It was the middle of September and with a blue ribbon in the bag, and a hankering to see something through, there were big decisions needing to be made, quick. With the dry summer here in Colorado, prime peach picking season came early and we had to decide how much to get. Working on a secret recipe for a couple years now we knew we had to go big or go home. So we ordered some jars, borrowed a truck, packed some snacks, put the dog (Halle) in the back and started our road trip to the other side of the Rocky's. 

Our destination; Paonia Colorado. A small town on the western slope filled with valleys of orchards, vineyards and grazing horses. The perfect summer day in the mountains with no agenda but to pick as many peaches as we thought we could. 

And boy did we. In fact we kept going till the truck was full. 

Meanwile, Halle took it upon herself to stay busy by swimming just about the entire time we were picking.

Near sundown we were all picked out. So we packed up and started our journey back to Denver. Since we picked these peaches at the peak of freshness we had to act fast. This meant we were off to the commisary kitchen the very next day.

Once in the kitchen it was a whole mess of choppin'. Special thanks to Ross Evertson and Deb Fox for a bunch of help.

Future brandy?

Heaping handfuls of whole delicious Madagascar vanilla bean.

Our key ingrediants (Colorado peaches, fresh lime juice, fresh Vanilla Bean and locally distilled Leopold Bro's whiskey) all mixed up the first batch is ready for the stove.

And the result of a lot of hard work, years of testing, and the best ingredients. This is our limited seasonal release of our Denver County Fair blue ribbon award winning Colorado Whiskey Peach Deliciousness. We didn't make much so do yourself a favor and get some quick. Watch out though..you'll be yearning for more before we have more peaches probably.....

Well, we have made it back from Labor Day weekend, and while Mark is sipping RedBull to stay awake from his return of a  several thousand mile roadtrip through 11 states in 10 days (check his sweet photo of a vw bus at the badlands), I thought I'd drop a note on some of what the "other part of RedCamper" was up to. Starting with a traveling art show that the informed Ross took us to. (Well, not Halle, she stayed home, she's not really into art.) The Trading Tortoise came to town and stopped in front of the Denver Art Museum. Souther Salazar and Monica Choy have been traveling around the U.S. for 5 months now trading precious items out of their adorable turtle tent. So awesome. What could be more up our alley than random stuff, traveling, telling stories, and turtles?! So, we couldn't miss it. And we didn't. And it was great.

Here is Ross doing some negotiations with the turtle house. He is being well documented. We may end up as Denver Art Museum marketing materials. Ross traded an educational poster from the 1960's that he found in the dumpster for a small book of Magic Tricks. Can't wait to see what comes of that.

I traded one of our incredible science rulers for this dazzling plate. Which I love, but I also love the story behind the plate. Ashley Jennings of Reno, Nevada picked up this plate at an estate sale while she was out with photographer Jennifer Garza Cuen who was finishing up her series of "Cocktails" photos. Seems Ashley, though not confirmed..is the Ashley Jennings that started Checklet that released the app Metricorn for small makers and sellers like us. Which is also..pretty great.

Here is the couple themselves.. And here is their kickstarter project if you want to know even more about their project there is a super cute video. And one more link..their schedule of stops. Looks like they are in Kansas City tonight and Brooklyn on the 26th. And hey there hometown..Flagstaff ..looks like they would like to stop in...

Hey.. who ever gets our ruler..we would love to know who you are....

Photo by Tocabe

After we left there, we chatted up a South African architect by the name of Russel, on a U.S. tour of architecture,  then we went over to the Taste of Colorado, a local food event in the Civic Center..wandered around for a bit eating delicious Navajo tacos from Tocabe and listening to the sweet sounds of Foreigner.

And that..was Friday night...

The ultimate road tripper Neil Armstrong died at 82 this weekend. Rest in Peace.
*Note preview image is not Neil, but Buzz Aldrin and was photographed by Neil Armstrong. Could be one of my favorite photos of all time.

Big news here at camp RedCamper, not only is August, my favorite month, but it's county fair season and this year, Denver's 2nd year to have a County Fair, I entered a couple of my Colorado Whiskey Peach jam's in the jam competition. And I won! First place in the Peach Jam category and 2nd place in the Jam - Misc category giving me my first blue ribbon since I was in track and field in 7th grade and had to run every event because there were only 3 of us on the team, and I threw up afterwards. It feels pretty good to have validation that this jam is in fact, the best damn peach jam you will ever have. Ever. At least in Denver County. This year. Against those other contestants.  ;)

In celebration of County Fairs all across the US of A enjoy these pictures above which are not in fact from the Denver County Fair ..they are from the fair I grew up going to, the Coconino County Fair in Flagstaff, Arizona, 2011. Except the pie eatting contest shot..that was Denver County Fair. If you all have any great County Fair photos you want to share..please send to us here, or on Facebook. We'd love to see them.

We reinvented our classic vertical laptop bag you've known and loved. This time dressed in super tough, water repellent, and soft to the touch, Martexin waxed canvas. Martexin has been around since 1838, so we are very happy and proud to start using their products in our bags. One of the main goals in our bags is that they will last longer than your VW bugs fenders did, and this canvas is no exception. What about our classic auto upholstery? Don't worry, there is still that famous stripe running down front and back, and boy does it look good. We will be officially launching this bag soon, so if you want to get your hands on one, or have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us at rolling@redcamper.com

We have had 2 days in a row of 105 degree heat, record setting for Denver. It's hot. Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and many other locations in Colorado are ablaze with hundreds of firefighters working day and night to slow down the path of the flames. Our studio a/c unit is working as hard as it ever has in it's life to keep us relatively cool until about 2:30pm when it gets a bit toasty....but Halle...well, she's outside sunbathing.