Blake Roberts

Blake was one of my first guy friends when I moved out to Colorado. He moved out the same month I did, and really had the same story. He was a midwest boy from Minnesota who came out because of his love for the mountains. Him and his roommates Michael and Chris (pictured below) lived in the same apartment complex as my two best friends CJ and Rachel, so naturally us three girls and those three boys always ended up hanging out. I remember times when Rachel was in the shower and CJ wasn't home and I'd catch him going through their kitchen. One time he turned around with a mouthful of orange juice and gave me the "quiet" sign before he tiptoed to the door, snatched a cookie, and booked it home.

The Minnesota boys being goofy, left to right: Michael, Blake, Chris.

He loved life, and he loved being young. It was evident by his Christmas tree made out of PBR beer cans. Or how he left his car in the parking lot the entire season because he was so proud he could walk to the ski hill and everywhere else that he said it was staying there until it got towed out. It ended up having a flat tire and needed to be dug out before they even attempted towing it out.

Me and Blake didn't stay nearly as close of friends as our first year out here, but we always seemed to run into each other. I just saw him a few days ago actually, happy and partying as always. He didn't always make the best decisions, like anyone our age. Unfortunately sometimes you can't take your decisions back.

Friday night Blake got in a Jeep with four other people, including a drunk driver. They made it up Ski Hill Rd. before swerving out. The driver over corrected and rolled the jeep. Blake was ejected... He was 21-years-old.

Blake's death put a real perspective on death... how real and sudden it can be. It takes everyone, whether you're healthy or frail, famous or like Blake, who was just one of the guys. He was so young, and had his whole life in front of him... But death doesn't care. It's a painful reminder to everyone in Breck to not drink and drive, or get in a car with a drunk driver. It's not worth your life.

Shred in peace Blake... I bet the pow is amazing up there.

Here' s a link to the Summit Daily News Article.

Late For A Very Important Date!

Hello all,

It's already fall and I have yet to post an entry! For the month of September I am working full time and in school full time, on top of trying to find a new place to live by the weekend - YIKES! I just haven't had time to sit and relax much less reflect on my summer!

I was a Parks Worker for the Town of Breckenridge this summer and it was by far the best job I've ever had. Four 6:00am - 4:30pm shifts outside in the beautiful weather followed by three days off. It was pretty awesome to get paid to be at the town's festivities all summer.

And of course, my summer also consisted of a lot of outdoor activities, from zip lining, to hiking, to dirtbiking.

All in all though, I'd have to say the most exciting part of my summer was welcoming my two Great Pyrenees / Anatolian Shepherd puppies into my life. They are brothers (Huey and Hank) and the loves of my life.

 

But alas, fall is already here!! It came aweful early this summer, but I suppose that's for a lot of reasons. I'm not getting the itch to ski yet, I always enjoy the moment. Fall for fall, summer for summer, winter for winter... It's too beautiful not to. I found a free day this past weekend to take a drive down Independence Pass and spend the day in Aspen with some friends and my boyfriend.

 

I took some photos around Breck this morning. There was snow on the peaks and it was in the lower 30's. It's very prevalent that winter is on it's way!

I'm going to try to be a little better about posting the rest of the month, but just in case... I always find time to post a photo or two a day to my Instagram. If you have the iPhone/Droid app, my name is aligee_ , otherwise you can check out my album here! You can always see where I am or what I'm up to. All of the above photos are posted to my Instagram as well! http://instacanv.as/aligee_

Picnic in the Park!

Yesterday was the last day of school for the year. Me and my giant group of friends spent the entire day at Carter Park in Breckenridge with volleyball, kickball, beanbag toss, bbq, and beers. It was an AWESOME way to start off the summer! It was warm, sunny, and an all around perfect day. My entries don't end here though! This weekend is also very eventful, so check back!

What's even MORE exciting is that I was hired by the town of Breckenridge to be a parks worker this summer. I've been assigned to take care of Carter Park, so you get to see where I'll be spending the majority of my summer (tough life)!

Here are some pictures from yesterday. This first group of pictures were taken by my friend and CMC student Kenzie Phelps.

This second group of pictures was taken on my cell phone... So obviously not quite as good! Haha!