Best way to celebrate Colorado Day? Outdoors of course 🙂
On August 1, 1876, president Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado as a state. Colorado Day was celebrated as a state holiday on August 1 for many years, and then was moved to the first Monday in August. The day no longer became a public holiday, but rather an observance, when the state started observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a public holiday in 1985.
Started the day with an early hour-half drive to Estes Park. Rocky Mountain Half Marathon, my first Half in 18 months. 6am Gun time – something special about racing pre-dawn, settling into pace, then experience sunrise.
Circled Estes Lake. Mile 2 jammed up on the running path – lotta runners, maybe 2 across possible. Picked up pace & caught the 1:50 racers.
Mile 4 thru 8 – UP. Elevation AND incline – but no negativity this day. I dug in, held pace & picked off tens of runners walking the last mile up.
Miles 9, 10 & 11 – big smile. Ripped DOWN (rare for me, generally I pull up, hold back).
UP again at mile 12 to the Stanley, then finished flat to the Fairgrounds. (Kinda weird ending – passed a ‘3’ which we all assumed was mile 13…but that happened another half mile later, then the final tenth mile was actually .3 miles. Not a deal breaker but I went out fast, far too early.)
Good day. 13.1 miles, half the distance – nice to have some gas left in the tank.
Hills & altitude – my new favourite combo. Finding hills to be an age equalizer.
Bib Name City Chip Time Division Place
327 K R Haga Louisville CO 1:52:21 6
Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park – Planned to re-hike Black Lake, hadn’t been in 3 years (2012 challenge: 52 weeks, 52 hikes). 9am in the Park but couldn’t find parking, even RMNP’s Park N Ride advised to come back at 2pm. Seriously? (Easy to get frustrated with summer tourist season but learning to share the love. National Parks are OUR parks as Americans – all Americans, no discrimination.)
Snuck the Prius in Moraine Park campground & hiked the extra mile to Cub Lake trailhead. Not a lotta trees in the meadow (Fern Lake fire burned most in 2012). Temps soon soared near 90, warm day. Last mile forested, blanketed in wildflowers 🙂
Cub Lake – pulled off my shoes & soaked. Lily pads, 2 ducks, dragonflies, small blue fish. Nibble, nibble, BITE. Hey, that’s no fish – pulled off a blood-sucking leech attached to my foot. ‘Nough soaking, hiked back – 4.6 miles total.
½ marathon run followed by a Nat’l Park hike. Colorado Day done? Nope, not yet.
Colorado Shakespeare Festival (Boulder) – 8pm curtain time, biggest concern was sleep deprivation. Half-moon outdoor arena, center aisle seat, Flatirons sunset, temps in the low 70’s – yep, pretty much PERFECT.
From the opening dialogue, was hooked.
Iago couldn’t have been more sinister, nor Othello more tormented. Acting from these 2 overshadowed all other players. Othello a North African Moor, interracial marriage – and Iago’s sheer cunning to drive noble Othello mad.
NOT the Shakespeare of my youth. Far exceeded all expectations – I’ll be back next summer. FAANNN-frickin-TASTIC!
Colorado Day, day after? Sleep 🙂
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