The Treatment

Antonito

2008-07-17T16:08:59Z

I am heading just over the border into Colorado for a couple days.....saying goodbye to Taos.

I am going to make Antonito my home base, it is closer to all the good fishing right now.

Conejos, Los Pinos and Valle Vidal........got to like those names....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonito,_Colorado

This weekend my buddy Jake is coming up and we are camping along the Costilla, then I will make my way home.....it has been a fun month.

I love you Mallory....

2008-07-17T02:40:09Z

I was standing on the Roi Grande Gorge Bridge watching the sunset and clouds rain on the mountains...(got some beautiful shots too!!)

I was standing there and I got this REALLY WEIRD feeling.....like I sort of thought about jumping. Now whenever you are on a bridge like that you ponder jumping....but for just an instant I was actually thinking something like, "DAMM it would be a great ride to the bottom.....and to die on MY own terms.....exactly when I choose." And I pictured myself standing on the rail.......

And that scared the shit out of me...that I actually thought it, if even for an instant.

***NOTE: AL is NOT suicidal.....so do not worry.

Today I did nothing adventurous....just sort of roamed around Taos, meeting the interesting people who I happened to encounter. One guy who had an open studio and could tell "by my body language and smile that I was tuned in" and he proceeded to tell me how his son was murdered in The Congo and he suspects the CIA was involved.

And the gal at the coffee shop who was way too interested in my tattoos (translate flirting)

And the New York Artist who worked with Basquiat and has retreated to Taos for a quieter life. He has great antiques and great art.....think of Basquiat with a Southwest flair.

All in all a great day.

Oh and I watched Time Cop with Van Damm......blushes.

Taos

2008-07-16T15:28:01Z

I fished the Los Pinos last night, weather was shitty, but the ride there, 10 miles of dirt was nice. Caught about a dozen trout, none to brag about but it was great being in the river.

Ate at Taos Pizza Outback.....excellent pizza and salad. But the thing about Taos is, service ALWAYS sucks....always....I sat for 15 minutes before I saw a waitress...and they sat me!!

I finished my beer and never did they ask if I wanted another....I was curious to see if they would so i didn't ask for one. It is the Hippie/free spirit mentality........they just don't care.

The nice things about Taos:
Great food
Good views
Fishing

Culture:
Colonial Spanish
Recent Hispanic Immgrants
Territorial ranchers/cowboy types
Skiiers/rafters/ Mtn Bikers/rafters...all kind of outdoor freaks
Artists and writers dating back to DH Lawrence and Georgia O'Keffe
Hippies, real hippies from the 60s...man
and an occasional movie start (Julie Roberts....Dennis Hopper)
And of course, the Taos Pueblo Tribe..

All melting together to form and interesting mix.

Taos

2008-07-15T17:57:42Z

Made it safe to Taos last night.....

Running through Cimmaron and Taos Canyon I was behind a speeding police car from Raton (out of his jurisdiction) so I ran right on his tail....

I was thinking how it is bullshit that a cop that is not in pursuit can run as fast as he wants.........

but then something cool happend, we were going up some switchbacks and I was really getting into the curves, almost knee draggin and he pulls over and lets me pass, VERY COOL.

Then about 10 miles later I notice that he has caught up with me in the straights.......and then this truck hits its brakes to turn off, I start tapping my brakes, and hand signalling "SLOW"...but I guess he didn't notice......next thing I look in my mirror as I hear tires schreeching and he skids off the edge of the road to miss me. How ironic it would have been if he had rear ended me after letting me pass.

Got cheap room, ate Poor Man's Eggs Benedict at Micheal's kitchen this morning, eggs benecit with Green Chili instead of Hollidaise sauce.

heading up to the Los Pinos River for some fly fishing today.

Later

Broke Down, but not for long....

2008-07-14T04:16:12Z

So friday I left Denver and heading to a road called, "Oh My God Road" from Idaho Springs to Central City. Great road....lots of abandoned mines and ghost towns. Stopped in Central City to play a little Blackjack....lost ten damm hands in a row.....unbelievable.

Headed down Peak to Peak Highway to Estes Park, planning to run over the mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was about 5 miles up the switch backs when the oil light came on....SHIT....I turned around and coasted back to town......stopped at the first Campground and got a place to sleep. Took the oil filter out and it looked bad, water in the oil, KTM are notorious for water pump failures.....shit.

i went to eat and get some drink at a nearby bar, The Rock Inn, and there I ran into one of my Employees, Shawn, from Texas!!! Random...he works for the YMCA camp in Estes during the summers.....had some fun..

Saturday my buddy Keggy borrowed a truck and rescued me. We stopped at the KTM dealer in Loveland and got parts for the repairs. Started working and realized that I was short the gaskets for the rebuild, so we had to go back to the KTM dealer. Didn't really start working until today..(sunday)

Worked most of the day, it was a fairly complicated ordeal. Had to heat the clutch cover to pop the old bearings out and froze the new ones to pop em in. Thank god for the internet and step by step instructions....and I would HATE to do this job on the side of the road...it would be nearly impossible...SUCK SUCK SUCK>...

First thing in the morning I am going take her for a shake down.....and should be on the road again!!!

	Broke Down in Estes Park I could think of worse places to break down....
	A Ghost Town....Cool
	Oh My God Road That is really the name of it!!!
	The Guts I had to split her open to get to the water pump....took all day.

Not so fast

2008-07-13T01:00:42Z

Dammit...Water Pump

Broke down in Estes Park.......yesterday....

Got parts and a ride to Denver today...

Working on it at friends' in Denver......Should be rollin again tomorrow...

Details later......

Headin to New Mexico

2008-07-11T13:57:45Z

Gonna take a long route....perhaps through Rocky Mountain Nat. Park............or does anyone out there have a suggestion?

New Belgium

2008-07-11T00:58:07Z

Great tour. great beer, great business....a shining example that capitalism can be successful and have a conscience. A+++

On Rafting and the Flip

2008-07-10T14:56:10Z

I have been rafting several times before and have never had even a close call. I had become complacent tot he point that when people talked about it I would shrug it off as a thrill for people who were easily scared. I did not have a the proper fear.

Fear of water? Sure, I have an UNHEALTHY fear of water, a symptom of a near drowning when I was 10. I am terrified of water, but rafting offered no more terror than the normal fear I have around any water.

Oh, but now, after that flip in Maytag........yes yes yes, from that point on, in every riffle and wave I found myself looking for a strap to hang onto. I kept rafting....and even Oared the gear raft through more rapids. BUT now I have THE FEAR...and it is a good thing. Why? Two reasons. One I have the respect to keep myself safe, and two I get that great adrenaline rush now!!! Got to love that RUSH.

Perhaps some tattoo material?

2008-07-10T05:20:43Z

St George and the Dragon

2008-07-10T05:18:30Z

The Dragon is a symbol for Panic

harley1456 @ 2008-07-09T22:34:00

2008-07-10T04:34:56Z

The Carnage

The flip in Magtag, Warm Springs Rapid.......that is my leg sticking up.......

Denver Botanic Garden

2008-07-10T01:23:02Z

	lotus
	blue
	swiss chard
	the wave

More Yampa

2008-07-10T01:12:12Z

Cliff Diving

Hell yes I held my nose

Hangin with Jack, "Sam Walton is a Son-of-a-Bitch"

2008-07-09T19:05:07Z

I just spent the morning hanging out with Jack Weil, 107 year old CEO of Rockmount Ranch Wear. This is one of my Denver Traditions. So much like being with my grandpa.......I miss Ed.

At the age of 106, Jack A. Weil has been called the oldest CEO in America. On weekday mornings, you'll find "Papa Jack" greeting customers at Rockmount Ranch Wear in LoDo. Rockmount, which he started in 1946, produces cowboy shirts and Western wear that are now sold around the world. Here, Papa Jack shares his wisdom on the Confederacy, Model-T Fords, and Ronald Reagan.
By Patrick Doyle
July 2007

I WAS 27 when I came to Denver in 1928. My sales territory was from El Paso, Texas, to the Canadian border. And in all those states combined, there were less people than in Cook County, Illinois. It was a tremendous experience for a young man.
I MARRIED A DAUGHTER OF THE CONFEDERACY from Tennessee. We were married 62 years when she passed away. Till the day she died, when she got really mad at me, it was, "You Yankee!"
THERE'S NO WESTERNER like an Easterner.
NOW, RONALD REAGAN CAME FROM ILLINOIS. In his [second] speech to Congress, he said we will become a service country. Well, to me that was treason, because I was interested in [manufacturing] and the economy of this country. So I wrote him a letter and told him, "Where you come from in Illinois, and where I come from in southern Indiana, servicing meant when you took the mare to the stud." He sends me a signed picture, and it says, "Jack, things are not as simple in Washington as they were in Illinois."
IT'S FUNNY how things stick in your mind.
I ALWAYS FELT that a young man would normally be a Democrat. But after he earned a few bucks and wanted to keep it, he'd have to be a Republican.
THERE'S NO USE WORRYING about something that might have been.
I HAD A BROTHER two years younger. Between us, we bought a Model-T Ford. It had wire wheels, and those wire wheels were screwed on. If you backed up too far, the goddamn tires would come off and go rolling down the street.
I CONTRIBUTE MY AGE to an act of God.
I CAN REMEMBER driving my Chrysler from Murray to Jackson, Mississippi. I was behind a car that was moseying around, 15 to 20 miles an hour. So when the road got a little wider, I went around him. Down the road a little way was a freight train going by, so I had to stop. So this guy pulls up behind me, gets out, and says, "Young fella, the way you drive, you're going to need me someday, why don't you have my card?" He was a mortician!
WHO IN THE HELL AM I to be advising other people?
MY DOCTOR WANTS to keep my blood thin, and says that I should take a drink of whiskey every day or two so it won't clot.
YOU MIGHT AS WELL enjoy life as it is, 'cause you sure as hell can't change it.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE some fears somewhere. I don't recall any of mine.
THE LONDON TIMES had an office in New York, and sent a photographer and writer to come out here and interview me, as maybe the oldest CEO in America. They asked me what I thought of Wal-Mart, and I called Sam Walton a "son of a bitch." And they printed it in The London Times! They couldn't print it in this country.
PEOPLE THOUGHT you were crazy if you dressed like a cowboy in Providence, Rhode Island, in the '50s. They thought the only cowboys were in the movies.
I THINK I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I've got reasonably good health, I enjoy my work, and I enjoy very much the number of people who come in here to shake hands from all over the world. What the hell else is there?
I THINK if you live a moderate life, that's the secret of good health.
I GO HOME AFTER LUNCH, take a shower, and get under the covers, so I'm not pushing anything. I take a nap and sleep until dinnertime, three or four hours, and I watch Andy Griffith.
I DON'T WANT to be the richest guy in the cemetery.

Rafting the Yampa

2008-07-08T21:08:46Z

A good little vid I took

Pic's From My Ride to Denver Today

2008-07-08T06:12:36Z

	Independence Pass
	Cockpit
	The Road Below
	A cold Self Port
	At the Pass
	The Dirty Pass
	The road is getting better
	A cool Cabin

AL on the Yampa

2008-07-08T05:20:21Z

A view from the water

more from the Yampa

2008-07-07T00:36:38Z

	group photo
	Al is Capt.

Yampa

Denver

2008-07-06T21:04:20Z

heading to Denver Tomorrow

Yampa River has it's way with the Pickle

2008-07-06T20:32:01Z

This video shows almost exactly what happened to us....same wave...about same flow...about the same kind of flip

Steve Earle

2008-07-06T20:06:30Z

Tonight in Aspen...sweet...

Back Safe From Rafting

2008-07-06T03:40:03Z

	Awesome Rock Wall
	Chillin' At the Campsite
	The Greatest Campsite EVER
	Tiger Stripe Wall
	A Second Knee The Carnage after we flipped the raft in Maytag....it is my bad leg.....

There's treasure!!

2008-06-27T15:37:33Z

I found $900 cash in a pile of bills in my house...I have no idea why or where it came from...bonus $$.

Safe in Colorado

2008-06-27T15:33:11Z

Didn't end up leaving until 4:00 PM on Wednesday......right after I was ready a dangerous t-storm hit and I waited it out at home. Made is a quick 400 miles to Quanna wednesday night.

Got up early and hit the road, made about 700 miles yesterday to Carbondale, near Aspen. Hit some terrible winds on the Colorado plains, had me wondering if a gust could blow over a moving bike. I actually navigated curves leaning the wrong way...weird as hell...and really scary passin trucks.

I took some back roads thinking I cold wind the KTM up and not worry about cops. WRONG. When I saw the light on the bubble gum machine my clock read 97....he got me at 90. That is a go to court ticket here....talked him into 89 and a $143 fine....Cheap really. Got to rememebr to keep it under 90 in Colorado. My neck hurts and my ears are still ringing from the winds.

Huge snow still on the Mountains.....Colorado river is running high, should be great rafting.