Since trick-or-treaters don’t venture into the mountains seeking candy… the extent of our Halloween celebration came from seeing pics of our favorite little bears and dragon.

Today we went for a hike up to an old ghost town. The trail was a rugged off-road path that wound up the mountain over boulders, across streams and through deep snow. It was because of this waist-deep snow that we lost the trail and could only make it 3 of the 3.8 miles and had to turn back. We’ll have to wait to see the town in the spring.

See more pictures of the hike here.

As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, San Diego is on fire. Our offices have been closed all week and most of my fellow staff members have been evacuated from their homes. As of this morning I don’t believe any of our staff’s homes have been destroyed, but a few live in Rancho Bernardo… the area covered in red.

Thankfully our friends, the Pearcys and the Neilsons, haven’t had to evacuate their homes. Our home in Temecula is safe for the time being… the closest fire being in Fallbrook, ten miles to the south.

You may remember that four years ago I was there for the last big fire San Diego saw… It was crazy to see it then with the sky blackened by smoke, but from all accounts this time it’s much, much worse. To get a sense of the scale of this catastrophe, there are nearly a dozen fires raging in Southern California right now, and the largest of these (the Witch Creek fire) has burned over 600 buildings since Sunday and as of this morning they only have 1% of the fire contained.

Please keep San Diego in your prayers.

Update: Everyone is safe and back in their homes. Save for some minor smoke damage, everyone’s house is safe.

After a frustrating few days without water, we again went down to Colorado Springs, this time the Vollbrachts graciously took us in (thanks Vollbrachts!). They just got two super cute puppies… say hello to Tucker:

But yesterday we moved back into the “cabin”… now with no water restrictions… finally!! To celebrate, after work I attempted to snowboard in our backyard. I only was able to go about 200 yards, but it was a blast. Hiking back UP the hill however wasn’t as much fun. I need to get used to this altitude. Kate watched as I feably made it down the hill, now you have to too:

More info is now available for those at all interested in renting the main house, you can find out more at: www.vrbo.com/71359. Remember that our landlord has graciously extended a 20% discount to all our family and friends. We’re still looking for more options (read: cheaper) for those of you who want to come out and visit.

The weather has warmed up a bit after snowing the last few days, so we’re looking forward to finally spending a weekend in the mountains and getting to know our new town.

The big move to Breckenridge hasn’t been as smooth as we would have liked. Originally we were to move in on Saturday, October 6th, but got word that they were fixing the septic system and we wouldn’t be able to move in until Wed. Well Wednesday came and we got word that it wouldn’t be done until Monday!! Mind you we were living out of our suitcase all week with all of our belongings stuffed in my truck. The bright side is that we got to spend some quality time with the grandparents, a few aunts, and the cousins.

Needing to pick up our spirits (and get to things stowed deep in the bowels of my 4Runner) we drove to our new mountain homestead Thursday to unpack things and get the studio setup. Upon arriving, I realized our interent connection was down (without it, I can’t work), so I spent all day on the phone with Hughes getting it to up and running. After spending the night at our little log cabin in the mountains without the use of running water, I woke up to a gorgeous sunrise off the deck, and an internet connection slow enough to make the Pony Express seem like broadband. Turns out if you have satellite internet, you have a limit on how much you can actually USE the internet… and once you exceed their paultry limit, they chop you off to sub-dial-up speeds. Ugg. At least 24 hours later it’s back to mediocre working conditions.
While we were moving in we took a quick video tour of our new digs:

And a view of Quandry Peak from our deck:

After our “camp out”, we spent the weekend back in Colorado Springs and the aptly named Black Dog Inn (my aunt Sandra’s place). We thank her for her generocity and flexibility in allowing us to spend a good part of a week at her abode.

So here it is Sunday night… we just drove back up to Breck and we’ve been welcomed with what looks to be a foot of snow. Now this is what I signed up for. (let’s just hope we can flush the toilets tomorrow!)