Triple Bypass

My nut job of a husband signed up for this yesterday:

It's a 120 mile bike ride over three mountain passes. I think he is crazy!!!

Copper Triangle Bike Ride

Dan is a rock star!!! He rode 80 miles over 3 mountain passes. Fremont Pass, Tennessee Pass, and Vail Pass. He finished in great time and didn't even collapse at the end. Congrats, Dan! Here are a few pictures from the race.

View from the condo we stayed in:

Dan starting the race:
Early at the finish line:After the race:

Taper Time

I am fully into my taper for Pikes. I do 12 today and that is going to feel so short after the 20 last week. After I am done, we need to pack up and get out of here. We are headed to Copper Mountain because Dan is riding Copper Triangle tomorrow. Go Dan!! Then, Dan's brother, Mike, is meeting us at Copper and we are headed out for a couple days of camping. I'll probably just do a couple of 5 milers up there. Should be fun!

It's a Colorado Summer

It must be. So much camping! Last weekend we went to the Dumont Lake Campground outside of Steamboat Springs. We drove up Friday afternoon so we were there by about 5:00. So we get to the site we had reserved... and someone else was there. Turns out that someone else had taken the site they reserved so they took ours. Just so you know, taking someone else's reserved site is seriously bad camping etiquette. Anyway, so we tried to get the campground host to work it all out (because of course all of the sites were full for the night) and he was nowhere to be found. Someone called the area forest ranger and I called the reservation system, but we never did get it worked out. It turned out that the people in our site were really cool and they had family staying at a different campsite, so they moved in with their family and gave us the site. Thank goodness they did because the campground host didn't show up until everyone was leaving on Sunday. We saw the ranger chewing him out on our way out.

Anyway, by the time we were actually setting up our tent, it was after 7:00 and the mosquitos were horrid. Luckily we had bug spray and we just ate, made s'mores, and went in the tent. The next morning, Dan and Noah went fishing. I took a little 5 mile run up the trail towards the Rabbit Ears, and when I got back, Dan took a long and strenuous bike ride down to Steamboat and back up over the pass. He is a crazy person, but I know it was a great training session for Copper Triangle, which he is riding this Friday!!!

Noah and I headed to Steamboat after his nap and got the picture of him riding the pass on our way. He is truly a badass!!!

We did a nice little hike around the lake that night. The wildflowers up there are incredible right now and it was just at that exact right time of the evening when the sun is setting and the colors get brighter. Beautiful!

On Sunday, we wandered around Steamboat for a while. We did a little shopping at FM Light & Sons (can't miss it if you go to Steamboat, literally) and had lunch at the Rio (some of the best Margaritas in the world). Then we headed home with a little detour for fishing at Georgetown Lake.

We are home this weekend, but we have more camping in store for next. Friday we are headed to Copper Mountain for Dan's race (staying in a hotel right in the Center Village - yay for the race participant rate Dan got) and then Saturday Dan's brother Mike is meeting us there. He is coming all the way from Minnesota so we are really excited to see him. Saturday night and Sunday we are camping at Bogan Flats which is out west sort of near Aspen and Crested Butte. Should be beautiful!

I Can Ride My Bike With No Handlebars

OK, maybe he needs the handlebars, but he is definitely getting the hang of it:

Turquoise Lake Camping Trip

So we finally got our act together and made it out of Denver at about 1:00 on Friday. Noah slept almost all the way to Leadville, so it was a nice peaceful trip. After a stop at the Leadville Safeway for some essentials (you know, marshmallows and stuff), we went straight to the lake and to our campsite. Father Dyer Campground is beautiful! All forested with lodgepole pine and a short walk to the lake. I highly recommend it if you want to camp at Turquoise Lake, but all the campgrounds there were gorgeous.

We got our camp set up, Noah met the neighbors, and we had dinner. While Dan was cooking the brats, I met our campground hosts who recommended that I run the Turquoise Lake Trail for my 8 miler in the morning. They were from central Louisiana and I think they thought I must have rocks in my head when I asked them if they had a trail recommendation for my run that gained some elevation. The lady was very worried and kept saying, "Don't you need to take at least a day to acclimate?" and "Don't forget to take water and energy bars." Very sweet!

After dinner, Dan and I took Noah to fish down by the lake. We didn't catch anything, but we had a great time and took tons of pictures. I am too lazy to download them right now, so I will post them later.

Two hours later, we were making s'mores and then it was bedtime. Noah slept the whole night and didn't even need to pee until about 8:00 a.m. That's the most he's slept in for ages! The morning was great because Dan got up and made coffee, pancakes, and bacon. I stumbled out of bed to a fully cooked breakfast and hot coffee. Heaven!

The weather on Saturday was not so heavenly though. I did my run around the lake trail and it was cloudy, windy, and not too warm (although it really was pretty good running temperature). While I was running, I saw 2 families hiking, one other runner who looked like some kind of mountain man with his long hair and no shirt in spite of the cold, and 3 mountain bikers. It was a great trail, a little elevation gain, and nice and rugged.

I got back to camp just before noon and Dan and Noah were just setting up for lunch. Dan's plan was to have lunch and then ride his new road bike up over Fremont Pass. It started sprinkling just as he was leaving. By the time Noah and I went into the tent for nap less than an hour later, it was pouring. I was getting a little worried about Dan, but my cell reception was good so I figured he would call if he needed us. Noah and I both fell asleep and slept for about 2 hours. Maybe 10 minutes after we woke up, Dan called from the Safeway in Leadville asking, "Can you come get me?" He sounded horrible, like he was shivering uncontrollably, so Noah, Japhy, and I hopped in the car as quickly as we could and went to get him.

He was still shivering when we got there. He was already drinking coffee and that wasn't helping much, so we took him to the laundromat where he could get a hot shower. He also changed into the dry clothes Noah and I brought for him and that helped. By the time he finished the shower, he was doing much better. He said it was hailing on him as he was riding and getting colder and colder as he went up the pass, but he just kept thinking that it would stop raining any minute now....

It kept raining for most of the rest of the night, so instead of making turkey burgers in the rain at the campsite, we decided to eat dinner at this Mexican restaurant in Leadville called Casa Blanca. It was pretty good and their margaritas are crazy strong.

After another fairly decent night's sleep, Noah and I got up early on Father's Day and made coffee and breakfast for Dan: bacon, cheesy eggs, and whatever pancakes were leftover from the day before. Then we packed up camp, went fishing one more time (still didn't catch anything), and headed back to Denver. It was really nice to get away from the city and felt like a great mini-vacation. I came back very relaxed and very grateful that I live in Colorado.

Pictures From Grandma and Grandpa's Visit

Thumbs up for the new bike:On his way: Noah riding his new bike with Grandma, Grandpa, and Dad all there to help him: I love Noah in his new helmet:

Noah and Grandpa putting the bike together:

My blue-eyed boy:Playing pirates with Grandpa. I love that Grandpa has Noah's bike helmet on his head:Hanging out in the family room:Opening presents:

Birthday cake: