We're leaving Colorado

tomorrow.  Be back home on Thursday.  Mark decided I was right about getting home.  What a guy!

A New Problem

Now I want to go home and Mark wants to go on a vacation in Colorado.  We are spending the afternoon with the Shirk Rellies in Denver, Uncle Jim, Aunt Shirley, Mike and Diane.  They have lots of good suggestions on where to go but I'm really ready to go home now.  So, we will leave it up to you readers to decide.  Should Kathy and Mark go on an extended vacation, 4 or 5 days, in Colorado, when they leave the Dillon Condo?  Or should Kathy and Mark go straight home and be home by Thursday?  You can vote on this new ballot that I set up.  Oh, I should mention it is Julia's birthday and we should get home for the party by Sunday or Monday.

Did Mark work today?

Yes, he did.  I went and played tennis.  I'm waiting to see if he can have fun this afternoon.

A Visit from Karen

Day 1 Sunday
Karen came in from Denver on Saturday night.  Sunday Karen wanted to go for a hike in the High Country.  So we drove to a hike on Boreas Pass just past Breck.  The hike is on Black Powder Pass.  We had to drive 9 miles up a rough road to get there.  It's a beautiful drive with lots of vistas.  The hike started at an old abandoned railroad at about 12000 feet.  There were lots of wildflowers.  We were up in the alpine country.  It was beautiful.

Sisters

Karen on the edge

Monday in Georgetown

On Monday Mark had to work so Karen and I decided to explore Georgetown, just 20 miles east of Dillon.  We wanted to take a ride on the narrow gauge train.  We enjoyed the train ride and then went into Georgetown to have lunch and explore the art shops.  Of course, I fell in love with a couple of pottery bowls and added them to my collection.  I now have my souvenirs of the trip.

We returned to the condo about 5, had our gin and tonics on the deck, and decided to go for a walk before dinner.  We ran into a really nice couple on the walking path and invited them to the Tiki Bar down on the Marina.  They were from Dallas and had been coming to Dillon for years.  They had lots of stories and information to share.  All of a sudden we looked at the sky and saw a rainbow, and then a double rainbow.  It was incredible.  Luckily, my camera was able to capture these views.

See the rainbow?

I'm sure it is a sign.  Is it about our last week in Colorado?  Will Mark take time off?  Who knows?  I see your vote so far favors IBM over vacation.  I hope you're wrong.  I hope I'm wrong.

Tuesday in Breck
On Tuesday morning, Mark left for a meeting in Dallas.  Karen and I took a nice walk on Ten Mile Creek.  We then went into Breck for a historic walking tour and lunch.  We decided to skip the gondola ride up the mountain and returned home exhausted.  That evening, we went to a choral concert in Silverthorne.  Appropriately, they sang "Climb Every Mountain"  and "The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music".  It was a fitting end to the day in the mountains.  Karen left the next morning.  It was lots of fun having her visit us.

Ten Mile Creek

What Will Mark Do Next? (WWMDN)

Dudes on the Divide

I met this darling couple today at the trail head for our hike.  They are riding from Banff to Mexico along the Continental Divide on their bikes.  Here's their blog.

http://dudesonthedivide.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/hello-world/

Up to the Minute News

A Post from Karen:

It's Sunday morning and I'm in the Rocky Mountains. That's a good feeling. I'm Kathy's sister, Karen. I came to Denver for a 2 day conference and now my play time begins. My shuttle dropped me off  at the Dillon Amphitheater and there were Mark and Kathy dancing to a wanna be Frank Sinatra band. I ran down to the dance floor bags and all and had a joyful reunion with my sis and Mark. We finished the song with a threesome circle dance. It was so nice to see familiar faces after 2 days of talking to people I didn't know.
Pug Ryan's was the dinner destination, a bar named after a notorious criminal of 1885 in the Dillon area. My pale ales were good, the walk home was funny cuz we were walking in the dark. Mark forgot his flashlight. But it was a beautiful cool evening-no humidity and the clear air of Colorado.

An Update from Kathy:

Mark thinks that this blog is too much sun and roses and that there should be some angst.  So here goes.  Yesterday morning, I woke up and announced it's time to go home.  I miss my grandkids and all Mark does is work.  Even when he takes a day off, he spends the day talking on the cell to those mean and crazy IBMers.  And then he gets all stressed and he's not so much fun.  So I'm ready to go home.  At least that's what I told him.  I talked to my grandkids on Friday and they are home from Florida now and I want to see them and give them hugs and kisses and take them shopping for school.  I said we should just get in the car and drive home after he gets back from Dallas and Karen goes back to Mpls.  Then he can continue working at home and I can see my grandkids.  After all, we've been here 3 weeks already and we accomplished what we came here to do.  He's thinking about it.  I'll keep you posted.

Vacation within a Vacation

We had decided we should travel around Colorado while we are here so when our friends and former neighbors from St. Paul, Rodgers and Ellen, invited us to visit them at their house in Conifer at the last minute, we accepted.  Mark had been working quite a lot and he decided to break free.  He still ended up taking quite a few calls during our trip but luckily we were out of cell range most of the time.

We took the scenic drive to Conifer through high mountains and South Park.  It was beautiful.  We found Ellen and Rodgers' house at the top of a mountain with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.  They can even see Pikes Peak from their deck.  Here are a few pictures from their deck.  They are perched on top of a granite cliff.

View leaning over the deck

Rodgers is an artist so he gave us a tour of his studio and talked about the process he uses creating his lovely works.  We have two of his smaller pieces but Mark decided to buy a new picture for his office.  I should have taken a photo but I didn't.  You'll have to see it the next time you come to our house.

They made a lovely dinner and we sat around and talked and ate and drank wine until late.  They are wonderful hosts.  Thank you, Ellen and Rodgers, for the lovely visit.

After a great breakfast of Ellen's special pancakes, we left for more touring.  We followed a windy road to a national monument called the Florissant Fossil Beds.  We went to the ranger's talk and walked through the fossilized forest.  The trees were buried by a volcano 36 million years ago!  It was very interesting.

The Big Stump

By this time, it was mid afternoon so we decided to drive to Salida.  Salida is a town that is in Colorado's "Banana Belt".  It had been recommended to us by a couple of friends so we decided to make that our destination for the night.  It's a very cute town full of well kept Victorian buildings but it's kind of isolated from Denver and the rest of the world.  It's right on the Arkansas River just south of Leadville and Buena Vista.  It was very warm there that day, probably high 80's and sunny.  It was very pleasant weather wise.  But I don't think it will be our retirement destination.  It's just too isolated for us.

Mark on the restaurant deck

Salida Main Street

Arkansas River

Lots of people were in the water,  floating, kayaking and swimming

We went on to Buena Vista and Leadville the next morning and drove along the Collegiate Peaks on one of Colorado's scenic byways.  Beautiful views of lots of 14ers, the mountains over 14000 feet.  It was a nice vacation during our month in Colorado.  My sister, Karen, arrives on Saturday night.  There will be more fun with her this weekend.

Joel and Amy come to Colorado

We had company this past weekend.  Joel and Amy arrived on Friday morning along with Mark, back from Chicago.  We went over to Arapahoe Cafe in Dillon, our new favorite restaurant here in Dillon.  I think Mark and/or I have been there about every third day since we arrived.  Try it if you are in the area.

Arapahoe Cafe, Dillon

After some discussion about the length of a hike, we left for a hike to Boulder Lake.  This hike was supposed to be 3-4 hours.  I was voting for a shorter hike since our previous experience had been to double the estimate for us but I was out-voted so off we went.  It was a lovely day and a great hike.  A great introduction to the mountains for Joel and Amy.  Amy is kind of an impulsive woman it turns out.  After we reached our lunch destination, a beautiful lake, she decided to jump in the lake.  And Joel, not to be outdone by a mere woman, jumped in too.  Mark and I just stared.  We did not jump in.

They were freezing after they got wet.

The hike turned out to be 5 hours but that wasn't bad and we had a great time.  We were tired and it was late when we returned to the condo, but I had been hyping a music act for that night in Dillon.  It was the famous Guitar Shorty.  I had never heard of him but there was a big article in the Summit Daily that day and I really thought we shouldn't miss this once in a lifetime act.  The other three weren't so sure but this time I outvoted them.  I'm not sure how.  He was terrible but it was pretty funny because he was very odd looking.  I had to work very hard to get a good photo of him in the dark.

Saturday was another hike.  This time in the Vail area.  We drove up a dirt road and hiked for about an hour and a half to a high ridge that had 360 degree view of all the surrounding mountains.  It was a beautiful, calm day and we stayed up on the top for about an hour having our lunch.  There were no lakes for Amy and Joel to jump into, so no excitement there.  It was the best hike any of us had ever had.  It's called Shrine Ridge and it's right at the Vail Pass rest area if you are ever near there.

We had dinner Saturday night in Breck at the Hearthstone.  We sat outside on the multilevel porch of a Victorian house.  We felt like we were back in St. Paul on Fairmount Avenue.  It was a beautiful warm night.

Sunday brought a quick bike ride up to Keystone.  It was a cool and cloudy day.  Joel told us stories of his adventures in Keystone while in college.  He and his brother Chris rented a place near where we are staying now and spent the winter skiing and having college boy adventures.  Most of these stories, I had never heard before.  It started raining on our ride back and Joel and Amy rushed off to the airport.

It was a very busy weekend.  Thanks to Joel and Amy for the great visit.  I think we all had a wonderful time.

A Day in Breck

On Wednesday, Mark was out of town so I decided to explore Breck.  In the morning, I played tennis.

Then, after tennis, I went into town and joined an historical tour with a living history guide, named Katie.  Katie was the wife of the mayor of Breck back in 1910.  She showed us some buildings on main street and talked about the mining town of Breck.  After a stroll through town, she invited us to "her" house.  It was a historical house completely furnished with great antique furnishings of the period.  Afterwards, she invited us for tea.  The rest of the group was 6 people from Kansas City so they stayed for tea and so did I.  We sat and talked to Katie who now turned back into her present day character and answered questions about Breck history.  It was an interesting afternoon.

The Blue River

Katie, the mayor's wife

Court House

Morning View

Here is the view we see each morning when we wake up.  The skies are incredibly blue and the sun shines most of the day so far.  We had a couple of days of late afternoon showers but most of the days have been spectacular.

The First Weekend

Crossing the river

An old miner's cabin

An old miner

Up on top

Well, thanks to IBM, we did not go camping this weekend.  IBM is good for something, after all.  Besides keeping Mark employed of course.  He had to work both Friday and Monday so we couldn't fit the camping thing in.  I was so sad.  But we did find things to do.  A concert at the Dillon ampitheatre on Friday.  It was a beautiful night.  The concert was so-so.  Saturday was hiking day.  We went on a hike to Mohawk Lake outside of Breck.  Our hiking book said it would take about 2 hours.  We figured maybe 3 for us but it ended up being 3 hours up to the lake and 2 hours down.  I had to rest and catch my breath quite a bit but we made it to our destination.  There were lots of mining ruins and a couple of old miners cabins.  The views were outstanding.  Lots of small children, young adults, and lots of dogs.  Everyone had a dog. They all scampered up the hill.  We did not.  But it was a good workout and good training for the rest of the month.  Sunday, another beautiful day, we went for a scenic car ride in the mountains.  We saw a beautiful canyon with lots of rafters going down the Colorado River.  It was quite spectacular.  On the way back we stopped for a short hike up a dirt road to the high country outside of Vail.  Another training hike.  Anyway, Joel and his friend, Amy, are coming this weekend and my sister Karen, the weekend after that so no camping until later in the month.  Although Mark is threatening to take some time off during the week to camp.  I'll let you know how that works out.

10SNE1 (Tennis anyone?)

Today, Colorado got one point in the Beaches vs Mountains competition.  I went to play tennis in Breck (that's what the natives call Breckinridge).  I thought Colorado could never measure up to Florida in the tennis category.  I was wrong. They had clay courts.  It was drop in mixed doubles.  Everyone played quite well (that means at my level). A 4.0 player wouldn't have liked it but I really liked it.  Did I mention the clay courts, just like St. Paul Tennis.  And they were all very friendly and welcoming.  It seemed like I played better here.  Maybe because the balls bounce higher so you have more time to hit it well.  I was out of breath because of the altitude especially when I served but so were the others.  I think because they are not permanent Colorado residents.  And lots of them (correction:  some of them)  had places both in the mountains and in Florida and Arizona.  Places like Bradenton, Winter Park, and Miami.  Do you think that might be a possibility, to have both?  No, probably not, but one can dream.

Viva la difference

Today, during Mark's lunch break,  he wanted to go shopping for maps to plan our camping trip this weekend.  (More about this later).  So we found Wilderness Sports. They had topo maps and guide books and other gear.  So Mark talked to the nice helpful woman behind the counter while I shopped.  I found a very nice shirt.  I came back and he had a book all picked out that dealt with the Vail area.  Now we are staying in Dillon/Silverthorne about 20 miles or so from Vail.  He wants to camp this weekend in the mountains near Vail,  I guess.  In a tent.  And we have a really nice condo where we are staying with beds and a kitchen and a balcony with a view of the mountains.   Then I said, let's buy a book with some hikes near where we are staying.  So they had one, just like the book Mark bought but with hikes within 1-3 miles from our condo.  Pages of hikes.  In fact, there are 50 hikes in this book.  It would take a couple of years to complete this list of hikes if that was your plan.    Some are difficult, some are easy, some are categorized "Most difficult".  So I started going through my book at lunch and he was looking at his book.  So I picked out two or three hikes that are within two or three blocks from where we are staying and are categorized easy.  He looked at me with disgust.  This is not what he had in mind at all.  To be continued......

Nous sommes arrivés! (We have arrived)

We are in Colorado for the month of August.  The trip was surprisingly easy.  We left at 7 a.m. on Saturday and got to North Platte by 6 p.m.  Had a nice dinner and then back on the road at 7 a.m. again on Sunday.  We arrived here about noon.  There was lots of traffic out of Denver so that was slow.  Our place is comfortable.  We spent the day getting set up.  Mark's got all of his work stuff working and he's hard at work today.  I found a great grocery store that has everything we will need for the month and it's only about a half mile away.  They even have Chobani yogurt.  I got an altitude headache yesterday and took a long nap in the afternoon but then I felt fine and I'm fine today.  Mark knocked off for an hour at lunch today and we took a bike ride around the lake.  Beautiful views of the mountains.  We only biked about 8 miles in an hour so we're kind of slow but that's because of the altitude.  The bike ride is a little hilly but it's more up and down and not big long hills so that's pretty easy.

I'll try to keep you all posted on our activities but I am so busy.  I've got to go buy Mark all new underwear this afternoon. He forgot his underwear.  No wonder there was so much room in the car.  (not really, we were loaded to the top with all of our very important stuff).  Every other car here is a Subaru.  Mark says it's the state car of Colorado.  So we are happy that we fit right in with the new Subaru.  Ok, off to buy the underwear and a few other miscellaneous things we forgot.