It was a cold wintry night, deep in the heart of a stoic forest.  A hushed world was
solemn in thought, as snow of pure white fell to the ground with the silence of a feather.
AND THEN THE PALOOZIANS ROLLED IN!
Colopalooza 2006: Aspen "How's Your Aspen?"
Day One
Day Two
Day Five
Day Three
Day Four
Whenever we're in Denver for the Palooza, this
Wendy's off of I-70 is a must stop.  Yummy!!
And whenever we're anywhere for the Palooza, this look on
Al's face is also a must stop...usually preceded by glazed eyes.
By the time we arrived in Aspen, the sun was already setting
on the site of the Winter X-Games on Buttermilk Mountain.
The first night of Palooza usually brings out the fool in our
boy, Milo.  Here he is ordering something nasty from a cart.
And here he is laughing like
a jackal back in the condo,
trapped between his bed, the
wall and insanity.  At least
he kept his junk concealed
(which I only wish we could
also say about Sean).
The second day of Palooza 2006 was filled the excitement of
being ready to hit the mountain for that first run of the year.
Here's Clemmie getting prepared for three straight days of
monster skiing on the many cool resorts in the Aspen area.
They don't call it "Aspen" cuz it's filled with
pine trees, ladies.  A nice shot by Uncle Seanie.
But there are lots of pine trees too--which do a
nice job of blocking out the wind up there.
Sean riding up the main gondola, with the town of Aspen in
the background.  This lift goes about 4 miles up the mountain.
Milo working some magic on his snowboard.  Looks like he's
finally adopted Craig's magical arm-extension technique.
Later that night, we rolled over to the X-Games to check out
the Super Pipe.  Here's Gretchen Blieler maxing out on air.
Needless to say, it was a tad chilly up there.  Or perhaps some
of the wiring on Clem's crotch heater had malfunctioned.
As sure as the sun will
eventually set each day, so
too will our hero eventually
partake in a little public
sleeping.  Oddly enough,
again while talking to his
doting bride.  Haven't we
seen this picture a couple
hundred times now?!?!
While the boarders dragged their knuckles all day, the skiers
took a nice hike in the back country.  Any Blue Men up there?
The next day, we shifted the action over to
Snowmass, which has more snowboard runs.
It's amazing how easy this pipe looks from these pictures.  
Here's Craig winding his way toward a high-speed drop in.
And after one attempted shot at glory, a complete wipe-out and a
crowd of laughing spectators.  Clearly his ass is just way too big.
Apres ski on day three took us to Bentley's, one of dozens of
cool old bars in Aspen.  Nothing beats a pint after a day riding.
Dean, in what is officially his final "long-hair" pic, is captured
under the Bud neon in a fitting tribute to his love of beer.
Everclear rocked from a stage at the base of Aspen mountain,
while the Paloozians planned the rest of their evening.
Back to the X-Games that night, where we watched the big boys
grab just insane amounts of air in the super pipe.
While the boarders went snowmobiling, the skiers did some
extreme back bowl skin.  Here's the view from their snow cat.
From the snow cat ride, they hiked for a mile
to get to what seemed like the top of the world.
It's always re-assuring when you see a sign with a skull and
crossbones reminding you that you're making a bad decision.
Here's the snowmobiling trail from Craig's rig.  That's Milo up
in front as we made our way up into the heart of the mountain.
Lunch that day was awesome--fresh grilled
cheeseburgers always hit the spot in ski country.
And nothing beats a nice hot cup of joe on a
cold, snowy day.  Just like the old days, baby.
The trip back to Denver for the flight home included a
mandatory stop at Beau Jo's, home to the world's best pizza.
And a quick stop at the outlet mall for Milo is always in order.  An
Anne Klein dress secured and another great Palooza in the books.