What I did on my summer vacation

It has been pretty quiet around here, hasn't it? Well, that's because the cat went to the kitty hotel (i.e. the vet's) and DH and I went to visit the FIL at his new digs in Denver. We did help some with the unpacking and reorganizing, but we also found some time to enjoy the change of scenery!

And what a change of scenery it is! Here I am on the approach to Independence Pass - which is around 12000 ft above sea level. Independence Pass is also on the Continental Divide and is closed in winter. A Ferrari passed us on this road (we believe it was headed to Aspen). We had dinner in Aspen at a nice little Italian place. Everyone in Aspen has dogs - big ones. We passes a Needlepoint and Yarn store in the shopping district there, but it was already closed. By a strange coincidence, we were in Aspen the day Kenneth Lay died there, though we wouldn't find that out until later.

My husband, being the wonderful person he is, suprised me with a Fourth of July Hot Air Balloon Ride in the mountains!

It was fabulous! There's no sensation of movement at all - you just glide through the air. We saw a red-tailed hawk, a herd of elk, deer, and a guy in a hot-tub! The mountain views were magnificent, and when we landed there were mimosas and muffins for everyone!

For the rest of the 4th of July, we took in a baseball game in Denver - but it was rain delayed. I'm not quite sure how this happens, we never have a problem with rain at the baseball games in Houston and our friends tell us it never rains that much in Denver! So we missed the fireworks, but I heard the Rockies still won. Oh, yeah, we've got a retractable roof at Minute Maid Park in Houston - that would keep out the rain (and the heat).

Late in the week, we decided to go on a little hike up a little mountain.

Here's the trail (it is the light brown squiggly line along the bottom left - the car is somewhere back in the dark green blob in the middle):

And here we are at the top:

And here's the Altimeter reading near the top:

In case you can't read that - it is over 14200 feet. Yes, we joined the 14er's club. Ow ow ow. That's my leg five days later complaining about the climb. By the way, 14000 feet is really really high (we started at around 11200) and the whole hike was 8 miles - 4 miles in, 4 miles out. Eight miles wouldn't have been a problem at sea level but I have a problem breathing at 11000 feet because someone left out the oxygen. Lets just say it took a while, but I made it. Of course, once you make it up, you do have to make it back down, so as Dory might say, "Just keep hiking, just keep hiking." And for the record, I'm not afraid of heights, I'm allergic to them.

Made it to the top of Gray's Peak, check. Made it back to the car, check. Had fantastic pizza in Denver post hike - mental note to have post hiking comfy shoes ready next time (if there is a next time). Also post hike we went to see "Wired to Win" at the Denver Museum of Natural Science IMAX which combines a storyline about the Tour de France and some science of learning stuff. I think the science part was a way of getting funding to make an IMAX movie about the Tour de France. If this movie is showing in your area (and you like cycling), go and see it. The Tour shots are gorgeous. And you learn things about nerouns.

All in all, Denver was fun, but extremely busy; I didn't even make it to the LNS which is shocking! I know we'll be back, so that is good as it takes the pressure off to see everything - 16th St Mall, Royal Gorge, Estes Park, and the like. Now to settle back into the real world, back into a world where the air is so thick I can slice it with a knife and eat it. Yum. Oxygen.