Why we haven't had many adventures lately...

For those of you who have been reading this blog on a regular basis since I launched it six months ago, you are probably wondering why I haven’t had any outdoor adventures to relate recently. Well – the answer is simple – we haven’t been outside a whole lot in recent weeks. With the exception of a couple of days here and there the weather through most of April was just plain and simply – CRAP. Up until April started there had been almost no snow in Denver. Then during the month of April we got an entire winter’s worth of snow all at once. So we have not been out hiking during the entire month of April! How sad is that! May is unfortunately starting the same way. This first weekend of May is supposed to bring showers and cloudy skies all weekend. Ugh – is all I can say. I want bright sunny skies that are conducive to hiking for miles and miles. But it won’t happen this weekend. I have a bunch of hikes planned for Zack and me this spring. The tough thing about the spring is that much of the higher elevation is still unreachable due to the large quantities of snow at altitude, so we need to stay at lower altitude until later in the summer. Some of the hikes we have planned for this spring include: - Centennial Cone: Last time we were there I was feeling pretty sick and we didn’t do that much hiking. So we are going to go back and do the trail that traverses the open space from west to east. - Eldorado Canyon – We will need to get a new state park pass for this one, but the scenery in Eldorado Canyon is dramatic and I want to introduce Zack to it. - Barr Lake – I want to do this hike in the really early morning or right before dusk. The lake offers lots of opportunity for photography and I think Zack would have fun seeing all the birds that live there. - Pawnee Buttes – I want to return to the Buttes. We hiked there last fall but we didn’t have enough time to do the complete circuit around both of the buttes. I want us to get back there and experience their dramatic scenery when the grasses of spring and wild flowers are in bloom. - Chief Mountain – This is a mountain not too far from Idaho Springs. It will probably clear of snow by mid-May. So this should be one of the first peaks that we bag for the summer season. Our day has been OK. For me the day was all about conference calls and catching up on administrative activity for work. After I was done working I went to the gym and beat the snot out of myself so that I could work out some frustrations. This evening I went out and got sushi with a friend down in the city. I am still trying to figure out some very frustrating issues and I don’t know what I am going to do. Oh well – I guess I will just have to keep working at them. Zack had a really good day and I am very proud of him. He was one of the first kids out of the door this afternoon and he was his normal high energy self, but he was really happy. He was singing a song about it being a name and check mark tsunami day. (Ok – that sounds bizarre, but here’s what it means. When you get in trouble in his classroom you get your name written on the board. If you get in trouble a second time you get a check mark next to your name. If you get in trouble a third time you get a second check mark next to your name. If you get in trouble a fourth time a note gets sent home to your parents.) He was so excited because just about everyone in his class got at least their name on the board and most kids got their name AND a check mark. Zack didn’t get anything. I was very proud of him! We stopped and said hello to all of his teachers over the last couple of years. That is always fun for him to go back and see them. This evening while I headed downtown, Zack spent time over at Tim and Celinde’s. It was a totally and completely spur of the moment thing. As I was heading out to the gym Tim and Cole were driving by and we saw each other so we stopped to talk. Cole asked Tim if Zack could come over to play. Tim agreed and I agreed. So – Zack sent much of the evening with them. I hope everyone’s weekend is off to a good start! Thanks and peace to all! – J.