Breckenridge

Our five nights in Breckenridge have flown by. With my race growing closer by the day we have not sought out anything too extreme. There was a great fair in Frisco, the town next door. Everything that we have denied the kids from doing at all the past resorts because they are so expensive they got to do for free.  The trampoline bungee jumping thing, (which molly refers to as "jumby bunching")' those giant inflatable balls you roll around inside, bouncy castles, bouncy slides, climbing walls, face paint.

They were in heaven and it made me feel good to finally let them get on all the stuff. The kids and James accompanied me on my last run.

A five miler along the river. I sat in the river to have a recovery ice bath. We did a fun hike one day that was a level loop, no climbing that explored a lot of the mines in the area. James and I had fun exploring all the ruins and remains and the kids did too.

It's funny, if a guide says a hike will take 2 hours it takes us 5. We do so many side shoots and explore off the path all the time.

Breckenridge is hosting an arts festival this week and we saw an awesome performance by an Australian dance company where they dance on top of tall bendy poles and they sway all over the place. It was so neat.

The kids went twice and on the second performance the lady gave molly her flower.

There is a bike track right behind our condo that the kids have been on. Molly has been the most daring and tried it the most. Today casey tried it too.  Molly and Julia have each gone down to the skate park with James early in the morning before the skate boarders get there and ridden around in it.

One morning they came home with huge, delicious cinnamon buns.

Our condo has a pool and hot tub that the kids have spent a lot of time in too.

Tomorrow morning we head to Leadville. 

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.