Note to Self: Snowboarding is Not the Same as Skiing!

12. February 2015 · Comments Off on Note to Self: Snowboarding is Not the Same as Skiing! · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,
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I was as unsteady as I look here. Despite numerous warnings, I got on a snowboard and guess what? It wasn’t that bad!

This past Saturday at Monarch Mountain, with our sponsor cadet’s persuasion, I got on a snowboard for the first time.

I’ve been skiing since about age 18, gaining most of my experience during the two winters Dave and I were stationed in Korea. In fact, many of the resorts where we skied between 1998-2000 will be venues for the 2018 Winter Olympics! After over a decade of hiatus from 2000 – 2012 while the kids were little (skiing just once in those 10 years), we are skiing routinely now and the whole family truly enjoys it. More »

Colorado Discoveries 44: Hiking the Pikes Peak Barr Trail

05. January 2015 · 5 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,
The view from the top of a 14er has an entirely different meaning when you hike up!

The view from the top of a 14er has an entirely different meaning when you hike up!

Pikes Peak.

The inspiration for the poem that eventually became “America the Beautiful.” (Did you know that?)

This mountain stares at us almost daily. Why couldn't we hike up to the top?

This mountain stares at us almost daily. Why not hike up to the top?

This 14,110′ mountain towers over the city of Colorado Springs and greets us every day on our drives to work. We have a decent view of the mountain from our back deck and from the 2nd floor of our house.

A view of Pikes Peak (on the far right) from the 2nd floor of our house.

A view of Pikes Peak (on the far right) from the 2nd floor of our house.

Colorado has over 50 “14ers“, which is the affectionate nickname for the state’s 14,000’+ mountains. Pikes Peak is the 30th tallest of the Colorado Fourteeners, but has the second highest “prominence” in the state, with only Mount Elbert having a higher prominence. In other words, climbing Pikes Peak takes a bit more vertical effort than most of the others.

For Dave’s 40th birthday, he invited a group of friends to join us on a hike up the 13-mile Barr Trail from Manitou Springs to the peak. This isn’t a casual walk — while the first 9 miles or so are straightforward, once you go above about 11,000′ the trees disappear and you’re exposed to the elements — wide open.

We made it to the top at about 1:30pm on Dave’s 40th birthday. It was an unforgettable experience. Read on about our hike. More »

June/July 2014 Vacation Summary

01. January 2015 · Comments Off on June/July 2014 Vacation Summary · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

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Our June/July 2014 summer vacation to the American southwest was fun and filled with National Park goodness.

We are grateful for the National Park Service’s “Military Annual Pass” program which saved us nearly $80 in entrance fees on this trip.

Here’s the summary of everything we did:

The next big “see America” trip I have up my sleeves will take us northward towards Yellowstone National Park, but I don’t know when that will be.

Colorado Discoveries 41: Four Corners Monument

31. August 2014 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 41: Four Corners Monument · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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The Four Corners Monument is a very *short* stop off U.S. 160, at…well…the junction of four states.

You can’t drive between southwestern Colorado and New Mexico/Arizona without stopping briefly at the Four Corners Monument.

The monument is operated by the Navajo Nation. Since we were in the Navajo Nation. We paid an entry fee of $5 per person to enter the monument area, and what I saw was quite surprising. Not in a good or bad way, I simply didn’t know what to expect. More »

Colorado Discoveries 40: Mesa Verde National Park

31. August 2014 · 1 comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,
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An archeologist’s dream park. At the Spruce Tree House at Mesa Verde National Park.

This post is about the first of the four national parks we visited on our southwest vacation. We tried to jam this visit in during our drive to the Grand Canyon, and it was admittedly a really tight fit.

We spent about 3 hours in the park, but it could easily be turned into a 1-2 day visit. There was a lot we elected not to see.

Mesa Verde National Park is only about 35 miles west of Durango on U.S. Route 160. We got a nice early start from our hotel in Durango and reached the park before 8am. Once you exit west from Durango, the Rocky Mountains begin to disappear in the rearview mirror and you are left with the buttes and mesas that are characteristic of the American Southwest.

After a few minutes at the visitor’s center, it was a slow climb up into the mesas to get to the Spruce Tree House cliff dwellings. This area of the park is only about halfway through; there is quite a bit more to see, but in the interest of time we told ourselves “We’ll come back here one day.” More »

Colorado Discoveries 39: Bar D Chuckwagon Suppers, Durango, CO

31. August 2014 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 39: Bar D Chuckwagon Suppers, Durango, CO · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,
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The Bar D Ranch is about 10 miles north of Durango and is a fun, family friendly activity.

After our ride on the Durango & Silverton, we headed about 10 miles north of Durango (much of which was along the train route) to visit the Bar D Ranch.

These types of ranches are popular tourist attractions throughout the southwest. There are several in Colorado, including the Flying W Ranch right here in Colorado Springs. Our family had never done something like this, so it was a completely new experience.

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Colorado Discoveries 38: The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

30. August 2014 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 38: The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , ,
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Did I mention I love our camera? This is the money shot here…and we were glad we were towards the end of the train so we could get these views of the locomotive.

Dave had been telling me about the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for many years. Okay, perhaps over 20 years. It was the highlight of a Colorado trip he had taken as a teenager, and he was excited for a chance to share the experience with the boys and me. So we made sure to include this on our southwestern vacation.

In the summertime, it’s important to get the tickets well ahead of time. I visited my local installation tickets and tours office at the Air Force Academy and received discounted tickets about 4 weeks in advance. I also made sure to secure nearby hotel reservations. On a whim I made the family a reservation at a cowboy supper show for fun. I’ll write about the Bar D after this post. More »

Colorado Discoveries 36: The Color Fun Fest in Colorado Springs

23. August 2014 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 36: The Color Fun Fest in Colorado Springs · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,
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Color Fun Fest: Before and After. Like other runs of this type, the Color Fun Fest brings the elements of the ancient Hindu spring festival of Holi. Photo credit: Herb Keyser.

Last weekend I had the chance to participate in my first “color run.”

“Oh! Which one? The Color Run? Run or Dye? Color Me Rad? The Graffiti Run?”

No, none of those. I had the chance to participate in the Color Fun Fest 5K on its stop in Colorado Springs.

The event markets itself as a family-friendly combination of the ancient Hindu Holi festival with heavy electronica music. During Holi, which is traditionally celebrated near the vernal equinox, friends and families celebrate love and good friendship. One of the Holi traditions is tossing of colored powders.

You will feel this energy during the Color Fun Fest. Participants run a 5K race while having colored cornstarch tossed at them approximately every mile. It’s a relatively new event making its way around the U.S., and I think once it works out some growing pains, it has the potential to be a successful running event series. Read on for details about my family’s experience. More »

Colorado Discoveries 35: The U.S. Mint in Denver

24. July 2014 · 5 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,
The Denver Mint is an interesting place to visit, but the security requirements are pretty stringent.

The Denver Mint is an interesting place to visit, but the security requirements are pretty stringent. No photography inside the facility, so I took a couple photos outside.

My sons have always been interested in money. Not only saving money, but also how money is manufactured and distributed. I have memories of looking at U.S. paper money and seeing the Federal Reserve Seal. The letter ties in with a location, with “A” being Boston, Massachusetts in the northeast and “L” signifying San Francisco in the west. When I was a kid, most of the dollars circulating in my part of the country had an “E” for Richmond, Virginia.

We enjoyed the trip to the American Numismatic Museum in May where we learned all about the history of money and coin collecting.

Getting to the U.S. Mint in Denver is much more difficult. Not only is it farther away, but the word on the street was that we needed 90 day advance reservations. So not long after moving here in June 2013 I hopped online at the U.S. Mint’s website to try to get a reservation. It always seemed to be filled on the days that our family was available to visit. I got on the website in October to try to get reservations for the holidays, but the mint was closed to tours during the holidays. More »

Colorado Discoveries 34: Colorado Springs Sky Sox with Timmy’s Little League Team

27. May 2014 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 34: Colorado Springs Sky Sox with Timmy’s Little League Team · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,
Timmy is #2.

Timmy is #2.

The first weekend of May, Timmy’s Little League baseball team did the Little League fan experience thing** with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the AAA Minor League Baseball team that plays right up the street from us. They’re the Colorado Rockies AAA affiliate team.

**It took me a second to sleuth around for the name of the program that Timmy participated in. It’s called the “Junior Sky Sox“.

This is very similar to what Timmy’s team did in Florida last summer with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos “Field of Dreams” experience.

This was also one the Sky Sox’s multiple Military Appreciation Nights, along with Timmy’s free ticket, the rest of us got discounted box seat tickets with our military IDs. That was nice.

Timmy’s team got to run out on the field with the Sky Sox players. It was very cute and I’m proud of how well the boys did. Alas, the Sky Sox didn’t win that night. More »

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