Peace Corps volunteer many of us that served in Niger started this type of project and worked with the teachers and school children in order to provide nutritious foods to the kids as well as a motivation to village parents to send their children to school. By the end of my time in Steamboat Springs my campaign fundraising had increased by almost $800. I was beyond thankful. That afternoon, Grant took me fly fishing again. This time, the wind was blowing and the water was colder making the fish less likely to bite. As our guide was taking my picture I actually hooked what felt like a little fish, but as I reeled him closer to the net he turned and fought like a monster braking my fly off and escaping before I got an actual look at him. Other than that, it was an uneventful venture, but it didn't matter. I was just happy to have the opportunity to be swinging a fly line through the air in such an absolutely breathtaking area. Tuesday evening, Suzanne had also invited the Rotarians out to a restaurant for a send off for me since I was leaving the next morning. This was above and beyond as it was another meal I wasn't responsible for, and they used the opportunity to try to raise a little money for myself to continue my journey. I simply cannot thank Suzanne Schlicht or Grant Fenton and his wife Tracy for all that they did for me. It was one of the best hostings and receptions I've received on this entire trip. And as if all this wasn't enough, they made connections across Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming for me to be hosted and received. Truly amazing.
Reluctantly, I left the comfortable situation in Steamboat Springs Wednesday morning for a much more inhospitable environment...Northwestern Colorado.
I
After saying goodbye to my friend Christa, from Denver, on Sunday evening, I called Suzanne Schlicht, the president of the Steamboat Grand Rotary club. She put me in touch with Grant and Tracy Fenton who had agreed to host me for the next three nights. Grant and Tracy are two of the nicest, more fun and hospitable people I've met on this trip. I met them for dinner that evening and we immediately hit it off. It was very easy to connect with them and they were totally interested in who I was and what I was doing. After dinner and drinks, Grant and I drove up to Suzanne's house to visit before heading back to his house for bed. There I met her and her husband as well as bunch of Suzanne's family that was visiting . Everyone there was also extremely curious about my story and we talked for a good hour or two. Everyone was so nice that I met in those first few hours of being taken care of by Rotary that I knew the next few days would be special.
Grant owned his own investment company and was able to work whenever he wished (I really need to figure out how to accomplish this). So, on Monday, I was truly excited to hear that when I had mentioned that I loved fly fishing, Grant happened to own some property and be a member of this ranch development outside of town in the middle of beautiful rolling hills and pastures with surrounding mountains as well, and they just happened to have an amazing river with fishing guides who provide rods, waders, and advice on how to catch some of the most beautiful and huge trout I've ever seen. Even with my extremely rusty technique (I actually hit my guide in the face with my fly and hooked his hat on a back cast) I was able to pull in three gorgeous rainbow trout and brook trout within the first hour or two. The simply don't make trout like that in the Appalachian rivers of North Carolina, where I was accustomed to fishing. Though Grant caught a "tree bass" with one of his back casts, he ended the day going home empty netted. After fishing, we went back to Grants office where I met up with a reporter from the local paper, The Steamboat Pilot. Suzanne happened to also be the publisher of this paper and set me up to be interviewed not only in the paper, but also a 7 minute live tv interview on Tuesday during the local channel's morning show. The reporter was thorough and surprised with many of my answers. They also sent over a photographer to take a few pictures of me with my bike & trailer. That evening we met up with Tracy for dinner at one of their friend's restaurants. We were joined by another one of their friends and his family, who were all very interested to hear my story, so it was good to get to share my experiences some more. After dinner, Grant and Tracy took me up to Strawberry Springs, which is a very naturally built but nice hot springs in the mountains above Steamboat. The water comes right out of the side of the mountain at a very hot temperature, and they've channeled it into a few different pools that are mixed with a cold mountain river at different levels and amounts creating a temperature differential. There's really hot, hot, warm, and you can actually walk into the unmixed waters of the river and get a nice cold shock to your system before returning to the steaming springs. This was great therapy for my weary body.
The next morning Grant and I went to his office to work and hang out until the Rotary meeting at lunch. He ran across the street and came back with a paper and a smile on his face. He nor Suzanne knew how they'd run the article, but I ended up being the main story on the front page with a big picture of me and my bike. The article went on to a second page and was very well written. Needless to say, I was pleased. Grant grabbed his bike to show me where to go for my morning show interview and we cycled over to the paper and tv headquarters building. On our way there a random guy on his bike asked if I was the guy in the article, praised me and congratulated me on my work. It was out of nowhere and a nice light to my morning. Grant headed back to the office and I was introduced to Harper, the very attractive morning show host. She was very personable and made the whole situation very comfortable. It was a quick interview with Harper and they had qued up some graphics from my website to show on the tv while we spoke. When I watched the recording later on, I felt like a dummy, but other people reassured me that it went really well. I went to a really nice creek side cafe for breakfast afterwards and had a delicious meal. The waitresses were excited that I was the guy on the paper and gave me the breakfast for free. During my meal, the table behind me had been reading the article and asked when I had returned from Niger. I told them December and they asked if I knew a guy named Christopher Burns. I immediately started laughing in surprise and said, "Yeah, he was my boss." This man had gone to college with him, and his wife had actually gone to high school with his as well. I was blown away by the coincidence and at how small the world really is. At the Rotary club lunch meeting, I was truly moved by the kind things that Grant said as he introduced me. Apparently, I had made quite the impression on him with my story. After I spoke, the whole club gave me a grand reception, applause and standing ovation. This kind of thing still surprises me, but I'm happy that I can inspire people and move people with what I've seen and done. After all, that's the point of my awareness campaign. Suzanne and Grant both started a verbal pledge throughout the club saying how they were going to donate a hundred dollars each and challenged the other members to join them in order to reach the $500 mark where the WFP can start a school garden with that sum. School gardens are an important and quality project in developing nations, as a Peace Corps volunteer many of us that served in Niger started this type of project and worked with the teachers and school children in order to provide nutritious foods to the kids as well as a motivation to village parents to send their children to school. By the end of my time in Steamboat Springs my campaign fundraising had increased by almost $800. I was beyond thankful. That afternoon, Grant took me fly fishing again. This time, the wind was blowing and the water was colder making the fish less likely to bite. As our guide was taking my picture I actually hooked what felt like a little fish, but as I reeled him closer to the net he turned and fought like a monster braking my fly off and escaping before I got an actual look at him. Other than that, it was an uneventful venture, but it didn't matter. I was just happy to have the opportunity to be swinging a fly line through the air in such an absolutely breathtaking area. Tuesday evening, Suzanne had also invited the Rotarians out to a restaurant for a send off for me since I was leaving the next morning. This was above and beyond as it was another meal I wasn't responsible for, and they used the opportunity to try to raise a little money for myself to continue my journey. I simply cannot thank Suzanne Schlicht or Grant Fenton and his wife Tracy for all that they did for me. It was one of the best hostings and receptions I've received on this entire trip. And as if all this wasn't enough, they made connections across Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming for me to be hosted and received. Truly amazing.
Reluctantly, I left the comfortable situation in Steamboat Springs Wednesday morning for a much more inhospitable environment...Northwestern Colorado.
I
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