Weekend Wrap

After wavering back and forth between going camping and staying home, we decided to go camping...and then we didn't camp. We headed out Saturday morning for Buena Vista and Salida in the Arkansas River Valley. After arriving in the early afternoon, we hit the local burger and shake shop for lunch. With a greasy, but good lunch in our stomachs we headed to BV's riverfront park. While Kel walked Maggie and read, I jumped on the Yeti for a quick spin on the Midland Trail. The trail weaves through the desert scrub along the river up to an old railroad grade which traverses the ridges above BV. It sprinkled a bit while I was riding, which was welcome considering it was pushing 90. (By the way, Denver just broke a record for consecutive reaching or exceeding 90 degrees with 21 and counting - whew!)

After Kel and I met back up, we made our way down to one of our favorite towns in Colorado. Salida sits right on the Arkansas River, has a unique downtown, and is a gateway to unlimited outdoor pursuits. We watched kayakers play in the rapids with their playboats in Salida's downtown whitewater park. Later, we ate dinner on the patio overlooking the river. As we drove toward the campgrounds in the waning sun, we decided we would make the 2 hour drive back to Denver rather than camping. We had a wonderful drive as the sun went down and it was helpful to be home on Sunday to work on homework.

On Sunday, Kel and I set what may be a record for sleeping in. We made it all the way to 9:15. It was great. After breakfast, Kel went to the gym while I worked on my paper regarding corporate sustainability. Later in the day, Kel went with a friend to help her scout wedding locations while I went and rode Lair O' the Bear. The Yeti and I tracked about 12-13 miles in shaded forest while the weather debated thunderstorms. It was a nice respite to get into the mountains for a quick ride. Winding the day down, Kel and I made another vegetable packed dinner before our next pickup on Tuesday. We had grilled pork tenderloin, sauteed kale, steam broccoli, a salad with butter lettuce, beets, and carrots, and finally, some sourdough bread. The kale was so-so, but topped our list for Kale recipes thus far. We've found it's not our favorite green. We'll keep searching. If you have any great recipes, send them our way.

Wrapping the night up with a little dessert, a little relaxation, and maybe some homework...