Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts

Monday, September 8, 2008

Second hike . . . Red Rocks



Bug and I completed our second hike yesterday. We drove to Morrison and hiked the Red Rocks Trail and Morrison Slide. Unfortunately, after coming off of the Morrison Slide, I started down the right path on the Red Rocks Trail, then hesitated because I saw other hikers going the opposite direction of me. I asked "which way to the parking lot", not realizing there was a parking lot at another trailhead which looped into the Red Rocks Trail. So I made what ended up being a 2-mile mistake, which turned our 4-mile hike into a 6-mile hike. That cost me a "Camp Rock" DVD because Bug was NOT happy with me. This hike was much more strenuous than the one the week before. We ascended 600 feet over several switchbacks, and part of them were gut-busters to us newbies. And with my mistake, we had to ascend another 200 feet. But, it was good for us ultimately. And we saw the most gorgeous 8-point buck --- he came right down on the trail in front of us. Stopped and then headed down the mountain. I can't believe we were that close to him. We hear the elk are on the move in Estes Park, so we're going to head up there soon. And, in Colorado, the leaves change in September, so our goal is to be out in the mountains every weekend for the next several weeks . . . can't wait to see the Aspens change.

On Saturday, Bug had her first soccer game with the new team. They won 5-0 --- pretty cool! Saturday night we went out for Indian food and then played tennis. I have lessons again tonight and my double play on Wednesday. It's gotten so cool here now that I'm having to play in long pants and jackets. We actually had to turn the heat on in the house Friday night. Wild --- I'm use to Indian summers and air conditioning in September. I can't remember the last time I had the air conditioning on . . . . we're even having to close the windows when we sleep because it gets so chilly.


But for right now, I'm happy remembering the beauty of the Red Rocks. :)

Monday, September 1, 2008

First Hike in Colorado

Yea . . . finally! I took my first hike in Colorado. Bug and I went to REI yesterday and I bought hiking boots. Thanks to my friend Brad, I knew what type of boot to get and to get waterproof vs. breathable. And he guided Bug and I where to start for a first hike. So, today we drove to Evergreen and hiked at Elk Meadows, a beautiful "open space" in Jefferson County. We parked at the base and took Meadows View trail to Painters Pause, back to Sleepy S and hooked back into Meadows View. It was great! A 5.5 mile hike with varied terrain, but not too great of an altitude ascent. It was pretty warm for the last mile and Bug got a little foul, but she was fine after getting back to the car and air conditioning. We saw lots of trail runners, mountain bikers, and even horses on our path.

Here are a couple of pictures from the hike . . .






After the hike, we were very hungry and found a great little restaurant called "Cuisine of Himalaya", which had Indian, Nepalese, and Tibetan food. I was so proud of Bug . . . she tried all new foods . . . . naan, spinach pakora, vegetables korma, saag, tandoori chicken, chicken curry . . . all from a buffet.
It was a good day. And, thankfully, it's September 1st. From May 2nd - August 31st is a tough time for me. Mom's birthday was May 2, followed by Mother's Day, then June brings Father's Day and the anniversary of my father's death in 2006, July is the anniversary of my mother's death in 2005, August 23rd was their anniversary, capped by Dad's birthday on August 31st. I'm sure at some point in my life, that "season" will become easier . . . . but not yet.