Camping RMNP

It has been a super hot summer this year and the heat and fires in Colorado has put a damper on our camping activities. But not to be easily discouraged, we planned a trip anyway and what do you know?? It rained!!!

And it was an interesting eye opener for me to go on this trip because, as adults, we spend lots of time focusing on the negative things like, oh it's too hot, we can't do this, or it's raining, we should cancel. But just watching Tyler and Cody enjoy the trip, their ability to just ignore the fact that it's raining and concentrated on just enjoying the camping experience, was something i learned on this trip. They even think carrying the "berella"(umbrella) is a treat!! And watching them stumble around in the dark with it is so funny! :)

Anyways, i digress.

So, we got out to RMNP for a weekend camping trip with the kids. It was a nice break from the horrible heat we've had for quite a few weeks and the scattered thunderstorms scattered at the right time, so we were able to get a few hikes in as well as some REALLY long naps in the afternoon. Who would have thought that a sleeping in the tent with rain beating on the roof would be so therapeutic? :)

The kids seemed to have enjoyed it immensely and i have to say, it was the most relaxing camping trip i've been on! That kids philosophy must be working!!! :)

Here are some pictures:

 

Due to the fire ban, we bought a small stove which made cooking super fast!

 

Breakfast is ready!

 

Our tent survived the rain!! Yay!!!

 

On the bus to Bear Lake

 

Bear Lake

 

Beautiful reflection

 

Cody sweeping the water

 

Both boys enjoying the walk around the lake

 

What fire?? Everything is so green and lush!!

 

Oooh.. cool water

 

Family shot

 

Listening to a ranger talk

 

Not forgetting our kumon homework!

 

The kids checking out the rock pile while we were packing up

 

How am i going to drink this???

 

The scenic loop near the Moraine Park visitor center which we finally got to visit!!!

 

Our big boy!

 

Daddy's nature lesson of the day - elk poop!!

Mt Massive - another 14er in the bag

Steffen and I conquered another 14er today. After watching fireworks until late for July 4th. I got up early and drove down to Leadville with Steffen and beyond to hike Mt Massive which at 14,421 feet is the second highest behind Mt Elbert that we had already done

There are two main routes for this, a 13.75 mile round trip gaining 4500 feet in elevation, or an 8.00 mile round trip gaining 3950 feet.

Easy Start, Brutal finish

We chose the shorter trickier route and it was a tough one, we hiked up in 3 hours 20, and down 2 hours 20.  We actually covered 9.42 miles as we couldn't park at the trailhead.

Start of the trailhead

Made it to the top

July 4th 2012

We had our annual July 4th party this year. As it was a weekday and there was a chance of no fireworks(not  like i expected anybody to stay to watch it), I made a decision to have the party early in the day. Diana the super hostess came by to help me set up and brought super yummy home made ice cream. With her help, i managed to get most things ready at party start time, except guests arrival!! Oh well, it's July 4th!

All the food ready, where are the guests?

Anyways, we had quite a few people stop by for the party and even had a few fun games set up by my favorite game master Hish. It is amazing how much more fun the games were once we "improvised" it to make it more competitive. I'm just glad the kids weren't watching!

It was also fun to catch with friends that we saw often and the ones we didn't and caught up with the latest happenings over some grilled stuff and ice cream bar. Unfortunately, the group seem to lack creativity when it comes to ice cream toppings and most people pooh-pooh'ed at my cream corn and peanut topping!! hehe..

Only the Boulder-rites were brave enough to go out and enjoy the sun!

I figured i'd join them.. on the grass!!!

The city folks enjoy the sun on the deck and under the canopy!

The food..

Balloon tossing is more fun when you can steal someone else's!!!

What is Sapna doing???

Sponge kidnap attempt

Look at all these adults laughing like little kids!!!

Damith trying to whistle with mouth food of crackers

Alan's face!! 

Uyen decorating her ice cream

Alan and I

Catching up with friends

Anyways, after the kids had a good nap, we headed out to the green area behind our house to join a July 4th celebration put up my our local church. Turned out to be quite a cute little fair with bouncy castles, pony rides, petting zoo, tractor ride and all other kinds of fun stuff. We even got to ride in an old fashion fire truck!! What a treat!! 

Surprisingly, Cody wanted to ride the pony

Shashank got to ride the fire truck with me and Cody

Quite few people stayed till dinner and helped me finish up anything that was leftover! *phew*.. after a fun long day, they bid farewell. Mateo and Adam stayed back to watch the fireworks with us. We did our usual trek across to the Broomfield Commons and had quite a good firework display. The kids were finally at the age to know how to appreciate the fireworks and got quite excited! 

The kids enjoying the fireworks

As a big fan of fireworks, it was the perfect ending for a good July 4th!

Superior Downhill Mile 2012

Another year older, another few seconds faster !!

This is an easy mile race, all downhill for once.  Actually it is a little too steep for me, and this year there were too many racers I think at 245 people.  I finished 56th in a time of 5 minutes, 30 seconds which is just a few seconds faster than last year.

Nearly there!!

BlurryCam Finish

5:00 next ?

Colorado National Speedway

Alan and I came to watch this maybe about 10 years ago and since we have 2 boys who likes cars and speed, we thought they might enjoy the experience of watching fast cars chase each other around a bumpy track and crash!

Tyler seemed to really enjoy it, though after 3 hrs, he did ask when it was going to finish. Cody only found it intriguing for 10 mins at best. My interest was somewhere in the middle between Tyler and Cody though a lot of that time i spent thinking how many millions brain cells am I am killing for every minute i sit in the heavily fumed stand.

There were quite a few events, but i've killed all the brain cells i needed to remember the names!! So, i can't tell you. However, I did like the Figure 8 racing as well as the amateur racing. Quite good entertainment value! Anyways, it was a fun family activity with the kids! :)

Cody is his cool cap

It's too loud, says Cody

One rare picture of me.

Car whizzing by..

We were supposed to stay till the end to watch fireworks but it didn't even end at 10:30 pm which was beyond my accepted time frame to the kids to stay up so, we left.

Shopaholic??

Due to my lack of time, i often have to resort to online shopping these days. But because it comes in the post and is intercepted by Alan, my little shopping habit is more closely monitored. hehehe..

All these came for me on Friday *gulp*

p.s. Mom and Dad.. this is a joke, i'm not really a shopaholic.

Hiking Betasso

Despite my good efforts of drumming up more interests, only Hish was keen to join us. So, she braved the trip with us and we managed to get there at 9:15 am(only 15 mins late! Not even her fault).

With summer at its peak, we managed to hike the 3 mile loop in about 2.5 hrs. We didn't see any animals but we got to catch some cactus blooms as well as some late spring flowers. Tyler managed to hike nearly the entire way except for a few short rides on Daddy's shoulders while Cody was quite whiny and rode on Daddy for most of the way. 

Towards the end of the trip we spotted the Heides on the trail who said they couldn't meet my 9 am time constraint but have decided to do the trip themselves, starting at 10:45! Crazy heat tolerant people, i say!! But better hot than never!! :)

The boys at the start of the hike

The boys checking out the cactus flower

Cody hitching a ride

Tyler getting a ride too 

Hish, my chit chat partner

The heat tolerant Heide clan

The boys having a good time with Hish 

Anyways, after a hot and strenuous hike(Hish and I were trying to keep a brisk pace, hehe..) we headed into Boulder for quick and refreshing lunch at Zoe Mama's. Had a quick stop at Armen's house and got back home by 2 pm in time for a good nap.