Hanging Lake

This past Sunday we took a hike. Literally.

The hike up to Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs, CO was one of the first "must-do" activities recommended to us when we arrived. Multiple friends have told us that we needed to hike up to see this amazing, tucked away ecosystem.

Well, between Jason working 6-7 days a week since we arrived and cars parked *on* the highway at the exit every Sunday that we drove by and thought about stopping to take the trek, it took us nearly 2.5 months before we finally made the journey.

And journey it is! The signs in the parking lot, and along the paved path leading to the hiking trail, and at the trailhead ALL state the the trail is DIFFICULT. So I thought, "Well, yeah. We're climbing a mountain here, folks, it's not going to be easy."

No really. They mean business when they say DIFFICULT. I'm talking huge rocks to traverse, loose rocks, loose dirt, switchbacks, and you climb over 1,000 feet in just over 1 mile. And then you get to almost the top where you think you might die (or maybe that's just me), and then there are several large boulders to climb over with a sheer drop-off cliff next to them with only a thin, metal railing between you and falling approximately 1,000 feet.

And then you get here:

Hanging Lake in all its glory!

We made it to the top and all that led to getting to that point was suddenly forgotten. We were in a whole other world. Pristine beauty surrounding us, and it felt like another world! There was even a geocache when we reached the summit. The kids and I sat on the boardwalk and enjoyed taking in our surroundings while enjoying the snack that was promised once we reached the top. Jason continued further upward to the source of the waterfalls feeding Hanging Lake.

Spouting Rock, just beyond Hanging Lake

Yes, this is real. Doesn't it look like a fabulous painting?! I'm loving Colorado in the Fall!

Eventually, we had to start hiking back down. Amazingly, even with 3 sets of little feet (we'll get into why only 3 later...yes, we all survived!!), coming down took only half the time that climbing up did! Maybe it was knowing the trail, maybe it was motivation that we were almost done, or maybe it was just that coming down was a lot more like falling downhill for a mile! :)

View from the paved path at the base of the trail. It's very deceiving of the actual trail!

So, why only 3 sets of little feet walking the trail down? Well, first of all, I give MAJOR props to our gang of super-hikers! All four of the people under 4-feet-tall did exceptionally well hiking up the trail. Caroline, Lydia and Ian hiked the whole way and Eliza hiked nearly half, and we carried her when she allowed us to, and when the trail became too rough for her tiny legs.

Coming down, we barely made it past the super-crazy-edge-of-the-cliff section at the top before Eliza was totally sacked out in my arms. Cool, because I knew that coming down she was much more likely to slide and fall and while asleep she couldn't fight being in my arms. Uncool, because now she was suddenly a 27-pound-sack-of-sugar. I love hiking with dead weight in my arms! (Not so much.)

Well, just when I was about to ask Jason, our pack mule who was already carrying our hiking pack with snacks, water, emergency kit and whatever else my ultra-prepared husband happened to tuck away in the bag (including all of the trash that we picked up as we hiked in and out), to carry Eliza for me, he had an idea.

Jason: "Would you like to carry her in a sling?"

Me: "I was just wishing that I'd brought a long-sleeve t-shirt to tie her to my chest with, but I don't have anything."

Jason: "What if we tie 2 bandanas together and make a sling that way?"

So, apparently we had 2 bandanas in our pack "just in case", and within minutes he had tied then together to create a makeshift baby sling!

Modeling our bandana baby sling with my 27-pound-sack-of-sugar.

We made the entire round-trip hike, including an extended stop at the top in just over 4.5 hours. Not bad with 4 kids under 8 and a 30-something mama who is a loud wimp when the trail gets tough! Even better, we had no casualties.

Unless you count Jason's hiking boots.

Soles? We don't need no stinkin' soles! Umm...actually we do.

Within a quarter mile of the summit, the soles of Jason's boots began to rapidly separate from the footbed. We were hoping that he could make it to the top before they gave up the ghost, but no luck.

However, in the spirit of always being prepared for anything, Jason just happened to have an extra pair of shoes in his pack! Seriously. I cannot make this up. So, what could have been disastrous (this is REALLY not a hike to do barefoot!) was merely a minor inconvenience as he hiked the remainder of the way in his Chacos.

All in all, a great day! While it was a challenging hike, it was definitely worth the effort and work to get to the destination. At the end of the day we realized, once again, that the journey IS the destination. We're enjoying the journey.

Snowmass balloon festival

Last weekend the town of Snowmass held its annual hot air balloon festival. They have been doing the festival for many years, I believe that this was the 37th time. Over several days, they hold a race up the valley, some target competitions, balloon rides, and an evening glow. Stephanie and the kids were able to go to some daytime activities and see some of the balloons up close. They were able to ride the bus up to Snowmass to meet up with me on Saturday evening once I got off of work so that we could head to the glow together. After a meal from Big Hoss BBQ, we were able to sit in the grass and watch many of the balloonists setup and inflate. It was a fun time to run around and then enjoy the glow from 12 balloons and 3 burners.

One of the balloons standing up. Very cool part to watch.

I think that Lydia liked the balloons inflating.

Fire! Fire! We found ways to stay warm on a cool evening.

The balloonists were very friendly. Some even let people in for photo ops. Not all of our crew wanted to get in.

Here is the wide shot. Very pretty.

If you ever get the chance to attend a festival, I strongly encourage it.  We had a blast!

Next up, the season is changing in Colorado and the Aspen trees are starting to turn a beautiful gold. It's exciting to look up at the side of the mountain and see it turning from green to gold. Fall is looking beautiful, but it is also a reminder that we will not be here much longer. The job is set to wrap soon, and we would like to pull out of the valley before winter sets in too much.

A new hobby

I will start by apologizing that the updates are not as frequent as we intend. Between my work schedule and the spotty internet, I have slacked on posting.

Now, on to our new hobby. Thanks to the inspiration and jumpstart on equipment and information by Stephanie's brother and sister-in-law, we have begun geocaching. For anyone unfamiliar with this activity, it consists of using a GPS device to locate treasure boxes hidden by others using some clues and a set of coordinates. More information can be found at the official website here. There is even an app for the iPhone, which comes in a free but limited version, or the full version for $10 (direct links for the free version and paid version).  We quickly purchased the full version, realizing that we are hooked on geocaching.

We have ventured out a few times in search of some caches. The kids have been able to find a few, but several have taken some help from mom and dad to locate and retrieve. We have tried to keep it to easy/beginner level ones, but I know that I am looking forward to advancing to the intermediate level caches. A benefit to geocaching is discovering locations along the way. On our first outing, while searching for a cache we came across a community garden in Carbondale. We happened upon it at the same time that one of the caretakers had shown up to harvest some food. It quickly turned into an educational moment as they talked about what food they were growing and had the kids help harvest some fava beans.

Harvesting the pods, then sorting the beans.

Stephanie's mom was able to come visit us this past weekend. It was fun to get to use our 'guest suite', which is really our sofa that converts to an air bed. Stephanie and the kids were able to have some fun adventures with grandma, heading into Basalt and Snowmass, and we all were able to take a day to explore Aspen. We were able to find some fun parks to play at, some interesting stores to shop in, and we discovered a few geocaches along the way.

Some bricks from a walk in Aspen. I loved seeing the older architecture in town.

We had to stop here. They had some fun and interesting items (and I have nothing to show).

One of the perks that the kids have been thoroughly enjoying is having a library close by in Basalt. The library graciously issues short term lending cards, which Stephanie quickly picked one up. They have enjoyed multiple visits each week, with each child being able to check out a book of their choice. Stephanie also checks out some read aloud books and a movie or two as a treat for the kids.

I know that every parent will brag on their kids and say that they are so smart or bright, and I am no different. What has surprised me is the reading skills of my oldest two. They both have started to check out chapter books from the library, which has not been too much of a surprise. What has caught me off guard is how quickly that they are plowing through the books and their reading comprehension. They are reading through their books in 1-2 days, making it harder for Stephanie to keep up with them. I will admit that it is fun for me to walk in after work and see 2-4 kids sitting and reading intently. I can't argue with a passion to learn.

The summer has been beautiful, and we are looking forward to fall coming around the corner. We anticipate only being in the area for a few more weeks, but do not have anything firmed up yet. Right now, we are taking things one day at a time and enjoying our time in Colorado.

The Rodeo

Every Wednesday during the summer, the town of Snowmass Village holds a rodeo. They have been doing it for decades, which answered my question of how permanent is the rodeo arena. It wasn't a free event, but we thought that it would be worth the price to check out some cowboys in action. We were not disappointed.

The experience began with walking through the gate and being greeted by some qualifying events in the arena, as well as an electronic bull for the kids to ride. We made our way through the crowd to the dinner tent, where they were serving up some delicious bbq. You can't call him a roving minstrel, but there was a cowboy with a guitar wandering around the dinner area taking some requests. Honestly, I don't think that hearing John Denver's 'Rocky Mountain High' will ever get old while we are out here.

Next up was finding a seat on the grandstands to watch the main event. We found a place high up, which proved to be good so that the kids could see. All four of them were enthralled the entire time. The show included cattle roping, mutton bustin', bull riding, bronco bustin', mule riding, and just about anything else that they could toss into the arena. We got to see some cowboys get tossed off of the bulls and horses, but thankfully everyone walked away.

The start of the rodeo. All of the horses and riders at attention.

A graceful dismount, but I don't think that this bull is done.

Don't worry, he was off of this horse in no time.

I enjoyed working on some fast motion photography. An event like this presented some challenges, but I am happy to have come away with a few good shots. It was fun to see faces in the background reacting to what was happening in the arena. It is things like that I do not notice while the event is going on, and may never notice unless it is captured in one still frame.

Everything wrapped up just after dusk, sending us along our merry way into the night. In addition to some mild temperatures, we got to have a nice sunset and see some stars peeking out as we went home. I think that we will definitely attend more rodeos down the line.

The weekly routine

Yes, we have been quiet.  It is somewhat due to my working a lot, but mostly due to us settling into a routine.  We have been in Colorado for a little over a month now, so we are getting past the point of everything being a new discovery and instead creating new habits.  So, what exactly are we doing from day to day?  Glad you asked.

Monday begins the work week.  We usually stay around the campground on Mondays, unless we are in need of something from the store.

Tuesday is pretty much the same as Monday, although we may try to head out on a bike ride for ice cream or go to a park, weather permitting.

On Wednesdays, Stephanie and the kids head into Basalt to the library for story time and borrow books and movies for the week, and then play in the park or visit a local restaurant for a snack.  They also have brought back some crafts, so it is fun for me to hear all about it when I get home.  I like how each child has their own interpretation of what happened during story time, as well as how they did the craft.

Thursdays, we try to head back to Snowmass for the free concert.  They have a stage set up on one of the slopes and bring in a different act each week.  The concert is free, and we pack our dinner to eat on the lawn as we listen to the band.  It is a nice break and gives the kids a chance to see where daddy works.

On Friday we may head out to the store again or a playground, depending on our needs and the weather.

On Saturday we try to go out for dinner in the evening, looking for another great place to eat.  I will mention that is has been wonderful to not really have any chain restaurants around, thus helping us in our quest to find local eateries and the yummy food that they offer.  We love how many places offer locally grown and raised food, and how it helps support the local economy.

Sunday, if I am not working, is the day that we get to sleep in.  Once we are up and going, we head to the farmers market in Basalt to stock up on fresh meats and veggies.  We are super stoked to have found a local farmer who raises cows, pigs, and chickens.  They are all pasture raised and freshly processed.  Couple that with good prices, and we have a definite winner.  After we head back home to drop off our purchases, we will head up to Gypsum in the afternoon to shop Costco for any other food items that we are looking for and to fill up the truck for the week.  They have the best diesel prices around, at times $1 cheaper than up valley where we are staying.  We usually head over to our friends' house to visit and maybe grab some dinner.  The exciting news is that they just had their baby this past weekend, so now we get to have baby time also.  We stopped this past Sunday to drop off a meal, but it turned into a nice visit with them, their newborn, the dogs, and parents.

While we are not out on exciting new adventures each day, we definitely are enjoying where we are at and what the surrounding area has to offer.

Independence Pass

If you had just worked 13 days in a row, what would you do with your day off?

For me, the answer was hit up a farmers market and then drive up to over 12,000 feet above sea level on a road that vehicles over 35 feet are forbidden.  Toss in a few cliffs, hairpin turns and less than 2 lane road, and you have yourself a day along Independence Pass.

We took an excursion to explore this area, having been told that it is a beautiful drive.  Well, I am all over something like this. Plus, since the people telling us this live here in Colorado--where, in my opinion, every drive is beautiful--I had to take them on their word.  We started cruising through Aspen and quickly realized that there is no clear boundary between the town and where the scenic drive began.  The drive is littered with pull offs, campgrounds, hiking trail heads, and day use areas.  We stopped at a few, either to see the scenery, take a break, or get out and stretch our legs.

This day use area offered a cool stream to play in.  We only got our toes wet.

We continued our climb, stopping at the town of Independence, founded on....you guessed it, July 4th.

Going down the path into town.

Information for you nerd types.

After getting winded from walking up and down the side of a hill at an even higher elevation than we have become used to, we continued our trek to the top.  Soon enough, after a few final switchbacks to get the adrenaline pumping, we made it.

Say it with me, some water flows this way, some that way.  That is why it is a divide.

Yes, I know, we had to pass the Continental Divide to get into western Colorado, but we did not have the time or opportunity to make a deal of it at that point. That, and we crossed it in the middle of a tunnel on our initial drive West. Talk about anticlimactic. But not this time!

It was a beautiful day, sun and clouds.  One thing that I love about Colorado is how you can see the weather approaching and just how bad it is.  While we were up on top, we could see a storm blowing towards us.  We had enough warning and lead time that we were able to almost get back into Aspen before it started to rain on us.

And to try to share the same view/experience, here are a few panorama shots that I put together from the lookout point at the divide.

Concert fun

Every Thursday the town of Snowmass Village holds a free concert.  It has been rained out a few times, but we took the opportunity to head down this past Thursday to check it out.  Many of the people I work with have said that it is a good time (although I think that they like the prices of certain 'adult beverages' compared to what they normally have to pay).

Finding a parking spot was our first hurdle.  Thankfully, since I have been running around town, I knew a few places to look and could park in some reserved lots due to my parking permit for work.  Once we were parked, I took the family on a quick tour of town as we walked to the concert.  They have set up a stage on one of the slopes, so seating is raked uphill.  For our Indianapolis friends, it is like Klipsch Music center, but no covering or seats, just all grass.

We sat towards the back/top of the hill, since we got there after the concert had started and we wanted some room for the kids to play.  As a bonus, there was a gentleman that had chinese yo-yos and some juggling items for kids to play with and a lady with some hoops.  Granted, both were drumming up business, but it was great that they had the activities for kids to do.

View of the stage and hill.

The kids checking things out right after we got there.  Didn't take long for them to get up and run around.

Lydia working on her hooping skills.  The skirt was a good complement.

The whole setup is right next to my job site, so I was able to give perspective to Stephanie about what I am doing and the layout of both the town and the jobsite.  I think one of the biggest realizations for her was how much everything is built into the hill and how much vertical change I go through throughout the day.  So, if you look at the first photo, that is the background that I see every day.

It was a fun outing for all.  We can't wait to do more exploring.

The new norm, for now.

Welcome to our new home state for awhile kids.

I must say, it has been a busy week or so.  I started working the day after we got to Colorado, so things seem like a blur.  We have settled into our campsite here at Aspen Basalt Campground.  It is a nice 25 minute commute to the job site, which is in Snowmass.  The Westin is doing a complete remodel, but will be open for ski season, so the pressure is on to be done in time.  Because of that, I am working 10 hour days, 6-7 days a week.  I don't get to do much exploring, but Stephanie and the kids have had some fun traveling around and seeing what they can find.  The bus system that runs up and down the valley has a stop right outside of our campground, so for just a dollar or two they can all ride into Basalt to do some shopping at a very awesome farmers market, visit the library (which issues short term cards so that the kids can check books out), or visit one of many playgrounds.  We are getting used to having to drive to get places, since towns are spread out and friends are about 45 minutes away.

We are enjoying life around the campground.  The play ground is right across from our site, there is a pool and hot tub, a really nice bath house, and great owners, whom Stephanie and the kids seem to visit everyday.

Our living space.

The playground that the kids want to visit all the time.  It is basically our front yard.

The view from a restaurant in Eagle, CO.

The Westin in Snowmass, CO.  Not a bad view from this room, eh?

We hope to have some more excursions and stories to tell soon, but for now we are just getting comfortable.

Settling In

Well, we made it to our first extended stop in Western Colorado.

After we left St. Louis last Tuesday morning, we drove for nearly 13 hours through the hot, barren nothingness that lies between St. Louis and WaKeeney, KS (with just a brief pause to celebrate civilization in Kansas City...but not too long, because we knew what a long push was still ahead of us!).

Not that there's much of anything in WaKeeney, KS either, but it does host a very nice, quaint KOA Kampground there with long, level pull-thru sites (HA! Not like that's a problem in the plains states!), hot showers, a swimming pool and they also offer nightly ice cream socials and pancake breakfasts every morning. It's quite the little oasis in the middle of the plains.

On Wednesday morning we got up early again to leave by 6:30am, hoping to get past Denver, CO before the heat of the day. We made great time, with the windmills along the highway in Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado to entertain us. Being the 4th of July and also that we knew what a long haul we had for the day to get to the Western Slope and through Vail Valley, we unfortunately didn't get to stop at the Genoa Tower in Eastern Colorado. The sign from the highway boasts that you can "SEE 6 STATES!" and from my brother who has stopped there in the past, I hear that it is unforgettable, mostly because of the "museum" inside. One day, we'll have to make a stop of it.

We rolled through Denver around lunchtime (mmm...Qdoba!), but not without passing the hazy skies over central Colorado from the Waldo Canyon wildfires that have been blazing through the state the past couple of weeks. Fortunately, the only wildfire that we witnessed firsthand along the highway was small, attended and we saw several tanker trucks on their way to tend to the flames. Still, closer than I planned on being to the fires!

After lunch, we ventured into the mountains for our final push toward Glenwood Springs, where our campsite was located.

It was nearly 100* and the truck was reading more than that as we made our first climb out of Denver. Recognizing that we needed to take it slow, we stopped off to cool the truck down before pulling up the mountain. Once we got going, it was a fairly smooth coast the rest of the way. Don't get me wrong--grades were steep, both uphill and downhill--and my knuckles were white. Jason, however, totally kept his cool and did an awesome job getting us through the ups and downs. We also experienced a major cool-down once we got past the Eastern Slope--which was wonderful all-around! Finally we had escaped the 100-110* average daytime temps!!!

Around dinnertime we made our way to Glenwood Canyon Resort, which was where we planned to stay. Being the holiday, their "Big Rig" sites were booked solid, but they did have an off-river site available for us. Great! What could possibly be more beautiful?!

Not much, except that "off river" when you are in a canyon means waaaaaayyyy down at the bottom of the canyon, in a campsite made for a tent or small pop-up...not necessarily for a 36' fifth-wheel and 21' beast of a truck! Fortunately, we had awesome neighbors again that helped guide Jason into the site and others who allowed us to park our truck in front of their campsite, since we did not have room for it in front of ours.

All in all, it was a beautiful site. You could hear the sound of the Colorado River rushing past, watch folks zip-lining across the river and rafting/kayaking/tubing, walk a short way to the "beach" and play at the riverfront and several times a day both passenger and freight trains would go by on the tracks across the river--which the kids adore! Only downside for us, aside from the size of the campsite in relation to our rig, was that from 4-10pm every night was karaoke on the balcony of the bar at the top of the hill which echoes through the canyon, breaking up the serenity of the otherwise peaceful, riverfront campsite.

Jason started work on Thursday in Snowmass Village, and we quickly decided that with the long hours that he is working, we needed to find a campsite closer to his job site which was an hour away. He found one and by Friday evening we reserved a site, for as long into the season as we need, just 20 minutes north of where he is working. While we're no longer staying riverfront in a canyon, Aspen-Basalt Campground is very conveniently located to a bus line that the kids and I can ride into the neighboring towns, there is a bike path into town just outside the campground, we still have river access--but now we also have a pool/spa on-site too! Not to mention that a Whole Foods Market is opening within walking distance next month. The kids and I might be making daily treks there at that point. Unbelievable!

We'll take a few days to settle in, but it seems like a nice little spot to spend most of the summer.

We are also doubly blessed to have friends nearby! One of our dear friends from college and his wife live just an hour north of where we are currently staying--and we've even been able to get together with them a few times already for dinner and to play in the river/go rafting on Sunday. Another of our best friends from college lives just a little further up the valley in Vail and we were excited that she could join us for dinner on Saturday as well.

While it was a long road to get to this point (literally AND figuratively!), we're very blessed to be where we are right now. Seriously, does life get any better than being in the mountains of Colorado in the summertime? If it does, I don't think I want to know about it right now, because this is more than I could ask for already!

(Hopefully we can get some photos up soon. Wifi is spotty here, but even though I can't download photos right now, I didn't want that to keep me from posting when I am able.)