Adventure #11: Season 2; Episode 1

Date: Weekend, June 5-7 2015
Location: Shadow Mountain Lake

Woohooooooooooo! It's officially Adventure Season, and while the official start of summer is still a few weeks away, the weather is nice enough to enjoy the great outdoors.  I wait all winter for the mountains to warm up and all spring for the rain to subside and the sun to shine.  Once again, what a feeling it is to look forward to summer.  After spending your whole life avoiding the heat of AZ summer, it's so wonderful to truly enjoy the warmth and sunshine.

Krystal and Fiona were away this weekend, traveling to Minnesota for her cousin's wedding so Logan and I decided that we would try out kayak camping.  The goal was to kayak out to a campsite and setup camp next to the water.  I researched and found Shadow Mountain Lake which is just north of Granby.  After calling the chamber of commerce, it looked like there were islands on the lake and while some were closed due to wildlife preserves some were open to camping.  With that in mind, I had a hectic day of getting the girls to the airport, putting the kayak on the roof solo (thanks Mom and Dad for the new roof mounts, made my life MUCH easier) and bringing Logan to work with me which all occurred after waking up at 5am to get some work hours in before everyone was awake.

Logan and I left Boulder around 2PM and had a two hour drive ahead of us.  After about one hour I was getting really sleepy and needed a caffeine/sugar boost.  We stopped at the next town and grabbed some Redbull, Swedish Fish, Sugar Daddy, and lollipops with only the lollipop being for Logan of course...can you imagine him on Redbull!?!?  As we were about to leave I did something I had never before done in my life.  I offered someone a ride.  There was this girl (maybe mid 20s) with a huge hiking backpacking sitting on the picnic bench on the phone and looked like she had someplace to go.  I asked her if she needed a ride, and after saying asking her Dad on the phone to hold on turned out she only needed about a 10 minute drive up the highway.  It was on our way so I offered to give her a lift.  She had just arrived 4 days ago from Texas and was had started a backpacking trip that would take her across all of Colorado to catch a train in Utah, and then she would hike the San Francisco Mountains.  She was doing it all solo, major props to her!  Honestly I wish we had a longer drive together because it would have been neat to here more of her story and learn why she was taking on such an epic adventure.  We dropped her at a random hotel in Idaho Springs which we both agreed "looked safe enough if you were traveling alone".  Best wishes to whomever you were, I hope you stay safe and embrace the adventure.  It was really neat having Logan be a part of helping out a fellow outdoors (wo)man and a simple way to embrace a stranger.  There is plenty of time in life for stranger danger but this time felt right to help someone out.

So about those islands, ya..wrong info from the chamber of commerce.  Says right on the sign next to the dock 'No Camping on Islands"...oh well.  There was a campsite of about 40 sites right next to the water so we deciding to setup camp there.  I'm not usually one to like official campsites but it was easy and accommodating being so close to the lake.  In all honesty I don't even remember what we did Friday night except that I read Logan a long chapter book about a little boy who runs away from home to live in the mountains on my own.  I read about 30 pages that night, and he fell fast asleep while I was reading.  I will always remember that night.  Such a pure interaction with my son, nothing complex, nothing electronic, nothing requiring any energy at all except to be immersed in the moment.

I woke up once to the sounds of "something" but took some deep breathes and fell fast asleep.  Turns out a bear came through the camp ground and ate 12 fish from someone's cooler that they left sitting out.  PEOPLE there are bear containers for a REASON...USE THEM!  Wish I would have peaked out and seen the little guy ;)  I also woke up in the morning but again was too cold and tired to peak out.  This time my neighbors tell us a male moose walked within 15 feet of our tent!  I seriously have been wanting to see a moose more than any animal.  It was so close...

Saturday!  Let me summarize this day in a handful of words:

poptarts, kayak, cheetos, fishing, kayak, cheetos, fishing, fishing, fishing

Okay so Logan LOVES fishing.   It was fish free in Colorado weekend and we took full advantage.  We fished for hours on Saturday.  We ended up being out on the lake from about 9:30 to 1:30 PM,  We (and by that I mean, me. Logan's paddling is subpar ;) paddled out to check out the islands.  On the way out in the morning, the water was so smooth.  Oh man, how I love smooth, flat, glass water.  It brings a certain calm over me, that must be from all those years on the lake as a kid.  The islands were a small grouping jetting out from the south end of the lake.  As I said, some of them were closed due to Osprey breading, so we got some awesome close ups of Osprey from the water.  After scoping out the islands, we put a fishing line and trolled it behind us in the kayak as we headed for the marina.  I'll just say it now, we caught zero fish, zero, but that didn't stop us.  We bought some worms at the marina and Logan was super excited to look at and touch them.  He is slowly getting over his gross phase and becoming more typical boy.  After leaving the marina, we had lunch on one of the other islands and opened the cheetos for the first time.  Seriously, this kid would eat the whole bag if he could!  The weather was starting to look rather imposing so I decided it was time to head back and call it a day.  There was this narrow passage between two islands and for the life of me I could not paddle us through the wind and waves that had come upon us due to the impending storm.  After a couple unsuccessful tries, we docked on one of the islands next to a motor boat and hung out for a bit (...ate more cheetos).  I figured we could wait out the storm or worst case ask someone to tow us back.  After giving my arms a rest, I was able to power through it and make it through 15 minutes of some tough upper body workout and make it back to the dock near camp.

Logan grabbed the fishing pole out of the kayak and immediately started fishing off the dock.  He is a natural.  I showed him once how to cast and he just did it!  It was hard to describe but it was like he was meant for it.  I guess some kids can throw a baseball or shoot a basketball, but man can Logan cast.  It was a very proud moment and so cool to see him embrace it.  We fished for a LONG time until I lured (pun, yes...no?) him back to camp to eat dinner.  Side note, Krystal's Dad got me one of those backpacking Jetboil stoves, and wow is that thing awesome.  It boils water so fast!  Anyway, Logan ate some more cheetos during dinner or maybe I had cut him off by then.  But after Dinner, I just wanted to sit for a bit and relax...ya like that would ever happen.  Guess what Logan wanted to do...you got it, fish!  So I took a chair and beer down to the dock and we fished for the rest of the night.  We were the last ones out there and still not even a bite.  It probably doesn't help that I know next to nothing about fishing, but that's the fun part as Logan and I get to learn together.  I really wanted to sit on the dock and watch the sunset but Logan insisted we get back to camp for some smores.  That night we continued reading the same book, but he lasted about 4 pages before he passed out and was asleep.  I slept much better that night, and after poking my head out from the sleeping bag realized we had both slept in until 9AM (how wonderful)!

After packing up the truck, we headed back to the dock and finished off our trip with none other than more time fishing :)  There was another family there that I'll just say wasn't getting along, and it made me appreciate and reflect even more on just how special my son Logan is.  He's an active, fun loving, social, intelligent little boy.  He's got a dynamic spunk of a personality and loves his family tremendously.  On the ride home, after grabbing Subway and...more cheetos, he told me that when he grows up he wants to be just like me.  He is going to have the same beard, same tattoos, same shoes, same sunglasses.  It's like he was looking at me and realized just how much he loves who I am, and starting naming off everything he saw.  After spending three days fully immersed together, he left that weekend with me on his mind.  I must say that I too, left that weekend reminded to think and act more like him.  There are so many more things we did that weekend that were a blast and I could go on for thousands of more words, but this post is already super long.  I'll end with adding that on the way home we stopped at JAX and bought him his own tackle box and picked up a fishing license for me so that we can continue our quest for our first fish.

I received a GoPro from Amanda for Christmas so I'll be updating this blog with awesome photos and videos.  Just takes me a little while to process everything and I'd rather get my thoughts down before the weekend's fresh thoughts escape me.

According to the GPS we kayaked 4.2 miles that day!

Adventure #10: Preface to Adventure Season

Date: Saturday, May 30 2015
Location: Estes Park, RMNP, Trail Ridge Road

As a nice little warm up to summer and with the opening of Trail Ridge Road in RMNP the previous day we set out to make the grandiose drive from the entrance to RMNP all the way to the Alpine Visitor Center along a portion of Trail Ridge Road.  Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the US (http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/trail_ridge_road.htm).  After the drive we walked around downtown Estes, grabbed lunch at a place we hadn't tried and spent some time at a Western Art and Artisan show.  They had items such as arrowheads, custom handmade western knives, antlers, furs, painting, sculptures.  I've really been into that sort of artifact genre lately so it sparked my creative interest.  Anyway, Amanda got us a GoPro for Christmas and it captured some awesome shots and video from the drive.  Once I get it all processed, I'll  be updating this post since it's rather mundane without the spectacular views which words cannot even bother to describe.

Adventure #9: Long Shadows, Short Days

Date: Saturday, October 25 2014
Location: NCAR

This post has been waiting around for awhile and I never quite got around to it.  I guess it's because it really does signify the start of cold weather and a lot less camping, hiking and generally being outdoors.  While Colorado does have an amazing winter and I do embrace it, the days of summer have officially passed until next year.  I'm looking forward to more lazy Saturdays near the fireplace, more warm delicious coffee from Blackdog, and getting to pile on layers of clothes to stay warm and dry.  I really do love seasons and with the passing of one, then comes the next.  I do admit though, Spring could just really be bypassed if you ask me.  It's the most bipolar Colorado weather gets and I could do without.

Anyway we took a quick trip out to NCAR which is the National Center for Atmospheric Research (http://ncar.ucar.edu/) in Boulder.  They have a handful of trails that start there and we knew that this could be one of our last warmer weekends.  We only went out for 45 minutes and back 45 minutes, but it was a nice easy hike to round out the year.  They have various signs along the trail that educate people about Colorado's (crazy) weather and Logan really enjoyed reading each one.  On the topic of Logan, this was certainly his last trip in the backpack.  Next summer he will be WAY too heavy.  Before next summer we'll be buying him some real hiking boots, and by that I mean cheap ones from Big 5 cuz who in their right mind would shop for kids hiking boots at REI ;)  Fiona will take over her place in the backpack.  So who knows what next summer will bring, it'll depend a lot of 4.5 yr old Logan and how far he can trek on his own.  Hopefully we've prepared him well.

This past summer was amazing!  It fulfilled so much of what I anticipated/hoped Colorado would be for us.  It's really hard to summarize all the experiences we've had but that is exactly what this blog is for.  So we can look back as a family and relive all the fun we've had.  I hope to spend the winter doing research and planning some great trips for the family.

Long shadows, short days, so long Adventure Season

Adventure #8: Everything is Awesome

Date: Sunday, September 28th 2014
Location: Brainard Lake

An ode to summer...as the leaves change and the temperatures get cooler I am reminded how wonderful and fun the summer was.  It was certainly the most fun filled summer of recent memory and I couldn't be more thankful for the adventures and family time.

On Sunday we set out for our last kayak trip of the year.  Erick was gifted a kayak of his own from his Dad for his birthday, so we all agreed that even if it was going to be cold we (the fam, Erick and Mike) would take it out before winter storage.  We left the house around noon and headed to the familiar Brainard Lake.  It makes the adventure much easier when we know what we are getting into.  Even though it was already later-ish in the day, and we knew it was going to be cold and perhaps raining we all had a positive outlook knowing it was the last time on the lake for the year.  We only spent but a brief period on the water before the rain hit and the temperature dropped but we all soaked it up and it gave a chance for reflection on a summer well spent.  It's so easy to become fully ingrained in the moment when the moment is so simple and pure.  I am continually amazed how time in the mountains can totally reset me.  Even if it's not doing much, just being present with my family is something I hold very dear to my heart.  Part of me wishes I could have a life and career that was centered on the outdoors but perhaps then it would lose it's appeal and "magical" powers.

Even though the lake was cut short, we did happen upon beautiful fall colors.  There were a ton of people on the road pulling over and taking photographs.  It wasn't the trip's intent but catching the beauty of fall in the Rockies was a pleasant surprise.  We pulled over several times and snapped some decent photos (unfortunately lacking sun) all while being rained on.  Making the best of it in true adventure style.

During a portion of the drive, Logan started singing "Everything is Awesome!"...louder and louder...with more exuberance as every word came out.  It was such the perfect exclamation point on the summer that I'll always associate that song with our first summer of adventures.  We dropped into Fate in Boulder on the way home and enjoyed some good beer and good food while reminiscing on this past summer and planning for the next :)  On the ride home, the radio was playing some solid rock band music to which we were all jamming out and being goofy.  At some point, Logan realized how silly his parents were being and begged us to stop...I can't imagine that'll be the last time haha

We are both hoping for more fall hiking before winter settles in, and that should make for some more blog entries before winter really starts.  Who knows given Colorado's spastic weather, we may even manage some winter adventures.  I hope we ski at least once too, here's looking at you Dilley's :)

Fall colors

Of course Mike did this

Last trip out for the year

My precious baby girl

Pit stop while Krystal was out taking photos

Aspens in yellow

Adventure #7: Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Date: Saturday, September 20 2014

Location: Fern Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park

It's been a bit since our last adventure into the mountains.  That's not to say we haven't had numerous adventures around town, seeing as we've had lots of visitors highlighted with Fiona being baptized.  Lots of activities to keep us away from the mountain but all good fun and joy filled moments.

On Saturday we headed out bright and early for a hiking trip in Estes Park at RMNP.  And by bright and early we were packed and in the truck leaving the house at 7AM and at the trailhead before 9AM.  I think we were the only family in all of RMNP to have two children at the start of a trailhead that early.  Everyone else was old people or singles haha.  So let's just say the day started out great.

We had planned to hike to Cub Lake which is a trail that we just screwed up timing on last time and never made it to the lake.  Well last minute we changed our minds and set our sights on a longer more difficult hike to Fern Lake.  We had plenty of water and food, and plenty of the day remaining for what was a 7.6 mile hike.  Some people would stop there and realize that 7+ miles with two kids is a long flipping hike.  Well I'm not sure we even processed it enough or gave it much thought.  I'll just say it now, the trail was also 1500 ft of elevation gain, ending at the lake at 9,500 ft.  Like what were we thinking...haha

Our main goal was to enjoy the fall colors and the hike did not disappoint.  The aspens were just starting to change colors and so while it wasn't full fledge fall colors, there was yellow aspens mixed in everywhere.  The first stop was Fern Falls which was a beautiful waterfall surrounded by yellow and orange leaves.  At this point we kinda realized that we basically had to climb the mountain in front of us before getting to the lake.  It was also not nearly halfway.  Very shortly thereafter, both Krystal and I then realized that we had a LONG day ahead of us.  Logan weighs 37 lbs, plus water and food and the pack it's probably north of 42 lbs.  Logan is an awesome little hiker and thoroughly enjoys hiking on his own, but he's just 4 yrs old and can only manage so far.  I'd say I carried him for 4-5 of the miles.  Krystal carried Fiona nearly the whole way and I think her shoulders are still screaming from it.  At some point on the climb to the top, we all kinda started losing it and singing out loudly "Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide....." OKAY so maybe it was just me singing loudly and everyone else laughing along :)  Closer to the top, I reminded Logan that he should ask the people heading the other way how much farther?  This was mostly for me to know how far we had to go since I was getting pretty hungry for lunch and a needed rest.  On the other hand I always encourage Logan to say hello and a pleasantry to hikers headed the opposite way.  I feel that it's a very simple thing but helps him to be social and maintain a positive and happy outlook.  I mean what's better than a cute little 4 yr old asking "how is your hike going?" :)  As we crested the last hill, the lake came into view and how magnificent and fulfilling.  We felt really proud of ourselves that we managed to get up there as a family.  If these kiddos don't like the outdoors when they are older, something went really wrong haha

We spent about 45 mins up at the lake, eating lunch, taking pictures and exploring.  Logan of course enjoyed throwing sticks into the lake, climbing across fallen trees over the water, and generally doing anything you think a young boy would do.  The elevation was pretty high and both Krys and I could feel the effects when standing up too quick.  Heading back down, we made faster progress and again stopped at the Falls for a short break.  I sat with Logan underneath/next to the waterfall and had a sweet little moment with him.  We sat on a large rock with our feet dangling over, feeling the slight splash of the water off the rocks.  Before the hike, Krystal was talking about how at 4 yrs old children retain some of their first memories.  So sitting by that waterfall, I squeezed Logan tight and told him to always remember this moment :) We'll see if it sticks :)

This is becoming a long post, well because it was a long day!  While driving back into town, we realized that it is Elk rutting season (basically explosion of elk coming down into Estes Park) and people were lining up on the side of the road with lawn chairs waiting for the elk to come out of the mountains and into the valley for water and food.  It was only 4PM at that time, so we parked as well and held out for the elk.  Turns out it was a small group this time (only 20-30 or so) but that didn't stop the excitement waiting for them and trying to spot them.  Logan and I sat on the roof of the 4Runner for a good view.  I continue to relish these simple moments of nothing to do and nowhere to go that for some reason I only find in the mountains.  Krystal managed some great photos of the elk and fall foliage before we headed into town.

We had dinner and ice cream in Estes and finally made it home at 8PM.  That's a 13 hr day, and beside a momentary meltdown by Fiona before dinner our kiddos did fantastic!  I love that they can spend all day in the mountains and be totally content and fulfilled.  Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree ;)

3.8 miles, we can do this!

Cool little bridge crossing, Krystal with Fiona

Fall colors and a magnificent smile

Fern Falls

I wish I could nap and hike at the same time

Fern Lake

One of our best family selfies ever!

The lake was crystal clear, you could see the little fish

So tired...

Waiting for the elk, view 1

Waiting for the elk, view turned back around

Adventure #6: Not similar...special!

Date: Sunday, August 3rd 2014
Location: Copeland Falls, Wild Basin Ranger Station, Bright Trail, Allenspark

We spent Saturday at the park watching a kickball tournament that Drea's boyfriend was playing in so that "only" left Sunday to get into the mountains.  It was a great day outside to enjoy the beautiful Colorado summers and hang out with Dre, just relaxing.

Sunday late morning we ventured off toward Wild Basin Ranger Station in Allenspark.  Jenny met us at our house and we all packed into the 4Runner.  The reason the word "packed" is significant is because, as usual, I drove and Krystal graciously gave the front seat to Jenny.  We weren't even out of the driveway and Krystal was whining about the tight fit.  I said I didn't care and took up my post in the middle seat between the kiddos.  It actually wasn't all that bad.  I had plenty of legroom, and made the hour plus drive just fine minus a little bit of car sickness up the mountain roads.  Toward the end of the drive, Logan and I started to both "maes" out as it was nearly lunchtime.  I finally gave in and grabbed our lunches from the back.  During this all, I told Logan that "you know kiddo, you and I are pretty similar".  To which he responded"Noooooo".  I pushed it a little further and said "ya, we act a lot alike and are similar".  To which he started to go full on breakdown cry and be totally crushed nearly sobbing, then he says "I'm not similar, I'm....special".  We all busted out laughing hysterically and poor Logan figured himself out and started laughing too.  So the saying goes "kids say the darndest things" and it couldn't have been more true in that moment.

We made it to the trail head after getting lucky with a close parking lot.  We seriously have to get all these popular hikes out of the way because they are insanely busy and it's not that fun being surrounded by people and fighting for parking when you want to be alone in the mountains.  All in due time, we'll find more and more remote locations and as Fiona gets older it'll be easier to commit to longer travel times and hikes.

Anyway, our goal was to make it past Copeland Falls and to Calypso Cascades.  Copeland Falls showed up pretty early in the hike and it was a short waterfall but really flowing strong and loud as can be.  Logan and I ventured as close to it as possible and he got pretty adventurous climbing the rocks.  It's that fine line you have as a parent to give them freedom to gain confidence but also not allow them to fall into the raging white water rapids below.  I'd say I did a pretty good job with it and he seemed to embrace the freedom.  We got some nice photo ops of the family with our able photography Jenny tagging along :)  Trekking along we found this cool tree stump that had checkerboard like cuts into the top of it.  Logan and I played around with some rocks on it, but he'll need some checker practice here shortly at home.

We thought we made it to Calypso Cascades so we found a nice spot tucked behind some tress and out of the way of the trail for lunch and sat down to enjoy some grub.  I always love taking a food break and just sitting down for a few moments to enjoy family time.  It's a peaceful quiet time with no intentions or plans that we simply get quality time together.  At this point we decided to head on but after a short little bit, Logan was getting tired so I tossed him in the backpack and we turned back.  By this point we had hiked for about an hour and a half so we figured we had a hike ahead of us heading back.  Well turns out, that with Logan on my back and going downhill we made it back in about 20 minutes haha.  Also turns out that we didn't make it to Calypso Cascades.  We really need to get the GPS loaded with the Colorado topomaps so that we have a better idea of our location out on these adventures.  Either way, it was a beautiful day with family and a close friend.

On the drive home we took a quick detour to check out some 4x4 backroads (Bright Trail) for potential camping sites.  They had signs for moose in the area but Jenny assured us moose aren't that big of a deal since she's seen plenty before.  After some lively discussion :) about the difference between elk and moose, we unfortunately didn't see either.  We climbed the backroad to the top of the mountain and I hopped out for some quick photos at the edge while Logan was sleeping and Krystal was keeping Fiona entertained.  We didn't find any great camping sites so the quick trip was a success in that we were in the area and ruled out any potential spots.  Although there looked to be some solid remote hiking trails.  I also had some fun poking at the females in the truck, and how it appears that the amount of bouncing around and general discomfort while wheeling is directly proportional to if their significant other is driving or not.

All in all it was a fun day, and we enjoyed having Jenny share an adventure with us.  We did learn something important today, setting up the crock-pot in the morning before we leave is a fantastic way to come home after a long day in the mountains......well that and Logan is special ;)

Krystal driving us on a dirt road to the trail head, her first time on any sort of dirt/gravel ;)

Trail head

Logan climbing next to the river

First waterfall

Lunchtime

My beautiful bride

Switching hats, I promise Fiona was happy

I totally bribed Logan for the smile on this selfie (couldn't quite get Fiona)

Reviewing the off-road book before heading off

Top of Bright Trail (the photo really doesn't do it justice)