MyCOLORADOLife.net

Denver Roller Dolls

Published October 12, 2013

After two weekends of snow camping (LOVED it!), mixed things up & stayed local.

Unfortunately, most trails along the Front Range are still closed because of last month’s flood. Temporary roads to Estes Park (Rocky Mtn National Park) & isolated communities are in place but hear the 45 minute drive north is now a 2+ hour trek.

Wait a sec – I’m in Colorado…there’s a ton of ways to fill a weekend 🙂

In celebration of Ro’s 2^nd birthday, started off with a tour of area dog parks. Fave park of the day – the Great Bark Park in Lafayette. Ro raced back ‘n forth for hours. Did my heart good to see Ro so happy.

Bath, quick walk around the ‘hood, 2 dog circles on the rug & bam – out for the count. Yeah, grown-up time!

Purchased tickets to Roller Derby. Seriously.

Haven’t ever been, so why not? And the promo pic showed black eyes, bruises & blood. Heck, yeah! Have had a secret interest since watching “Whip It” years back. $10 admission for 2 bouts – one being the league Championship. Can’t beat that price!

New sport, gotta figure out scoring & the rules. This sport favors big girls – better blocks, bigger hits. Scrawny girls have speed but one well-placed bootie bump results in lotta skinny legs sprawled upwards & out-of-bounds.

Star on the helmet – denotes you’re the lead jammer. [‘star’ has been my symbol of choice for years :)]

Scoring is quick. [I advocate revising scoring during the power jam.] Benching the lead jammer allows the opposing team to post quick scores of 5 during the 2 minute sit-down penalty (similar to hockey).

What I did like most? The lead jammer puts her hands on her hip to end the jam. After all the bumping & bruising, seemed super girlie to end play with a simple hands on the hips. LOVED it!

Orange Crushers took this year’s title in a late comeback. SUPER fun nite!

(New to Roller Derby & already a fan? Yep. Girls with curves ROCK!)

Orange Crushers hoist trophy

60 day goal – marathon in Tucson

Published October 8, 2013

Signed up for Ironman Boulder 2 months ago.

Swim, bike more than 100 miles and run a full 26.2 mile marathon. So how’s that working for ya?

Well…I’ve climbed five 14ers, travelled to Iceland, snow camped & leaf peeked in both Aspen & Steamboat Springs – but Ironman training, not so much.

60 day goal – gonna run my 2^nd FULL marathon of the year on December 8^th in Tucson, Arizona.

Seems impossible to be fit & marathon-ready in 60 days. That said, can’t fail if you don’t try.

Started running today – 7 miles.

Swim, bike, run. Swim, bike, run. Head’s in the game, gonna do this thing.

Stay INSPIRED! playlist addition: 1924 Mt Everest Expedition

Posted in Ironman Boulder | Leave a comment

hike #65: Fish Creek Falls, Steamboat Springs

Published October 5, 2013

Keenan Haga Off to South Dakota – climbing Harney Peak, their state’s highest. No Mt Rushmore though – closed because of our inept federal government. Reason 101 – why we should all be Libertarians 🙂 October 4 at 12:53 pm

Plan B? Someone forgot to check the weather forecast but it’s only October, right?

Dropped Ro at Windstar Kennels, finished work – TGIF!, then north on I-25 – weekend hiking destination: South Dakota’s Black Hills. Nearing the Wyoming border saw a flashing road sign warning I-80 West to Laramie was closed due to drifting snow. That’s odd – we only received a dusting this morning, stopped altogether before noon.

Brief fuel stop in Cheyenne, stocked up on road-happy provisions. Crazy wind. I overhear truckers talking about road closures (while eating at Wendy’s – I know, but chili sounded tasty) so asked the Love’s station guys about road conditions ahead. All roads are closed. Yeah, yeah I saw the sign but I’m not heading west – I’m travelling north, then east to South Dakota.

No ALL roads are closed – freak blizzard. What?

Being completely hard-headed…maybe we can travel east, then cut north thru Nebraska somehow. Ok, calling ahead – we had reservations at Custer State Park. 20 inches of snow already, roads are closed – no end in sight. ARGH!

One of the worst blizzards in South Dakota history plowed through the region during the first weekend of October, leaving a wake of destruction in its path. In Rapid City, nestled in the Black Hills, 19 inches of snow fell on Oct. 4 alone. By day three, total snowfall reached 31 inches near Mount Rushmore and close to 5 feet of snow blanketed the hardest hit parts of western South Dakota. Hurricane-force wind gusts raged through the hills, breaking branches and uprooting massive pine trees already covered in ice. It will be days, maybe weeks, before ranchers can locate missing livestock, but estimates are they will find tens of thousands of dead cattle.

Sullen, turned around & headed back to Colorado. Plan B – I need a Plan B. I’m not beaten…just gotta think.

Limited myself to one hour on the Internet – think, think quick.

I’ve never been to Steamboat Springs. Heard there are natural hot springs (similar to Iceland) & assume hiking trails since Steamboat is a Colorado ski destination. Check, done 🙂

Caught some sleep, breakfast burritos at Whole Foods, then hit the highway (again).

Enjoyed beautiful autumn colour travelling west past Silverthorne, north on 9 to Kremmling, then another hour to Steamboat on Hwy 40. Bit of a late start for a hike – but wow, was not disappointed with my choice. Aspen last weekend, Steamboat Springs this weekend – both fantastic foliage selections plus snow plus chilly 20-degree camping overnights. ROCKSTAR life!

Quick ½ mile hike to Fish Creek Falls, then a longer trek thru knee-deep snow to Second Falls where a group of CSU engineering students offered a hit from their blunt (thanks work friends for the terminology share).

[Nope I didn’t partake but found the situation funny enough to include in my post. Come on, you gotta laugh. Not happening.]

Return hiked to Steamboat, grabbed some chili, then back on the road – day’s only half over, right? 🙂

Drove two miles up a muddy road riddled with pot holes. Strawberry Park Hot Springs looked like a resort spa on the web. Sun was disappearing fast. Was this the right place? Paid a guy the $10 cash-only entrance fee. Seemed kinda shady. And where do you change clothes? Yeah, the experience was a bit out of my comfort zone.

Temps plummeted with the fading light, steam from the natural hot pools created a dense fog.

Slipped on a suit & kerplunked into the pool – awkward, missed a step completely & all but fell in. LOL>

Ahhhhh. Warm, relaxing. Lowered the voice control in my head.

Perched against a rock wall, kicked back & enjoyed the show – the heavens opened up, exposing every imaginable star. Little Dipper, Milky Way, Cassiopeia. Never thought I’d soak ‘til almost midnight – one AMAZING nite.

Flash-bathed at McD’s next morning (another proud moment), then enjoyed oatmeal & blueberries at the Steaming Bean. Quick walk-around F. M Light & Sons (western store advertised in every farm field from Kremmling to Steamboat), followed by a stop at historic More Barn, before the return drive to Boulder County.

SPECTACULAR ‘Plan B’ weekend – South Dakota can wait, I’ve got time 🙂

WATCH my short clip – ‘Second Falls (Fish Creek Falls trail)’