Since we finally had a full week of good weather, I decided to get back in shape for the summer. First off, I went to REI and bought myself a new pair of hiking boots. I didn't realize how worn out my old ones were until I compared the soles to my new boots. To break them in, I went over to the Rueter-Hess Incline. It's a fairly easy trail, only 1.2 miles long. But it has a 132-step staircase built into the first section. A lot of athletes use it for training (they run up and down it); I just wanted to climb up for the views.
When you get to the top, you have a gorgeous view of Pike's Peak to the south. I'd brought my sketchbook with me, but the wind was too strong to paint. So I took the side trail down back to the car (not nearly as steep and no steps). The thing that made me feel good about this trail was that every single person was huffing and puffing when they got to the top - even the 30-year olds. Of course, they ran ran up the trail while I just walked.
The next day, I checked another bike trail off my bucket list by biking the Sand Creek Trail. It's a crushed-gravel trail in north Aurora that runs east-west just a little south of I-70. Government officials are pumping a lot of development money into this part of the city, so it was in really good shape with only one street-crossing.
We rode the trail for about 10 miles and then stopped at the Panda Coffee Shop in the old Stapleton Airport Tower. The Stapleton Airport used to be Denver's primary airport, but they built a new airport in 1995. They dug up the runways and turned the green space into Central Park. And they redeveloped the old airport tower into an entertainment venue with bars, restaurants, mini-golf, and a bowling alley. I thought the panda bear design on the top of my mocha was really cute.
On Thursday, Bruce, Charlie, and I went on a hike to Panorama Point in Kittredge, CO. It's a moderately-challenging hike with 646 ft of elevation gain to get to the top. That's why it always amazes me that it is such a popular trail for the mountain bike riders. I have a hard enough time riding my bike back up the sidewalk to our house. But Charlie absolutely loved getting out and showing off his new haircut.
On the way home, we stopped at the Switchback Smokehouse for lunch. They have the most interesting pulled-pork sandwiches with fried pickles on top. Charlie didn't eat the pickles, but he really liked their sweet potato fries.
