biking, hiking & rock&roll.

Colorado is awesome... I mean I already knew that, but it is a completely different breed in the summertime.  Why wasn't I born here?  I belong in the mountains... I am a mountain child.  One of the best parts about being here is seeing the different sides of my parents.  They are mountain people too?  Well... apparently so & they haven't been doing half bad either. 

So back to the title of this post, biking, hiking & rock&roll, that has been the agenda these last few days. 

Yesterday we went biking from Snowmass Village to Aspen, which is about a 9 mile trek through some hilly terrain.  Now I know I am a wimp & a terrible bike rider... but that first couple of miles was rough stuff.  If you promise not to tell anyone, I may or may not have walked my bike up a section.  In my defense, I almost couldn't walk up it either... 

After conquering the more challenging trails, we eventually became one with the wind and began flying down.  It was awesome.

When we arrived in Aspen, we ate lunch at this restaurant in the downtown area called BB's Kitchen, where I scarfed down a pulled chicken salad and a banana-blueberry smoothie.  I am attempting to be a bit more healthy since my stint in Italy.  Day 5... still. eating. gelato.  Why??  I told my mom to starve me.  It is hard when she likes food just as much as I do...

After lunch, we attempted to ride around the city a bit more, but lucky me, I had no padding in my shorts and I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable... if you know what I mean.  Melissa McCarthy from "Bridesmaids" would be more frank about it, but I will stick to subtleties... my but was sore.  I will admit it... I am no Lance Armstrong.  (But then again, I don't think he is either.  Too soon?)

Every day I return to the condo feeling 100% satisfied that I lived in the moment.  I feel tired, but that good kind of tired that proves you did something valuable with your day.  I never feel like I am wasting my time away out here.  We are always on the move, always hiking, biking, & hiking more... & the small amount we relax is important & definitely much needed.  We use our time wisely out here!

The great thing about summer in Snowmass are the free weekly concerts on the slope.  Around 6:30 the music began to call us down the mountain to where everyone in the valley was.  Where did all the young people come from?  I literally didn't know real young adults lived in & around the Snowmass area except during winter time.  It was a completely different atmosphere with the green hills, blue skies, teenagers & college students, live music, beer instead of hot chocolate sold on the slopes, & the lifts not in motion.  You almost wouldn't recognize the place.  The band that played is a British band called the Dunwells... they were nice to listen to, but played quietly.  Mostly people were there to socialize rather than listen to the music... it still counts as rock&roll, even though it was quiet!!


We stayed there for about 2 hours when we heard "Scandal" calling us from the condo.  You always listen to Olivia Pope...she kept us entertained.

Allora, this morning we woke up a little earlier to attempt to leave the condo for Cathedral Lake.  After a bit of a late start, we finally headed about a half an hour away to the trail head.  Cathedral Lake is a 6 mile round trip hike to this alpine lake at 11,900 feet.  We gained about 2,000 feet in elevation, hiked casually through groves of aspens, tripped over rocks in bouts of scree fields (a little bit of rock&roll if you ask me!), & practicaly keeled over and collapsed from the steep switchbacks.  But it was worth it because at the end of the trail there was a bright blue lake surrounded by rocky mountains that resembled cathedral spires.

We sat by the lake for a bit enjoying the ambiance when a dog walked up behind us... it was a shiba-inu.  If you don't know what that means... first off look one up because they are adorable & second off, it is the type of dog we have.  We greeted the shiba with a "hey Suki," because that is the name of our dog & it seemed fitting.  I guess we were right, because guess what that dog's name was?  Yep, Suki.  I know, I know... you can't believe it.  We couldn't believe it either!  That just made the day even better.

And beyond that we ate at this cool restaurant, which is only accessible during the winter by snowmobiles or cross country skiers.  It is literally in the middle of no where, but it was a very delicious meal... especially after a great 5 hour hike! 

Cathedral Lake

Sporting my Camp Pinnacle Hat

So far this has been such an amazing summer!  The only thing I am looking forward to now is seeing my little kiddos at camp, but hey... that can wait because I am living every moment in the moment.

Ciao-Ciao

I signed an aspen tree :)