My favorite running trails

I have a very short list of  my favorite places to go running in all the world.  These are the places that as a runner, I dream about hitting the trail.  When I say that the list is short, well, it consists now of three places: Zion National Park where I went with my mom and dad in high school and stayed at River Mary's house, somewhere near Nakuru Kenya where I went with Karen prior to meeting up with Rashi (we went for a run and there were giraffes and chimpanzees in the middle of the road) and now Les Diablerets Switzerland.  Les Diablerets is a small ski town in the Swiss Alps.  I was fortunate to get the opportunity to attend a conference there for a week in June.  Every morning, I went for a run along the river that runs from the glaciers and through the sleepy little town.  There is a biking/running/cross country ski path that runs along the river.  And were the path ends, well, there is a road that passes by all the farms with the sheep and cattle to keep you company.  What a beautiful place.  I hope that I get back there again someday.

Elizabeth's first day of kindergarten

It is hard for me to believe that we have a kindergartner!  Some of my first memories are of kindergarten . . . Grandma Bea, my class senior citizen, playing at the park by the school, the see saws and swings (that are now probably prohibited at parks), riding my bike to school, waving goodbye to my momma.  Elizabeth loves her class and her teacher and is really excited about learning.  She is such a curious little girl.  Today she told me that when she grows up she wants to be a mommy scientist astronaut who also delivers newspapers.  What more could anyone ask for!!

Seattle meets Colorado

Michael, Courtney and the girls ventured out to CO last month.  We had a great time together.  Since we've been living in "temporary quarters" for the past few months, we decided to rent a condo in Breckinridge that would fit the entire crew.  We had a great time.  The first day we went to the Breck Fun Park.  As you can see from the pictures, there are pony rides, bouncy castles, bungee jumpers etc.  The kids had a really fun time.  The adults were worn out (and out of cash) in about 1.5 hours.  Don't get me wrong, it's fun, but more so for the kids than all parties.

Avery and Madeline on the gondola.

 Elizabeth and Regan on the Gondola
 

 Elizabeth and Regan practically spent the entire time in the jumpy castle.  

Panning for gold.  

The next day we decided to cruise downtown Breck in style, like only a crew with 5 kids under the age of 8 can.  We had a blast, going in all the shops, playing in the park and in the river and going out to lunch at the Breck Brewery for the $5 workman's special.

Michael and Court went to a wedding one afternoon/evening and Jan and I got the five kiddos.  We went back to our townhouse and as you can see, the kids (and us too) had a lot of fun.  At one point, I think that they managed to take out every toy that the kids have.  The thing that is so great about all of the kids is how well they all get along.  They play so nicely together and it is such a joy for me to have the chance to spend time with every one of them.  They all have such unique and beautiful personalities.  

One of the things that we love about Golden is all the great outdoors stuff that there is to do.  There are parks everywhere and always something going on downtown from parades, fireworks, art shows, farmers markets and a few really great restaurants   

When we moved to Golden, our first purchase was two black tubes for Clear Creek.  On any given weekend, there are hundreds if not thousands of people that tube down clear creek.  In previous summers, the flows have been too high for tubing, but this summer the flows are so low that everyone seems to flock to the creek.  I must say, it is nothing less than a blast.  We of course had to take Michael one afternoon during their visit!  He agreed that tubing is a Golden CO highlight.

Daddy - Daughter Fishing Trip

Yesterday I asked Elizabeth if she wanted to come fishing with me in the little boat, I was pretty excited when she said that she did!  Its been a while since we had the boat out as we have been extremely busy moving out of the old house, getting settled into the new house, business trips, etc.  So finally I thought it was time to get it out and check out one of the famous high country lakes; Spinney Mountain Reservoir.

We loaded up the boat and the truck and headed out, Elizabeth had a great nap on the way out.  Unfortunately the lake is about 2 hours away but it is legendary for its monstrous trout.  We dropped by the Chaparral Park General Store and picked up some interesting lures from Australia that seem to be all the rage: Tasmanian Devils.  I bought 3 of them and let Elizabeth pick out the one she wanted on her rod.  She picked the Pink and Yellow one.

It turned out that depite having 3 different rods in the water all of the fish were caught on Elizabeth's Rod.  Halfway through our adventure after eating our lunch, we hear the drag on Elizabeth's rod start to sing.  I was convinced the rod was snagged on the bottom but after tightening the drag applying a little pressure I was shocked to feel a BIG fish on the other end.  I handed Elizabeth's rod back to Elizabeth while I pulled in the other rods and got them cleared out of the way. 

Elizabeth wasn't making any headway on the fish and I was getting concerned that there wasn't much line left on the spool - I really didn't want to let this one get away!  With the boat clear of extra lines I turned it towards the fish and helped Elizabeth to real it in.  She did a great job especially once it got close to the boat - a lot can go wrong but Elizabeth listened well and kept it clear of the engine.  It still had a lot of fight left in it but eventually we got it in the net and into the boat.

Hard to believe at barely 5 years old Elizabeth has now landed a trophy trout that many people try  their whole lives to catch and are eluded by.  Great work!

I couldn't resist snapping a photo of these two characters on the way home.

On the way back we drove the entire way home through a thunderstorm.  We decided to stop and get a snack at Coney Island - a random restaurant that is shaped like a hot dog.  Elizabeth got a chocolate milkshake and once wound up on sugar decided up don this creative little number!

Gotta love this pose!  We had a great time - I'm really looking forward our next adventure!

Adventures on the Colorado River

Casey and I found this spot earlier this year during the Salmon Fly hatch and I thought it would make a great place for the whole family.  We have been back 3 times now!  An added bonus, the towns of Dillon and Silverthorne are are right on the way.  We usually pick up sandwiches at the Smiling Moose Deli (of course!) and we have been eating dinner on the way home at a brewery in Dillon.  Cutthroat Anglers in Silverthorne is also a great fly shop that is generous with the stream reports and fishing intel.

It didn't take Elizabeth long to pull a nice brown out of the river.  She keeps getting better at handling a fishing rod every time we go out!  It won't be long before she is out there with a fly rod!

One of the places we stop along the river is where a small offshoot of the river rejoins the main body of water.  The offshoot is slow and shallow water that the kids can explore.  They have a blast looking for various bugs and playing in the water. 

Of Course Elizabeth couldn't believe all of the amazing bugs you can find on this river.  This is by far the largest river we visit in Colorado and it has some interesting bugs that we don't typically find on the other trout streams we frequent.  This Salmon Fly makes for one delicious meal for a hungry trout.  I had a great time throwing big dry flies to these trout while Elizabeth was catching her bugs!  Unfortunately the big fish that took my Salmon Fly imitation shook out the hook before we could be properly introduced.

We also found a nice shady spot under a huge pine that proved to be an excellent spot to escape the sun and eat some lunch.

Further up stream is a great little spot to fish and has a decent spot for the kids to play where the water is nice a shallow and doesn't flow to fast so the kids can play.  There is even a somewhat sandy spot for the kids to play in.  Kate and I took turns fishing and playing with the kids.

This is a pretty fun little spot that I'm certain we will come back to in the future.  The kids just love it here too which makes it a lot of fun.