(NOTE: THIS POST IS FROM LAST YEAR WHEN OUT IN COLORADO FOR ABI & ALEX’S WEDDING. APPARENTLY, I FORGOT TO PUBLISH IT AFTER WRITING IT, AND JUST NOW NOTICED IT)
Friday after I last wrote to you went mostly smooth. I arrived with my dad and the Baker’s (Abi’s friends from Tremont) early to hand out parking passes as people arrived at the parking site. The wedding was at a state park I think and parking passes were required. The Maroon Bells Amphitheater, where the wedding was held, was outdoors, at the base of some huge 14,000+ feet above sea level mountains, just above a pond at the base. I am guessing we only had 40-50 people there, if even that many. It was a small spot, and worked great! The background was beautiful - mom would have loved it! I only got some pictures and one video of Abi & Alex after the wedding officiator (Jonathan) said to Alex, “You may now kiss the bride.” The wedding photographers got plenty if other pictures and I think they filmed the whole thing - though it might be a while till they release those. I think Renee and several others posted some pictures on Facebook, but I am not confident on that (I don’t use Facebook much anymore). Immediately following the wedding we did pictures at the same spot, and just as pictures were wrapping up it started to rain. We are praising God at His great timing!! The wedding started at 11:30am, and we left around 12:30pm.
The extended Baurer family (minus Jonathan, Mikayla, Abi, Alex, and David (David wasn’t able to make it to Colorado)) went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant.
After that most of us headed back to the Schlipf’s for games, naps, or walking. After several hours, we climbed into the Schlipf, Stuckey, & Stahl vans to head to the reception. Unfortunately, my GPS had an incorrect address plugged into it and it took the Schlipf van I was in (minus Renee, plus Caleb) to a small town on the oposite side of the mountain of the reception site (an hour away from the venue). I was sleepy, and did not notice that we were heading the wrong way. So we turned around, got the correct address plugged in, and headed back. Meanwhile, at the AirBNB house, where the outdoor reception was, it was raining, and everyone crammed inside the small, upscale house for half an hour, until the rain stopped. When they did go back outside, they started with appetizers and yard games - which meant we did not miss much by the time we arrived. Thank you God! Also, the hour away drive became a whole lot better when, about a mile or so away from the venue we spotted a small-ish bear crossing the road in front of us (a first on this trip).
The reception was held on a farmland property, with cattle and houses on two sides, with grassy pastures all around the small house and a stunning sight of Mt. Sopris in the background. The house itself was a contemporary-styled 2 bedroom, 2-story home built out of 4 shipping containers stacked on top of each other. Each second-floor bedroom had a balcony and a large window with a stunning view. The kitchen/living room on the first floor had huge windows as well, facing Mt. Sopris and the nearby countryside. Outside Abi and the wedding coordinator had set up tables and stringed lights above them in a mowed patch of grass beyond the patio. Around the side of the building on more patio and nearby grass, were various yard games and tall tables to stand and talk at while enjoying a delicious smorgasbord spread of fruits, veggies, cheeses, meats, crackers, chips, bread, and probably more.
Before the meal began, right after we couldn’t get the zoom video call to go through Abi & Alex invited all the couples to come up front on the patio for a slow couples dance. (The dance floor was covered with oriental rugs they had collected over the last 6 months, and it was under the hanging sting lights). Since LuAnn didn’t have anyone to dance with she asked me to dance with her. I had little to no idea how to do it, but she taught me. It was rather enjoyable.
After the couple’s dance was food - fajitas of chicken or beef, with small tortillas, chips, and a whole spread of toppings, including fresh cilantro, peach salsa, and guacamole (and much more). During the whole evening there was a coffee bar and alcohol bar available to anyone interested (free of charge), but it was rather small, and I don’t think many people used it. They were giving away whole bottles of wine by the end of the night because they had so much of it left (and Abi & Alex took the reminder dozen+ bottles back to the store to get a refund the next day). After supper, small glasses of wine were passed out and the Maid of Honor (Adel Baker) and the Best Man (Angel, Abi & Alex’s friend & Alex’s roommate in Texas) gave toasts to Abi & Alex.
Following the toasts the dance floor was opened up to anyone who wanted to dance and s’mores to roast over a fire pit for those interested in desert. By the end of the night most everyone was coaxed into dancing for at least a short bit, if not the whole time (even Steve!!) around 11:30pm the final dance song was played and everyone they went and got long sparklers, lit them, and stood in two rows, letting Abi & Alex run through them as their send off. Abi & Alex then did a private slow dance alone as the first dance as a couple now, while everyone either left, at desert, or began cleanup off to the side. After the dance, the bride and groom were sent off to their AirBNB home about 10 minutes away. The whole night was clear skies without rain (except the first half an hour), Praise God!!!
Since I was spending the night at the reception site (with my dad, Alex’s dad and step-mom) I stayed and cleaned up till the end. We loaded up the Baker’s van as they were driving back to Illinois early the next morning, and stated filling ip the van my dad was driving (Alex’s step-mom’s car). I made it to bed shortly after 1:00am. In the morning Cindy, Roland, and Caleb came and helped finish the cleanup and packing my dad’s car. During that, Roland had to put the spare tire on their rental vehicle since they got a flat tire. We loaded up a bunch of stuff that Abi & Alex were taking back and drove it to them while my dad headed off for Texas. We also took them most of the leftover food - and we took what they were not taking. They were staying in the area until Monday and then heading to Colorado Springs for a bit, so the food was very helpful to them.
Cindy, Roland, Caleb and I stopped at an auto shop that was open on that Saturday to get the tire patched. While we waited we looked through a thrift store just two buildings down the road. Then we headed to a Chinese restaurant for lunch several blocks further down the road. Roland picked up the fixed car and drove it to the parking lot of the restaurant. Then we took a meal home to Justin.
We hiked in the evening, briefly, and watched the first half of a movie. On Sunday we left at 7:30am for a hiking trail half an hour away and did a lot of birdwatching there. It was in a national forest, and there were cows everywhere it seemed. It was kind of neat and there was a lot of mooing. They were in the road, on the trails, on the hillsides and off the trails. The higher we climbed the mountain the cows thinned out. We hike about 2 miles total, with lots if stopping and birdwatching along the way.
Sunday afternoon we finished the movie we had started on Saturday. After supper we went on a brief hike just a few mikes up the road, before heading to bed. In all Caleb and Roland each saw about 6 or 7 species of birds they had never seen before (both have seen around 300 different species).
This morning we left shortly before 6:30am for the Denver airport 3-4 hours away as Justin has a late morning flight and we have an early afternoon flight.
We have been in a mountain home the last few days without any cell service or internet, so updates have been fewer.
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