Colorado!

Right time of the year; too much ‘stay-at-home’.

Not a naysayer, the virus is real but moving forward.  Done with living the past.  Grieving every lost flight, every marathon registration, day-to-day work-family banter.   Not sure what the future holds/our new norm.  Faith.  Balance.  Control what you can control.

St. Mary’s Glacier

Six weeks more ‘til we can attempt the high peaks in Colorado.  No rush; I’m not there yet.  Corona belly & lack of altitude.  Big jump – my home @ 5500ft & our 14er peaks.

Alarm set.  Backpack readied.  Water & burritos.  destination: St. Mary’s Glacier.  Hour from home (nearby Idaho Springs).  Expect far fewer hikers than currently clog Boulder County trails.

Easy ride.  No one on the highway.  Weird to drive again.

Mile half up, mile half down.  Relatively short hike.  Goal: home return by 9am.  Get up/get out/get back/little people exposure.  Snow PILED as the truck CLIMBED.  4WD happy.  Lotta WHITE ❄️

Pre-dawn park Ranger.   Ok to hike, just pay the permit fee.

Been months between hikes.  ROOKIE mistake.  BOOTS.  Where are they?  Been a pair of Brooks or slippers stay-at-home.  I’m here.  I’m parked.  Tag on the windshield.  Suck it up buttercup.

DEEP snow.  Shins, knees, quads, hip bone.  Wind a-blowin’.  No path.  FIRST to forge a way.  Pine/spruce surrounded & virgin snow.  Doing it all from memory today.  30 minutes in, reached my first clearing.  Peak peeping for direction.  Go Right, young man – & UP of course 😊

When it’s snow season, is it glacier or just heavy snow?  Answered day’s question.  Wind whipping, there she is… or there she should be.  LOL>  Looks more ski slope than primeval glacier.

Arms outstretched.  Did my 8pm HOWL.  Sucked in the thin air, held my breath, let it go slowly.  Chicken soup for the mountain soul.  We’re gonna be ok.  LOVE LOVE my Colorado life ❤️

 

 

#self isolation HIKE

 

 

Christmas in Georgetown

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire?  After today… been there, done that.  Song might be more nostalgic than the actual taste.  Ick.  Next year, a second try at fruitcake 😊

Christmas in Georgetown… been long on my Colorado to-do list.  Nestled along the Divide, easy access off I-70.  Hot chocolate, homemade bread, hearty omelet.  ‘Happy Cooker’ breakfast.  Main Street Georgetown decked Old School Victorian.  Chestnuts roasting ($5/bag), horse-drawn wagons, local mountain stores all a bustlin’.

High noon.  Lined to watch another tradition (60+ years)… the town’s St. Lucia procession.  Children dressed in Christmas past, wreath-adorned heads.  One girl chosen to pass thru with traditional candles.  Well done.  LOVE LOVED.

Purchases made, strudel consumed.  Quick walk-thru the Museum of Miniatures (think: doll furniture).  Motored home before ski-traffic snarls our lone east-west highway.

Dinner theatre evening.  Holiday Inn.  Singing, dancing, White Christmas ♪ ♫ ♬

Whatta weekend!  holiday spirit OVERLOAD 🎄❄️🎅

 

 

Christmas in Georgetown

 

Each December the town of Georgetown transforms into a bustling Christmas scene reminiscent of Christmas of long ago.  Thousands come to this tiny mountain town to experience a traditional holiday where Christmas hasn’t changed in 100 years: roasted chestnuts, holiday shopping, horse-drawn wagon rides through historic Georgetown, and wonderful sights and smells.  Visitors enjoy appearances by St. Nicholas in his traditional dress and the daily procession of the Santa Lucia. Carolers in Victorian costume, dancers, and other family entertainment provide hours of memorable performances.  Adorned with lights and Christmas greenery and blanketed with snow, the quaint, historic town of Georgetown, Colorado has been a Christmas tradition for generations of Colorado families.

 

He did the Mash, he did the MonsterDash.  the MonsterDash.  It was a graveyard smash… ♫ ♬ ♭

 

Halloween 2019 – been a crazy snowy one this year in Colorado.

SATURDAY.  First marathon-free weekend since mid-August.  Kicked off with a trail run/hike in Bear Canyon.  Mud/ice/snow littered but GREAT to be outside, get some altitude, soak up the thin air.

Post run?  Dinner theatre with Ash & Tom.  Mamma Mia!  SUPER fun, campy.  LOVED LOVED!  Mamma Mia Mai Tai’s & an ABBA sing-a-long storyline.  Chiquitita, Waterloo, Winner Takes it All… and of course, Dancing Queen.  FAMILY quarterly tradition.  Home before season’s THIRD blast ❄️

SUNDAY.  Louisville’s Halloween-themed MonsterDash.  Afternoon start/stop in Community Park.  Cold-motivated to a 3rd place old-person [Masters] finish.  Get out & get it done.  LOL>

11-year history: rain never ever, temps in the 60’s.  Well not THIS year.  27 & SNOW.  Brrr…

Post run?  Hunkered indoors.  Fireplace.  Lasagna.  Couch-watched the biggest flakes with Pup ❤️

MONDAY.  4WD to work; tight 12 hours between storms.  A record FOURTH October storm Tuesday/Wednesday.  Foot of snow, sub-zero windchill.  Yikes!  More trick than treat.

  Daily Camera Retweeted  #Boulder has received 11.2 inches of snow during this storm so far

Halloween’rs:  Grab your EPIC pass.  Lifts opening before Thanksgiving this season – earliest ski start in 22 years.  Keystone, A Basin, Loveland, Winter Park, Eldora.  Colorado HOLIDAY TREAT 🎃⛷️

 

MonsterDash Louisville

October 27, 2019   Results presented by SVE SoCal and timed by SVE SoCal

Participants: 238  Last Updated: 10/27/2019 4:55:41 PM

 

1162     KEENAN HAGA    00:53:21     10K     M     08:36 min/mile

 

 

MonsterDash 10k