We stopped on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park in Loveland, CO for lunch and realized we attended the wrong high school... Loveland High School has direct access to Lake Loveland. Beach is sandy with a few trees for the shade. I have seen worse settings than that for students...
Was kind of late to start a long hike when we arrived at Rocky Mountain National Park so we decided to drive to Bear Lake and check it out. In a cultural learning spirit we decided to keep our flip flops for the short walk around the lake ;) Cannot say it was a full success...
Dinner was at the Nepal's Cafe in Estes Park. Excellent!
I was very motivated on Saturday and went for a short run to start the day (never, ever happens in real life...). Retrospectively it was a mistake... I am not talking about the bull elk who started to chase me after I inadvertently ran to close to him. The main issue was more the bike ride we decided to do when I came back from running. The plan: 2-3h mountain biking, the reality: 6-7h... What did we learn? Never trust the super-fit guy in the bike store who gives you a hand-made map as a suggested bike tour!!!
Do not get me wrong... The tour goes thru some very scenic areas. It is just that you must be ready for an Iron Man, or at least in better shape than I am, to finish it in 2-3h! It did not help that C got a flat at the highest elevation and had to walk his bike down :((( His repair kit had a tube for a different size wheel... and no patch. We agreed that I would ride back to the car and pick him up in Glen Haven (next to my finger on the map). In the process I found it entertaining to crash in a tree... and suffer from heat exhaustion as I was going thru the 2 climbs separating me from the car. By the way map states 15-30 mins, that is for EACH climb... Map also conveniently omits the name of this road, Devils Gulch Rd! Anyhow, I was kind of feeling bad I took so long to pick C up but it all dissipated when I saw him sipping a cold drink and eating ice cream on the side of road...
We left Rocky Mountain National Park by the Trail Ridge Road on Saturday night. What a stunning road! Scenery is spectacular. Drove knowingly across the continental divide for the first time... We stopped at a small liquor store along the road to get some... water. Turns out the place was 1/2 restaurant, 1/2 liquor store so we decided to stay for dinner. We were a bit puzzled when they said they could not serve us beers... I mean we could see 2 tables away the shelves with all kinds of packs of beer!!! Well, there are laws. Ok, so can we buy beers from the liquor store and drink them at the table? No. Can we buy beers and drink them on the porch of the restaurant? No. Diet coke, please...
C had never been to the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, CO so we went there on Sunday morning. I really like this place although it was somewhat crowded the few times I went there.
We spent most of our lunchtime in Manitou Springs, CO looking for our next destination. Pikes Peak is nearby... Done deal. We did take a bit more time than Nobuhiro Tajima to go up...
but we probably saw a bit more of the scenery than he did! We stayed a bit at the top at 14,115 feet (4,302m). It is not everyday that one drives that high! Must admit that I felt lightheaded for a while. Not sure C felt much better... On the way down we felt the need to give a break to our brakes... so we stopped here and there.
We even found a nice spot to kite just a few turns above the brake check station! Was so happy. Did not carry the kite for nothing...
Doing some reading in the evening we discovered that Pikes Peak is not the highest road in the neighborhood... so we went on Monday to Mount Evans 115 feet (46 meter) higher. The road is not as scenic as Pikes Peak but the summit is definitely more impressive...
On our way down we found another great kiting spot! Wind was stronger than the day before, probably in the low 20's mph (30's kph). Had lots of fun and a big scare when I almost crashed in a boulder rock while demoing to C how to make a loop! Each time I take people with me for kiting I tell them to release the bar as soon as they feel they loose control. Do as I say, not as I do...
We spent our last few hours in Golden, CO before flying back home. It is gonna be hard to top this trip... but we have a few ideas in mind.
Life is good... especially outside Texas ;)
