Denver

BACK AT HOME FOR A BIT

Monday, June 26:

18A "Lower Body Prep" in 20:24, "Plank Series" in 24:26, then 45 min of a nose breathed progression run covering 5.16 in that time, wearing lime green Kinvaras.

Tuesday, June 27:

Took my dad to the airport to send him off to Denver.  I'd meet him there later.

In the meantime, I rucked 5 miles in 1:07:48 with 47# total for a MOLLE2 pack for the first time, wearing Garmont T8s as well.  I sweat a lot, even though it was only 73* that night.  There was an air quality warning because of the Canadian wildfires, but it didn't seem too bad.

DENVER

Thursday, June 29:

Flew in to Denver myself...

And since it was a morning flight, we were able to go hiking in Boulder that day.

There were so many types of wildflowers there.

We didn't go that far, and turned around when it started raining and the rocks were getting too slippery for my mom's comfort.

We went back just in time, as the last few minutes of our journey was in the hail!

For dinner, we made bison burgers.

In the evening, I did Yoga for Uncertainty with Adriene.

At night, my sister and I planned a last-minute multi-day trip around a section of Colorado.

Friday, June 30:

In the morning, we drove out to Crested Butte.  We crossed the Continental Divide on the way.  It's crazy to see snow in June!

We came across cows that were walking from one place to another along our road, too.

Once in Crested Butte, we did part of Snodgrass trail, which was out and back.  There were mountain bikers that occasionally passed us.  I can't imagine riding on stuff as steep as that, with the drop-off in some parts, too.

This was our turnaround spot.  It took a lot of convincing to get my mom to even get this far, and this seemed like a nice landmark.

The eyes in the trees were gross.

There was a surprise body of water.  Mosquitos liked that spot, too.  

We hit 3.5 miles total.

We checked into the Grand Lodge, and while the family napped, I got in 18A "Chest Barbell" in 45:40, and "Hanging Abs" in 14:45.

At night, my dad, sister, and I rode the shuttle into town, to explore the village.  My mom was still recovering from the hike.  It was near closing time for a lot of places, but it was still festive there.  We got takeout for Secret Stash pizza.

Sunday, July 1:

The next morning, we took my mom into town, to show her all the cool stuff there.  She loved it and took pictures all over the place.

We left Crested Butte and drove to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  The park is mainly one road, with many overlooks and mini trails along the way.  You can get different views of the Canyons, or see the same thing from multiple angles, since the stops aren't very far apart.

We listened to a Ranger Talk on geology, although we stayed in this spot away from the view the whole time, and just talked about types of rocks and petroglyphs.  

We did do one somewhat longer hike.  The coolest part was that someone spotted a bighorn sheep from super far away.  You wouldn't be able to see it without a spotting scope.  At most, you saw a tiny black dot with your eyes.  

At night, we stayed at an old schoolhouse that they turned into an unmanned inn.  It still had desks and old furniture.

We tried Nepalese food for dinner.  I was quite hungry by then, so it tasted very good.

Sunday, July 2:

The next morning, we drove a couple more hours to go to Great Sand Dunes NP.  It's crazy that nature just ended up moving a bunch of sand there.  It's a random giant 30 square mile pile of sand in the middle of Colorado, nestled between mountains and next to a dynamic waterway that seeps out of the sand, giving kids a true beach-like experience.

There are no trails, either.  You just walk through the dunes however you want.  You are even allowed to venture out at night.  That would be cool to do one day.

A good number of people were here to sled or sandboard.  Walking through that sand was challenging, since it was deep.  Uphill was even more challenging.  It saps the energy right out of you.

Monday, July 3:

I went to the REI flagship store.  It's huge!!!

In the evening, we went back out to Boulder, but to a different trail called Flatirons Vista.  We saw prairie dogs!  They were very cute.  They make a strange noise, too, to alert each other about stuff.

There were surprise fireworks at night, and the townhouse was perfectly situated.

Tuesday, July 4:

My last full day in Denver.

As a workout, I did 18A "Push-up" in 55:45, followed by "Plank Series" in 19:00.  

My sister and I went to Denver Brewing Co for a flight.

For dinner, we made bison burgers again.

Wednesday, July 5:

The line for security was massive.