Halloween

october 081 084
Originally uploaded by Wilderwomn

Superkids with super sweet tooths

Veteran's Day 08 Backcountry Ski

IMG_2945
Originally uploaded by Wilderwomn

The earliest I think I've ever skied...
Just Deano, Bob and me.
Fresh pow, fresh smiles.



The CP Freeheelers strike again!

Holes in October

roof1
Originally uploaded by Wilderwomn

Holes in my blog.
Holes in my roof.
October is a fine roofing month unless you're the one doing the roofing.
Before...

Buckhorn Camp

The Wilders had their annual trip up to Buckhorn church camp at the tip-top of Rist Canyon. Lots of fun....some highlights: capture the flag (with Sam & Flynn using amazing soccer moves), To Tell the Truth (Lin & Tim as so-called winners of a pumpkin carving contest), no-holds barred cafeteria food straight out of elementary school, frisbee fun, horseback riding (Lin, Hanna, Sam, & Flynn), board games until 2 am, Lin's famous drumming circle, Tim's annual Old Flower's Road mtb ride...and a whole lot more.

Also, Hanna was recently selected for a Peer Mediator at her school...way to go, Hanna!

Tour de Fat...
Wacky fun
with Electrocutie and his
superhero sidekick family...

Good, clean fun for the whole family.

Gourd-eous Lake Backpack

We set out with light packs for our annual anniversary backpack trip, not realizing the spectacular scenery we were to enjoy for the next three days. Gourd Lake, an out of the way destination in Indian Peaks, became a place of respite away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

A highlight included visits to the Fairy Ponds, shallow bodies of water above Gourd Lake surrounded by 12K foot peaks and filled with Cutbow trout. Views to the South of the Front Range were outstanding. As we left the Fairy Ponds, we nearly met with disaster as Tim sprained his ankle...he managed to make it back down the steep descent to our tent without further mishap.

The next day featured an adventure filled with frightening crossing of steep, scree filled slopes, with long drops to the valley below, as we followed a short-cut "game trail" towards Buchanan Pass. At the end of the long day, we were happy to leave this wonderful place for a well-deserved pizza and beer in Granby. Thanks mostly to Grammy and Papa Donn for watching the kids!

Sunrise Over Horsetooth

Early morning MTB jaunt up Arthur's Rock. No legs or lungs, but lots of solitude.

Future Trip

Possible future mountain biking trip.

Gilsonite/Wolverine Trail (future) at EveryTrailMap created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Crusty Butt

Looking back on our photos from Crested Butte, it's easy to tell why this is my absolute favorite place in Colorado, maybe even the world. Stunning scenery, fabulous mountain biking, funky town, great fishing...all rolled into one area. Some sample photos using Lin's new Nikon DSLR D60:


None of that tan, monotonous eastern plains here...wildflowers everywhere.

The trip to Lost Lake was very out of the way but has special significance in that the Aspen Forest surrounding it may be the largest living creature on the planet...not sure where I heard that but it doesn't take a lot of imagination to see why. Largest Aspens I've every seen, at least.
Kids had a great time, too.



As former Portlanders, we got our fix of the northwest coming home with all the rain and mist.

I also added two more notches to my CB riding belt, including the Dike Trail and Deer Creek Trail. Both were fairly epic. I started the Dike Trail ride from Lost Lake, and followed a hiking trail along beautiful wildflower meadows out to the Kebler Pass road, up the road to Lake Irwin, then down the Dike Trail back to the road. Finally, down the road & up the final, tiresome climb to Lost Lake. All told, 27 miles which doesn't seem like a lot but it took 4 hours at an easy pace at altitudes above 8500 ft.

I enjoyed Deer Creek Trail even more. Given the inclement weather, I had Lin drop me off at the trailhead, climbed above 10,000 feet up the dirt road/trail combo. The last 1/4 mile was a real terror to the lungs and legs, and I actually had to hike to the tippy top. The descent was fabulous, as views opened up of Mount Crested Butte and the 360 mtn views. As I descended, I wondered how many cows were BBQ'd every year from the lightning strikes...to tell the truth, I wouldn't have minded if many were if it helped cleanse the trail and streams from all that giardia laden shit. As I entered the ski resort town, I received my divine justice for my negative thoughts as hail and rain came pouring down, leaving me swimming on my bike until I reached the safety of the car in town.

All in all, a great week in CB even with the rain, hail and cow shit.

Storytime

"Butt-Cheeks"

Several days ago, the kids were getting ready for their communal bath when Flynn decided to take a poop.  Anytime he gets ready for something - whether it's a bath, dinner or event - a BM is on its way.  Understandably Hanna and Sam were disgusted with the thought of having to deal with possible bath water contamination..  Flynn did his thing, and manages a rare toilet flush.  As Flynn was stepping into the tub, Sam pulled open his butt cheeks, looks inside, and exclaims, "Oh, looks OK!".

"I'm Not Hanna"

So I'm sitting around reading a story with the kids the other night, with Sam to my left, Flynn to my right and Hanna on the couch above me.  The boys as usual are barely paying attention and are getting irritating.  Next thing I know Flynn is  jostling me, interrupting the narrative.  I shout, "Hanna, stop bumping me!"  Hanna, incredulous, exclaims, "I'm not Hanna!"

What Am I Doing Here?

Here's a funny dream I would like to remember from last night:

The details are of course sketchy but I'm sitting at a restaurant in Mexico ordering food with friends. I don't remember the food particularly but there are desserts, one of which I notice on my way out of the restaurant. I can recall thinking I would like to take a piece - it's like chocolate cake or something - but I remind myself that I don't really need to eat it and I would be stealing to take it.

Prior to my leaving, my friends (who I don't recognize) and I pay our share, which is $17 except that I only have a $20 bill. I give my money and the waitress - she has strong native features with dark skin and may be wearing a hat like you see in Peru - and she comes back with a basket of various coins. 

The coins are many sizes and colors. I glimpse a large one which I figured must be worth a dollar, but it dissapears in the pile and I can't find it again. After a few frustrating moments in which the waitress is trying to get away and I'm digging into the pile, I give up and decide to forgo the $3 owed to me.

Next, I arrive at some kind of shop with a bag of rice cakes in my hand. They're chocolate colored and appear to be unopened. I approach a counter where some Mexican women are working as well as a woman more western in appearance with black hair, so I figure I should approach her because she would speak english. I ask her if she could convert my rice cakes into a video. I had thought that Lin had taken video on the rice cakes, and they were ready to be processed. In an English accent, the woman replies certainly and it will cost $22. I realize that because the rice cakes had not been opened that Lin probably didn't use them for video yet and also I didn't want to pay $22 and have nothing on the video. So I leave the store.

Next I end up looking at this "hotel" in the Mexican town. It's the tallest building with a lot of articulation - floors projecting out - and white coloring. I figure it's probably about 6 - 7 stories tall. I meet Lin at the base of the hotel - I know she's booked a room. We get on this elevator "contraption" - it is a small open, metal platform that rises on a cylinder. The closest analogy may be a car lift you see at a repair station, but smaller. We climb on but there's not enough room for both of us, so I end up clinging on with my hands clasped over the top and hanging down while the lift ascends. Lin is also barely hanging on but is more on top of the elevator. I remember shouting, "Hang on, you can do it!". As we rise, I notice the sky is blue and there are clouds - it looks like a painting. After a few moments the lift arrives up at our room. I climb up and look around. It looks pretty normal except for the lift and there appears to be a large chain - the kind used on bicycles but bigger - that stretches from the floor into the middle of the bed and attaches near the bedpost. I can remember thinking that it was an odd place for a chain, and that it would force us to sleep on either side of the bed rather than cuddled up in the middle.

That's all I remember.