Interview with Monte and Pat Peterson

Family? (Who stayed home or who came with you?): We leave our daughter, Pam, and her husband, Jack, who live in Denver. In Fort Collins we are leaving our son Ryan, and his wife Rachel, and our two grandsons Braden and Mason.

Age (be as vague as you wish!): Those ages would be 60 and 60.

Where are some of the places you’ve bicycled with ExperiencePlus! or with other groups?: Our first trip was in Italy, followed by France, Ireland, and Costa Rica. We are really looking forward to being on the first trip for ExperiencePlus! in Croatia in May.

Where does your love of the outdoors come from?: We both grew up in Bismarck, ND where we spent our summers outside swimming and playing baseball and our winters ice skating on the rinks the Fire Department flooded at the schools. Our adult years have found us spending time at our cabin near Cameron Pass in Colorado's northern Rockies.

Where is your favorite travel destination?: A place we both truly enjoyed was Turkey. The history, the sites, the food, and especially the warm and friendly people were an unbeatable combination.

Describe your perfect day outdoors: That would be a Colorado fall day in the moutains either hiking or golfing - with beautiful fall colors, sunshine, and no wind!

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know: Most people are surprised to learn that we are season ticket holders to CSU football, volleyball, and men's and women's basketball. We rarely miss a game and enjoy watching the young athletes grow and mature during their time at CSU.

Do you have any movie or book recommendations?: One of Pat's favorite books is John Steinback's "East of Eden". Monte's most watched movie is "The Great Escape".

What’s your favorite ride or hike in your hometown?: Our favorite bike ride is wherever there are NO trucks! A safe choice would be the WIndsor to Greeley bike trail. For hills we head to Horsetooth Reservoir. We often hike Montgomery Pass for a view of North Park as well as Poudre Canyon.

What's one outdoor activity that you would like to take up?: We are presently "overloaded" with biking, golfing, hiking, down hill and cross-country skiing, and snow shoeing.

What's one outdoor activity that doesn't interest you in the least?: Neither of us is up for rock climbing.

Describe the greatest adventure you've yet to take: We have yet to tour in Eastern Europe or South America - we are sure adventure awaits!

What question do you wish we had asked, and how would you have answered?: I wish you would have asked us, what was your most captivating trip? That was a recent trip to five countries in southern Africa. We lived in tented camps on safari, absorbed the geographical , social, and economic diversity of the villages and cities, and shared conversations with people both young and old dealing with AIDS, inflation, unstable governments, and life after apartheid.