First Hike of 2012

 We went on the first hike of this year! We went to Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.  It is very close to us, only about 10 minutes away.  We had never been before, but I am sure we will go back.  They have lots different trails. 

Mountains way off in the distance.

It was really beautiful out here.  It reminded me of the pretty part of Kansas.

Hopefully we will get out a far amount this year and take Leland hiking/walking.

Visitors and a Trip

This past weekend we had some visitors, the in-laws to be exact.  Friday night they arrived and we welcomed them by making some real fried chicken and it was delicious.  Saturday they enjoyed the Denver Art Museum and that night we went to dinner at Solera, in celebration of my graduate school admission and Jeff's birthday.  Solera was wonderful as usual, I had the truffle macaroni and cheese with scallops, and oh my goodness it was amazing. 

Sunday we went to Estes Park, walked around their art fair.  Bought a photograph to add to our art collection.  Then went driving through the Rocky Mountain National Park.  There was an insane amount of elk!  You can see how close they were in the photo below.   

We then went on a hike.

The hike ended up at a massive waterfall.  That night we stayed in Estes and ate at Mama Rosa's, some very good Italian.  Then relaxed in the hotel room.

Monday we woke up early and went on another hike, this time not in the park but right next to it.  It was Lily Mountain and at the top there were some very impressive views, and awesome 360 view of the entire area.

Then we took the scenic route back to Denver.  That night we had some amazing asparagus pesto and relaxed some more.

Overall a good weekend, but a tiny bit sore now.  If you wish to see all the photos, you can visit our Shutterfly site.

First Hike

Today was a beautiful day in Colorado and since we both had the day off we decided to go an a stroll.
It was the first one of the year and it was nice to get back in the swing of it.  We did a short and easy one to start the process, didn't want to hurt ourselves. We went to Red Rocks and did the Trading Post trail, and I still cannot believe how nice it was outside.  Anyway, here are some pictures from the hike.

 

  

Hopefully this is the beginning of a good year of hiking and camping.  We plan to do a 14er this year or two but we will see what happens.

Happy Hiking,
Megan

Update from the Front Range

We recently returned from Wakarusa Music Festival. This year it was located on some private land in Arkansas on top of Mulberry "Mountain". It was a great location, much more compact and I think it helped the whole festival run very smoothly. Normally we stay after the help clean up and get paid but this year I got paid during the festival for my work on the Recycling/Trash crew.
(me taking a quick break before heading back out)

Each year for Recycalusa gets better and better. We all just fall into sync so easliy at the beginning and get our work done more quickly. I am already looking forward to next year! I plan on staying longer like previous years instead of just during the festival. I feel like we are one big happy family when we are at Waka, it is just great. It was wonderful seeing K-State people we haven't seen in a while. I actually saw more music this year than usual. Jeff only volunteered so he had plenty of time off to relax and watch plenty of bands he wanted to see. I think that is all on the Waka front.
(Some of the Recycalusa gang)

We recently found a great hiking area on the SW side of Denver, near Morrison. There is a trail that leads to Mt. Falcon but we have not made it to that peak yet, just the surrouding trails. One trail leads to a Summer Home for Presidents that was never fully completed. This summer we plan to climb at least one 14er along with some other smaller peaks. Along with lots of camping and getting use to carrying our new backpacks. Further updates will come once these plans are completed. Unless we plan somethine else in June our next adventure will be going to Vegas over the July 4th weekend.

Megan

(Jeff at the Summer Home)