Tuesday,27-May thru
Sunday, 31-May: Cedar Rapids, IA
I worked Tuesday and then drove all the way to Cedar Rapids!
I spend the week with my family. I haven't spent that much time with them since
living with them. We had a great time. I even got to spend a few hours with my
grandparents, one on one! Anthony came on Friday night. He did Pigman Sprint on
Sunday. He did an awesome job. Crazy to think I am 4.5 hours from being home for
good. Whoa - it went so fast!
Sunday,18-May thru
Monday, 26-May: Leadville, CO
I drove back to Leadville on Sunday morning. I had a lot of work to do
having been gone so long. I talked with my mom and Anthony a bit. I also found
out that I didn't get the job in Switzerland. For those of you who don't know, I
applied for short term position in Switzerland. Would have been rad, but life
has other plans for Anthony and I! Stay tuned to find out what! :)
The last couple days I have mainly worked. The town looks to be super
cute, but I will wait until Anthony, Ang and Jake come to do some exploring. I
did go for a run Monday. It was pretty exhilarating being surrounded by
mountains on all sides! I had a major headache today, Tuesday, so I haven't done
anything fun. However, it sure feels good to get caught up on the Blog. I can't
believe I will be heading home soon! So sad!
Anthony, Angie and Jake came into town on Friday. I picked them up in
Denver around 6 PM. We drove to Georgetown, which is on the way back to
Leadville, for dinner. We stopped at a super cute pizza shop and stuffed our
faces. We got in and pretty much went to bed.
Pic 1 & 2: Playing on snow banks
Pic 1 & 2: Lake Turquoise
Saturday morning we slept in a bit. Then we went immediately to the
grocery store and loaded up on a bunch of goodies. We ate a delicious breakfast
and then decided to walk around the town. Ang was experiencing a bit of altitude
sickness....not surprising since we were at 10,000 ft! In the afternoon we
went for a walk at Turquoise Lake. Then we made a yummy salmon, potatoes and
asparagus dinner. So good! After dinner, Anthony and I watched "Who Killed the
Electric Car?" It's interesting. You should rent it! Jake and Ang were asleep
early, gearing up for our big hiking day.
Pic 1: The start -- Pic 2: In a sea of aspens
Pic 1: So cute! -- Pic 2: Hiking away
Pic 1: Jake & Ang attacking the mountain -- Pic 2: Can you see the
sneaky bird?
Pic 1: Getting high -- Pic 2: The top for us
Pic 1: The View -- Pic 2: Close to the top where it is cold!
Pic 1: Snowshoeing down! -- Pic 2: Mt.
Elbert. Can you see our footprints?
On Sunday we hiked Mt. Elbert near Leadville. It's one of the
easiest hikes (although the highest 14er in all of CO), but because of the snow
it was actually quite challenging. We got up early so we could start while the
snow was still firm. We mostly hiked in couples on the way up. We wanted to
summit, but about 700 ft or so from the top the snow conditions were sketchy.
Not wanting to risk life or limb we turned back. We still felt incredibly
accomplished. The best part though was the way down! We had rented snowshoes
because the snow gets so soft that you will fall into your waist without
snowshoes! Anyway, it was a blast. I felt like e total kid. We flew down the
hill. By the time we got down we were starving. We went straight to a Mexican
restaurant and stuffed our faces. That night we watched "29 Dresses" or
something. Ang LOVED it. Anyone who knows me knows I was pained for most of the
movie. :) We all slept well that night!
We woke up slowly on Monday morning. We managed to squeeze in a big breakfast, a
run, a nap, a walk and lunch. It was actually a slow moving morning where a lot
got done. All too soon it was time to pack it up and head to Denver. I dropped
the kids off at the airport and drove as far as I could to Iowa before stopping
at a cozy Wal-Mart in Nebraska somewhere.
Friday, 16-May thru Saturday, 17-May: Boulder, CO
Pic 1: Heading to Leadville - Pic 2: Intern Housing in Boulder
I worked on Friday, but over lunch, Amy and I dropped the trailer to
Leadville, CO. I worked the rest of the day and then we drove to Boulder, CO.
We met up with Kristine, the sis, at a work Happy Hour she was at. We were
starving, so we dragged her off to dinner. We ate a really yummy restaurant
called Sherpa. The Chicken Tikka Masala we super good! We walked around Boulder
a bit and then headed to Kristine's place. For the past couple weeks she has
lived at the Intern Housing for RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute). If you haven't
heard of RMI, look it up, they are a cool operation.
Pic 1: Kristine and Amy - Pic 2: Farmers Market
Pic 1: View from the top of the hike
We got up early to do some Yoga at a nearby studio. I have been missing it since
Flagstaff. It felt good to be back. Afterward we went to the famous Boulder
Farmer's Market. It was awesome! I could see going there every week if you lived
there. Then we did a bit of shopping on Pearl street. We checked out the
apartment Kristine and her boyfriend, Laurent, will be moving into. It had a lot
of character. Once Amy's mom arrived we headed to lunch. We parted ways with
Laura and Kristine took us on a cool hike at Chautauqua Park. We went to dinner
at "The Med" and had the yummiest meal ever. By the end of the day I couldn't
believe how much we had done. Thanks Kristine!!
Thursday, 15-May: Keystone, CO
Pic 1: View from room - Pic 2: Sweet hotel room Amy's mom got for us
Pic 1: Laura's dog, Zeus (He just got a haircut and I thought he looked like an
Ewok)
We drove to Dillon/Silverthorne/Keystone on Thursday. Amy's mom, Laura, lives
there. She hooked us up with a sweet hotel room at the place where she lives.
Thanks Laura! We hung out with her Thursday night. We ate a yummy steak dinner,
did laundry and then crashed! We will get to see Laura again on Saturday, since
she is driving out Boulder, where Amy's sister, Kristine, lives. It will be a
big family reunion. :)
Tuesday, 13-May thru Wednesday, 14-May: Dead Horse Point State Park, UT (by
Arches NP and Canyonlands NP)
Pic 1: We biked up the road from the campsite to
see the view - Pic 2: Stunning
Pic 1: Left side of the point - Pic 2: Right side of the point (that's the
Colorado River)
Pic 2: We loved Dead Horse! - Pic 2: Gnarled tree
When we arrived at Dead Horse Point State Park the
visitors center was closing. Luckily Amy got us in with her sweet smile and we
got registered. We had been in the car for hours! We decided to set-up camp and
then go for a bike ride. Neither of us knew anything about Dead Horse. Brad
Coombs had recommended it to me. I had booked us one of the sites - which is
apparently a coup since there are only 18 spots there. Helps to go in the middle
of the week. Anyway, we rode to the end of the point and were stunned by the
views. We were giddy with excitement over the find. We spent hours hanging out
there. It's a magical place.
Pic 1: See the rainbow? - Pic 2: It looked like a T-Rex from this angle! - Pic
3: Amy holding up the balancing rock in Arches with her solid Triangle pose.
Pic 1: Standing near the Fiery Furnace in Arches - Pic 2: An arch in Arches! It
was 300 ft wide.
Pic 1: On our way back to camp we had to watch for cows crossing the road! - Pic
2: Sunset at Dead Horse
Monday, 12-May: Bryce Canyon, UT
Pic 1: Amy "Chillin" in Bryce Canyon - Pic 2: Eskimo Casey
Pic 1: The Hoodoos of Bryce
We got into Bryce after a few hour drive. We had
left 70s and hit 50s, which quickly dropped to 30s. With the temperature drop
came snow! We took a long nap and then bundled up a went for a walk along the rim of Bryce
Canyon. It was windy beyond belief. I was thankful it was blowing us away from
the canyon instead of into it.
Saturday,
10-May thru Sunday, 11-May: Zion National Park, UT
Saturday we slept in, went for a run around the park and then laid out by the
pool. It was spectacular! After goofing around, we drove to Zion National Park
in Utah. It's gorgeous there. We settled into camp and called our honeys. We
even attended a Park Program on Mountain Lions. If you ever see one, just do
what you would do if it were a bear. Be loud, be big and DON'T run!
Pic 1: Starting our hike to Observation Point at Weeping Rock - Pic 2:
View from trail
Pic 1: Rock - Pic 2: Amy walking on water
Pic 1: Along the trail - Pic 2: Perspective - Pic 3: Living the High
Life!
Pic 1: We made it - Pic 2: The view at the top
We again slept in and hit the trail early afternoon. We had decided on
the longest hike in the park. It was said by the rangers to be the most
beautiful and scenic. I believe we climbed around 2200 feet or so. It was odd
because the scenery changed every time we took a corner. Very cool. I had to
take a picture of "the hat" to prove to Kwok that it came on the journey and has
been worn in public (there were a few people on the trail - it counts)!!
Wednesday,
7-May thru Friday, 9-May: Las Vegas, NV
Pic 1: Round 1 - Pic 2: Vegas, Baby!
I drove to Vegas on Wednesday. I stayed at the nicest RV Park ever, on
recommendation from Amy's mom, Laura. It had a sweet hotel lobby feel with 2
pools, but instead of staying a hotel room, you walked out to your RV. It was
perfect! I didn't enjoy it much until Amy came.
I picked Amy up on Friday night and we went immediately to a Sushi buffet. Can
you believe your eyes? Sushi and buffet smooshed together into perfection!
It was so good. We left stuffed and ready to take on the men from "Thunder Down
Under". I had gotten us tickets to celebrate Amy's birthday. The show was pretty
bad. The dancing for the most part was not good, save one guy who was
Timberlakesque. The guys had tight bodies but it was so embarrassing to watch -
we walked away just shaking our heads. Glad to go, glad to never go again.
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