Friday, June 17, 2011

Up and Down Vail Pass

Our week in Telluride has finally come to an end and we are now almost home.  We left Telluride on Thursday afternoon when Zack returned from his overnight camping expedition.  From there we journeyed over numerous mountain passes and deep canyons to reach our condo in Summit County.  It was a perfect time to leave Telluride as the place was starting to get very crazy with the start of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.  The population of that small town probably increased by 5 or 6 times on Thursday.  Attempting to use a cell phone was pretty much impossible because the circuits were utterly overwhelmed with traffic.  It was so bad on Thursday afternoon that I had to use the only available land line which was behind a bar at a hotel in Telluride for a conference call with my boss.  Not the best way to conduct a conference call with one's boss but I managed to provide my weekly update on all the work I had done with few interruptions.

Zack had a great time with his camp.  Each of the kids who took part in his group were given "nature names" and Zack's was Red Fox - as the fox his currently his favorite animal in the world.  On top of that last Saturday when we were here in Summit County we saw two red foxes within a period of 30 minutes.  Foxes are common in Colorado but to see 2 of them in 30 minutes is pretty unusual.

Zack did great with his overnight camp out and was the chief helper for getting the campfire started.  He felt very proud of how well he did starting the fire.  His confidence in his ability to do things continues to grow and I love when he comes home from a camp like this as he is so full of happiness, energy and enthusiasm.

Our trip back from Telluride to Silverthorne was relatively uneventful except for the fact that we got stopped for 30 minutes on highway 24 between Buena Vista and Leadville due to construction.  Otherwise it was a fantastic and beautiful trip.  When we arrived at the condo we found my college roommate, Allen already here.  He had spent the week in Breckinridge for a work conference and then is staying on to take part in Bicycle Tour Colorado next week.  So we are hanging out with him on Friday and then dropping him off in Central City which is the starting point for this year's Bicycle Tour Colorado.  (Allen and I rode the BTC together 3 years ago in 2008.  It was a great ride that year.)

Today - Friday - I took as a half vacation day as Zack, Allen and I were to ride our bikes down from Vail Pass into Frisco.  Actually, Allen was riding his bike from the condo through Frisco and up Vail Pass while Zack and I were taking a bike shuttle to the top of Vail pass to start.  (I could do the ride up Vail Pass but I really couldn't ask that of Zack as I don't think he would survive the 30 mile round trip.)

I had a few conference calls to do this morning but then Zack and I got to the bike shop in Frisco that offers the bike shuttle around 10:40AM as the shuttle was set to depart at 11:00AM.  Our bikes got loaded on the trailer and we climbed on board the van with 12 other riders.  The trip to the top of Vail pass only takes about 15 or 20 minutes so before we knew it we were being dropped off at the I-70 rest stop on the top of Vail Pass.

It took us a few minutes to get ourselves all organized as I needed to change into my bike clip shoes and I put my UGo Camera on my bike mount and then we were off on the long downhill ride into Frisco!  Given I have driven to Vail more times than I can count I have seen just about every inch of the Vail Pass Bike Path, but I have never ridden it.  I must say even through it runs right long I-70 it is amazingly beautiful!  For much of the ride, the bike path is in the median between the west bound and east bound lanes of I-70.  For much of that distance the two different directions of I-70 are separated by at least 1/4 mile.  Additionally, the bike path runs right along 10 Mile Creek which due to the large amount of snow still on the mountain tops was in full flood.  It was a great ride!

About 3 miles from the summit where we were dropped off by the shuttle we met up with Allen coming up the path.  We stopped and talked for a bit before Allen continued to the summit and Zack and I continued toward Frisco.  The bike path runs directly through Copper Mountain Resort and we lingered there for a little bit before continuing into 10 Mile Canyon.  For this part of the ride the bike path runs along the east bound lanes of I-70.  This was an amazing part of the ride as there are numerous lakes that have been formed from Beaver Dams right beside the path.  Additionally, at one point there was an avalanche run that had come the entire way down from the mountainside and at one point covered the bike path.  At that point there is still a mound of snow that is over 8 feet tall!



















Allen eventually caught up to us on the downward ascent and passed us by.  He then came back up the trail to join us for the final ride into Frisco.  Once in Frisco we walked our bike through Frisco's BBQ Day's festival before we split up again.  Allen stayed in Frisco for some lunch while Zack and I head back to the condo as I had a conference call for work.

Our day of adventure wasn't quite done however.  After I was finished with work once again the three of us hopped back into the car and went to Frisco to partake in the BBQ days festival.  It was a very yummy festival is all I can say.  I ate a turkey leg that was as big as my upper arm!  And that was a small turkey leg compare some of the others that they were selling.

Zack had BBQ pizza and a funnel cake.  But the many event for him was taking part in the jousting tournament that was taking place in the kids play area.  He loved that!!  I was able to get some great photos of him sparring with the other kids.






Tomorrow we will finally head home to Centennial.  First we will drop Allen off in Central City for the beginning of Bicycle Tour Colorado.  He will have a busy week ahead as he will travel close to 500 miles on his bike before he returns to Central City next Saturday.  I wish I were doing the ride with him again this year - but that is not to be this year.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

1 comment:

Fragrance said...

Zack is adorable! omg.. hehe