Caption Index - All photos ©Lauren Sweeney

1. ODYSSEY PART 1 - I once looked up the word odyssey in my pocket dictionary to find that an odyssey is in fact "a long wondering". After graduating college and watching my pro surfing career go over the falls, I decided it was time to live life on my own terms. I would embark on a journey to experience the world outside of the surf bubble. This is the Odyssey Part I: Colorado. 
2. OREGON - This is the road trip out to Coloardo. Having left San Diego at the end of October 2009. I drove to Seattle to visit family. Departed Washington during the first week in November and drove across the Cascades (pictured here) of Oregon. The road trip to Colorado had begun. 
3. NEVADA - Into Nevada I went, where a giant group of antelope 200 strong crossing the road almost cut the odyssey short. Although not pictured, it looked like something out of the Discovery Channel. 
4. UTAH SALT FLATS - Here's me driving on into Utah. It was kind of weird how the salt flats reminded me of the ocean. Maybe my surfing withdrawls were already starting! 
5. COLORADO - Finally made it to Colorado. The scenery is amazing. This state just has a rustic hue to it that makes you feel like you're in an old western movie or something. 
6. COLORADO - These are those red rocks just outside of Grand Junction. The picture doesn't do them justice. They are beautiful! 
7. COLORADO - More of Colorado's epic scenery. 
8. COLORADO - Ahh. The looming mountains ahead. This is what I came here for. My mission was to snowboard the rockies and shred the pow. Oh yeah, and work a little bit too.
9. SUNRISE - I had made it to Breckenridge, CO. This was my final destination and the town in which I would call home for almost 5 months. Here's a pic of the sunrise out my front door of employee housing. 
10. MORNING COMMUTE - I don't miss sitting in traffic at all. This is my morning commute to work. A ride up the lift to my work station.
11. COLD - Working for Breckenridge Resort is awesome, but it does get really cold. Here's Christmas day's temp, 0 degrees F. Having been a beach bum most of my life, I have been freezing ever since I got here!
12. WORK - This is me at work on Christmas Day. It was very cold and I must of had at least 8 layers on. As a lifty, I work the bottom of various lifts loading guests and shoveling a lot of snow. 
13. MY OFFICE- When I work at the top of a lift, this is what my office looks like. A little shack with a killer view. I make sure guests unload safely, shovel more snow, and start the lift back up when it stops. 
14. OFFICE WINDOW - The view out my office window! 
15. SNOW SHOE - Although I came here to work, I also came here to play. On my days off I usually ride but my Aunt Regina came to visit and we decided to go snow shoeing. It was awesome! It's like hiking through the woods with giant flip flops on.
16. GETTING READY- Getting ready to ride is kind of like going for a surf except you have to put a lot more stuff on. Here's a pic of me ready to ride the bus to the mountain. 
17. HELLO - A ride up the Beaver Run lift at Breckenridge takes you to the Peak 9 Restaurant. You can grab the best burrito in town before you hit the slopes. 
18. MY PLAYGROUND - From the Peak 9 restaurant you can scope out the conditions. 
19. FRESH TRACKS - Getting fresh tracks is always nice! 
20. SLASH - Here's a pic of my slashing in the pow. If you look at the top of the spray, that's my head and googles. 
21. SKITTLE GEAR - Thanks for taking a look at the first part of my odyssey. Next stop is the fish cannery in Alaska.