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08.11: How "Stormy" Came To BeStormy is the new USS Omega Glory mascot. He was picked to perform this job this past weekend by Max and Jenn. After going up to Estes Park for the third annual Omega Glory outing to the Rocky Mountain National Park, we went for a four mile hike up Mount Ida. This is a mountain on the Continental Divide and stands at an elevation of 12,880 feet. On the way to the summit and well beyond the tree line we noticed some creatures running around. After hiking on a bit further we came across a huge pile of rocks that had several of these creatures sunning themselves. They were about the size of a cat and had beaver-like faces and fuzzy tails, sort of like a squirrel. Weighing in at about twenty pounds they can lay on a rock as flat as a frisbee. Not knowing what they were, but thinking they sure were cute rodents, we nicknamed the pile of rocks "Rat Rock" and continued on. After facing a sudden ice storm on the mountain we again saw many of these creatures on Rat Rock as we headed back to the car. At the car we tuned into the local park information radio station and discovered that the creatures were yellow-bellied marmots, the largest member of the squirrel family. On Sunday we hiked a short distance from Bear Lake to Emerald Lake, elevation of 10,080 feet. As he did last year at this lake, Max hiked to the other side and took pictures from there. He decided to climb higher this year to get a look at a waterfall that cascades from the mountain top. On his was up he radioed Jenn that he saw another marmot here. After getting back to the car Jenn decided that she wanted to have one of these creatures because they were so cute. Knowing that having such a creature scurrying about the ship might cause some harm to loose cables she decided that a stuffed marmot would be the next best thing. We asked at the visitor's center to the park if they had marmots and the lady there said no, but a local toy store in town might have one, if a marmot was to be had at all. Since we were going into town for dinner anyway, we took a look at this store to see and sure enough, they carried marmots. Jenn bought the very last one just before a man came in asking for one. Since Jenn was so happy to have the marmot Max decided that it would be fun to have it be Omega Glory's mascot. Due to our adventures on Mount Ida on Saturday we decided to call the marmot "Stormy". So there you have it -- that's how Stormy came to be. Please feel free to write to Stormy anything that you might want to share. He will personally make sure that your comments are added to his page. JennUSS Omega Glory, CO
08.13: Captain StearnsI finally was able to get some vacation, so my girlfriend Melody and I took a trek across the midwest from Texas to Indiana to Colorado and back to Texas. Anyway, figuring since I was in the sector, I sent a subspace message to my old friend Max. Melody and I hooked up with Max and Jenn at Max's old college hangout, "The Sink", in Boulder, CO. I feel much better about Max now, knowing he's in good hands and under a good command. I am sure he will be severly punished as required. In Fleet and Friendship, The First Big TripMy first big trip came just a day after I left the mountains. An old naval budy of Max's, Roger, 'blew' through town, although I didn't see a significant change in the weather. Roger came with his girlfriend Melody. We met them at 'The Sink' in Boulder, which Max said was a 'hole in the wall' he frequented when he was younger. They serve pizza here, which is a bread crust with bits of plants and animals baked on it, and burgers, which are two bread crusts with an animal baked between them. Yuk! Roger now lives in Texas, where he is a police officer. That's really cool, because he gets to go around and help people. But Roger's a trouble maker, too. After he finished eating, he got a marker from the waitress and put graffiti on the ceiling. After dinner Max and Jennifer took me around the University of Colorado
and we took pictures in various places. We met a nice lady police officer
who agreed to pose for a picture with me, so long as she didn't appear
in the newspaper. 08.14: Looking for Something RockyEven though I've been away from the mountains for only a short time, I was told that we were going to go see the Rockies. On my way to see the Rockies I got to visit the Colorado Capitol building. I climbed on the old cannon outside and had a really cool view. Due to the President of the United States being in town and having dinner, I missed a fun ride on the mall bus. I had to walk over a mile just to stand in line at the Coors Field gate. Since the President was coming here after dinner everyone had to go through a metal detector. After making sure I wasn't carrying weapons I was let in rather quickly. Max and Jenn, on the other hand, took way too much time. Their backpacks were looked at (sort of) carefully. Finally they, too, were let in. It turned out that the Rockies we went to see were the Colorado Rockies -- a bunch of men who'd hit a ball with a stick and then run. This is called 'baseball'. This was the first baseball game I had ever been to. It wasn't the mountains, but I enjoyed the trip. The Rockies even won in an extra inning. The President waved to everyone from his private box and to top it all off, I got a hug from a big purple dinosaur named Dinger who is the Rockies' mascot, like I am on the Omega Glory. At first I thought he might be hungry, but then he let go of me and signed my book! I also stopped at the Capitol on the way back to the shuttle and climbed
back up on the cannon to see what everything looked like at night. I enjoyed
the trip very much, but I'd still enjoy visiting the real Rockies some
day soon. 08.15: Her Majesty, the QueenTonight I got to travel to Boulder to see Queen Margaret. She was in Boulder with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. I thought she'd talk to me or at least wave like the President, but instead she spent her time scheming against English nobles and taking advantage of King Henry. It was very sad because everyone kept dying. I sat in the front row and the nobles kept looking at me. After Queen Margaret killed everyone and was imprisoned by King Richard I wanted to try out the King's throne, but a mean guard said I couldn't. I'm not just any rodent, you know! Before the show I got the visit some of the more famous sites at the University of Colorado. I checked out the buffalo at Folsom Field and climbed on the sundial at Norlin Library and poked my nose into Old Main. I really enjoy sight seeing! 08.18: A Day With the BroncosToday we went looking for Broncos (whatever those are -- I never saw any in the mountains) at Invesco Field at Mile High. The human folks I was with were excited to visit their new stadium. It was rather loud and there was lots of blue everywhere. The seats were comfy enough for me, but the humans were all cramped up. As it turned out, the Broncos are a bunch of sports players, similar to the ones we saw a couple of days ago at Coors Field, except they are overweight and play football where they chase a marmot-shaped ball around (eeek!). It was a nice place and I hope to make it back some day, so long as
they don't toss me. I'm told that the ball is actually made from a pig,
which is an animal I don't know. 08.22: A Visit to Red RocksA trip to Red Rocks! Finally, a place in the mountains with lots of rocks where I could stretch out and sun myself! It's almost like home! Red Rocks is a large amphitheater on the side of a mountain. We watched "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". It was a very strange movie about a bunch of men who like to dress like women (well, I think dressing is strange to start with!) and sing (or rather mouth words to music). As for myself, I liked the sunning part and when it got cold, I climbed back in my pack where it was very warm.
08.23: Pin DropStormy accompanied me to the new Sprint Internet Center on Windsor Drive (coming soon to a map near you!). He needed to wear a hard hat because of the construction. Since the POP room was pretty much completed, he could take the hat off. He helped me by checking out the installation of the big routers, but he did try to get into the cable management system. After a while he did get rambunctious. He crawled into the grid work, but when he tried to take over the drill, it was time to call it a day. We still should make the launch date, though. Lisa Paradis-Berkenbilt,
USS Athena NCC-51896 08.24: Meeting HootieStormy met Hootie, the Athena mascot, today. I also got a chance to see how Max relates to small furry creatures. He's been playing with Stormy for more than an hour. However, taking pictures of Max teaching Stormy "stupid marmot tricks" may prove to be a life limiting event. :-) Lisa P-B 08.25: The Denver ZooI went to the Denver Zoo with my friend Hootie. We saw Amigo, the baby elephant. It was his third birthday. In addition to pachyderms we also saw lots of cats. After taking some pictures, we headed out with the shuttle again.
08.26: Mount EvansWe went to Mount Evans today. Stormy and Hootie made it up the mountain and proved it by making us take lots of pictures. :-) Several other people got a laugh out of the marmot and owl posing and one even asked if he could have his picture taken with Stormy. After making it up the mountain, Jenn, Stormy, Hootie and I walked partially down to meet the mountain goats. The goats kept moving away, but we still got some pictures. We even saw some of Stormy's relatives. These marmots were skittish, but we did convince one of them to peek out enough for a picture with Stormy. All the climbing and picture taking built up a good appetite. We went to the Idaho Springs Beau Jo's for pizza and decorated napkins with the Athena and Omega Glory/Stormy information and logs. Stormy and Hootie couldn't get into Beau Jo's coal car to take a picture, but they did get their picture taken next to it. We also found the City Hall and the Police Department in Idaho Springs where Hootie and Stormy posed for pictures. Max, being absolutely shameless, left Stormy's business card on a couple of police cars. :-) I'm heading out to L.A. tomorrow so this will be my last entry for a while. Lisa Paradis-Berkenbilt,
USS Athena NCC-51896 08.31: Arc RoyalStormy, Yesterday Mount Evans, tomorrow the Universe! Pat Stewart, USS Arc Royal NCC-63546 |
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