David, Joelle and Johnnie Besnette

I was asked to be a “pacer” for Ray Churgovich, or “Hawaiian Shirt Ray” for the Leadville 100. Basically, a pacer runs a section with the runner to keep him/her company, carry gear, keep an eye on health, hydration, etc. I ran with Ray from Twin Lakes to the Fish Hatchery (almost 17 miles) from about 6pm until after 10pm. Neeraj Engineer picked him up there, and ran another 17 or so. Lina Kelso was with Ray from Winfield to Twin Lakes – another long stretch. Ray finished in 25 hours, 7 minutes – beating his 2009 time by over 4 hours. It was an amazing experience. Here is a clip:

Hawaiian Shirt Ray – Leadville 100 from David Besnette on Vimeo.

Our first camping trip with Johnnie – Rocky Mountain National Park – Aug 14-15 with the Dugdales and Byrnes – here’s Dave D’s Photos:

I recently opened a facebook account just to see what the hype was all about.   It was amazing that almost immediately people from way back in my distant past started contacting me.  A pleasant surprise so far.

I have had a few friend requests from folks in Tucson (I recently added an assisted living facilities Tucson page on a site that I do a little work for) that I may never have thought of again had they not contacted me through facebook.

I have several friends from when I worked at the Arizona Inn in Tucson who have probably changed names by now (thorough marriage) or that I have just lost touch with that I’d like to say hello to.  Maybe they’ll find me on facebook.

Anyways, so far a pretty good experience.

A friend of mine that I have known and been friends with since we were both riding big-wheels together in Flagstaff, Arizona over 30 years ago came through town last night and we had a really nice time meeting their “new” 21 month old son Tyler.   Jeff comes through Denver about every year and I am always really glad that we can get together.  I have a lot of respect for Jeff and Kathy – hauling 3 small (adorable) kids on a road trip from Arizona to South Dakota, and then Kansas and back.    We went and had a really nice dinner and and microbrew last night.  It was really great seeing them! A few more photos here

Valentine’s day sneaks up on you from out of nowhere. I still feel like I am cleaning up Holiday decorations and trying to clean up my diet from all of the “naughtys” that I ingested over the past few weeks – mostly good wine with my parents while they were here, and the occasional scoop of ice cream (did you know the average American gains 7-10 pounds in December?).

Anyways, many people can be caught off guard by Valentine’s day, and they scramble to get a gift for their sweetie at the last minute. Usually it is chocolate or roses – the standards.

I have a friend in Arizona that puts together some amazing gift baskets. She has a Valentine’s basket that is superb – It includes:

Ferrero Prestige fine assorted confections, White tea spa lotion, White tea body butter, bubble bath, bath shrunchy shimmering body refresher, candle, heart pillow, hot cocoa and cookie!

You can take a look at her creations here.

Judy takes a lot of pride in her baskets, and they do include some really cool stuff. She can ship anywhere in the US, so give her a call at 9280779-2060 to order a really great gift for your sweetheart this year!

My sister Carrie and our great friend Erin just got back from a trip to Nepal. They trekked all over the place and even went to Everest Base Camp. They are back and have some great photos. You can see more of them here

When I was growing up, we had some neighbors across the street who owned a foliage/plant sales and rental business. Actually, it was the mom of the family who owned (actually owns, as she still has the business to this day). I remember that I worked for her part time when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old helping her to deliver the plants to various businesses around town.

Judy recently started a branch of the business for gift baskets. I live in a different state now, and I do some web design and search marketing. All these years later, she has solicited my help for both websites, and we have had a nice working relationship during the process. I guess if I had done a bad job way back in the day I might not have had this opportunity. Of course, people change, and I was just a kid, but I’d like to think that she remembered me as being a hard worker. I’d like to think of myself as being one now, too!

It’s just funny to me how things work out.