Drive over Loveland Pass, Gondola ride to the top of keystone, Pug Ryan's beer tasting, quick trip toVail, dinner at Red Lion, O'Dell beer at Red Lion, quick nap at home, off roading on Keystone Gulch Road, Off Roading through Montezuma, trip back over Loveland Pass, tour of Red Rocks, drop Sid off with the family...whew...thats a lot for less than 24 hours!
Thank you so much Sid for taking a quick trip up to the High Rockies...great seeing ya brother!
So I literally dropped Sid off and immediately received a text from mom and dad that they arrived 30 minutes early and were waiting for me at the airport. Ok...I am in Morrison at Red Rocks and a good 45 minute drive from the airport. Ultimately, made the trip in 32 minutes with most of the paint still on my car after going Mach 4. Mom and dad were excited to be here although I have to tell you my dad's story. So dad was in Virginia the previous day when his flight home to Atlanta was cancelled. The only way he could get home was to fly to Chicago and then to Atlanta. While in Chicago, the return flight was delayed and finally took off at 11:30 eastern. Dad lands in Atlanta at 1:30 am and then drives and hour and a half back to Macon. Finally asleep at 4:00 am he then sets his alarm for 6:00 am to catch a flight out to Colorado to see me. Well done dad...after a few drinks I think he's holding up pretty well, don't ya'll???
We stopped back off at Red Rocks although they shut it down to start getting ready for a show so we could not see much there. With the parents pretty hungry we pulled into Idaho Springs for lunch. I have never been there before but pretty cool little tourist town. Beer, pizza and wings at Beau Jo's (local Colorado pizza place)...we struck out for Summit County and my house. Dad desperately needed just a few minutes so we rested up at home and then got ready for a tour of Breckenridge. Mom got to ride her first Gondola and afterwards we walked around the town to finish up with dinner at The Warming Hut (the place to eat in Breckenridge). We made it back home around 9:00 and within 10 minutes dad was asleep. Shortly followed by all of us. Busy busy day.
Saturday we woke to some amazing weather and a change in plans. Originally we were going to drive to Independence Pass, but the group agreed that dad and I would go for a hike and mom would go to the spa and shop. We quick did breakfast in Frisco and left mom there while dad and I went for a hike. The hike I choose was Mohawk Lake. A moderate hike you climb approximately 1700' to an altitude of 12,100'
Gotta say, the hike itself is amazing...one of the most scenic ones I have done. Here's dad along the way in one of my favorite pictures
So not only did dad have a whirl wind thursday - friday, I then let him hike some good altitude. BUT....he loved it. We saw some cool gold mines along the way (abandoned of course) along with some old mining ruins. The first 1.5 miles of the hike was a nice slow climb and pretty easy but the last mile I think you cover 1400 vertical in one mile. Pretty steep pitch. We were rewarded at the end with an amazing view of Mohawk Lake. Here's dad again and me on the way up
After the hike, we made our way back to Frisco to meet mom. Sounds like she had a great time in Frisco. Also, in honor of mom I would like to show everyone the shoes she bought...she could not stop talking about them all weekend and I have to admit, without my mom knowing anything about the local area these are the new popular shoes that I see many women wearing.
This one's for you mom because you were so in love with your new shoes. OK back to the trip. The weather was holding out and we decided to hit the Gondola up to the Summit House at the top of Keystone Resort for some lunch. Mom and dad were treated to amazing views at the peak and also some great food. What we did not expect was the rain storm to trap us at the top for over an hour:) Luckily there was a bar so we just kept drinking...oh and mom bought my house warming gift. It is called SPOT. What spot does is transmit a signal to GPS satellite tracking your progress and sending message to a group you designate. It is good for back country trekking weather skiing, hiking, camping, riding, whatever... Since I do so much by myself, it is wise to have this safety device.
We made it down and decided that Vail night was going to be Saturday night. Mom and dad emailed me a few things they wanted to do while out here. Breckenridge and Vail were two of the highlighted items. Mom loved Vail...she called it the winter Disney World. We made reservations at Elway's and then I gave them a tour of Vail Village. A little shopping and an 8:45 dinner, I surprised mom by setting up a little birthday wish for her. While her birthday isn't until the 19th, I still wanted to take advantage of seeing her and celebrate.
Not the best picture, our waiter could not stop shaking his hands...(he also had a black eye so I leave you to determine whatever your favorite smart ass comment could be).
After so much fun last week, Sunday began with ATVs!!!!! Now, mom and dad had never been on an ATV before and you could tell there as a little apprehension. By the time it was done, they absolutely rocked these things. Unlike last week on Vail Pass, we hit Tiger Rd and the back country of Breckenridge. Here's mom and dad getting their lesson on the ATV.
This terrain was definitely completely different from Vail Pass and a lot more technical. We headed up the South Fork and things were going great. Beautiful scenery, we then hit some rough steeps but persevered through it. After climbing a good bit, we made a bit stop at an old house and took some photos...here's mom and dad rocking their ATVs.
We took some great photos at the top and then shot over to the North Fork while we still had some time. At this point I let dad take the lead. Wow...he took off and was a pro at riding this thing in no time. Here's a scenery pic.
We finally finished the ATVs and mom and dad agreed this was the best part of the weekend. Here are the three amigos after a great day on the trail!
Thank you for coming out to see me and for everything!!! I miss y'all but love my new home and I think you can see why now:) Can't wait to see you for the ski trip in February!!!
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