Vail

Since arriving in Vail we haven't hunted out any extreme adventures because my race is so close and I don't want to get too tired or hurt. We've spent a lot of time at the playgrounds here which are pretty impressive.

We've done some biking, jogging and looking around the town.

James went off on a hike to a steep peak he could see from our house. We have played in the river that is close to our house twice. The kids can float down some easy Rapids, jump off a rock, and just play around.

Last night there was a meteor shower. James and I sat outside to watch it for awhile. I woke up at 4am randomly and went back out to watch. Pretty cool to see the tails on so many slow shooting stars. We've showed the kids Dumb and Dumber so they could see Aspen and other towns where it was filmed. We've had a good time here in Vail and are off to Breckenridge tomorrow.

How's Your Aspen?

In our last few days in Aspen we hiked to the top of the mountain. I went off on my own and hiked straight up following a course from a race the previous weekend. It was hard and so steep, but it was a good power hike and experience for my race. James and the girls hiked up on an easier route.

Along their way they saw a bear on the trail. At one point James had to bark and Molly blew her whistle to get it to run off. When I got to the top I ran back down and met them and hiked the rest of the way with them again. They've got fun stuff for the kids at the top of the mountain. A cool play area, a fort made of twisted sticks, giant checkers game and all sorts of stuff.

We couldn't stay out too long because a storm came in and we had to run into the lodge and then take the gondola down. On the weekend we took the kids to a fair in the park right near our house.

The town was celebrating their ducky derby. We went down to the river and they release 30,000 plastic ducks.

It was quite a sight to see. The kids loved it and spent a long time playing in the river. Sunday morning we woke up at 5:45 to drive to Maroom Bells to watch the sunrise.

It was cold but very beautiful. Unfortunately we didn't see any wildlife which we were hoping for. Later that day we took them to a science fair in another park which they loved. There were all sorts of experiments for them to do and science type magicians on stage doing exciting things. We went and played around in the river since it was a hot afternoon.

We were able to see Duncan at Aspen Brewing and on our way out of town stopped into the brewery as well.

So long Aspen!

Aspen

We moved over to Aspen on Saturday.

I ran there and James brought the girls and unpacked and hit a playground. There are tons of biking paths and parks to explore. James took the biking and hiking and they got caught in a giant rain storm.

I can't remember everything we did each day. Monday our car was in the shop all day getting the rear glass replaced. Tuesday we went up to Indepenence pass. It was so windy and cold up there that we couldn't hang out for too long.

We descended a bit and explored the old mining town of independence. James and I were so interested in how much glass was around the site. In the store there they have an intact Budweiser bottle from so long ago. We also spent a lot of time at the grottos. This area is by the Roaring Fork River and has lots of beautiful waterfalls and places to explore.

There is also a slot canyon we went into. We couldn't go too far because there was waist deep water and James and I didn't really feel like getting soaked.

Molly stripped down and was ready to go! We had a great family dinner outside which was so nice. I just love the Colorado weather. Wednesday morning we set an alarm and went to Maroon Bells early. Getting up early pays off, we saw a few elk on the way up. Right off the bat I understood what all the fuss was about. It was GORGEOUS.  

The lake was so clear you can see the bottom all the way across. The mountain reflected in the lake. On the far side of the lake there was a black bear walking along and we followed it on the far side for as long as we could see it.

It was really cool. Then we began hiking up to Crater Lake.  The hike was pretty easy. The lake was ok, not amazing compared to the lake down lower but the scenery all around us was awesome. We stopped for lunch and kept on going up the trail.

We went a bit further then decided to head off the trail and hike up to a patch of snow. It was very steep but we sat by a nice waterfall and had snacks.

Then we threw rocks at the snow to try and break parts off of it.

After a nice break we headed back to the car. All told we were in there for 7-8 hours. That night we went back to the rodeo. Our hope was that julia would get selected for mutton bustin this time and she did! I took her back where they suited her up with a helmet and protective jacket.

Julia was not afraid at all. She went second and hung on for dear life. She didn't last too long but she loved it and it was a highlight for me of the entire trip.  After a very long day Wednesday we had a slow day Thursday.  We went for a bike ride and run in the late morning to a new playground. 

Adios Snowmass

Wednesday night we went to the Snowmass rodeo.  Julia was dressed in her finest how girl gear and very excited.

She signed up for mutton bustin' and the calf chase but wasn't selected for the mutton bustin'.  She said she touched one of the calves but it was such a zoo in there I didn't even see her. The kids enjoyed the petting zoo and the snacks.

The rodeo was a good show. Especially the one armed cowboy who got two giant bison to climb on top of his truck and his horse too!

Thursday we went fossil hunting on a hike that James had done alone earlier in the week.

We went off the path and bush whacked up the mountain side looking at rocks. We found a few fossils of seashells. Really cool! The kids love finding adventure and crawled through drainpipes that went under roads.

They also love riding their bikes inside skate parks. 

Friday we didn't do much. We packed up and brought one load of stuff to the Aspen house. Since our car has no rear windshield we can't put the bikes on back and we've got blown up inner tubes for floating. I did a long run, I left Aspen and ran the course that the Aspen marathon does. The kids played around and then picked me up at the end. Saturday morning we were off to Aspen.

Snowmass

We've been in Snowmass for a week now.

We explored the area on the first day, checking out an indoor treehouse play area for the kids, riding the small free gondolas called skittles, biking around and swimming in the pool.  

The condo we are staying in is located right by the base village and has a pool and hot tub. The only hiking trails we know about are the trails up the ski mountain. We hiked one of them for a long hike and had lunch where the big gondola lets out, at a Elk Camp.

We then rode the chair to the top but a cold rain moved in and we didn't even get off to look around, we just went up and down. The gondolas are so expensive here but if you hike up you can ride down for free. Saturday I went for a 16 mile run on the mountain and had a very difficult and bad day. James and the kids biked down to a playground below the mountain base village and then took the free bus up.  In the afternoon we drove into Aspen and attempted a river float. This is apparently a popular thing to do and we wanted to try. Unfortunately the river was very cold and once julia fell in and was wet she could never get warm again. We were having fun but we honestly got worried julia was getting hypothermia so we abandoned the float and I hitch hiked back to get the car while James snuggled with julia to keep her warm.  Near our condo and right under the skittles is a small downhill dirt bike track.  The kids wanted to try it out.

At one point julia lost control and started straight down the hill out of control and eventually crashed in a face plant. We felt so helpless watching her. I feared the worst as we ran to get her but fortunately she just had some scrapes and bruises and nothing was broken. We've gone and watched a semi pro beach volleyball tournament, played at playgrounds and spent lots of time biking and swimming. There was a small fair one day where the kids got face paint, played instruments and went down a water slide.

Yesterday we did the biggest hike so far. The kids hiked from the bottom of the mountain to the top. With our zigzagging course I have no idea how many miles it was but it was an altitude gain of 3,200 feet. The kids walked each and every step of the way and wanted to be sure they made it without being carried.  

When we got part way up we stopped for lunch and the kids did the big climbing wall located at Elk Camp over and over again.

Then we made our summit push. It was fun because we didn't follow a trail but walked up the ski trails instead.

 The kids had fun collecting "artifacts", which was anything we found on the trails such as money, broken parts of ski poles, lip sticks, sun glasses, etc.  It was a beautiful day and and we were so proud of the kids for making it up.  

We took pictures, ate snacks, and compared our artifacts before heading down on the chair lift. Tonight is the local rodeo which we are all looking forward to.

Ouray on to Telluride

Monday morning we got up and dropped James at a trailhead because he wanted to do a high peak. The girls and I went to the Ouray hot springs. It is an outdoor pool complex fed from the hot springs. The girls had a ball. There was warm water, cool water, and hot hot water. In the cool water section there were water slides and a giant inflatable obstacle course that we raced on so many times.

The kids had to pass a swim test to be allowed to use the slides and obstacle course. Anyhow, we swam for over three hours then went to pick James up from his hike. He made it to the Twin Peaks summit.

We went back to our camp and packed it up. On our way out of town the kids begged us to go back to the hot springs so we did for another hour or so. After our second round of swimming we drove to Telluride. Our first order of business is always to find our campground. We've been doing "dispersed camping" lately, which is out in the wilderness and free. Not in a campground. We drove 8 miles out of town and climbed a dirt, rocky road for about 25 minutes to 10,700 feet. It was thundering and pouring rain. We found a great spot but waited out the rain in the car. Then it rained harder, then it started hailing. Finally the rain slowed and James and I hopped out and set up the tent as quickly as we could. We drove to the Telluride Mountain Village and ate at Crazy Elk Pizza. After dinner we rode the gondola down to town and back. You would have thought we won the lottery with how excited and jacked up the kids were on the gondola.  

They were bouncing off of the walls of the thing! After going down and back up we drove back to camp and crashed. 

Tuesday morning James woke up before all of us and went for a walk. When he came back we were all up and went exploring. He had seen a porcupine so we set out trying to find it again. We did! We watched him from so close for about 15 minutes.  

We walked back to camp and made oatmeal for breakfast. The "ghost" town of Alta is a few minutes from our campsite further up the mountain road. This is a former mining town that is now deserted. We parked and explored all around it for so long. We loved looking in all of the run down buildings and exploring the scrap metal.

We pushed on a few more minutes to look at Alta lakes which was a beautiful setting in the mountains. The only trouble was that we used all our water to cook the oatmeal and we were all dying of thirst. We drove back to the mountain village and explored. The kids went on the climbing rock but this was was very difficult compared to the ones we have done previously. We had to go up to help them down. After that we rode the gondola down into town. We got bananas and a baguette for lunch and then walked along the river. We found a park and the kids played on the playground. The championship game for the local women's softball league started so James and I sat in the stands with beers and watched while the kids played with some local kids in eye shot. It was a great summer moment.

After 5 innings we left for dinner at Brown Dog Pizza. This place must be owned by a Boston guy because there are signed Brady pictures and they were replaying the AFC championship game. Then we took the gondola back up to the car and drove to camp.