New Tires

One more post for tonight :) . I just put new tires on my truck. Pored over reviews and talked to people about a few tires that I was looking at and finally decided on Dunlop RVXT's, which are supposed to be really good in snow and mud and still be decent on treadwear.

It's been raining here in Golden all day and getting real green, so I decided to take a short drive out in the rain just to get away and spend some time with God at around 10 this evening. I ended up at highway 72, so I decided to head West into the mountains on the road. Sure enough, the rain turned into snow a few minutes later as I climbed up above 7000 feet. And yes, the tires rocked. Got myself stuck a little bit in spots, but most of the time I couldn't even do doughnuts with these things. I was able to plow up stuff I couldn't have done with snowtires and the Sonoma back in Michigan. Well, I guess I'll have to see how they do in the dry snow when I get to Houghton, MI this coming fall. Some sandbags'll probably be making it into the back of the truck anyway.

Fulford Cave

So Davee told me that the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) at Mines had a spelunking expedition going on this weekend. I'm always up for an adventure so I pulled myself out of bed at 4:30 Saturday morning and drove down to the IM fields to meet the crew heading out. Turns out only two people showed up besides me - Jill and Ruslan, to people I had never met before.

After dropping my truck off to get it aligned, we drove up to Eagle, CO - not too far from Vail. About two and a half hours later, we parked at the beginning of the road to Fulford Cave. Yes, that's the beginning of the road unfortunately since the fresh pile of wet snow covering the road prevented us from driving any further adding about two miles two our hike. It was a good hike though and the snow quickly began to pile up over four feet deep as we hiked out of the valley and onto the actual trail to the cave.

Inside the cave close to the entrance, the ice formations were incredible. One icicle towered I'd say about ten feet tall from the ceiling to the floor. There were quite a few ice stalactities and stalagmites that had formed. In another area, it looked like a stream had frozen in place and the expansion and contraction of the ice due to freezing and thawing had created really cool looking crystals on the surface of the frozen stream.

Continuing down the cave, we fit our bodies through tiny little holes and climbed up and down rock walls, eventually coming to an underground stream. We spent about eight hours underground soaking up the beauty, exploring, and challenging ourselves as we overcame some tough obstacles.

After we had thoroughly exhausted ourselves for the day, we poked our heads out into daylight, hiked back down the wet snow and mud (after falling in the snow up to our waists a few times), and ordered an extra large pizza back in Eagle to be fully consumed by all three of us.

It was a blast to get to know the two that I went spelunking with. Ruslan was from Russia and Jill had been working as an engineer for the Golden for two years, but we all had a blast getting out and doing something together and learning more about one another, ourselves, and what God meant to us. Life's not about being lazy or doing work at the office - it's about relationships, adventures, and challenges! Most of the things that are worth it in life require great effort, eh?

Road Trip to Moab

So three weekends ago, we went on a trip to Moab, Utah with a few other guys around Denver that the Campus Crusade Regional Coordinator planned. Wasn't sure quite what to expect, but I hate being in a big city and yes - Golden is a big city - and this sounded like a good way to get out.

Davee (an awesome friend I've made out here) and I left on Friday right after work and arrived around 10. It was dark for most of the trip after Grand Junction, but nevertheless I felt so free to get out in the open and get back to just plain hold highways again. If home on earth is where the heart is, then the desert of Utah this weekend began to feel like home.

Turns out, most of the other guys guys were from Campus Crusade for Christ from other college campuses around Denver. Bed came early on Friday, and I slept under the stars being too lazy to put up my two-man Kelty. I think that was a mistake - didn't get too much sleep in my zero degree Snowshoe as frost began to form underneath the stars (but yes, the stars in the desert are sweet!)

Next morning, I was quickly in shorts as the temps were climbing to the 70s. We drove off to Arches National Park, only a few miles away, and had a blast with a bunch of guys climbing all over the arches until the afternoon. Davee and I split off from the rest of the guys and decided to just do some more sitting/climbing/driving/hiking around. I was able to think and pray about alot of stuff - Arches is a real sweet place to do so.

Sunday morning, I went with Eric (the CCC Regional Coordinator) and a few other guys to climb in a canyon not too far. Did some crack climbing - Eric led the routes. Real sweet stuff. It had been a long time - way to long - since I had been hanging on the side of a cliff on stuff that required a rope. The second route I did was definately harder than anything I've ever done. Rated a 5.8 . Definately excited about maybe climbing with some of the workers in Yellowstone this summer. Yes, it is legal...just discouraged :) .

Well, the weekend didn't last too long. But I challenged myself, got to see incredible sights, meet new people, and most of all spend time with God. Yeah, this is what I love - spending time out in the wilderness with other guys and God. I'm really getting excited about this summer!

-Chitwood

Free Climbing in Arches	Cool Rock Formations in Arches National Park
Delicate Arch	Off-roading near Moab