Snow Day!

Last week we had a few days of nonstop snow! It was so beautiful, and peaceful. Everything pretty much shut down for a day or so, so we took advantage of the time and canned lots of applesauce! Luckily, we had gotten 2 bushels of apples the day before.

On Friday, Emily and the kids came up to play in the snow. (We missed you, Josh!!!) It was so fun...we had about 12-18 inches of snow on the ground for sledding. And plenty of hills....snowmen were made, snowballs were thrown, and lots of sliding. Austin was so exhausted from the activity that he slept during the dinner part of the Halloween party that evening. Today (Saturday) it was about 60 degrees, so much of the snow is gone!

Austin in the Snow....

Last Thursday, we were lucky to get about 6 inches of snow...on Friday, it was even better - Austin came to visit! He loved the snow, and it was difficult to get him inside during the 6 hours he was here! He made a 'trail' with a shovel all around the property (and had us follow him to 'try it out'). He learned how to make big snowballs, and made a snow family. He had as much fun tearing down his creations as he did building them!

The Scar....

Since it was so nice this past week, we decided to take the kids hiking on the "Scar"...named, we suppose because it is somewhat barren looking from the Springs. All of the other mountains around it are tree covered, but apparently there was some mining or something going on there - the cool thing is that the Bighorn sheep hang out there. Austin and Anaya were very excited to see them. I have to say that a major part of my prayer that morning was that we would see some...and behold, our prayers were answered. About a mile up the trail, we spotted about 40 of them!

There were many 'snack stops' along the trail. Austin wanted to make sure we took a picture of his backpack!

Of course, there were other things besides sheep on the trail....ROCKS! It was fun to throw them over the edge into the canyon and wait to hear the 'clunk' when it hit bottom!

"I need to rest."

It was warm, and the hike was long, but we finally made it to the top....or so we thought. Still a mile or so to go....

One of the highlights of the trip was discovering the remains of a deer. Anaya was visibly moved by this, and throughout the rest of the hike talked about the 'broken' deer. She wanted to see it again on the way down.

"I need to rest."

They did a great job - 5 miles!

Balloon Classic....

In Colorado Springs, Labor Day means the Balloon Classic. For 33 years, this event has been held over the weekend - with about 100 hot air balloons ascending over Memorial Park. Phase I of the event is the Balloon Glo....Saturday evening we went.

Getting ready....as the sun sets, the balloons inflate and the countdown begins for the 'glow'....

Monday morning we all got up EARLY for the balloon launch...

It was a beautiful day, and seeing all of the balloons hover over the lake, touching down and floating up into the sky was cool! Austin and Anaya were so excited to see them...Austin called it the 'Balloon Up'...

Fun with Fire....

Monday night Emily, Josh, Austin and Anaya joined us for a cookout...note the cool firepit Dad made! The kids gathered some kindling while Dad and Emily cut some sticks to roast the hot dogs on. Josh did a great job getting the fire going...and Bubby kept it going by adding sticks every 30 seconds! :)

Getting ready....

Naya enjoying her feast...note her new haircut (compliments of Austin - with a good repair job by Em.)


Enough carcinogens for a lifetime!

Yum...can't even wait to get it on the bun!

Looks like he has got flames coming out of his head!

Time for S'mores....and Panache stories!

(A new monster made up by Josh)


It was a great time! Thanks for coming!

Pikes Peak!

Yesterday Corrine and I climbed to the summit of Pikes Peak. We decided to try hiking the back side of the Peak, instead of the more heavily traveled front side. Neither of us had done this one. The hike is 15 miles - up and back. Started at the Crags campground in Divide, hiking steadily uphill for a couple of miles through beautiful forests, with gorgeous views.



Here is Corrine checking the time as we head out.







Through the woods...timberline still a ways off. This is a peak not far from Pike's.






Just starting to reach timberline.







The weather was perfect...though a bit hazy, so the views were not as good as they could have been. At about 12,500 elevation seeing patches of snow.




The cairns (rock piles) became our best friends. They marked the path. Once we got to the really rocky part, there wasn't exactly a trail, but these marked the best route.




From here the Pikes Peak highway is visible. We hiked along the left side and up the rocks. Our destination is straight up from the curve in the highway. Still a couple of hours to go.





Cute marmot at about 13,500 elevation.

Still have a rough part of the hike to do...lots of rock climbing. The summit house is just visible on the Peak. Almost there - another hour.

We made it! My first 14er...amazing!

We had intended to hike all the way down, but looming black clouds on the Peak convinced us to hitch a ride back down to Devil's Playground (closer to timberline) to avoid being on the rocks and out in the open when the lightening started. Some nice people from Louisiana dropped us off on their way down. We hiked the rest of the way to the trailhead....total 13 miles. Would have been 15 if we had not taken the ride. Of course, I might not be writing this if we had not taken the ride! A good challenging hike - Corrine tells me the front trail (Barr) is a lot easier...we'll see!