Inspiration & motivation – key to maintaining consistency & keeping my head in the game.
Tammy, Marine Corps Marathon (Autism Research charity bib)
Sis – thanks for your support for Autism Research. Much appreciate you providing a face & spreading awareness to David’s day-to-day lifelong struggle. What an amazing journey you’ve taken us all on — crazy impressed, super inspired!
Billy Yang, Western States 100 – ‘bucket list’ endurance race
Kalle Ljung, Antarctica – ‘bucket list’ adventure destination
Bowling, “Toy Story” Uno (family game night), Louisville Street Faire – and blink…it’s time for all to go home. Always goes so fast.
HOLD ON – we still have Saturday. Today’s destination: the Springs – Garden of the Gods, followed by mighty Pikes Peak.
Visitors Center, drove the Garden loop, hiked 2+ miles around the God’s infamous boulders – finished at Balanced Rock. Top 10 Colorado destination. LOVE LOVE this place!
Elk burger in Manitou, then a mile drive UP to tram parking – had purchased 6 tickets on the 1:20pm train. Ash & Tom were engaged on Pikes two years ago. Good memories.
Lotta traffic, hmm. Arrived to find our train was cancelled – actually STUCK 12,000ft UP. Argh.
Plan B? Hiked Barr Trail to Pikes (28 miles round trip) in 2013. Rode the railway UP same year – but have never driven. Pikes & Evans are Colorado’s 2 14ers accessible [in summer] by car. Tough on the brakes – glad Sis brought the rental 🙂 Outside temp dropped from 91 to 39 degrees within the hour-half ride up to Summit House. Truly stunning views!
My 2015 memory? Sis at the wheel hugging mountain curves while Tori & Jack screamed/jumped & waved their hands wildly in the back. Apparently we picked up a wasp while at Garden – a wasp not interested in resettling outdoors at 14,000ft in glacial snow. No room to pull the car over. Nat’l Lampoon vacation memory. Pretty funny in hindsight.
Ultimately parked without injury, purchased Pikes’ infamous high-altitude donuts & snapped a few pics before clouds moved in & pellet’d the car with snow. Ranger stopped us 20 minutes into our descent – brakes were smoking hot, 30 minute mandatory wait while they cooled.
Jetted back to Denver – WAIT, day’s not over. Sis bought tickets to Colorado’s MLS team, the Rapids. Been a tough year for the local team, last in our division. This day however, the soccer gods shined on Colorado: a 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake. All scoring happened in the last 4 minutes. If you haven’t attended a soccer match – GO! Lotta energy, lotta noise, super fun.
2 Nat’l Parks, 2 14er summits, Garden of the Gods, a glacier hike & glissading, mineral springs swim, train ride thru the Rockies, MLS game (professional soccer), geocaching, shopped Boulder’s pedestrian Pearl Street, hiked Chautauqua’s Royal Arch AND toured a silver mine nearly 1,000ft underground.
For monsoon season, this family filled their days. Miss you already sis 🙁
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- beautiful faces, beautiful places
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- Balanced Rock
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- next Colorado adventure: rock climbing
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- Pikes Peak, AMERICA’s mountain
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- long stretch of highway UP
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- outside temp dropped from 91 to 39 degrees
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- inspired “America the Beautiful” in 1893
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- SNOW cloud ahead
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- Rapids 3, Real Salt Lake 1
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- soccer selfie
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- amazing family vacation — miss you guys already!
vacation extras
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- Jack & Ro
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- bowling at Fat Cats
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- Salvadoran pupusa at Louisville Street Faire
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- Chautauqua’s Royal Arch in Boulder
3 years ago, Bierstadt was my first 14er. Last year I coerced Ash & Tom to summit – this year, my Sis & nephew took the challenge. They’ve had 4 days to acclimate to Colorado altitude, no excuses right?
Joking – actually super impressed. Hiking a 14er is not only physically challenging, but also tough on the lungs for Flatlanders. That said, Nephew is a varsity soccer player, Sis has completed multiple marathons. Yep, my family is STRONG!
4am drive start, took a half day off work. Goal: drive 3 hours (roundtrip), summit a 14er (in under 5 hours), lunch in Georgetown – then back in time for afternoon work obligations. They’re strong but I’m a BEAST! LOL>
For my family, it’s been a week plagued with rain – not today, sunshine 🙂
Mile-half of willow thicket (thru lotta mud), then UP another half-mile to our first plateau. Tough adjusting to the steady climb initially, but like most sports, you soon find a rhythm.
Hiked a series of switchbacks, all above tree-line, over boulders & tundra moss – chirp of marmots (concealed from view this day). A mile plus further to the false summit – most arduous part of today’s hike, high grade incline & scree.
From there the wind blew, temps dropped below 30. Eyed a nearby rock shelf, waved the others to scramble behind but with caution – pretty decent drop-off below. Quick break to refuel, then back in wind – cold strong gusts over yesterday’s new snow.
Bouldered UP the last 1,000ft – summit SUCCESS!
[Nephew] How many 14-year-olds can boast having climbed a 14er? Super impressed.
Expect to see Sis again next March – not great for 14er summits (avalanche season), but perfect for ice climbing 🙂
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- summit SUCCESS – my family is STRONG!
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- How many 14-year-olds can boast having climbed a 14er?
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- US Geological Seal/legit hike
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- landscape magic – mountain panorama & fresh July snow
