Aspen Ruggerfest Trip Report: 9-17-09 to 9-20-09
I have what some people refer to as a “Bucket List”. It’s not set in stone, but is a list of things I’d like to do at some point. One of those items was to attend the Annual Ruggerfest in Aspen, Colorado put on by the Gentlemen of Aspen’s Rugby Club. A few months ago I confirmed with Jeff & Diane Lubbert (old friends, Jeff played for River City in the early 90’s, and Olde’ Barking Dog tour members from Edinburgh) that I would be making the trip West to attend. Diane secured lodging for us at St. Moritz Lodge for Friday and Saturday night the weekend of Ruggerfest. I then needed to figure out my travel plans.
Two months ago I came up with the option of taking Amtrak west. I ordered my tickets that would have me leaving from Osceola, Iowa and arriving in Denver. Since Jeff & Diane live in Denver, this worked out great. I bid farewell to my lovely wife Kim and our feline child “Stubby” late Thursday afternoon, the 17th. My departure from Osceola was at 8:15 p.m. Arriving in town about 6:00 p.m., I decided to check out the buffet at Terrible’s Casino that was only five minutes from the Amtrak station. The food was excellent, and I even had time to put $20.00 in for a little gambling. Within a half hour I was up $60.00, so hit “Cash Out” (hard for me to do), and headed to the train station.
I really didn’t know what to expect since I have never been on a train before, but was quite pleased overall with the trip. By the way, my round trip ticket was $137.00. Not too bad at all. Reserved seating is generally take any seat you want if the train isn’t packed. I was able to grab two adjoining seats on the lower level. The compartment I was in had a family of seven traveling to Denver for the weekend, and a lady attempting to make it to Denver before her sister gave birth. The phone call she received at 4:45 a.m. made it apparent she was late for the blessed event, but had a healthy 7lb. nephew awaiting her arrival.
I am not able to sleep very well in a moving vehicle, and this trip wasn’t far from the norm, even though I was able to stretch out somewhat. The twelve hour ride was all in all a great way to travel though. I think I may have slept four hours or so on and off.
My train arrived in Denver about 45 minutes late. Jeff picked me up from the station, then we drove to his & Diane’s home to pack the car for our drive to Aspen. We got on the road about 9:30 a.m. from Denver. Since it’s hard to say if I’d make it back that way anytime soon, Jeff & Diane decided to take the scenic route to Aspen so I could take in some sights. I have to say, the mountains are amazing. Our route took us through Independence Pass, and by the Continental Divide. Breathtaking is about the only way to describe what I saw. I’m really glad we took this route, except for Jeff’s attempt at humor when he thought we needed to get close to the edge for a better view a couple of times. Ass…..
We arrived in Aspen around 1:30 p.m. or so. Jeff & Diane dropped me off near downtown, then went to see if they could check us into our Hotel early. I was surrounded by countless ruggers and fans as soon as I stepped out of the car. A match was underway on the main pitch, so I wandered around and got my bearings. Found the merch tents and food/beer sales, then made a couple of calls, first to let Kim know we had arrived, and a couple others to a few friends we were to meet up with. I wasn’t there five minutes when up walked Jim Schade (YES, Chunk’s brother!). He was in town for his twelfth or thirteenth straight Ruggerfest. We made plans to meet up a little later. I also ran into three gentlemen sporting Golden Oldies apparel who had been in Edinburgh. Chatted with them for awhile. Two of them will be in Sydney next year. Small world Rugby stuff there!
Jeff & Diane had gotten us checked in, and also learned there was a couple of vacant rooms available. A quick call to Bill & Megan (Swenning) Bielefeld secured them lodging for the weekend. They would arrive a little later in the evening. Bill wasn’t going to be able to make it, but after working in Denver during the week, “somehow” missed his flight Thursday night back to Minneapolis. Yes, beer was involved, but it isn’t that interesting of a story, so will spare you the details. Let’s just say that “one more for the road” came into play.
The Lubberts joined me downtown, and we spent a little time wandering around. Walked over to a barbeque restaurant for a late lunch about 4:00 p.m. That REALLY hit the spot. A great place to relax and watch the town go by on the main drag. The food was excellent.
As the evening wore on we stopped at a couple of bars with Jim Schade, then went back to the Hotel to meet up with Bill & Megan who arrived around 10:00 p.m. They had had a night drive through Independence Pass. No thanks! Our little group headed back downtown. A few beers, some pizza, and more chance meetings with more people some of us knew through Rugby, and we found ourselves at Eric’s Bar. This place was packed! One area of the bar had a wall of mirrors. At first glance it looked as though the bar was much larger. The drunker you were, the less obvious the mirrors were. We all took seats at a long, raised table and enjoyed the entertainment value of the mirrors for about an hour. Countless people walked right up to them before realizing their mistake. Some tried to play off their error by pretending to fix their hair or just turn around hoping they hadn’t been seen. No such luck. As soon as they walked by us we let them know by laughing our asses off. One guy even walked directly into them! We had a blast.
Since I had little sleep on the train, I slept like a dead man Friday night. Our Hotel had a Continental Breakfast, so about 8:00 a.m. I gave Bill & Megan a wakeup call through their open window. (How long have these people known me???) Our group of five headed downtown to watch some Rugby and meet up with friends around 9:00 a.m. or so. The Rugby was fun to watch. We got to view some Open Division play, some 40 and over, and some 50 and over. Great Rugby on all levels. We all did a little shopping, grabbed some lunch, then stopped back at the Hotel to drop things off and prepare to attend a wedding on top of the mountain.
A friend, and fellow Olde’ Barking Dog member from Edinburgh, “Rotten” Ray Keith was getting married at 2:00 p.m. on top of the mountain, and we were all invited. An avid metal detector, Jeff Lubbert brought his gear to the top with him so he could detect walking back down the mountain after the wedding. (he found a bunch of clad, a silver quarter, and a sliver ear ring)
The gondola ride up the mountain was awesome. You could see the Rugby action on the pitch in the center of town, as well as countless other sights. The wedding went off without a hitch, and was attended by 15 friends and family. Ray could not have picked a better spot to tie the knot with his lovely bride Beth. As in all things Rugby related, our group became quick friends, even though some of us we had just met each other. We toasted the happy couple with champagne, and watched the bride hula hoop in her gown. (Yes, I have pictures) One of Ray’s friends, and former Des Moines Rugby team mates who was there told us when he heard Ray was getting married on a mountain by a monk, he wasn’t going to miss it for the world! I feel very fortunate to have been a guest as well. Thanks Ray & Beth!
About 3:00 p.m. we loaded back up into the gondolas (except for Jeff who went marching down the mountain detecting) and went back down into Aspen for the reception. I have to say, I am not a big fan of doing shots. As the evening wore on, my attitude changed. We all gathered in the condo Ray had rented for the weekend. There were snacks, cake, champagne, and this HUGE bottle (1.75 liters) of vodka. We were all also able to watch the 2nd half of the Iowa football game! Man, talk about your great wedding receptions!!
The shots were called “Lemon Shots”. You sprinkle some sugar on a slice of lemon, lick the sugar, do the shot of Vodka, then suck the lemon. As the afternoon & evening progressed I bent to peer pressure and had a few shots. Then a few more. Then a few more. Then a fresh bottle appeared. Then another bottle. Starting to see a pattern here? At some point, the Rugby songs started. Megan’s tennis shoe became the “boot” for any errors (which were countless by this point). We also moved en masse outside for a group picture. A friendly passerby took charge of our cameras and snapped several pictures for us to remember the evening by. She opted out of the “no pants” picture though just as we were all preparing for the shot. Wonder why??
While we were outside, one of our party went into a nearby restaurant and actually “borrowed a cup of sugar” from them as we were out, and needed more for the “Lemon Shots”. Ya can’t say Rugby players don’t always come through in the clutch!
Alright, I have to say right now that the following quotes uttered at some point in the evening are of the “you had to be there” variety, but at the time, were “spit out your drink” and slightly “ pee yourself” if you heard them directly from the person’s mouth. The first one “Russia was invented in Sweden” was uttered at about the time the 3rd bottle of vodka was opened. Of course, he meant VODKA was invented in Sweden, but come on, is that not a Rugby shirt quote? The second one I overheard on the balcony as one of our group was calling home. Evidently he was speaking to one of his kids when he said into his cell phone” Let me talk to the queen”. Yep, I spit out my drink. The third one I’m not too sure who said, but I immediately went to Diane Lubbert to write it down with the first two because I didn’t want to forget them (and I couldn’t write by this point). One of the male guests said “I don’t do those things anymore because I want to keep my job”. Classic!
I also found one other one on a scrap of paper in my wallet on the train ride home (obviously written by me, as the penmanship was quite 1st graderish). There are only three words written: “He’s burnt toast”. If one of the people at the party Saturday night can explain that one, I’d appreciate it!
## I need to make note of the fact that if you have a Tracfone Cell phone (I do), it is unwise to drunk dial members of your family, and a couple friends, on a balcony in Aspen when you are under the spell of “Lemon Shots”. In the first place, you are roaming. In the second place, your family members and friends now have ammo to use against you in the future. Hey! I was having a great time and needed to tell 17 people about it! I figured out I used over 100 credits off my phone. That’s about $30 in Tracfone minutes. Classic Haz at my best!###
As the evening progressed a 4th bottle of the “evil liquid” appeared. Someone was also kind enough to order pizzas for the group. Yes, food was a good option by this point. It may have been too late for at least a couple of the guests. Because I have been part of these two people’s lives for years and years, I will not embarrass them by disclosing their identities (Bill & Megan). So, I lie. The “Wee Catholic Bastard” Bill, hit the wall first, heading into Jeff Jury’s (best man, and also an Olde’ Barking Dog) room to pass out on one of the four bunks beds. A short time later, Megan was cursed by the “Lemon Shot” monster. Because I do love her like a daughter, I will leave out the details of the next few hours. Let’s just say that it’s been a long time since I held someone’s head over a waste basket for an hour. They both recovered enough by 7:00 a.m. to walk back to our Hotel.
Jeff and Diane ventured back to our lodgings about an hour before I did. I think I wandered (read Stumbled) in about 1:00 a.m. or so. Man, what a day it had been! Think I was out 30 seconds after my head hit the pillow.
Sunday morning arrived. I checked in on Bill & Megan. Checkout time was 10:00 a.m., so Bill checked with the desk so they didn’t have to leave until 1:00 p.m. Good thing, they needed some more rest before the drive back to Megan’s! Hit the shower, then packed the car for the return trip. Jeff, Diane, and I went downtown to watch some of the finals matches before we had to leave. Jim Schade arrived a little while after we did, so we hung out with him until the rains came. Lubbert’s and I then went to grab some lunch before we headed back to Denver. Had some fish and chips at Bad Billy’s Bar which really hit the spot, then went back to the main pitch to catch a little more Rugby.
Sadly, the rain really started to Fall after the 50 and Over match. Jeff & I helped Jim move his chairs under a huge evergreen tree, then hung out for awhile. We met a gentleman who’s son was getting a much needed adjustment at the chiropractor’s tent a few feet away from “our tree”. It turns out his son is an Eagle, and was in town playing for Aspen. BIG guy, and definitely in some serious pain before he got cracked. Seemed to move a little better when he loaded into his buddy’s truck afterwards though.
We said our farewell’s to Jimmy, then loaded in the car for the trip back to Denver about 2:00 p.m. I had finally gotten Megan on her phone. They had left about noon from the Hotel. Both were feeling better, so that was good news. Lemon Shots are the DEVIL I tell ya!!
Traffic was crappy a couple of times on our return trip, so added an hour to the drive, but we arrived back at Jeff & Diane’s about 6:30 p.m. We offloaded their gear, then they drove me to the Amtrak station in downtown Denver. After hugs all around I headed inside to await my choo choo. It was on time, so started my Eastward trek about 8:20 p.m. I wasn’t lucky enough to get two adjoining seats at first, but once some people got off in a town in Nebraska I was able to have two seats together. I fully reclined both of them, curled up into a ball with my Rugby coat as a pillow, and actually slept for about five hours! Arrived in Osceola on time as well about 8:45 a.m., stopped at Casey’s for a couple of doughnuts and a bottle of milk, then headed north to home. I hit a monsoon about 20 miles south of Des Moines that stayed with me for the next two hours. Pulled my trusty truck into the garage at 11:30 a.m. after 21-1/2 hours traveling from Aspen!! Cleaned out my bag, petted the cat, checked my email, hugged and kissed my lovely blonde coed when she arrived home from school, took a shower, then crashed on the couch for a three hour nap. It’s good to be home!
Lessons Learned:
Amtrak is a great travel option
Every Rugby player should attend Ruggerfest at least once
Independence Pass is a Must See
“Altitude Head Aches” suck! (four Advil will help immensely)
There’s no friends like Rugby Friends!
Lemon Drops are THE DEVIL!
Both men & women fart in their sleep (sometimes LOUDLY)
Never drunk dial with a Tracfone
Russia was invented in Sweden
Dogs are EVERYWHERE in Aspen
Some drivers don’t observe the “Pedestrians have the right of way” rule & swear at you
A GREAT four days I will smile about and look back fondly on for years to come!!
Bill “Haz” Haase
(no names have been changed to protect the innocent, cuz there weren’t any!)
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