Summer 2012

I know,  we have been very bad at posting anything this summer.....

Our summer started with going to Texas (of all places!) to buy our new T@b trailer!  A little mishap with our car...... a second trip to Texas and we are finally home with our new tiny trailer....NO...we haven't given up tent camping or backpacking...we have just expanded our "options"!

 In July, we had a great time with our little family that now lives in China (temporarily!)
Wes, Olivia and Ed are here at the Horsefly Brewery in Montrose.

 Chris, Olivia and Wes are enjoying the pool we had installed in our backyard, special for their visit.

 The kids left on the 15th of July....my birthday on the 16th was spent on the Ice Lake trail with friends, Justine and Chris!  They came prepared with birthday hats!!!

 We were proud to witness Kelly's graduation from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing later that same week!  Way to go, Kelly!

 We celebrated Katie's birthday a little belatedly with a boat ride down the Potomac.

 Bike riding and camping at Redstone/Carbondale, CO when we visited with friends, Tammy and Tom.

 Larimer County Fair with nieces Gabe and Alex and later on the next week

 Hiking Lulu City Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park!

 Katie and her good friend Kelly came for a week in August.  We took them rafting on the Colorado.  Kelly had never been camping before...she was quite the trooper and seemed to love "our Colorado"!

 A trip to SW Colorado is not complete without a ride up the Gondola in Telluride!

 Coffee at Durango Coffee Company in Downtown Durango.

 A little wine tasting at Mountain view winery in Olathe, CO (after picking pears, apples and peaches!)

 After the girls left for DC, we planned a few days in SW Colorado riding the trails.  Here Fran rides Boggy Draw above Dolores, CO.  One of our favorites!

 Cannonball Mesa Ruins...a warm day for a ride, but worth it!

All in all, a great summer!  So glad we have the time to enjoy our family and the great place that we call home!

First Old Man of the Mountain this season!

Spirit Basin near Red Mountain Pass

Springtime in China

Pasque flower Alert!!!

Pasque Flowers sighted on the Perimeter trail in Ouray!!

Earliest Ever!!!

new car same color

After much deliberation we decided to change our camping truck into Subaru Outback. The truck was an awesome camping machine but there were a few things it could not do primarily because it has a small engine for such a large body. In hind sight I should have purchased the larger engine even with its accompanied poor gas mileage. We traded for a larger engine (yes the outback has a larger engine and still gets better gas mileage than either car) with the same clearance just no 4WD.

It could just be that we could use this car to pull a small trailer in the near future. Stay tuned...

The new subbie with the usual back drop of Wingate sandstone.

The truck with bikes fording the Fremont River

no snow = change of plans

With little snow in the forecast we traded in our ski boots for desert sandals for the first week of 2012. We welcomed in the new year amidst the Saguaro cactus instead of the ice covered slopes of the San Juan Mountains.

The view from our campsite. Great sunset and an iconic picture

The sandals are so much more comfortable
The icicles along 550 in the Uncompahgre gorge.