Island Xmas

We're leaving tonight for St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.  8 days of beach, sun, and much warmer weather.  We plan to take a lot of pics so we'll post when we return.  

By the way, we caught Slumdog Millionaire last night.  Outstanding movie.  If you get a chance, give it a shot.  It's one of my favorite movies of the year.  

Eldora!

Kel and I made it up to Eldora over the weekend for the first time this year. We had a great time. The sun was out and the snow was pretty good for early season after a couple of feet dumped over Thanksgiving. It felt good to get back on the board again. Eldora is a pretty cool little mountain. This was our first time there, but we had already bought season passes for the year because we could get them for $130 with our student IDs. It's a lot smaller than most of CO ski areas but it's got a cool, locals vibe and is a shorter drive from our house (plus it's easy to stop in Boulder on the way home and grab some good food rather than fighting I-70 traffic). We got more snow this week so it should be another good weekend...

Eldora 12/06/2008

More Congrats!!

Jay and I got even more exciting news this morning-Our dear friend Staci got engaged over the weekend to Marc!  We have all know that this was going to happen, it was just a matter of when.  We are so excited for them because they are two of the sweetest, kindest people and they were just made for each other!  Jay and I are already looking forward to traveling to Bozeman to celebrate with them!

Also - forgot to congrats T-bird and Lori on their engagement!  They're big day is August 1st...4 weddings next summer/fall...

Great Stuff on Food and Food Policy

If you missed the Farmer in Chief letter in the New York Times, take a peek.  It's good stuff and was written to the President-Elect.  Great insights to the connections between food, public health, the environment, and national security.  It was written by Michael Pollan who wrote Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food.

I stumbled across a discussion with Pollan today on PBS's website.  Bill Moyers discusses these topics in detail with Pollan.  If you've got 40 minutes to burn, you can find it here.  There is a particularly good segment on a community garden in East Brooklyn at the beginning of the second part.

Winter Commuting and Pie

I got an email from Mom today.  She just bought some Nokian studded tires for her bike and some lights.  She's prepping for commuting on the bike a couple of times a week in the Alaskan winter. Good stuff.  Today was one of our first days of real winter commuting.  I rode to work in our first snow a couple of weeks ago, but it was relatively warm.  Today, we hovered in the low 20's as I headed to work and once again when I came home.  

As I was working my way home, I was thinking about why I like to commute in the winter.  I came up with a couple of reasons.

• Great light in the winter.  I love riding to work in the crisp mornings as the sun is rising behind me.
• It's quiet out there.  Even riding in the city, riding along is pretty quiet especially if the wind is at your back.  
• The coyotes I run into on the trail as well as a the occasional red fox.  I see the coyote every other week or so.  Yesterday, I scared him off the trail right in front of me.
• Watching snow flakes stream through the beam of my headlight.  
• Winter commuting is a little slice of adventure every day.  As the whether gets worse, the slice of the adventure pie gets a little bit bigger.  And everyone likes big slices of pie...right?

Of course, I came up with these and others as I sliced through the 25 degree darkness and did anything I could to take my mind off my two big toes which were gradually going numb since I misjudged my sock choice this morning.  (Teko Merino Wool only if the temp is above 35 - otherwise, SmartWool Ultra Thick)

We might get some snow tomorrow but I've got to make the trek to Boulder for class so I won't be on the bike unfortunately.  The mountains have been getting pounded so hopefully a little boardin' this weekend...

Congrats!!

Jay and I just wanted to take a few minutes and share our congratulations with so many of our friends!  With  so much excitement and happiness in the air, we have to share with everyone!  First, we wanted to say congrats to Cortney and Larry for baby E!  He is so sweet and cute, we can't wait to meet him!  Also, to Andy and Beth on baby Casper-who is also cute and cuddly!  On to Steph and Casey and Alli and Jeffery on your engagements!  We can't wait to share your special days with you guys!  Jay and I are so lucky to have such wonderful friends to share such exciting news!

Thanksgiving Prep

Kel and I got up this morning and started baking and cooking.  We're responsible for dessert and mashed potatoes.  I attempted a pumpkin pie from scratch (roasted the pumpkin myself), but so far it looks like it might be a bit soupy.  Oops.  It smells good.  We also made a chocolate pudding pie and the crust from scratch for both.  Kel took care of the mashed potatoes (garlicky).  

Our new favorite breakfast is french toast made from Seeduction Loaf (from Whole Foods).  I prepped myself for dinner by downing 5 pieces.  It's imperative to keep the stomach stretched and ready if you expect to do any damage at Thanksgiving dinner.  ;)   We also made Maggie a couple of the small end pieces.  She loves french toast...imagine that.  

Time to take Mags to the park.  Hope all are having a great Thanksgiving...

Twittering

I've seen too many references made to twitter to not see what the hype is about.  I'm now twittering and it seems pretty cool.  Whether it's all that useful remains to be seen, but it's kinda fun.  My twitter feed is twitter.com/jaserickson.  Check it out for updates...

Picasa 3, from Google, has a new feature that will automatically create a collage from selected images. Above is a sample from the Monarch Creast MTB ride. Pretty cool stuff.

Summer in November

We've had great weather all month and it looks like it will continue through Thanksgiving.  I've been able to get a bunch of rides in lately.  Case and I conquered Centennial Cone on Veteran's Day.   17 miles, 2800' of climbing, and one gorgeous day.  One of my new favorite Front Range trails.  

Centennial Cone

Flying By...

The weeks have been flying by. Winter is coming. We've had great weather up to this point, but it looks as if we may get some snow in the next couple of days. School has been pretty time consuming for both Kel and I. No big trips lately or any crazy adventures. We've gotten on the bikes a bit and I've been riding to and from work, but it's shoulder season in the mountains. Not enough snow to snowshoe or snowboard. I'm hoping to get a ride or two on the mountain bike before the snow flies tomorrow. I took Monday off to make a four day weekend with Veterans Day on Tuesday. Not a whole lot to report (hence the lack of posts), but big sigh of relief and sense of hope from Nov. 4th. Woot Woot!

Maybe some pics tomorrow...

Pumpkin Party

Big day (two posts - whew).  Here are a couple of shots I took at the pumpkin party.  Good times.

Pumpkin Party 2008

October Sunday

Kel and I headed out this morning to get a few miles in the saddle. As we suspected the ride south was gorgeous and the wind was at our backs. As we flipped around and headed home to the north, we were abruptly met with a chilling wind. We hammered out the 13 or so miles back to the doorstep and Kel immediately got in the bathtub. It was still great to get some fresh air and spin the legs a bit. Summer is putting up a valiantly effort. We should be hovering in the upper 60s, low 70s this week. Every day like that is one stolen from the grasps of ol'man winter. ;)

Camera-Less Rides

Spent the weekend on the bike. Kel and I took off Saturday morning and hammered out 34 miles south of Parker on various roads and trails. As we crested a particular mesa, we were treated with big views of Pikes Peak in the background and the immediate foreground was peppered with trees and bushes in various stages of color. It was a gorgeous day for it. If we didn't hit 80, we were close. Of course, we forgot the camera, which may have been a good thing since the pockets of my shirt were stuffed with an assortment of tools, wallet, and bread after a post-ride Panera stop. ;)

On Sunday, Kel and I headed to Boulder after a stop at Moe's Bagel on Broadway. A new trail just opened connecting two popular riding areas north of Boulder. The trail, Picture Rock, is five miles of swoopy singletrack. At least half of it is pretty smooth, buffed out singletrack void of many rocks. It rips. I spent about 2 hours hammering around the various trails and exploring the new stuff. It was another gorgeous day with temps hovering near 75. In a rush to get out of the house, I once again forgot the camera. A bit of a bummer since I would have had a pretty good shot of a 4 foot bull snake I encountered on the trail.

Back to work tomorrow (for me at least). Kel is off on fall break for 2 weeks.

Great Video - My Hero

Wiensy on NY Times...

Kel's New Bike

Been getting pressure from all sides on this one. Finally got some pics up with Kel and the new ride. Catch her if you can!

Good Sam Bike Jam

Quick Pic from the Olympic

Mountains...that is. Case snapped this shot of Kel and I as we climbed Mt. Elinor in the Olympic Mountains. It was a surreal setting in stark contrast from Denver as low clouds ebbed in and out of the trees and peaks. Very cool. Love the green and the big trees...

More pics located at the following web album...

Mt. Elinor - Olympics

Best Time to Commute

The leaves are turning, the temps are dropping (slightly and slowly), and the sun sits on the horizon on both legs of my commute.  It's the best time of year to be on a bike everyday.  I'll have to take a pic or two, but that doesn't really capture it.  I feel like I could spin out there forever.  

Also, I'll keep pestering Kel to get up a pic or two of her new sweet ride....

Crazy Vid

Starts a bit slow...but hold on...  

Adam Kimmel presents: Claremont HD from adam kimmel on Vimeo.

Fabulous Weekend!

This weekend Jay and I went to Seattle to go to a friends wedding.  We left late on Thursday night and got back early Monday morning.  Kelly Reynolds, our dear friend Casey's sister, was getting married!  We had met Kelly and her fiance Michael over the coarse of our friendship with Case.  We were really excited to be able to attend the wedding.  Jay and I flew into Seattle and met Casey at the airport.  Case picked us up in a H3!!  For those of you who don't know the Reynolds' family-this is a really funny story!  Although I would never drive one myself-I do have to say it was pretty comfy!  Over the course of the weekend we just hung out with the Reynold's family, who I have to say is one of the nicest families ever!  They always make Jay and I feel so comfortable and welcome.  I finally met Casey's older brother Ron who I just adore!  He is so laid back and wonderful.  The weather was drizzly and cooler-but it was a nice relief coming from such hot weather in Denver.  On Saturday we attended the wedding at Michael's house and it was just perfect!  Very small and quaint.  Kelly looked amazingly beautiful!  The ceremony was very beautiful; very short and sweet.  The reception was held at the Reynold's house overlooking the famous Rocky Bay!  Pat did it up!  No details were overlooked and everything was perfect!  The food, drinks, and music were amazing.  This was by far one of the best wedding receptions that Jay and I had ever been to!  The band was so good that even Jay danced the night away (which didn't even happen at our wedding!)  

On Sunday Jay, Case and I headed out the Olympics to go on a hike!  After all the eating and drinking we needed to get some fresh air and exercise.  The hike was short, 1.6 miles to the summit, but tough!  It gained 2,500 feet in elevation gain!  Case and Jay were so good to me!  They would have done it a lot faster had I not been there!  

We had a wonderful weekend!  Thank you Pat for being a wonderful host!  You always make us feel so welcome!  It was so great to see everyone and we can't wait to go back soon!   

Colorado Relay

Last weekend, a team sponsored by my company slogged through rain and snow on our way to a 29 hour finish of the 174 mile Colorado Relay. We started at 6:15 AM on Friday morning to chilly 45 degree rain, which quickly turned to snow as the racers made their way up Guanella Pass outside of Georgetown. My first leg (the hardest leg of the race) was over 12.85 miles and 2200' of climbing over Georgia Pass on the Colorado Trail. I started around 2:00 PM and finished about 3:50 PM. About 8 miles of my leg was in 2-6" of snow....good times. I was able to pass 53 teams, which felt good.

As we continued on, the day turned to night and my second leg was a quick 6.2 mile section at 1:30 on Saturday morning. I ran with a headlamp and was completely annoyed by the lack of breeze because my breath made a mini-smoke cloud in my face every time I huffed and puffed. It was pretty relaxing running in the middle of the night under a near full moon. After that leg, the sleep deprivation really began to set in (I only got 4 hours the previous night because I had class). My final leg was between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale and covered 4.2 miles. I started around 9AM and finished up in the sunshine after about 30 minutes. The team finished up around 11 AM.

It was an interesting experience and filled with challenges and fun. Our driver was a little crazy and completely oblivious, but we stayed safe and somehow stayed awake nearly the entire time. I'm still catching up a bit...

Epic on Monarch Crest

Epic ride on Monarch Crest today. Casey and I got up suuuuuper early to make the drive down to Poncha Springs to catch the shuttle to the top of Monarch Pass by 8 AM. From there, we traversed the ridge above treeline for roughly ten miles with sweeping views and increasingly warm sunshine. It was a perfect day for it. From there, we began the descent that weaves a ribbon of singletrack along mountains, down canyons, across streams, through meadows, and back to our vehicle in Poncha. We spent about 5 hours on the trail including two stops to fix a busted chain that Casey had to gingerly ease around the drivetrain for the last 2.5 miles for fear it would snap after I bent it on the second band-aid job. It was a monstrous day. I had my GPS rolling the entire time and it tracked ~3200 feet of climbing and 6500' of descending over the course of 35 miles. Big time. I hope to post a Google Earth overlay of our track shortly. I through together a quick web album of the few pictures I did take. Check them out. I shot the above photo in B&W for fun. You can spot Casey's helmet in the mid-right section of the photo as he makes his way up the hill.

We've been slacking a bit lately (and hearing about it...thanks Jon). We took this hike a couple of weekends ago. Kel and I along with Jill, Darin, and Lea moseyed up to Herman Lake from the trailhead near I-70 and the Continental Divide. We had a great morning with plenty of sun as we climbed through open meadows on our way up 1600' to Herman Lake at the base of rocky peaks. I uploaded a number of other pictures as web album for this hike. Take a peek. This was one of those hikes that you always drive past and say "we should do that sometime," then you never do. Make the stop - highly recommended.

Summer Harvest

Our local farm is in full veggie production mode. Even after a hail storm last week, which damaged some plants, we got another boat load of veggies, including:

• Eggplant
• Purple cabbage
• Corn
• Kohlrabi
• Swiss Chard
• Carrots
• Onions
• Cucumbers
• Summer Squash
• Green Beans
• Beets
• Collard Greens
• Cauliflower
• ...and our first delivery of Western Slope Colorado Peaches (damn - they're good)

Looking forward to Telluride this weekend. We've got some hiking pics and will surely have a bunch of pics to share after this weekend...

Taste of the DNC

We met some friends downtown last night for dinner in Larimer Square in downtown Denver. On our way down, the light rail went by the Pepsi Center, which is ground zero for the DNC. I've never seen anything like it. There are rows and rows of trailers for every major news organization in the world. The platforms rise above the trailers so the anchors can give their updates from above. As I mentioned, security is in full force. Downtown is crawling with cops and they all are carrying gas masks on their hips. It's a bit surreal. The buzz is in the air and the deluge of people has definitely started. We even bumped into Tom Brokaw last night on the street...

Lull

Done with a grueling summer semester and ready for a short two week break before the madness begins again.

Speaking of madness, did anyone else know the DNC is happening in Denver? Hmmm....who knew. :) By the way, some guy named Michael Phelps won something like 8 gold medals in the Olympics....but uh.

Kel and I are heading downtown tonight for dinner at Osteria Marco. We're going to check out the buzz. The DNC has been a huge undertaking and the city feels primed. Some are nervous, but I think most are happy to show off Denver. It's going to be a zoo. There are motorcades and road closures. Traffic is restricted all over the place. Security is insane. 5,000 extra police are coming to town from other states. I've got a buddy blogging the convention so it'll be interesting to get his take. After the Veep announcement earlier today, I watched Wolf Blitzer on CNN and he was just down at the Pepsi Center. The nation's focus will be on Denver. Pretty cool.

Case and I went biking this morning at Deer Creek. The weather was great. Mid 70's, moist from fresh rain, lot'so sun, good flowy singletrack. Kel and I then went to a birthday party at Cherry Creek reservoir and had a BBQ. We're heading out to dinner shortly before some hiking tomorrow... Good weekend.

Olympic Insanity

It seems over the last 10 days I've spent the evening either going to class or watching the Olympics. Although class has been good, the Olympics have certainly held sway. :) Last night may have been the pinnacle of these games. Phelps completed the improbable and Bolt smashed the world record in the 100 without even breathing hard. Incredible. I love watching Bolt run...

I'm looking forward to more track especially the 200, 400, and men's marathon. Kel and I had a pretty laid back weekend. It rained in Denver like I've never seen before. Friday had a high of 60 and the rain came down almost continuously for 2 straight days. We're supposed to be back in the 80s tomorrow, but the rain felt oh-so-good. We went to a couple of movies. We saw the Visitor - an independent film that was very good. We also saw Pineapple Express. I don't think most will like it as it's pretty crude. Kel and I thought it was pretty funny and enjoyed it for a Sunday afternoon movie.

I wrap up the summer semester this week before a break for a couple of weeks. At this point, really looking forward to it. It's hard to go to school in summer...

Hats and Gloves Needed!

Hiking Boots-$110.00

Hydration Pack-$130.00

Hats and Gloves-$0.00

Hiking Mt.  Quandary-Priceless!

The day was finally here-the day that Alli and I decided that we were going to hike our first 14er!  We wanted to get an early start, so I met Alli at 6:00 a.m.!!  We were so giggly on the car ride up, a lot of nervous excitement  in the car for sure!  Finally we arrived at the trail head and were loading our packs and lacing up our boots when a women standing next to us was asking us why we didn't have hats and gloves-looking at each other we just shrugged to her as if to say, "Do we need hats and gloves?"  All she had to say was, "Well I hike all the time in Colorado, and you need to be prepared for everything!"  A little more giggling from Alli and Kelli!  

We started up the trail and were happy to get going!  The trail definitely started out by going up fairly quickly!  Shortly thereafter we passed two older guys and a fairly large group of what looked like a inner-city kids on an Outward Bound trip.  They appeared VERY nervous and apprehensive.  About half way (or what we thought) up-the trail turned into a rock field.  By this time we had been piggy-backing with the older men and I had asked if they knew how much farther.  After asking me if I really wanted to know-he pulled out his GPS and told me we had gone 1,700 feet and had about 1,800 more to go!  We were half way and knew that we had to keep going!  

Then we saw the peak!  We knew it had to be the peak-there were lots of large groups of people just hanging around!  Our spirits were lifted once again, and we were back to being giggly!  We still had a ways to go-but with the end in site how hard could it be right?  Wrong!  

We finally got to what we thought was the peak only to figure out it was a false peak!  I really thought they were kidding me!  But once again, we had come so far there was no way we were going to turn around!  And we were at the base of the real peak for real this time!  The altitude was really bothering me at this point (swollen hands, tunnel vision, and a slight headache) but it was really important for me to finish!  To make things a little more difficult-I had already drank my 100 ounces of water (Yes, Jon and Jay-I did it again!) and had no water for the remainder of the hike! 

And finish we did!  It took us about 3 hours to get to the summit at 14, 265 feet!  We were so happy and proud of each other because it was not an easy, enjoyable hike!  

The weather at the top was around 30-40 degrees and very windy!  So needless to say-Yes we could of used the hats and gloves!!

Oh Saturday!

What a Saturday! I'm so fired up right now - I feel like I could run through a wall. I started the day with my buddy Tod on an epic ride from Kenosha to Georgia Pass on the Colorado Trail. We started early and were able to enjoy the morning sun as we ripped 16" singletrack through meadows and aspen groves. It was beautiful. The ride has cemented itself in my top 5 Colorado rides. We also rode a couple miles above treeline near 12,000 feet as we crested Georgia Pass. The legs are feeling good.

If I wasn't riding, I was planning to watch a ride. Kel and I talked about going to Leadville to watch the Leadville 100 as we did last year. We decided against it, but then found out Lance Armstrong was racing. We didn't get to watch the race, but we tuned in as soon as we got over. Lance ended up taking 2nd to 6 time champion (and my personal hero) Dave Wiens. Wiens is an animal. He finished about 2 minutes ahead of Lance and broke the course record by 13 minutes while finishing the race on a flat tire. I was so pumped after remembering the emotion I felt last year when we watched the finish. Awesome.

To finish, the day I'm watching the Olympics and Phelps just smashed the WR in his first race. Kel wasn't all that amused as I yelled at the TV. :) I love the Olympics...so many great human stories. The smog is terrible though - watching it on TV, it is very noticeable. Yuck.

One last reason I was fired up - Kel had a huge accomplishment and I was very proud of her. I'll let her tell the story though... ;)

Dance Lessons!

Jay and I took our first dance class tonight and it was a blast!  For our anniversary Jay bought us 5 dance lessons-2 private lessons, 2 group lessons, and 1 private par-tay!  We were a little nervous going in because we didn't know their expectations, but it was great!  Our instructor was a cute, young girl named Emily and by the end of class we were giving out high-fives all around!  After touring the studio, we started our lesson with the fox trot.  I had such high expectations for myself-I thought Jay and I would look just like we were on So You Think You Can Dance!  Not so much!  Very basic-but still great to learn the basics.  After that we learned the Swing.  Fun, but I liked the fox trot better.  Lastly, Emily took us into a private room to learn the rhumba.  Why does it always look better on t.v.?  It is supposed to be this romantic dance and poor Jay was reminded to "breathe"!!  How funny!  For a first lesson it was really great and we are looking forward to next week!   

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...

Forest Lakes Hike

On Sunday, Kel, Jon, and I took off for the Forest Lakes in the James Peak Wilderness west of Boulder. It was going to be another hot day in Denver so we thought it would be nice to get up to the mountains and get some exercise.

The James Peak Wilderness is different from much of Colorado in that it is filled with small alpine lakes and streams.

The wildflowers were also plentiful. Kel took this shot of Colorado Columbine.

Jon at Upper Forest Lake. Beautiful setting - lots of granite, waterfalls, lush.

The intrepid hikers at Lower Forest Lake. This shot was taken with a Gorilla-Pod. Good stuff. In all, we covered about 8 miles and were fortunate to be able to enjoy a cooler day in the mountains relatively alone.

For Christmas Jay surprised me with a session to get our family picture taken!  I have always wanted this and was very excited about it.  The hard part was scheduling the actual session-finally a year and a half later we were able to get in and get it done!  Our photographer, Jenna, was amazing!  We had a lot of fun with her!  If you want to check out the slideshow click here: 

Koko Video for Pops and Larry

I threw together a quick montage video of our Kokopelli trip in May. The background music is from The Last of the Mohicans. I'm not exactly a videographer yet (1st video), but it was fun...hopefully more to come with a little more polish.

Previous Weekend Epic Ride

I wanted to throw up some pics from my ride last weekend. I essentially made up my own route. In doing so, I covered roughly 40 miles, climbed just under 6000 feet, met some friendly mountain goats, and generally ran myself into the ground. It was awesome!

A couple of pics...

The Yeti rests atop Arapahoe Basin before 3000+ feet of descending down the Lenawee trail. It didn't really need much of a breather, but I did.

I needed another rest. As a reference, I was about half way done and started behind the mountain on the left crossing the face of the mountain on my way down.

This is the ridge I traveled along before dropping into Breck - great views in all directions.


I chased these goats down on the ridge. They had no fear of me and walked right up to check me out. They probably don't see many bikers up here.

It was an awesome ride and a great reason to go find a Garmin Edge 305, but I was torched by the time I hit Frisco after eating only a sandwich. I still had about 30 ounces of water left as well so I was a bit dehydrated. A stop at the Butterhorn Cafe fixed me up!

Kell Hittin the Trail

I started out this summer with a personal goal to do more hiking.  I have always loved hiking and getting outdoors and was excited about hiking new trails and seeing new county.  It wasn't long before I talked my friend Alli into making it her goal as well!  Because we are both in the educational field-we have the wonderful benefit of being able to get out there Monday through Friday when everyone else is sitting at their desk!  So far this summer we have done 6 amazingly beautiful hikes.  We have done: Evergreen Mountain Loop, Matthew Winters, Mt. Sanitas, Goat Mountain, Mohawk Lake, and Bridal Veil Falls.  It has been so great being able to get outdoors and enjoy everything that Colorado has to offer.  Our two favorite hikes are Mohawk Lake and Bridal Veil Falls, both of which are six or more miles. Today we conquered Bridal Veil Falls and it was just beautiful!  In just about 2 hours 15 minutes we hiked the 6.4 to the falls and back out.   

Weekend Round Up

Kel and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary last Thursday by doing....nothing. I had class that night so I instead took Friday off and we spent the day together. We started the day picking up picnic items at Marczyk's Fine Foods in Denver. We then hung out at Wash Park for an hour or so and watched Maggie viciously protect our blanket and food from daring squirrels. After lunch we dropped off Maggie and joined the crowds in seeing The Dark Knight. It's an outstanding summer movie - very entertaining. We finished the day at Highlands Garden Cafe in the Highlands district. We sat on the garden patio surrounded by all kinds of foliage while we enjoyed dinner. The day was perfect for us. I had been out of town for 7 of 8 weekends so we didn't want to travel for our anniversary.

Saturday was pretty low key as well. I'm part of a team at my company that has entered the Colorado Relay. We'll be running from Georgetown, CO to Carbondale overnight in what amounts to about 175 miles. There are 10 of us and we'll each be running between 18 and 22 miles. We had a team run early Saturday morning at Deer Creek Canyon. I love running the trails in the mountains. After the run, Kel and I ran some errands, which included REI and some very "necessary" purchases. We finished with the big dinner mentioned in the veggie posts - ;).

Sunday was spent at Dicks Sporting Goods Field and the Mile High Music Festival. With 5 stages and over 30 bands, there was no shortage of good music. Our day was planned around the main acts and staying cool in the 100 degree heat. We arrived around 3:30 and watched the tail end of Colbie Caillat before catching the Flogging Molly show. Flogging Molly is an irish band that is great in concert because they bring so much energy. When they finished up it was time for the big acts. John Mayer started around 5:30 and went for about 2 hours. He's outstanding in concert and I would estimate there were 30-40 thousand people in attendance for his show. The night cap was Dave Matthews Band, which was an absolute spectacle. They are amazing. We didn't make it the whole show because traffic was going to turn into a demolition derby but we made it long enough to enjoy some of the hits and check off the Dave concert from the life list.

We had a relaxing but full weekend - can't wait for the next...

Veggies - Jay's Perspective

In my defense...

I love veggies. We also get fruit. And for 26 weeks. What's there to complain about? We can have roasted beets, roasted potatoes, roasted peppers, roasted kale, roasted onions.... As a matter of fact, tonight at Jay's Bistro - we'll be serving Roasted chicken stuffed with grilling onions, rosemary, and parsley with a side of roasted beets, corn on the cob, roasted kale, and mixed green salad. Summer in CO is goooood!

Veggies, Veggies, and lots more Veggies!

At the beginning of the summer Jay and I signed up for our very first CSA. For those of you who (like me) have no idea what this stands for-it is Community Supported Agriculture. I had no idea what I was getting myself into! Jay mentioned we would pre-pay for a box of veggies each week and all we would have to do is pick them up on Tuesday. Sounds great, right? Each and every Tuesday Jay and I pick up our "box" of veggies. This past week, our box had 12 different kinds of vegetables in it! Incredible! When we are not eating veggies-we are searching for new ways to make them! It is a full time job...Although it is time consuming-we are eating very well and all organic. The task of consuming so may vegetables can be very overwhelming, but I definitely see a CSA in our future for years to come!

Easy is Good

After almost 4 years of (barely) updating my own blog, Kel and I are starting a new blog together on Blogger. This is so easy...amazing...we should have been doing this for years. ;) We hope to keep this much more up to date so stay tuned. Also - I want to welcome Kel to the blogosphere - I didn't know if I would be able to convert her and yet here she is nearly as nerdy as me.