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When the flags come out and the fireworks go boom, it reminds us of one very important thing… we’re #1!

When the sun is blazing, Boulder Creek is the place to be.

I’ve been meaning to share my stories from the month of May for quite some time now. As it turns out, the wild birthday parties, the concerts, the late nights and all the things that seemed blog-worthy at one point or another have become a bit trivial. One experience, however, goes into the books as one of our all time greatest journeys. I’m speaking of course of our road trip to Grinnell, Iowa, and I will recount this story for you as best my memory will allow.

On April 9th, myself, Caitlin and Amelia Burns, and Peter and Megan Olenick ventured out to Boogie’s Diner in downtown Aspen for lunch on a cold, dreary afternoon. It was only days after our close friend Wallace Westfeldt passed away in a snowboarding accident.

We were sipping milkshakes after having finished our lunch when someone pitched the following idea: “Guys, lets road-trip to Grinnell and surprise Ben [Wallace’s brother] before his graduation!” This sounded like an incredible opportunity to support Ben, who was struggling with the idea of heading back to school at the time. What’s more, Ben had been boasting about the annual block party to end all block parties that was to take place a few days before his graduation. We were very intrigued, and I would be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that this was some added incentive.

This rather humorous and far-fetched plan began materializing rather quickly, and with an approval stamp from Patrick [Wallace’s other brother] we marked the dates on our calendars.

We jump ahead now to mid-May. Caitlin, Amelia and Peter were committed and excited to make the journey, however Meg and I faced a slight dilemma. We were taking an inter-term class at school, and in order for this trip to work we would have to miss two days of class. First problem: Each three+ hour long session was equivalent to two weeks worth of “normal” schooling, and that’s a lot of information we’d be responsible for. Second, and even more problematic, was the exam worth 33% of our final grade that was scheduled for day two of our road trip.

Meg and I approached our Professor to discuss the matter. After two meetings and some consideration, she failed to present an ultimatum and effectively told us we’d receive zeros on the exam if we were not present.

Naturally, we packed our belongings in the bed of Caitlin’s Ford F250 and set out towards Iowa; nothing would stand in our way.

After nearly fourteen hours in the car, five wrong turns, approximately ten pee stops, and some late night Wendy’s we arrived at the small school of Grinnell (1,500 students). We planned our surprise entrance perfectly; Ben was ecstatic and somewhat in disbelief at the sight of us stumbling through his doorway in the middle of the night.

We awoke the next day to the sound of a trailer pulling up on the sidewalk outside the house; it was equipped with eight beer taps (four on each side). Was this thing for real? Before we knew it, most, if not all of the Grinnell student body had gathered on our block. The scene could best be described as “teeming.” Thousands of college students roamed the street, many others sat high on the rooftops. Beer flowed constantly, the grille roared all day and the sun screen went on heavy. The noise and energy levels were very, very high.

The city and school of Grinnell seemed completely nonchalant about the ongoing mayhem. The mayor agreed to close the block to traffic, and the police officers on hand danced and mingled; they were practically indistinguishable from the partygoers. Grinnell College even supplied us with money to pay for some of expenses. We quickly adopted the phrase, “only in Iowa.”

Following the block party, we attended a “Last Chance Dance” in a gym on campus. Not only did school administrators admit students sin identification, but they served FREE beer! This seems backwards, and frankly dangerous; nevertheless, who’s complaining? Another damn good reason to love Grinnell, if you ask me. After some wild dancing we tromped back home, drenched in beer and sweat; yet, I’d never felt so good. At the end of the day, between the block party and the dance, we had polished off nearly 50 kegs. Not too shabby.

The main festivities had thus concluded, but we enjoyed some other Grinnell attractions in our remaining days.

We experienced AJ’s Steakhouse, home to the world’s largest steak. Weighing in at 205 oz. it’s known as “The Big Kahuna”.

We ventured fifty miles to Des Moines where we paid for a private room at The Lumberyard, “where real men go to get wood.”

We went to BBQ’s, lived a bit of the country life, explored historic downtown, watched Amelia get a tattoo, dined at the finest fast food restaurants and much, much more.

There were many cameras documenting our trip. The polaroid images below were taken by Peter Olenick. The square images came from my Holga camera. I shot two rolls of black and white film on the trip which have been developed, but not yet printed as I’m waiting on access to a dark room. Having seen the negatives however, I know that some of my favorite images from the trip have yet to be produced. In the meantime, enjoy the ones I’ve included. I hope they provide a sense of the fun we had.

As I wrap up, it is important to note that were it not for Wallace’s passing, we would never have made this trip. We must appreciate how the tragedies in our lives bring us closer together to the people we love.

There’s no better place than where you’re friends are.

To conclude, I’ll have you know that Meg and I both passed our “Maymester” class with flying colors. Had that not been the case, I’d still say… WORTH IT BABY.

Imagine yourself traveling in the northbound lane of Interstate-25, the Denver cityscape is fading away in your rearview mirror. You’re accompanied by four friends; the windows are down and the music is blaring. Destination: DAVECO.

Before long, you make a right hand turn at exit 229; you’ve arrived in Thornton, CO. As you pass through, nothing about this new place seems out of the ordinary. Anticipation runs high, however, as you turn into the local mini-mall. Rumor has it, that somewhere in this vast maze there lies something great.

You’ve spent years in Colorado, living less than thirty minutes away from said “something”. Given this is the case, could this “thing” really be there, could this possibly be true?

Yes! You spot it! Beyond the steakhouse, in giant red letters it reads, DAVECO.

You scurry inside, and smiles are wide as your suspicions are confirmed… you have indeed just entered the largest liquor store in the entire world.

It’s isles galore, this is everything you’d hoped for. As you peer over the racks scanning the surroundings, there is no end in sight. You play in this store as a child would play in a Toys-R-Us. You scale beer case mountains, and navigate the dark tunnels of the wine cellar. You can’t resist adding a bit of everything to your cart, the prices are unbelievable.

Two hours elapse, and you’re ready to check out. The woman at the register laughs at the gross amount of liquor you’ve purchased.

You’re elated, you’re signing the receipt now. The clerk offers to give you an extra brown bag as a souvenir; it reads, “DAVECO Liquor, The World’s Largest Liquor Store.” Of course you accept, you’re going to tack this to your wall.

The woman remarks, “you can use this one to puke into.” A humorous staff! It’s the icing on the cake.

You’re in the car heading home, and think to yourself, “man, I can’t wait to blog about this and let all my friends know where I’ve been.”