The last two months

It's been awhile since my last blog!

Back in July (when it was still hot), this bunny seemed content lying in the shade:

In August, Terri came to visit.  We spent some time up at Horsetooth Reservoir.

The water level was so low, the boat ramp didn't even reach all the way to the water!

On August 25th, the USA Pro Challenge came to Boulder.  That's the bike race I volunteered for last year.  This year, Harald and I first went up to Peak to Peak highway to watch the race go by.

Then we drove down Left Hand Canyon and watched the race up Lee Hill.  We barely made it on TV.  Watch closely as they go from the leader graphic back to live action -- that's me in the white shirt, and Harald in the orange hat!

Here is a freeze frame from my TV:

I was busy taking what turned out to be a lousy picture:

But I was ready for the peloton as they came by!

On Labor Day, Harald, Tara, and I went for a hike to Arapahoe Pass.  This is Caribou Lake as you look down from the pass:

Unlike the last time I was there, this time there was no snow, so we were able to hike over to the pass in the middle left of the above picture.  From there, we could see some mountains to the west.

Zooming in and examining Google Earth, I discovered that the two tallest peaks on the horizon were Mt. Powell and Eagles Nest, two mountains north of Vail.

Heading back to Arapahoe Pass, we had a nice view of Apache (left) and Navajo (right) peaks:

Gem Lake

On Saturday, I went for a hike with Cora, Trevor, and Rich to Gem Lake, which is near the northeastern edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.

On the way up, we had great views of Estes Park and Longs Peak.


There were interesting rock formations everywhere,


including surrounding Gem Lake:


We climbed the rocks to a lunch perch, near the top-center tree in the picture above.


We ate with a nice view.


There was a little bit of snow on Longs Peak:


After lunch, we continued on, finally seeing signs of autumn



on our way to Balanced Rock:


We climbed around on the rocks before heading back.




We stopped at the overlook on our way home and ate watermelon. According to Google Earth, Gem Lake is located to the right of the pointed peak between the two rock humps on the right side of the ridge (the appropriately named Lumpy Ridge):

Mount Bierstadt

Sunday, I climbed my second 14er (a 14,000 foot mountain), Mount Bierstadt, with Rich and Wally. Rich and I left Louisville a little after 5 am, and got to the trailhead by around 6:30. Mt. Bierstadt is the rounded peak to the right:


We left early enough to see the moon before it set, here shown next to Square Top Mountain:


Once we were high enough, we could see the first 14er I did, Grays and Torreys (although two peaks, they technically only counted as one 14er because the descent from one and the re-ascent to the other aren't large enough). From left to right: Square Top Mtn., Argentine Peak, Grays and Torreys (the two tallest peaks):


On the way up, we heard some pikas, so I took a picture of one. See if you can find it!


Here it is!


From the top, a picture of Frozen Lake in the foreground and Pikes Peak faint along the horizon:


I zoomed in on where we started:


While I was up top, I learned a new peak, the Mount of the Holy Cross. See if you can find it!


Here it is!


Back down at the bottom, I snapped one more picture of where we had just been.


All in all, it was a great hike. The weather was nearly perfect, and it was relatively short and quick (7 miles round trip).

Wet Weekend

It's been raining a lot lately around Boulder, and this weekend was no exception. Friday night, I skipped the Street Faire, partly because of the weather. Saturday, I went for a picnic at Chautauqua with Rich, Sara, and Sara's nephew Anthony.



I took these pictures from under my umbrella. This was the first rain shower -- the second one we waited out inside Rich's car!

Today, the four of us went hiking at the Brainard Lake area. We ended up hiking around Long Lake:


There was a lot of snow and mud on the trail:


Rich demonstrates one technique for getting off a mound of snow:




This picture shows Long Lake feeding into the South St. Vrain Creek:


I just discovered I completed the St. Vrain trifecta: North St. Vrain last Sunday, Middle St. Vrain last Monday, and the South St. Vrain today!

We managed to avoid getting rained on during our hike, but between the snow and the mud, our shoes certainly got wet.

Fourth of July Weekend

Melting snow was the theme for me this 4th of July. Starting Friday night at Boulder Creek:


I took this video from the walkway under Broadway:


Sunday, I went hiking with Sara at the Wild Basin part of Rocky Mountain National Park. We had views of Longs Peak and Mt. Meeker on our way in:


We made it all the way to Ouzel Falls:


Then came back by Calypso Cascade:


At this point, Sara took the easier and shorter hike (it was her first hike since ACL surgery) to the Wild Basin trailhead, and I went back to Allenspark to get the car.


Monday, I picnicked with (L to R) Fatma, Harald, Roya, Roberto, and Karl:


The highlight of the hike was crossing the creek:


After a barbeque at our picnic site, we headed back to Boulder and watched the fireworks from near Roya's place:

Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak

Today, Terri and I drove down to the Colorado Springs area to visit the Garden of the Gods. The entrance to the park, with Pikes Peak in the background:


We parked and walked around a bit.



Some of the rocks had names, like Cathedral Spires:


This stop off point from a road provided a nice look at the gardens we had walked in:


We made our way over to another part of the park to see the Siamese Twins:


We saw most of the park after only a few hours, so we decided to drive to the top of Pikes Peak.


The view was a little hazy due to the fires in Southern Colorado, but it was still spectacular. Here is the Garden of the Gods from the summit:


After walking around and taking lots of pictures, we drove back down and stopped for coffee (and ate the fudge we bought at the summit) in Manitou Springs.


We walked around Manitou Springs and did some shopping. It's a nice little town.


Then we drove back through the Garden of the Gods, stopping again at Balanced Rock. Later in the day, the light was better (and the crowds smaller), so this picture of Balanced Rock made the cut:


Then it was over to the visitor's center for more shopping and dinner. This is the view we had while we ate:


If you look closely, you may be able to make out a feature on the large rock on the right that they call the Kissing Camels.

Our drive home had a nice sunset.



It was a fun trip!