Cooler Temps

We finally got a tiny break in the heat, so 16 people showed up for our weekly bike ride. We headed up to the Fika Coffee Shop - nothing new, but always a nice outdoor patio stop with a beautiful view of the mountains (though they were a little obscured today from some recent forest fires).

Like usual, Bruce stayed home to work on a house project. This week, he's been covering the base of the front porch with stone to match the house. It's always bugged me that the builder just threw on some gray paint over the bare concrete. It looked so tacky and unfinished. It's not as noticeable on some of the other houses in the neighborhood, because the builder planted some bushes around the foundation. I tried growing some plants there when we first moved in, but the sprinkler system doesn't run in that space. Plus, it's just too shady to get anything to grow. It took us almost 3 months to get the stone, because the original place the builder got it from quit carrying this style. BTW, all those little blue spots on the stones are numbered tags. Bruce laid out the design in the basement before gluing it down and he wanted to make sure he didn't mess it up. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to lay out a pattern, but every single stone was a different size and shape.

I think the finished project came out looking really nice, though most people will think the stone has always been there.

I finally met up with my Ladies Out to Lunch group this week. We went to Mad Greens - kind of a fast-food salad place. It was nice catching up with everyone, though it will probably be several more months until we get back together with everyone going off on vacations. I need to remember not to hold the phone down low when taking a selfie; it makes women look really old!

The Parker Senior Center sponsored an Aerobathon this week. The purpose was to demo all the different fitness classes that they offer. Each session was about 20 minutes each. I stayed for the whole thing, so I was pretty beat (some of those seniors can really move!). They had a raffle at the end. I had to laugh, because the prizes with food or treats were overwhelmed with raffle tickets, while the gift certificate to the Anytime Fitness Center had only 3 tickets in its jar. Guess we seniors have our priorities.

Breckenridge

This week the bike club went on their annual trip up to Breckenridge. I always forget how cold it is in the mountains, especially in the mornings. But luckily when the sun comes out it starts warming up. We had a really good day - no wind, which is always a BIG plus given that Breckenridge is 800 ft higher and 11 miles further than Frisco where we park.

We always stop at the Cool River Coffee Shop when we get to the top. They have a very nice patio right next to the river - much quieter and calmer than the shops over on Main Street. I'm always worried I'm not going to make it to the top. Most of the other bikers I see on the trail take the shuttle to the top and just bike back down.

I went up a day early to do a little exploring on my own. The bike club always takes the bike trail to the left, but this time I wanted to see where it would take me if I turned to the right.

I found out you end up in Copper Mountain - not really a town, but more of a ski resort. I was a little freaked out when I first got there and saw the snow, but then I realized that it was a manmade pile (there's a snowmaking machine sitting in the middle of it). I'm not sure what it's purpose was.

You don't tend to think of a ski resort as a place to take a summer vacation, but Copper Mountain has a ton of family-based activities. There was a little lake in the middle of the hotels and shops where they had trucked in sand to make a beach.

Kids were playing in bumper boats while their parents got some sun.

The ski lift was running to take mountain bikers to the top. I was fascinated watching them load the bikes onto special carriers. The bikers rode behind in a gondola or chair lift. This would make mountain biking a lot more fun if you didn't have to ride to the top to get started (which is usually what I see mountain bikers do when they're not biking in areas with chair lifts).

There was an adventure park for younger kids to practice their mountain biking skills with dips and hills. If you went fast enough, you could make the bike jump into the air. I thought about trying it myself, but it seemed like it was only being used by kids.

On the way back down the mountain, I stopped at a bench along Ten Mile Creek to do a little sketch. Google Maps describes this bike trail as "fairly flat," but it's definitely much easier biking back down to Frisco than up to Copper Mountain.

When I got back down, I stopped off at the Dillon Dam Brewery for fish n'chips - probably not the healthiest dinner, but it sure was tasty after a long day of riding.

Camping - Take Two

Ever since we moved here, I wanted to go to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It's not very far - just a little northwest of Golden, Colorado. I'd heard it was very beautiful being up in the mountains, but with it being so close to Denver, it is usually packed during the summer. Surprisingly, I was able to find an available camping spot on a Thursday, so we set off on another hiking and camping expedition. 

The park certainly lived up to its reputation. We were surrounded by pine trees and some incredible Precambrian rock formations (about 600 million years old). There was a trail that ran right past our campsite. It was a little steep in places, but only 3 miles long. I haven't done much hiking this summer, so I was a little sore afterwards (the muscles for biking are definitely different than those you use for hiking, especially up and down hills).

The bad thing about Colorado is that it rains almost every afternoon. Luckily, I brought our screened-in dining tent this time, so we were able to sit outside in chairs while it was raining. It never rains that long, so after about 20 minutes the sun came back out and we started cooking dinner. This time I made chicken fajita foil packets... they turned out really tasty.

At night we used our camp cots for the first time. It was a significant improvement over sleeping on the ground. Unfortunately, every time Bruce got up to go to the bathroom, Charlie jumped into his cot. I don't think Charlie liked sleeping on the floor of the tent.

Charlie still goes to doggie day care every Wednesday. He really enjoys playing with his "friends," but he also gets very excited when they call his name to go home. Lucky for us, he comes home exhausted.

I am continuing to check off bike rides on my bucket list. I started a new watercolor journal to record all my summer activities. This past week, I ate breakfast at the B&B Cafe before riding the Plum Creek Trail in Castle Rock. Too bad I wasn't there later in the day, because I could have tried their homemade pie, but it's been way too hot around here to ride in the afternoon. That blue thing in the middle of the picture is the vacuum at the car wash next to the Black Rock Coffee Shop. I've always wanted to sketch it - it's such a complicated-looking piece of equipment. The cage on the right is one of the "holes" at the frisbee golf course. I don't play frisbee golf, but the course is at the same spot that I park my car when I ride the Cherry Creek Trail.

We did a little more yard work this week - spread 4-1/2 tons of gravel. Like I said, we don't often get much accumulation of rain, but every so often we get a gulley washer, which means all of our mulch ends up in the street. We finally got fed up with sweeping it back into the yard and decided to replace it with decorative rock. 

We've still got some islands of mulch in the yard, but all the sloped sections are now covered in rock. It took us (mostly Bruce) almost the entire day to spread it. And then, of course, we got our 20 minutes of rain, which was good, because it washed off all the dust so you can see the pink and gray tones of the granite.

Normally this time of year, I go to Chicago for their urban sketching workshop. But this year I skipped the summer workshop and went to the spring one back in May. Courtney still went. She was actually in charge of the hospitality committee, but managed to take a couple workshops and do a couple sketchwalks. 

Amber sent me a picture of Brian. The pillow is his "protection" from his cats. They like to jump on his lap and dig around trying to find a comfortable spot. Lucky for us that Charlie is not a lap dog.

Happy 4th

I've noticed that a lot of my posts happen to fall on holidays. It's not that I'm necessarily doing anything special on that day, but it is an easy way to remind myself to get on and add something to my blog (something I haven't been too regular at this year). I worked the neighborhood bike parade on the 4th. This event isn't sponsored by the Bike Club; it's actually hosted by the Social Committee. Bruce and Charlie walked me over to the family side where I was meeting up with the other volunteers. Charlie went nuts when we walked past the pool. I think he wanted to jump in.

Whenever they have one of these events, they go all out with activities for the kids. Along with decorations for their bikes, we set up a photo station, a coloring table (both markers and sidewalk chalk), popcorn and snow cone stands, and a duck pond. That's the blue pool behind us that we had to cart down to the park in a golf cart. The kids have to find the floating rubber ducks with stars on the bottom to win a prize.

We also had a tattoo station instead of face painting. The kids loved it, because they got to pick out their own designs and place the tattoos wherever they wanted. Thank goodness I didn't put my tattoo on my face, because I have yet to figure out how to wash it off. I like robots, but not as a permanent design on my hand.

Charlie turned 2 last week. To celebrate, we took him on a camping trip to Staunton State Park. As much as Coloradoan's love dogs, Staunton is one of the few state parks that has camping and allows dogs on their hiking trails. Strange. The camping was fairly successful until it was time to go to bed. I think our days of sleeping on the ground are over. All 3 of us hardly got any sleep at all. When we got home, I got on Amazon and bought 2 camping cots - not as good as a real bed, but a whole lot more comfortable than the ground.

We also had Bike-to-Work Day last week. We started out really early this year to make sure we could collect all the giveaways before they were gone. Luckily, they were also giving out bags to carry everything. We also got breakfast at 2 different stations - pancakes from one and breakfast burritos from another. Our new club jerseys really showed off nicely.

I'm still plugging away at my biking bucket list. This week I checked off the Clear Creek Trail in Golden, CO - home of the Colorado School of Mines and Coor Brewery. I originally had plans to bike all the way downtown and take the light rail back to Golden (Golden is uphill from downtown). But I didn't realize that it was 5 miles riding up hills across Golden to get to the start of the downhill portion of the trail. I figured 5 miles was a long enough portion of the trail, so I turned around and headed back to the car. I stopped off at the History Park to get a snack and do a little sketch. Riding up and down hills in Colorado is not the same as riding up and down hills in Missouri. I can't believe I ever thought the hills in Forest Park were hard!

New Bike Trails

I checked 2 more bike trails off my bucket list this week. We went up to Loveland, CO to ride the loop trail that circles the city (22 miles). I think some of our bike club members were intimidated by the ride and so decided not to attend, but to me the hardest part of the excursion was driving up I-25 in rush hour traffic.

The trail was very flat (all concrete), and the weather was spectacular - 70° and sunny with a light breeze. Loveland isn't a very big town, so the scenery was gorgeous. The mountains look a little more rugged here than they do further south from my neighborhood.

I stayed on in Loveland and did a little sketching after our ride. I found a really nice coffee shop next to a quirky art museum. I think that sculpture on the right is supposed to represent a cougar and a couple cacti. The whole thing was made out of rusty metal. 

The art spots continued as I drove south to Berthoud and then Longmont. I thought this sculpture of a lizard in a dress was a little creepy, but the whole park had similarly themed statues. I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable sitting on that bench with the lizard looking at me.

I had dinner at the 99 Bar Saloon. I thought the barbeque burnt ends on a baked potato sounded really good. But let me tell you, that chef needs to take a trip to Kansas City, because those were not burnt ends. They were short ribs, only they were mostly fat. It was an extremely disappointing dinner. At least the baked potato was good, but $17 is a little pricey for a potato.

I spent the night in Longmont and then rode the St Vrain's Greenway trail the next day. I started at the trailhead near the Sandstone Ranch Visitor Center - one of the first homesteads in Longmont. But this rocky trail was way beyond my comfort zone (and my tires' ability to stay inflated). So, I took the park service road and luckily found the concrete portion of the trail. Gravel biking is very popular in Colorado, but not for me.

I also went back to the Sand Creek Trail this week. The last time I rode it, I was with the bike club and wasn't able to do any sketching. The trail runs through Central Park which was formed from the runways of the old Denver Stapleton Airport. They've turned the control tower into an entertainment venue. The picture on the right is a 2-lane bowling alley sandwiched between the restaurant and the mini-golf course. Since the mini golf course was not busy and in the shade, I sat out there to sketch.

As I was riding back through Central Park, I saw this elaborate 4-story playground structure on the left. I had to laugh at how complex it was (kind of like a slide on steroids), especially compared to the type of playground equipment we grew up with. 

Happy Father's Day

Well, our kids don't live at home anymore, but we've got a dog who thinks he's a big kid. And boy is he spoiled. We took him to the neighborhood outdoor concert Friday night. He was pretty good about not jumping on other people, but he seemed to want to sit on Bruce's lap. I guess he wasn't a fan of the country western band that was playing.

This week we took a mini vacation to Gunnison, CO. A long time ago, one of Bruce's grandfathers lived there, so he wanted to go back and see the town. The trouble was, he was only 6 the last time he was there, so he really didn't remember much. We rented a cabin at the Blue Mesa Outpost right on the Gunnison River. It was a beautiful spot and a very nice cabin.

One day we drove over to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It looks a bit like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon only with black rocks. That's Bruce out on the viewing platform looking down the canyon. 

Like most national parks, you can only take dogs on the short trails around the Visitor Center. There was a trail that went along the rim to the campground that allowed dogs. I hiked about halfway with Bruce and Charlie, but then I stopped to do a little sketch. The scenery was too gorgeous to pass up.

Mostly we cooked our meals on the grill at the cabin, but on the way back from the national park we stopped for lunch at an old Big Boy cafe. The hamburgers were just as big and juicy as the one on the Big Boy statue.

Luckily, I managed to get in a bike ride on Monday before we left, so I was able to check off another ride on my bucket list. I wanted to ride the Cherry Creek trail downtown to Meininger's art store. All the locals have been telling me that it's the best place to go in Denver. They certainly had a lot of supplies, but unfortunately not the brand of paint I was looking for. Right next door was a quirky costume shop with kind of a loose Harry Potter theme. I would love to go back there some time and see if the manager would let me do some sketching from the inside.

Happy June

Now that the weather is getting warmer, I've been signing up for some outdoor activities with the Senior Center. This week, we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. It's an interesting concept in that the zoo is literally built into the side of a mountain. So to see the animals, you have to walk up switchback trails to get to them. Our leader told us we could save ourselves a lot of work by taking the gondola to the top and walking back down. The "gondola" turned out to be an open chairlift like they use on the ski slopes. I tend to hate those things, but at least no one was swinging their skis next to me. Unfortunately, when we got to the top, all the trails were closed for construction. So, we had to get back on the chairlift and ride it back down (an even more frightening feeling to me that you're going to fall out). 

Being from St Louis with one of the best zoos in the country, this zoo was a bit of a disappointment. It reminded me more of a giant farmyard petting zoo than an actual wild animal zoo. This chicken kept looking for handouts when I stopped to do some sketching at one of the outdoor cafes. There was supposed to be a giraffe, an elephant, and a rhino in the zoo, but with all the construction trail closures, I never found them.

Instead, I laughed my head off at this goofy goat. He was standing on top of a tower begging people to put food pellets into his cup at the bottom of the tower. When someone did, they'd ring the bell, and the goat would turn the wheel on the pulley to bring it up to his platform. Quite a clever animal. 

On Saturday, I volunteered at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at our new Community Center. This center is like a mini-clubhouse adjacent to the family-side pool. It originally started as a utility garage to house the lawn mowers and snow blowers, but they expanded the design to include a few meeting rooms, a small kitchen, and a large patio. I'm anxious to see what kind of events they come up with for using it. BTW, I'm setting up the dinosaur dig for the little kids. We hid plastic dinosaurs and crystals in trays of sand - kind of an Indiana Jones thing.

I struck off another trail on my biking bucket list. The Toll Gate Creek trail runs north and south through Aurora up to the Sand Creek Trail. It was a very nice trail, but had a few too many street crossings for my comfort level. I actually added a trail to the bottom of my list - the Flint Hills trail in Ottawa, KS. I rode a tiny piece of this trail a couple years ago, but I signed up for the Moonrise Bike Ride over Labor Day weekend. We're going to ride 20 miles from Ottawa to Pomona State Park. The main ride is in the afternoon, but there is an optional bike ride around the lake after the sun goes down (hence, the "moonrise" title). It will be interesting to see if I can stay awake for that.