Mt Elbert

Distance - 8.5 miles
Elevation Gain - 4,100 feet
Time - 5 hours

Today I hiked up to the third highest point in the United States, the second highest in the Contiguous United States, and the highest point in Colorado. 14,433 feet to be precise. OK, enough with the numbers, it was actually a pretty easy hike. There is nothing special about the highest point in Colorado other than that fact that it is the highest point in Colorado. Still cool though.

I was supposed to hike Mt Elbert the prior weekend but delayed the trip since I wasn't feeling 100%. I woke up at 3 a.m. since thunderstorms looked likely for the afternoon.  Looking back that was probably too early, since the 2.5 hour drive meant I started hiking at 6:00 and the easy hike meant I was on the summit by 8:40. It's cool to think that I was on the top of a mountain about the same time most people were finishing up their Frosted Krusty Os for breakfast. I packed light which meant I didn't really stop to take a break.  The best part about getting an early start was that it allowed me to get above the fog and low clouds before they burned off, resulting in some great pictures.

A dense mist settles over the forest. The Sasquatch lurks:



Looking at the false summit, last patches of green, at the top:



You can see that the wet spring we've had in town means up in the mountains. I didn't run into too much snow, you could walk around most of it, but there were a few small snow fields to cross:



One guy's tradition. It's a good tradition to have since pretty much every summit has enough wind to fly a kite. Kite flyer and his female hiking partner hiked up to the top with a pair of skis. Although you can't tell the length at all (the depth perception is non-existent), the second photo shows the section I decided to glissade (i.e. slide on my rear) instead of hiking down. It was a great ride. The third photo is heading back to the the trail head with Twin Lakes in view:



It's easy (on the eyes) being green after a few hours of all brown and white:



Quintessential Colorado.  At only about 30 minutes from "a little place called Aspen", you start seeing a lot more water and a lot more green. I didn't take any pictures of the beginning of the hike, but it was through a huge Aspen grove with broad leaf plants and wildflowers carpeting the ground. I parked at the top of the 4WD road, meaning that I had some fun driving through this stream crossing twice:



This hike pushed me to the 40% mark. I'm closing in on making it up half of the state's 53 tallest mountains.

More Pictures

Pictures from Stacey's phone of the hike yesterday.  Sure did beat sitting in front of a computer at work!

Horsethief Falls

The kids were with Grandma today, so I decided to play hooky from work so Stacey and I could go hiking together up to Horsethief Falls.  We dropped the kids off a little early and drove up past Divide to the west side of Pikes Peak.  The hike was a very easy 2.5 mile round trip. We could have added 4 more miles round trip if we had taken the detour up to pancake rocks, but we didn't have time.

The hike is perfect for little kids and older folks, like the group of about 20 retirees that we passed on the way down.  Almost all of the trail is shaded and follows a small creek and/or water most of the way.  This hike starts just below 10,000 feet in elevation but it gets you well above the 10,000 foot mark along the trail.  It would be a good place for some training runs.

The falls were bigger and prettier than these pictures show.  Most of them were taken at the top of the falls, since there really wasn't a good spot at the bottom for picture taking. With all the rain we've gotten this spring and early summer, there was plenty of water rushing by us at the top.

The Cupcake Song

Jonathan's 5th Birthday

Happy 5th Birthday Jonathan!  We love you.  Jonathan's 5th birthday party was a great time.  He decided he wanted to have a small family party at home, so that's what we did. He will have another party at Chuck E. Cheese in Spokane next month with Stacey's family.
 
Michelle flew in on Friday to join the party.  We woke up the next morning and met for bowling at Brunswick Zone.  Lunch was his favorite, homemade pizza. After lunch we had him open up his t-ball and glove set and played at the park for a little while until Grandpa finished up work. After Grandpa arrived we had cupcakes, played pin the badge on Chase and opened presents.  He played with each of his presents as they were opened.  He loved every one of them and has been playing with them ever since.

Oh, and just like at Julia's party, he cheated at pin the badge on Chase.  We all know he was peeking under his mask because he perfectly aligned the badge where it was supposed to be placed. What a turkey.

Be Like The Cool Kids

Cuddle time, audience time, lawn mowing time, big sister time.

We had a door ding fixed the other day.  The kids were very interested in the process and took a lot of notes so that they would know how to fix it by themselves the next time that it happens.  I hope they don't try.

The other day I decided to mow the lawn at night while the kids were taking baths.  After their bath Jonathan came outside to see me.  He wanted to spend time with me, but knew he couldn't while I mowed the lawn. I told him that we would hang out after I finished, which seemed to work for about 30 seconds.  He went back on sat patiently on the back steps with his hands in his lap until he couldn't take it any longer.  This is what we came up with...pictures courtesy of Stacey.

Jonathan had a "sugar bug" filled this week.  He was scared and it hurt, but things were made better by Julia being a great big sister.  She held his hand and supported him during the traumatic appointment.

Last Day of First Grade

Someone's now a second grader...or maybe a third grader, according to Julia's teacher. Julia did great in first grade, even though this was the first time she was in school all day, every day.  The last day of school her teacher said that she saw second graders, and maybe a third grader while looking at Julia, indicating just how well she did at this school year.

Julia was the only one in her class to complete all of her punch cards, which are awarded and worked through by doing good things in class like behaving, being a good listener, being helpful (including helping other students if you had already finished your work) and other schoolwork related tasks.  If there is such a thing as a teacher's assistant and student, Julia probably came pretty close.

She is definitely out of her shell and is completely independent now. She practically reads a small kid's book a night...otherwise, just wants to play with Jonathan or her other friends. Although she is still taking piano lessons, she has yet to show much interest in anything athletic or activity-based. She seems to really enjoy learning and spending time with others.

Below are some pictures before heading to the last day. Her neighborhood friend Hope and her teacher, Mrs. Bratton, are also pictured. When I came home from work at the end of the day and saw Julia, the tears instantly began to flow.  She walked over to me and buried her face in my chest crying and saying how much she was going to miss Mrs. Bratton.  You see, she's moving after the school year and Julia "won't ever get to see her again".  I think she was a little tired and will quickly forget, but it was very sweet to see the impact her teacher made on her.

Last Day of Pre-K

Good job Jonathan! Pre-K is in the books..next up, Harvard Law School.

Jonathan did a great job at school this year.  He liked going even though he wanted to stay home a lot of days. In fact, the same day he finished up school for the year (4 hours later) he told me that he missed school already.  Somehow I think he'll find plenty of this to do this summer.

Next year he will be going back to PPCS for a program designed to fill the gap between Pre-K and Kindergarten. It costs about the same as Harvard Law School. So, we have another year and a few months until he will start Kindergarten.  Judging by how Julia's independence grew after going to Kindergarten, we still have a little bit of time with "Buddy Boy".

Spring Fashion Show

...Cinderella and her two wicked smaht step-sisters (Hope and Taron)
...wondering what to wear this spring while ruling the kingdom?
...instead of folding over my pants, I want a dress belt just like Dad wears to work
...Disney facial hair is in...says big sister with a marker behind closed doors
...it's all about the swagger, even when wearing Mom's sunglasses
...Happy Memorial Day, Earthlings.