Clear Creek Ranch, Colorado Day 4

Brent and I (Drew) took out early this morning (Tuesday) after the top of Mt Belford.  At 14,197 feet it is Colorado's 18th highest peak. The trailhead, as seen below, started at Missouri Gulch and went 3.5 miles or so with a gain of 4,500 feet--- it was quite steep.

Brent and I after the hike.

As this picture shows, Mt Oxford is just beyond Belford, but unfortunately I was on a strict time deadline and unable to go for both today.

 This is the junction of Mt. Belford and Elkhead pass trail.  The tall peak in the center of the picture was our destination.  We were just making our way above treeline here.

 The trail had numerous nicely graded switchbacks but maintained an average gradient of about 20%.  Not nearly as many rocks on this trail as there were yesterday on Quandary Peak, which made for much easier running down the mountain.

 Looking back down from halfway up as the sun was coming over the peaks.

 Panoramic view from the summit.  After making it to the top in 2 hours and 20 minutes,  the views were amazing. Surprisingly, I was able to run back down most of the trail and made it back in 1 hour and 12 minutes.

 Looking east towards Mt. Oxford

 Another view from the summit with a trail leading south off the summit.

As Drew mentioned, he was on a strict time schedule today. The moms were headed to Aspen for an afternoon at the spa, and he made sure he was not late getting back so we could leave on time. He made it down the mountain before Brent, so Jeff, Drew and the kids headed back to the trailhead to pick up Brent.

Kids playing at the trailhead signs while waiting on Brent.

The ranch has a beautiful trout stream running through it.

The kids played very hard yesterday while the moms were away! They have all played really well together, and I praise God for that blessing.

 The views from the ranch are simply amazing. The mountains and the different topopgrahical region we are experiencing make me continuously thank God for the beauty He has provided for us.

 This is the view from the small pond on the ranch property.

Another view of the mountains and the trout stream. 

On our way to the spa in Aspen, we drove on a very scenic, beautiful road. It had some of the best mountain views I've seen in a car. This picture (me, Amy Adkerson & Amy Fountain) is overlooking the valley we just drove through.

A gorgeous view of that same valley. You can see the road we drove to get to the top of the mountain.

 We stopped at Independence Pass to enjoy the view again. It was truly a gorgeous day! I'm not sure why, but I did not take any pictures of us at the spa. I'm actually mad at myself for forgetting to do that! When we got to Aspen, we found a local deli and ate lunch, shopped for a bit and then enjoyed our appointments at the spa. It was a wonderful day for everyone, and I am really having one of the best vacations I've ever had!

Breckenridge, Colorado Day 3

As will be the case every day, Drew started off the day with a hike. (Drew typing): Had to get up early this morning as we were checking out of the hotel by 11 a.m..  The closest 14,000 foot peak to Breckenridge is  Quandary Peak at 14,265 (13th highest peak in Colorado). The trail up the east face is 3.3 miles long and climbs 3,500 feet.

This picture is from just below the treeline with the top of the peak in the distance.

About 1 hour into the hike, I could see the final summit effort ahead of me.

An unexpected surprise on this hike was the mountain goats.  They were very docile and you could get really close to them.  Here is one I could see from far off just as I was starting the final summit push.

Ewe and kid goat...Amazing how easily they moved over the rock.

Panoramic view from the summit.

Looking west from the summit of Quandary Peak.  

Self portrait from the summit after 1 hour and 47 minutes from the start.

Ram from about 15 feet.  Amazing to see him graze on stubbles of grass.  He would take his foot and kick rocks out of the way to find grass.

View looking back east from the summit.

Kid goat from about 10 feet.

 Avi and I (Kelli typing) started our morning with a swim...Avi swam while I watched. Drew got back from his hike just in time for us to check out of the hotel, as he mentioned. We drove a short distance to Frisco, CO for lunch. We found a cute deli/pastry place and enjoyed sandwiches for lunch. After lunch we drove to the ranch where we are spending the rest of our week.

 This girl actually had a rough day until we got to our final destination at the ranch close to Granite, CO. I'm not sure if it is the altitude change, all the travel or everything combined, but she was having a difficult time acting kindly this morning. Thankfully she got a short nap on the way to the ranch.

 This is the gorgeous view from our room.

 Several of us started a game of SkipBo this afternoon. Avi and Emily Adkerson were partners, and Emily was very sweet in trying to teach Avi how to play.

 We had an absolutely divine meal of chicken and eggplant Parmesan for dinner.

As we sat down for dinner, Emily and Avi clinked glasses. It was hilarious. Of course they were drinking water, but they were toasting the lovely afternoon and beautiful scenery we were enjoying and the meal we were about to eat!

Breckenridge, Colorado Day 2

Drew began day 2 with a 6 hour hike... (Drew typing): Situated above Breckenridge lies the 10 Mile Range.  There are a series of 10 peaks aptly named peaks 1-10.  The entire range lies above 12,300 feet.  The highest peak, Peak 10 (13,633 feet), makes up the south and west border of the Breckenridge ski area.  If you are interested in finding out more information about this area, visit this blog.

My goal was to get from Breckenridge to the top of Peak 10 and then head north and cover at least peaks 7-10.  The above picture is of Peak 10 as I pulled above the treeline about 12,000 feet. You can barely make out the switchbacks as they wind up the mountain on an old jeep road. 

The above picture is from the summit of peak 10 looking back south down the summit ridge and you can see the switchbacks better.  4,000 vertical feet and 2 hours and 20 minutes later I was on the top.  The wind was blowing 30-40 mph but it was already probably 55 degrees at 8 a.m.

Looking North from Peak 10, you can see Peak 9 just below, and Peak 7 is the last discernible peak in the distance.  I stopped after Peak 7 and dropped back down 3,500 vertical feet cross country to Breckenridge.  I was able to run the last 2 miles or so once I got on the ski runs and bike trails.

Self portrait from the summit of Peak 10.

Video from the summit ridge of Peak 9.  Off in the distance a small orange flag sits atop the peak.  You can get an idea of the wind in the video.  Several times the wind almost knocked me off my feet on some of the summits. 

This audio on this clip is almost indiscernible due to the wind but it is of the summit ridge of Peak 8 and then panning back to Peaks 9-10 from which I came.  Thanks to Kelli and Avi for letting me have the morning in the mountains.

Meanwhile Avi and I (back to Kelli typing here) took a more leisurely approach to the morning! We ate breakfast at the hotel...I let Avi eat fruit loops for breakfast, and she was so excited. I also made her eat a banana so she could say she had some fruit. She obliged.

Next, we wen to the Mountain Top Children's Museum in Breckenridge. It was really cute and had many different play areas that Avi really enjoyed...

like dressing up...

and flying a helicopter...

and for sure her favorite, playing with the "snow." It was really cool and felt really neat.

She also enjoyed pretending she worked in a restaurant, and I had to eat porcupine! The girl is funny.

We ate lunch at a really cool pizza place called Fatty's where Drew joined us after his hike.

In the afternoon we rode the gondola lift up to the top of one of the mountains. It rained on us while we were up there, but it was still fun to look around and enjoy the scenery.

And, Drew and Avi ended the day with time in the pool and hot tub. She loves the hot tub!

Beautiful Colorado Day 1

Avi took her first plane trips for this vacation...from Jackson to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Denver. She loved the planes and enjoyed sitting by the window from Atlanta to Denver. As she was watching Beauty & the Beast on that same flight, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I can't keep my eyes open." So, she put her head in my lap and slept for a little over an hour on the plane. I'm so thankful she enjoyed the new experience!

She was proud that she handed her boarding pass to the attendant getting on the plane to Denver.

And, of course Drew was asleep on the plane in Jackson before we ever pulled out onto the runway. If you know Drew, you know this is typical.

She thought she was such a big girl sitting in her seat on the plane.

In Denver, we took Avi to the American Girl store for an early birthday surprise!

She picked out Julie for her birthday. Julie has brown eyes like Avi and beautiful silky blonde hair. She is a character out of the 70s. Avi loves to brush her hair and play with her clothes.

Sweet girl hugged Julie all the way to Breckenridge where we stayed the night. The temperature was 58 degrees when we arrived and it felt amazing! Adjusting to the altitude was a big adjustment, but we knew it would be so we were prepared.

This One's for Emilie & Jon Jon

Avi loves to hear about what Emilie and Jon Jon are doing in Morocco, and we get to keep up with them through their fun blog. They really are having some really cool experiences, and we are so thankful they share them with us! Jonathan had the opportunity to shoot his first Arabic video project (Jonathan is a very talented videographer). Avi has watched this video on their blog many times now and continues asking to watch it frequently. She watched it again this morning right before we took Sally Sharp to the doctor (she's got a viral infection of some sort). Dr. Shirley gave the girls tongue depressors as distractors, and while we were waiting on the Strep test to come back, Avi decided to entertain us with her newly acquired drumming skills! Her show was definitely inspired by Jon Jon's video! I thought she did a great job, and I hope this brings a smile to Emilie  and Jon Jon's faces when they get to watch this video. We love and miss you guys!