So Much To Be Grateful About In 2011 To be honest, I make this sappy "year in pictures" page for myself. It may not be particularly interesting to you, but New Year's is a great time to reflect and record some of the things that I am grateful for. (Here are my 2010 and 2009 pages.) The photo above is probably my best picture of the year. The day was February 23, 2011, and I was cycling east on Interstate 10 between Indio, CA and Blythe, CA. I am so thankful I got to bike across the country a second time in 2011. :) Aside from listing my personal highlights, I want to give a *HUGE THANK YOU* to all of you who visit and enjoy my website. I try to entertain. I do my best to stay active. Perhaps I can provide good information about trails, scenic drives and places to go. I know many of you do not live in Colorado and either regularly vacation here or long to move this way full-time. Whatever the case may be, I look forward to many more years of being in "partnership with you" ... of sharing my crazy life and including the mountains in as many of my photos as possible. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you a wonderful and amazing 2012. May all your dreams come true! -Steve Buena Vista, Colorado Twitter: @SteveGarufi Facebook: /coloradoguycom

	Bike Across America 2011 - It was a miracle. I did it again. You can read all details at: www.bikeacrossamerica.net Thank you to those who made direct financial gifts: Sponsors And many thanks to others who were a huge help: Special Thanks
Image by Orlando Weekly	Turned 40 - In September, I reached the age 40 milestone. Honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal from an life crisis standpoint. Special thanks to Mark Shaw, Brad and Cari Rohrich and Dale Dawson for taking me out for my birthday. :)
	The Book - I'm still working on my first book, a memoir about my 2008 bike across America ride. All I will say is I'm getting closer to being finished. I'm currently working on my fourth draft, and there is still more editing and revisions to be done. For much of 2011, I worked on this book at least 5-10 hours a week.
	Mountain Climbs And Happenings - I didn't do as much climbing as I anticipated in 2011. Probably my most enjoyable climb was summiting Crested Butte (12,162') on July 2. There were three other memorable events that come quickly to mind: USA Pro Cycling Challenge Full Rainbow SAG for Robert and Twain (love the video at the bottom)
	Fall Colors - Colorado had an amazing fall colors season. During a two week period, I was out there practically every afternoon photographing the autumn leaves. Ahhhh! This year I made numerous videos of myself walking about the fall foliage. They are included on my photo gallery pages. Here is the full index: Colorado Fall Foliage.
	Fantasy Football - My fantasy football league entered its fifth year. I think all 14 managers had a good time. My Garbage Cans didn't do so well, finishing a dismal 5-8. Tom Brady, Roddy White, Percy Harvin, Mike Tolbert, Marshawn Lynch and Antonio Gates were my key starters. If only I could've made the playoffs with a 6-7 record (as one team did), I may have done major damage as my team got hot in the final few weeks of the regular season and playoffs. I did win the consolation championship, at least. Champion - Radiators (Brandon) Manager of the Year - Radiators (Brandon) Newcomer of the Year - Lil Miss Mayhem (KJ)
	Visited Northeast - After three years, I finally had the good fortune to visit the Northeast to see family and friends. Visiting my father's grave was among the top highlights.
	Herniated Disk - In the fall, my aging body alerted me (quite painfully) that it does not appreciate sitting still for long periods of time in cars and airplanes. In October, I experienced what my orthopedic doctor suspects was a herniated disk. At first, I had awful muscle spasms throughout my back. It was so bad that for a few days I couldn't even lift myself out of bed by myself. Then it transformed into excruciating sciatic pain. With the help of doctors and medication (mainly pain killers with one anti-inflammatory prescription), I got things under control. After 2+ months, I am finally feeling "normal" again. The sciatica comes and goes, but it's minimal pain now. This was a wake up call for sure, and I'm doing what I can to minimize the risk of this happening again. Adjacent is my x-ray. :)
	Old Cars Website - Among the many websites I run besides ColoradoGuy.com, one that I particularly enjoy is Classic Old Cars. It's my outlet to take pictures of old cars and make comments about them. Check it out: www.classicoldcars.net In other news, I finally sold my 1964 Cadillac. It was time. I really needed the money. This couple, Butch and Ann of Ohio, flew to Colorado and transported Elma to her new home. I am grateful that I drove the Cadillac quite a bit this summer, and my website dedicated to the '64 Cadillac will always remain: www.1964cadillac.com.
	River Valley Community Fellowship - I'm very appreciative of my church fellowship, River Valley Community Fellowship in Salida. Their website is www.rvcfsalida.com. There's so much I could say about what God has done in my life. I am very blessed man! My Lord Jesus Christ gets all the credit for anything good you see in me.
	Mt. Princeton - I continue to photograph Mount Princeton on a regular basis for www.mtprinceton.org. In April 2012, it will be six years that I've been doing this. As much as I love updating it, I have grown increasingly bored of it over time. I've attempted to create other "photo of the day" type websites, but they've never taken hold in the long-term. This, I think, speaks to a greater issue: it may be time to move on ... to move geographically. We'll see. It's something "on the table" for 2012.
	Special Thanks To ... Life can be downright hard, heartbreaking and lonely. In this last section, I want to acknowledge a few people who went out of their way to encourage, help, serve, listen, coach (whatever) in 2011: Ron Wich, Lisa Fisher, Mike Green and Bill Oliver. If you enjoy my website, let's get connected on Facebook... ColoradoGuy.com on Facebook