GRRN Colorado Retreat News

Colorado Retreat News
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Latest news here is to the top. Earliest news is at the bottom. If this is your first visit, please start from the bottom and read up. Thanks. C.

News from Bill

Dateline: Athens, GA
Thu Oct 19 18:02:53 EDT 2000

[Posted on October 13]

Greetings GRRN Retreat participants:

Great group, great location, great hosts, great energy!
What more can I say? The retreat exceeded my
expectations in making new connections with international
folks, with new environmental activists, and in laying
plans to give Zero Waste substance at the community
level. Thanks to everyone!

Here is the list of attendees, plus a few who couldn't
make it. Please send me corrections and additions asap
so I can email a final list. I will make sure that the 5
conference work plans and a summary of the Sunday-
Monday Zero Waste meeting get to all participants next
week (I am still on the road).

Also, our facilitators, Tom Bache-Wiig and Arlene
Brownelle would like feedback for their learning benefit.
(I should point out that an agenda that they developed
beforehand was radically changed by us Saturday
morning just before we started.) They will email
this list one time with several questions.

Thanks again everyone for your good work and good
cheer. If half of the plans made come to fruition, it will
be great progress for our movement. I look forward to
working with new and old friends to make that happen.

Best regards,

/Bill S.

Improved Directions from Eric

Dateline: Trinity Ranch, Black Hawk, CO
Mon Oct 2 17:25:06 EDT 2000

[This just in from Eric - very important!]

Hi Chris,

I just got back from driving up to the retreat site, which I had only been to once before, and YIKES, the last 1.4 miles on a dirt road is tricky!!! So, I took exact odometer and "landmark" notes for you to send on to everyone ... they're gonna need em!

FROM DENVER via I-70 to #6 to #119 (to Central City):
from #6 (Clear Creek Canyon) onto #119, you will go to the 15.5 mile marker, and a few hundred feet past that is a turn to the right to go to the Golden Gate Park (GGP). This road is also called Gap Road, but there are NO signs until you already turned onto the dirt road!

FROM NEDERLAND via #119 toward Central City, you will go about 10.2 miles, then turn left onto the road to GGP.

NOW YOU ARE ON DIRT ... set your odometer to "0" !!!

The dirt road is only 1.4 miles long, but, there are forks in the road you don't want to take!
* go 1/10 mile, fork to right at the GGP sign,
* go 3/10 mile, stay straight (right) follow GGP sign,
* go 2/10 mile, fork to the left at the GGP sign,
   (just before this left turn, there is a "Fellowship Camp"
   sign on a pole on the right of the road)
* go 6/10 mile, then go left at fork where the "Trinity
   Mountain Ranch" sign is (straight ahead in your headlights),
* go 2/10 mile and you are there!!! (it's not really 9/10 mile
   like the Trinity Ranch sign says.)

The drive from Nederland is total 11.6 miles (about 20 minutes). Those of you taking a bus and then waiting for a shuttle ride, might want to wait inside at our famous local color bar one block from the bus stop called The Pioneer
Inn ... it's redneck, but safe enough. Let the shuttle people know to be looking for you.

The weather is glorious, but changing ... :-(

Eric

Retreat Center Info

Dateline: Athens, GA
Sun Oct 1 16:33:27 EDT 2000

Should you get lost on your way from the airport here are the address and phone of the retreat center:

Trinity Mountain Ranch/Fellowship Camp
Highway 119
Black Hawk CO 80422
Phone: (Denver-based) 303-642-3428

Please address all questions to me at 706-613-7121 in Athens, GA until Wednesday, October 4, when I will be arriving in Black Hawk.

If you have questions about bus schedules
specifically on Wednesday, please call Mark Ruzzin
at Sam Cole's number below. (Sam's away until
Thursday.) I should have most questions about
bus schedules answered before then.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
C.

Van from Nederland Coordination

Dateline: Boulder, CO
Fri Sep 29 08:47:44 EDT 2000

Here's a message I received from Sam Cole of Eco-Cycle:

hi chris
here's a phone number to give all attendees
if they need to contact the van driver about
getting from nederland to the retreat.

[Call] 303-444-6640 then press *105 and leave a message.
messages will be checked often
(this is really my extension here at ecocycle...i'll change the greeting to say it's the retreat van driver's vm) Please contact Sam if you have any questions about
where and when to meet him in Nederland.

Elevation

Dateline: Athens, GA
Tue Sep 26 16:01:53 EDT 2000

Trinity Ranch is well over 9000 feet in elevation. This means there is less oxygen to breathe. You may find yourself more easily fatigued. You are not coming down with a cold. Don't worry if you can't run your usual four-minute mile. It may take a day or so to get your "mountain" legs, so take it easy on yourself!

The mountain tops above us will most likely be frosted with snow through out our stay. The Aspens will probably be just past peak, but will still have some leaf color. For those who are not familiar, Colorado is famous for it's Aspen trees.
C.

Task Schedule

Dateline: Athens, GA
Mon Sep 25 17:32:27 EDT 2000

Because we are all about recycling and zerowaste, we are going to be setting up a dish-washing schedule. This is an appropriate alternative to eating from the disposable plastic plates the camp would otherwise provide. Everyone should sign up for some of the time to help wash dishes. There will be a task schedule posted for this purpose.

More Answers:

There is electricity in the cabins, so you can read in your sleeping bag.

Kids age six and under are free. You will not have to pay their fare.

More on Weather

Dateline: Athens, GA
Mon Sep 25 10:16:12 EDT 2000

In response to some emails, I'd like to address fears about the cool weather. The same day they had two inches of snow, it melted off before the morning ended and was actually quite mild during the day. The main ranch house has a nine rooms with six person capacity each. Three are designated as mens' quarters and six as women's, primarily because of how they are adjacent to the appropriate bathroom facilities.

We will certainly have room for everyone inside the heated main house if it gets really cold. Barring extreme weather, there is no reason we couldn't spread out into the other fourteen unheated cabins (able to hold about six people each) if we prefer more privacy.

You will definitely need to dress warmly after the sun goes down. Root out those ugly plaid flannel pj's that Auntie Mabel sent you for Christmas last year. We just need to be prepared for a wide spectrum of weather.

Weather Update

Dateline: Boulder, CO
Fri Sep 22 11:55:36 EDT 2000

To corroborate what I said previously in this Colorado Retreat News column (second news piece from the bottom), please cast your eyes on this note from Eric Lombardi, who wrote:

Hi Chris,
...
I think you should send an email to all retreat attendees regarding the weather and how they should pack. The Retreat Center got 2" of snow just two nights ago!
...
Clothes for the Retreat: you should expect the nights to be very chilly, both outside and inside the retreat center. If you're from Florida, it will feel downright cold. So, bring warm loose pants and sweaters to hang out in. It's possible that a snowy blizzard could blow in too, so be prepared with one winter coat and some boots. It's also possible that the sun will be baking us in the days, so pack some t-shirts and shorts and sun-screen. Welcome to weather in the Rockies, always an adventure!

ciao, Eric Please be sure to pack appropriately!

Directions for car drivers

Dateline: Athens, GA
Thu Sep 21 15:39:21 EDT 2000

Well, I've given bus directions, so now it's time for car directions:

From Denver International Airport:

Start out going North on JACKSON GAP ST by turning left. (0.0 mi.)

Turn LEFT onto ramp. (0.3 mi.)

Merge onto PENA BLVD. (9.7 mi.)

Take I-70 W/US-36 W. (4.6 mi.)

Stay straight to go onto I-70 W. (25.7 mi.)

I-70 W becomes I-70 W/US-40 W. (1.4 mi.)

Stay straight to go onto I-70 W. (7.3 mi.)

Take the US-6 exit (0.2 mi.)

Turn RIGHT onto US-6. (2.7 mi.)

Stay straight to go onto CO-119. (7.2 mi.)

Turn right when you see mile marker 15.5 on to Gap Road. Do not take any roads that lead to Golden Gate Park.

If you get lost along the way, call Trinity Mountain Ranch, 303-642-3428. DIA is located about 2 hours from the convention site.

Asides: There may be some confusion about the use of DIA or DEN as a reference for Denver International Airport. DEN is the airport abbreviation used when ordering airline tickets. DIA is used on their own website. If I use either of these terms I'm referring to the same airport.

Incidentally, dogs are not permitted at the ranch because they tend to fight with the wild coyote. It's usually the dog that loses, even though coyote are often smaller. Coyote are a small subspecies of red wolf.
C.

People leaving on Monday

Dateline: Athens, GA
Tue Sep 19 13:37:13 EDT 2000

Just to be clear: we are about an hour and a half away from the airport. There are not many people leaving Monday morning because the conference is still under way. Please consider making your departure time for between Monday 5 and 6 pm so that you will have plenty of time to deal with airport delays. If an early flight is unavoidable, the earliest bus from Nederland to Boulder leaves 5:53am and then about every 50 minutes thereafter, so you should be able to make your flight. You would need to leave Nederland platform by 8:00am to be sure you could make a Denver departure at Noon.

Airport Info

Dateline: Athens, GA
Mon Sep 18 18:17:25 EDT 2000

Regarding airport pickup:
If you are getting picked up at the airport, meeting place will be by baggage carousel 4 on the East side. There may be better places to meet, but it's likely you'll have to go through baggage at some point anyway, so we may as well meet there.

Bus Schedule
From baggage: Go to Bus Island 3. Take the AB bus to Boulder. Be sure to ask for a TRANSFER to the N bus when you pay, so you don't have to pay again. You will need exact fair - $8.00. When you get to Boulder Station (14th and Walnut - end of the line,) get off and take the N bus to Nederland. Exact fair from Boulder to Nederland is $2.00 if you forgot your transfer. Most likely, someone in an Eco-Cycle van will meet you. On your arrival date, please try to leave the airport as early as possible by bus. If you must leave later than 5:00 please let me know!

More Answers

Dateline: Athens, GA
Thu Sep 14 18:26:07 EDT 2000

Answers about accommodations:

Don't worry about bringing towlels or linens. Just bring a sleeping bag if you have one.

Although they do have pillows, they are plastic and not very comfortable. You may want to consider bringing your own pillow, like a travel pillow.

An aside: Mary tells me that cooking at 9000 feet can be interesting due to the elevation. She says water takes an hour to boil. It takes longer to cook everything, so meals take just a bit more planning ahead. Consider bringing a fishing pole if you like to fish. You can eat what you catch.

Uhccalmuhdayshuns	Dateline: Athens, GA Thu Sep 14 09:36:50 EDT 2000
Okay, it's out there! I don't know how to spell "accommodations"! I'll try to fix that today. :o) C. (It didn't get fixed today. One of our computers got struck by lightning as well as various other office machines. It sort of took up my time. It may not get changed until late tomorrow.)

Thar's a Bahr. (Wahr?) Over Thar!

Dateline: Athens, GA
Thu Sep 14 09:29:06 EDT 2000

Brother John says we may see bears and other large critters. I'm sure we've all watched enough PBS to know bear etiquette:

Don't feed them.

Make no sudden movements or sharp noises.

Don't run away - walk away casually, slowly.
(Any kind of running is seen as aggression.)

Accomodations Form	Dateline: Athens, GA Tue Sep 12 13:33:50 EDT 2000
Mary needs head counts for beds and food! Please click on the link above to fill out this form! Thanks, C.

Questions and Answers

Dateline: Athens, GA
Mon Sep 11 17:50:02 EDT 2000

Some folks have had good questions. I thought it would be a great idea to post some answers. Here they are:

Although the cabins are not heated, Brother John assures me that we will not need it.
Please do bring a sleeping bag. If you don't have one, don't worry. Blankets will be provided for you.
Bathrooms are all located in the main lodge building.
Cell phones can usually readily dial out, but there may be some challenge to folks trying to dial you.
There are laundry machines. Don't bother to bring detergent or a roll of quarters.
Folks who are coming in for the day only and are not sleeping over need to bring their own meals or be prepared to pay $35 per day for three meals each day.
This is leaf season, so it's bound to be a busy time. Please be sure to order your airline tickets ordered by Thursday, September 14 so you don't pay exorbitant last-minute fees!
People who want to room together, feel free to tell me your plans.
I need to give Mary a list of those sleeping over, those eating meals for each day. I'll be creating a special form just for this.

Please email me if you have questions!
Fill out the form with any new or changed information
so I can update our records.

Thanks!

Chris

Our Hosts

Dateline: From Home
Sun Sep 10 09:48:49 EDT 2000

I've got a lot of news to post, but before that I thought I'd introduce our hosts.

Mary is one of our hosts. She will be responsible for cooking. She has promised to cook grits for me at least once.

Brother John is our other host. Both have been very patient answering my many questions, some of which will be answered in this news area.

One time I hiked a mountain in New England called Camel's Hump. It was above the tree line, so it was cold even in August. It snowed the morning we left.
We will not be above the tree line in Colorado, but rest assured, 9000 feet in elevation is...mild. Although we may not need to dress warmly, please remember to bring warm clothing!

News Flash!	Dateline: Athens, GA Thu Sep 7 13:28:00 EDT 2000
Hello! Chris here. This is where I'll be posting fresh information about the Retreat, even before it may merit it's own page. Please bookmark this page and check it frequently as I will be posting here daily.

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