The Race of the Champion

"I got a racetrack from the thrift store. It is really fun. My sister makes the two cars go at the same time. If you don't have enough of those orange medium things, you can use one of those clear things to hold the track together. You can make a few tracks or just one huge track. All people do you want to know how it works? Yes. It works by pulling the car back and if it doesn't go, you push a tire to one side." --by Emmett Axel Sanders
What better use of 5 dollars, I just love the thrift store. I actually enjoy building different tracks, whereas with Legos I tend to always want to color coordinate the building blocks and then get frustrated. There is a real goal with this toy: how crazy can we make the track within the limits of the physics involved. Personally, I never took a class in physics, but I can only imagine the forces at work! Thank you to whoever decided to donate this to charity!

Fall Madness

September proved to be a very busy month! Gramma Jan came to visit us from Portland, OR! Despite just recovering from bronchitis, the morning after her arrival she put on her adventure hat and joined us on a trek in search of fall foliage! At 9,000 feet of course. We hiked at Davis Creek, which is between Hartsel and Johnson Village, on your way to the Collegiate Peaks. The aspen leaves were just beginning to transform themselves into pendulous wafers of gold and small drops of rain occassionally reminded us why there was so much deciduous foliage here in the first place. After an hour or so, we stopped to enjoy a few snacks before heading back down to the trailhead. Waiting for us in the town of Buena Vista was not only a warm lunch, but a hot dip in the springs of Mount Princeton! Despite being a bit commercial, the Mount Princeton hot springs offer man made pools of varying temperatures (one is hot tub hot) and the chance to relax in the creek where the gravel and real rocks reached temperatures that melted our aches away! Emmett and Dad were brave enough to venture to the middle of the stream to cool down in the rushing mountain water. I don't think that much can make me that hot.



September was also the beginning of Landsharks, a running program for youth "where everyone is a winner". Hunter and Emmett both committed to training two nights a week doing practice runs, speed drills, and a few games of sharks and minnows. Toward the end of the program, three meets took place where other local groups met with ours for a little friendly competition. Emmett had to run the half mile and Hunter the mile, with medals awarded to all finishers. From the standpoint of a mom who runs because it makes her feel alive, I really appreciated the energy of the coaches. It gave Hunter the confidence necessary to complete much of the run hand in hand with her friend. True story. And of course, how would Emmett be able to pause for a cheesy camera shot right near the finish line if he were feeling the pressure to win. I say that any child that is willing to run at all gets a high five in my book. I didn't have the gumption to take on that seemingly arduous task until college, and I didn't truly enjoy it until Colorado became the backdrop of my adventures on foot. I actually had a we race of my own this past weekend that took me almost a mile through Fountain Creek. Fun in concept yes, but when you are winded and trying to avoid falling into holes created by currents and slippery rocks, well, it loses some of its charm. I'll likely do it again next year, though!

A Leisurely Day at Red Rocks

A couple of weeks ago the family headed over to Red Rocks, which is only a few miles from our house, both by car and running trail, for a little sandstone love. They call the rock the solar slab and it has a pretty gentle slope (the routes are between 5.6 and 5.7+). The trickiest part is that the technique used to climb this particular spot is called smearing, which means there are very few hand or footholds, you just have to trust your climbing shoes to stick to the rock. Easier said than done for some of us. While both Hunter and Emmett are competent climbers, their difference in style becomes obvious in this situation. Whereas Hunter carefully examines the options for her hands and feet, Emmett jets up as fast as he can, scurrying like a squirrel. His technique serves him well when there are no true hand and foot holds, but when you actually need to place your body strategically, Hunter's close attention to the rock's detail pays off. What fun it is to watch them grow! Hunter is working on trusting the gear and that Dad or I are keeping her safe, Emmett is learning to tone down his raw adrenaline and focus on each moment.

The Fabulous Buffalo Peaks Wilderness Area

For the final week of summer, we decided to journey to a place in Colorado to which we have never been. On foot. Fortuneately, Hunter and Emmett are kids who love this sort of thing. And so our adventure was born. The Buffalo Peaks Wilderness area is located to the northeast of the town of Buena Vista and thus east of the Collegiate Peaks (well known 14ers in the area). After driving along a long forest service road, part of which Hunter described as a "footpath", and narrowly avoiding confrontation with women on ATVs, we arrived at the trailhead. A wilderness area has no roads in it, so we were excited to be alone with the beauty of Colorado. Upon signing in, we discovered that a group of 14 hikers had begun their journey on the same day. But we were too excited to be upset by that, as this was our first ever two night backpacking journey as a family!!!! Onward ho!

Imagine my surprise when I realized that Emmett, who was in the lead, was not doing a fancy hiking dance, but rather expressing surprise as he happen upon a snake relaxing in the middle of the trail. I'm sure he was there just for me! Anyhow, we ambled up the trail for about 45 minutes to an hour, all in good spirits despite the snake's greeting (he was just a garter). For those of you who conjure images of a dry, pine and juniper landscape as typical Colorado wilderness, reimagine. We followed a creek the entire way, punctuated with beaver-created pools. The foliage was dense and lush and so green you could just lick it all up. Being from more humid climates, we tend to just fall in love with these environments when we discover them. Fall in love we did. As the terrain opened up into a valley, we discovered large beaver ponds created by what must have been the busiest beavers ever. I mean the expression is really quite accurate! The slew of felled aspen trees could have been mistaken for Paul Bunyan style workman ship if I had not known better.

We got to set up camp along one of these ponds, nestled in pine trees. Hunter and Emmett were in childhood heaven! The smiles never left their faces, even when "nature called". Everything was an adventure: eating, cleaning dishes, going to the bathroom. Ryan and the younguns even took mountain man baths with the rainbow trout (pictures to follow, don't worry)! The second day we left the bulk our our gear at camp and went higher, in hopes of making it somewhere near West Buffalo Peak at 13,326ft. Keep in mind we camped somewhere around 10,000ft all you flatlanders. Although we didn't quite make it all the way there, we basically reached treeline and had fabulous views of the taller mountains to the west.

I realize how fortunate we are as a family to be able to enjoy each others company with no diversions other than sticks, fire and food. I had moments when I felt that we should just stay away from the other world and remain here so that the kids could remain just that. But I reminded my self, that this beautiful heaven exists all around us, we just need to see it.

Keeping in touch

Being an engineer is good for keeping my mind occupied bad for keeping in touch. Maybe this blog will help?

Rock Climbing makes you feel alive

Our neighbor Tom and I have started rock climbing every Wednesday evening at Red Rocks park which is about 5 mins. from our house. The rock is sandy sandstone with lots of finesse moves, which scare me. I have done some lead climbing in the past, very little outdoor.

Leading entirely new routes and finding the lines adds a level of commitment that is hard to find anywhere else. Big drops and jumps on a bike and pole vaulting take the same mental toughness but the event is quite quick. Whereas, lead climbing you oscillate between safety and significant pain repeatedly for 15-30 mins. on your average sport pitch.

Anyway, I will try to get pictures of us and the kids on the rock next go round.