Thunder Lake Hike

Erika, Nathan, and I hiked up 2,000 ft. over 7 miles to get to this remote lake, 10,500 ft. up in the Rocky Mountains. Despite bringing enough gear for a week-long trip and the constant drizzle on day 1, the 2 day hike in and out was amazing. Good exercise and a surreal, serene setting at the top. And finally...I caught a fish!

Aspen

Aspen was an idyllic little town, bordered by beautiful mountains and ridiculously humongous mountain homes. After cruising the town and going out to dinner on Saturday, Erika and I took the Gondola up to the top of Aspen Mtn., where the weekly Bluegrass band was playing. These pictures are all from the top and the way down. I have some video footage of the band if anyone would like me to send it to them (I don't think I can get it to post here).

Glenwood Springs

Erika surprised me for my birthday by planning this amazing weekend in Aspen. The first night was spent here, in Glenwood Springs, where we went on this beautiful 15 mile bike ride along the river. Mineral hot springs in town rivaled odor of drinking water from Saratoga Springs... (Eye damage from ladder incident, not bar fight, although the latter makes for a much better story.)

Horseback Riding

A beautiful 3 hour trail ride in Roosevelt National Forest, Allenspark, CO.

Albuquerque with Amanda and her sister

Erika and I had a great weekend with Amanda and her sister in Albuquerque at the end of June, where we took a tram to the top of the Sandias mountains and took these two pictures of Albuquerque itself. (It took me 5 minutes to write this one sentence, just because I can't spell Albuqu..%#$%@*.)

Rocky Mt. National Park

Went hiking in the Park again. This time the final destination was a lake, up about 1500 feet from where we started. I got a little fishing in at the top, mostly in the river that you see in the pictures here, which fed out of the lake. The only full catch was a 2 inch Greenback Cutthroat Trout. Had three others on the line at a few points, each about 5-7 inches, but never got them all the way in. Besides having to outrun a lighting storm on a barren ridge on the way down, it was a great day. ( The picture of the trout above serves as an example of the Greenbacks that I missed!)

Hiking in Boulder Open Space Parks