Boulder Sunset Triathlon

Given that our first anniversary is September 9th, Neil thought it would be fun that we celebrate in the Boulder Sunset Triathlon on August 26th. Matt had never participated in a triathlon although he enjoys biking and running. Neil had only done two smaller ones back in Montana. So the Boulder Sunset was a great place to try our hand at a triathlon together.

FL-OR/ID-WA

We were fortunate to spend three weeks visiting family across the US. We started in Tampa, FL to visit Matt's family for the first week. There, we floated Rainbow River with Matt's brother and dad, hung out with Matt's niece Evie, attended a family dinner with Matt's mom and family. The weather was surprisingly great with low humidity and temperature.

Grays and Torreys

Summer is winding down, we thought it would be good to get in at least one more high elevation hike. Turns out there is a pair of fourteen-ers just outside of Denver, Gray and Torrey. It is a well trafficked trail, and nothing too strenuous, perfect if you ever have an extra day in Denver.

Mount of the Holy Cross

As you may know, we had originally planned to take this trip over 4th of July weekend but were sidetracked after Neil's car decided to bite the dust. We weren't about to let this hiccup stand in our way of conquering a mountain though!

Heart Lake and Rogers Pass

It was a sunny fourth of July weekend, a perfect opportunity to head into the Sawatch Range for some high elevation backpacking. The entire city of Denver had the same idea, and we found ourselves in bumper to bumper traffic heading into the Mountains. This was too much for Neil's 2004 Subaru Impreza, the clutch exploded, and we had to get towed back to Denver. While waiting for the tow truck to show up, Matt wondered if he was hanging out with the wrong people (given that we were two for two on exploding clutches).

 Although our ideal weekend was thwarted, we decided to make the best of the day

Clear Creek and Bolder Boulder

We stayed busy Memorial Day weekend. Friday morning we drove to Idaho Springs (not Falls) with Matt's dad and brother. After a short pit stop we drove along highway 103 to Echo Lake Lodge. Our plan was to drive to the top of Mt. Evans but, unfortunately, the road was closed at the lodge. As a result, we spent some time in the gift/coffee shop. There were loads of hummingbirds coming and going from the feeders so we did what we could to take photos of them. After a sufficient amount of time hanging out

Canyonlands backcountry

It was spring break, a great opportunity to spend three days in the backcountry of Canyonlands National Park. We broke up the drive from Boulder, CO by spending the night at rabbit valley campground, part of the Bureau of Land Management's McGinnis Canyon National Conservation Area in far west Colorado. It might have been the oddest campsite, but it was free!

We started our hike at the Alcove Springs trail head in the western portion of the Island in the Sky. Over the first mile or so we dropped about 1300 feet to Trail canyon. Working our way towards the Green River, we entered Taylor canyon and were greeted by Zeus and Moses, some picturesque sandstone spires.  While setting up camp a storm came through. It lingered through the next day.