Colorado Hikes and other Adventures

Coming home from the road trip had a few perks, like sleeping in a bed, having fresh not freeze dried food (although I do really like that stuff!), showering for as long as we wanted (no maximum of 6 minutes), and time with our family and our dogs. Since coming back we have been particularly busy hiking and trip planning. We also went to one event that I never thought I would attend, let alone enjoy. Drum roll please…New Era Wrestling at the Buffalo Rose in Golden, CO. When my dad told me his friends’ high school aged son was announcing at a fight in Golden, I thought that it might be fun to see a UFC style fight live. When we got there this is what we saw:

This was most definitely not UFC, but it was actually a blast! I found it hilarious and I couldn’t stop laughing! Some people were really into it and obviously go to those “fights” a lot because they know all the “athletes” but I just saw it as a relatively well rehearsed pushing match with some acting and theatrics thrown in as well as a good heaping of bad sh*t talking. But, I loved it! My favorite was definitely Broke Back Billy check him out here: http://brokebackbilly.webs.com .

Enough about wrestling, on to the hikes!

CRYSTAL LAKE (PINE,CO)

The first hike we did when got back was Crystal Lake. We have done this one before but its close to the house and we can go to Zoka’s for lunch or dinner and a beer afterwards and sit outside with the dogs on the deck. They even bring out homemade organic dog treats for your dogs too. So, if you find yourself in Pine, CO and need a good meal, don’t hesitate to stop at Zoka’s one of the best burgers around.

FLYING J RANCH (CONIFER, CO)

We hiked Flying J Ranch one afternoon. It’s a pretty easy hike, part of it meanders along the edge of a meadow and another section goes through black timber. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera for this one and it also starting raining about half way through the hike.

MEYERS RANCH (CONIFER, CO)

I liked this hike better than Flying J for a couple of reasons. First, its more strenuous but its also easy to adjust the length of the hike because there are several loops you can take. Second, we didn’t see as many people. Third, we saw a Pine Martin bouncing down the trail and off into the woods. And lastly, I think it is prettier. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera on this hike too.

GUANELLA PASS

This past weekend we did a hike by Guanella Pass with my parents and the dogs. It wound along the edge of a river and then up to an alpine meadow and then meandered along a ridge near the Continental Divide. It had some breath taking views and very few people on it!

BACKPACKING GUANELLA PASS

Yesterday we came back from an overnight backpacking trip with the dogs. We went to the same area as the previous hike but we went in a different direction. We were planning on getting to the top of a peak (12,000 ft) but the dogs weren’t quite ready for that intense of a hike after carrying their packs with them for the first 5 miles.

We ended up turning around and going back to our little meadow camp spot and relaxing. We did come across an old trappers cabin though and spent a few minutes exploring around it.

We camped near a small stream which the dogs loved! They would run and play in it then get super excited and run all through the forest as fast as they could butt-tucking (you know that run that dogs do when they tuck their hind end down and sprint around? We call that the “butt-tuck”). Irie was also a fabulous rock fishing dog, she would shove her head under the water and pull up all shapes and sizes of rocks. They were also fabulous squirrel chasers. We would hear a squirrel chatter in the distance and the dogs ears would perk up and then off into the woods they would go in search of the little squirrel.

Our Meadow:

Camp:

Irie Rock Fishing:

Hoku and Irie with Squirrels up a Tree:

       

Ronen made some pita in a ziplock bag and “grilled” them on our camp stove; they were actually quite delicious! Also, this will be the first time I mention this but likely not the last time, Ronen is a total knot nerd. No joke, he know more knots than anyone I know and he carries a mesh bag full of all different sizes and types of string and rope. Still don’t believe me? He made me this bracelet while we were camping on thursday:

I will say though, that his nerdiness with knots is a huge bonus! There have been several times over the years that he has tied a knot that made a huge difference, so I am incredibly grateful for his knot fetish. I know I couldn’t tie even 1/6 of the knots he knows, and I know a my fair share.

Anyway, we sat on the edge of the meadow well into the evening and made our dinner there hoping to see some wildlife but we only saw one deer. We poured ourselves into our tent with our pups and fell asleep by 9pm. When we woke up in the morning the sun was just coming up and it was a bit chilly outside so we quickly made our way to the sunnier side of the meadow to make coffee and breakfast before taking down camp and making our way back out. On our way out, the dogs were still loving life, chasing squirrels and playing in the river.

We got to the gate and right by our car were six horses with riders, obviously on a tour. This was my biggest fear when we were on the trail, that we would meet horses. Not bears or mountain lions, but horses. Now I suppose I better explain this a bit more clearly. The dogs had never seen a horse before coming to Colorado and where we live, there are several large ranches with horses as well as a place that does boarding so every time we drive by the horses, the dogs freak out and whine like crazy while hanging out the window. So my worry was that we would be on the trail with limited sight distance and bam! right there in front of us would be horses and the dogs would whine/bark, scare the horses and they would buck someone right off and we would be sued. My fear sorta came true. Luckily, the horses were on the opposite side of the gate and we could move the dogs away from the trail before there was any trouble. Irie and Hoku did great, they just sat and watched the horses walk by us. Now if this meeting had occurred 3 minutes before, when the dogs were swimming in the river at the “horse crossing” then I think it would have had a different outcome, so I consider us lucky.

Once in the car, we decided to drive the rest of the way through Guanella Pass and drop into Georgetown. It was a gorgeous drive and the road was actually in decent shape especially on the Clear Creek County side.

In the end, it was one of those trips where I was a bit disappointed we didn’t make it to the peak, but we ended up have a wonderfully relaxing trip enjoying nature and the sunshine, as well as each others company.

Other than hiking, we have been enjoying our time at the house. The deer have been wandering through frequently, or in some cases bedding down just outside the invisible fence line so that the dogs can’t get them. Check out this series of pictures, it was a 30 minute stare down between Hoku and 3 deer:

We have also had the hummingbirds busy at the feeders with the males at war with each other to keep the feeder for their use only. Its kind of funny because when the males are busy fighting each other, the females are sly and they zoom right in to eat before the males even notice.

Lastly, the pines are covering everything in a layer of pollen. You can see clouds of pollen in the air and it is blanketing the decks, driveway, cars, and the dogs.

That pretty much sums up our time in Colorado. We leave on monday for Minnesota for the 4th of July so my next post will be about our time at the lake.