Archive for hiking
Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary
Travis and I have been married for 2 years, as of May 19th. So crazy to think it’s already been 2 years! When asked if it feels like it’s been 2 years, I have to answer “Yes and no. It doesn’t feel like 2 years because it has gone so fast. But it does seem like 2 years when I think about everything that has happened since we got married.”
I have to praise the Lord by saying that our marriage is wonderful. I couldn’t always say that honestly… The first year and a half were really hard. I knew that I was still committed to Travis and our marriage but I really couldn’t say that I was joyful. I was frustrated, annoyed, and confused. The things that were hard about our marriage were definitely not the things that I expected to be hard.
But praise God for His faithfulness. I don’t know how non-Christians make marriage work. If I hadn’t had God to rely on, trust in, and live through me, I’m scared to think what would have happened to us. Not I think we would’ve thought about divorce but I definitely think we would’ve been more distant and drifted toward more independent lives (like what happens to a lot of married couples over the years).
The thing that I have appreciated about Travis the most over the past 2 years is his genuine love for me. While like any sinful human being, he can say insensitive, rude things in the heat of the moment and isn’t always as considerate as I think he should be, he is incredibly sweet and thoughtful. Often, I’ll notice he did something and remark about it to him. His response: “I know my Bubs likes it that way.”
I think the biggest thing that has changed to make our marriage better is that we can laugh about our differences and annoying quirks instead of getting angry and resentful (which was what was happening before).
Anyway, since our anniversary was on a Tuesday and the 2 weekends after it we were re-roofing our house, we just celebrated our anniversary this weekend. (We did go out to eat on our anniversary to an upscale Mexican restaurant downtown Denver called Tamayo.)
Friday night, we went to an O.A.R. concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. It rained a little when we got there but luckily it held off for the whole concert. There was a lot of lightning in the sky over Denver throughout the night.
The storm clouds
Red Rocks
A crazy cloud
Trav and me
O.A.R. put on a great concert. We weren’t crazy about the opener (Brett Dennen) but O.A.R. was great. They had a really good sound, great stories, and awesome lights.
Yesterday, we drove up to Leadville, CO, to go hiking. We had heard that the little town was pretty cool and it was very quaint and cute.
Some beautiful scenery
A cool bridge built back in the 30s (so I hear)
This house has a fence made out of old skis!
We saw a lot of quirky houses like this in Leadville...a lot of them have different shaped shingles (ala the Victorian Age) painted in bright colors.
We did a 5 mile hike up to Timberline Lake. The hike started at about 10,000 feet and got up to 10,866, where the lake is.
On the trail
About 1.5 miles into our hike, we came to a flooded area where our only choices were to either turn around or walk through the water. I wasn’t a fan of the idea at first but eventually we took off our boots and socks and walked through the water barefoot. Since it’s mountain runoff, the water was absolutely FREEZING! It wasn’t that bad while we were still in it but immediately after we stepped out of the water, our feet and ankles just stung.
The freezing mountain water we had to walk in
After we walked through that water, we had to cross a stream that was ripping pretty good. The bottom was all river rock so while it wasn’t sharp or pokey, it was a little slippery. Luckily, neither of us fell in.
The mountain stream
Travis with his boots, ready to cross the stream
Farther up, we had to cross the stream again but this time, there was a makeshift bridge.
Me crossing the bridge
Most of the climb happened after those two stream crossings. It just seemed to keep going up and up. Finally, we got to the lake.
Timberline Lake
It was very pretty but unfortunately, as is the case with all lakes at that high of an altitude, the wind whips across the lake and makes it absolutely freezing. Makes it hard to sit there and enjoy the views.
Another view of the lake
Do I look cold?
Crossing the stream again on the way back
Beautiful view of the snow-capped mountains
For some reason, I find these weird plants really cool.
Some old mining buildings and equipment
Leadville, CO
We ate dinner at Tennesse Pass Cafe in Leadville (great little restaurant) and then drove back to Denver. When we got back, we went to see Land of the Lost with Will Ferrell. It was very entertaining–not Will Ferrell’s funniest but still pretty cute.
Today we went to church, then looked at puppies (so cute!!) and tools at the mall. We want to get a golden retriever but haven’t been able to find an affordable puppy (cheapest we’ve found is $800).
It was a great anniversary weekend. Looking forward to #3!
Water, water everywhere!
This Labor Day weekend, Travis and I planned to go backpacking with Becky and Scott (Travis works with Becky). We went backpacking with them the other time we went too. We drove separately down to Pagosa Springs (because they have a huge golden retriever) and met down there around 6:30. Our whole drive there it looked like rain. At times it did rain and for a while, it even hailed. But when Travis and I got to Pagosa Springs, the rain had stopped.
We had planned on camping at the trailhead but found out there wasn’t any camping up there. And it just had to be the weekend of the Folk Festival in Pagosa Springs so there was not a one hotel room to be found. We did, however, find a campground right off the main road going through town. And when I say campground, I mean an area of undeveloped land that had a few fire pits and one portapotty.
After we met up with Becky and Scott, we went out to eat at a mexican restaurant and then set up camp. It didn’t rain before we went to bed so we got to have a campfire, which was nice. But we were all so full that none of us felt like s’mores. Travis and I were a little worried about our tent being able to keep water out if it rained–we only paid $25 for it on sale. So when it started raining about 4 in the morning, I was worried. But we stayed dry the whole night, which is good.
But it was SO LOUD at that campground. Big semi trucks came blazing through town at 3 AM; some drunk guys from the bars came back around 2:00, yelling and carrying on about God-knows-what; motorcycles came through around 6; traffic was constant. It was actually kind of nice when it rained because it drowned out the noise from the street.
I will say this though: I was actually warm that night. So warm, in fact, that I unzipped my sleeping bag the whole way and had half my body hanging out the whole night. It was glorious. (I am usually freezing all night when we go camping so this is a great change of pace!!)
Anyway, the next morning we got up and of course, everything was wet (except for us and our sleeping bags!!) and it looked like it was going to rain some more. We decided to pull the plug on our backpacking expedition and just hike the trail we had planned on. So that’s what we did. And it was a very pleasant–albeit wet and cold–hike. It was very foggy in the mountains and in the 50s, so it was a good change from our normal hikes (when it’s sunny and in the 80s or 90s).
Here are some pictures:
The fog over the trees
Another pic of the fog and trees
The bottom of the waterfall
The top of the waterfall
Our 4th of July Hike
Travis and I went hiking up South Boulder Peak (8,549 ft) on the 4th of July. Man, was it a hard one! The whole hike is about 6.7 miles round trip, which isn’t bad. BUT you gain 3,000 feet in those 3.35 miles. That’s steep.
I felt a little tired/sore when we first started out. About 2 miles in, my legs started to get shaky and really tired. I was pretty hungry but thought I would just wait until we reached the summit. Nope. I had to eat on the way up because I started getting dizzy and feeling sick to my stomach. When we reached the spur up to South Boulder Peak, it was the worst. I knew we were so close to the summit so I pushed myself (within reason) but that last 45 minutes was rough. It took us 2 hour and 45 minutes to get up to the top–about a 40 minute mile! I had to stop every 20-30 feet though because I couldn’t breathe, which was frustrating.
Then when we got up to the peak, the bugs were so thick that I stood up there taking in the view for about 5 minutes before I got too grossed out and went to wait for Travis back at the base of the spur. When he got down, he said, “Yeah, the bugs were bad. You pretty much just had to let them crawl all over you or else you’d be constantly moving.” Um, ew? No thank you.
The way down wasn’t bad. We made it down in about an hour and a half with about 2 stops. The whole hike, rests included, took us 5 hours. It was a very challenging hike, the hardest I’ve ever done in my life. Travis talked about climbing Mt. Bierstadt and Mt. Evans the next day but 1) I didn’t think I’d have enough energy after climbing South Boulder Peak and 2) that climb had me really doubting my hiking abilities. Turns out that climbing Bierstadt is not only shorter but you gain less elevation as well. Travis did the hike on Saturday (by himself) and got to the top in an hour and a half. Granted, he was cruising (which he would NOT do with me!) but I figure that if I can do South Boulder Peak, I can do Bierstadt. The sawtooth between Bierstadt and Evans, on the other hand, could be another story.
I do want to do a 14er later this summer though. I’m going to try to get in some harder hikes in the meantime in preparation!
Funny side note: Travis and I climbed Bear Peak last fall, which is very close to South Boulder Peak. Until hiking South Boulder, that had been our hardest hike to date. The way down was SO steep and never-ending! I guess that part of the Flatirons is just brutal terrain!
Catching up
Today was another long day at work. There’s not a whole lot to do, it’s a 4-day week, we leave for vacation next week, and I’m tired as all get-out. Needless to say, I wasn’t the most productive worker bee today. I even jet out 20 minutes early because I couldn’t take anymore. I’ll just work a little longer tomorrow. It is a blessing to have such a flexible job!
So now to update my blog with everything I’ve been up to. Mark and Sarah Norman were out here to visit us this past week. They got in the night of Tuesday 6/24 and left the morning of Tuesday 7/1. It was SO much fun having them out here! We did a lot of talking and had a lot of late nights and early mornings…but it was so worth it.
Wednesday night, Travis and I had care group and the Normans went up to Rocky Mountain National Park but they came back that night and stayed at our apartment. (It’s very cozy with 4 people in it!!) Thursday night, we grilled out in the park near our apartment and got to see the Happy Thursday parade of drunken people decked out in pink tutus and knee-high, black, patent leather boots. We also went and watched Trav’s hockey game (that started at 10:15!).
Friday, Trav and I got off work around 1:00 and we all headed up to Guenella Pass near Georgetown, where we were going to camp for the weekend. I took a nap on Friday while the boys gathered and chopped up firewood. We ate brats and baked beans and sat by the fire for a while and then went to bed. Saturday, I slept in to about 8 (everyone else got up around 9, which gave me a chance to get in the Word), we ate some pancakes for breakfast, and set off for the trail. We climbed Square Top Mountain, which is almost a 14er at 13,900 ft. We got going a little later than we had planned (not good with the changing weather up there) and the hike was a lot harder than we had planned (see pictures of it here) so we only made it to about 13,500 but the view was still gorgeous (and it was still a crazy good workout!)
After our hike, we drove around and ended up at a country store on another highway, where we bought ice cream. I had a good ole classic ice cream sandwich. Yum! It tasted really good after our hike. We drove back to camp, played some Catch Phrase, ate ravioli and corn on the cob, and sat around the campfire some more. Then we went to bed around 10:00.
Sunday night/morning, I could barely sleep because I was so cold. And I had to pee really bad. So around 5:30 AM, I forced myself out of my sleeping bag to the bathroom (an outhouse at our campground). As I was walking back to our campsite, I noticed that the sun was coming up. Not being that tired and really not wanting to go back to bed to freeze my ars off some more, I decided to stay up and watch the sunrise. I poked Travis and asked if he wanted to come. All he groaned was “I’m so tired…” So I went all by myself. I took the Pathfinder up to the trailhead where I knew I’d have a good view and watched the sun rise as I spent time in the Word. After reading a little longer, I started getting sleepy again and it was only 7:00 AM so I drove back to the campground and got back in my sleeping bag for some not-so-restful barely-asleep sleep.
Finally, around 8:30, it was time to get up. Yay! We drank some coffee, ate some oatmeal, packed up camp, loaded our car, and drove up to the Silver Dollar Lake trailhead. It was a very enjoyable hike, albeit a little more challenging that I had remembered. I guess I was so concerned with all the snow last time that I didn’t realize it was mostly uphill to the lake. This time, we actually climbed past Silver Dollar Lake to one farther up the mountain. On the way back down, we slid down the snow again on our shoes–very fun. Makes the hike totally worth it in and of itself.
Our hike made us all completely famished so we stopped at Beau Jo’s in Idaho Springs on the way back for some Colorado cooking. We gorged ourselves on some heavy-duty nachos and a 3-lb Mountain Pie with Italian sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil pesto sauce. Delish. The rest of Sunday was spent doing laundry and taking it easy.
Monday night, we ate out at Jackson’s Sports Grill in downtown Denver and then went to a Rockies baseball game, which is always fun. Then Tuesday morning, it was time for Mark and Sarah to leave. I got up at 4:00 AM so that I would have time to get ready and wouldn’t be in the bathroom when everyone else wanted to use it. Needless to say, I took a 2-hour nap after work yesterday. And I’m just about to go to bed right now… Yes, it’s 6:40 PM. But I forced myself to work out the minute I got home (even though I was yawning like crazy while lifting weights!) so that I could relax and fall asleep reading later on…like right now. Adios muchacho.
Perfect Saturday
Travis and I had a fantastic Saturday yesterday. It was the best day I’ve had in a while.
The morning started a little rough because we got into a tense conversation regarding money (never fails). But once we got through that, it was a great day. We went out to breakfast at Einstein Bros. (where I ate a egg/sausage/cheese bagel sandwich containing approx. 720 calories–seriously, eating out at restaurants is sooo frustrating!) The sandwich was delish though.
Then we went hiking with our friends Paul and Carrie and their 13-month old, Ruby. We hiked almost to the top of Flatiron #2 but the snow and icy conditions (and the fact that Paul was carrying a baby on his back) prevented us from summiting. It was a good hike anyway!
Some more friends, Brandon and Reina, met us at the park and we all had lunch together (Travis and I just ate some chips because we hadn’t brought food and had just eaten breakfast). Paul and Travis threw the frisbee around some and Carrie and I walked Ruby over to the playground.
Travis and I then went to Gateway Park in north Boulder to go mini-golfing. Since neither of us have played for over a year, the first couple holes were a little rough. We got our groove down on by about hole 3. (But he still beat me by 6 strokes). We also did the batting cages, me with slow softball pitches, Travis with fast baseball ones. I actually hit every ball out of 20 except one. I was so proud of myself! My forearms and back are sore today. Interesting how you can be in decent shape but do something that works different muscles and still get sore. My calves are a little sore too from hiking.
After that, Travis and I walked around Pearl Street, looking at the shops but not going in (I hate shopping with no money. It’s like going to a restaurant and not eating.) We ate dinner at the Boulder Cafe. I had a glass of white zin (my favorite wine–and always the cheapest) and a goat cheese salad. I didn’t know if I would like goat cheese but I LOVED it! I want to go to the store right now and buy some. Anyway, the salad was spinach, pine nuts, tomatoes, and balsamic vinegarette with flatbread covered in goat cheese. Mmmmm… Travis had 2 beers (Twisted Pine) and a double-cheeseburger with french fries (our meals couldn’t have been more different).
After we ate dinner, we rented American Gangster and watched it at home. It was an interesting movie but not as gang-bang in-your-face as we had expected it to be. (That’s fine with me.)
Anyway, after a long string of Saturdays in which I did nothing much (except maybe exercise, read, and play games at night), this Saturday was a breath of fresh air. And you can’t beat 70 degrees in Colorado. Perfect.
