GARY'S BEST DAY EVER

Donna and Gary ventured out without me today. Gary found another "sanctioned" walk he could do in the area that would add to the stockpile of miles he has been collecting. It was a 10k walk that would take them through the historic town of Manitou Springs.







The walk also passes by the Cog Railroad which is where the Barr Trail begins. Gary said that he knew how much Polly and I really wanted to hike this trail and decided he would give it a try. He was determined to be the first in the family to compete this hike. I was stunned as he was telling me this. After all, this is a 12.6 mile hike and he would not receive any credit. Obviously Gary must be a little more competitive than we thought. I have to hand it to him, he must be in a lot better shape than I realized to consider even doing a portion of this hike.








Here are Donna and Gary at the trailhead right before they set out on their hike.












Here are Donna and Gary at the top of Pikes Peak not looking any worse for the wear. These are the only pictures Gary was able to provide. He told me he was very disappointed that he didn't have any pictures of the actual trail going up to Pikes Peak. Apparently the batteries in his camera went dead right after they took the picture at the trailhead. Unfortunately, he had to wait until he made it to the top to replace the dead batteries. Sounds a bit fishy to me.














Donna and Gary made it back to Manitou Springs. Gary decided he still wanted to compete the sanctioned 10k walk so he could get some credit for the day.














I almost forgot, according to Steven, he was so impressed that Gary made it to the top, he rewarded Gary by allowing him to drive the train back down the hill.

Garden of the Gods- July 20, 2009

Donna and Gary met me in Colorado to check out the newest member of the family, Zoey Kathleen. Please feel free to call her Kathleen for short if you would like, it is after all, a beautiful name.








Donna and I had planned to hike a portion of the Barr trail, which is the trail that will take you to the top of Pikes Peak. Unfortunately, I am still recovering from last weeks fall and was forced to cancel that hike. Now that I am thinking back, Polly was a bit jealous that Donna and I were hiking that trail without her. You don't suppose....?









Donna and Gary are members of a walking club called Star Trekkers. Gary loves to walk and has no problem completing a 10k walk. However, there is one condition, he must get credit for the walk. When visiting new cities Gary looks for "sanctioned" walks so he can make sure he gets the proper credit. No credit, no walk. I'm not sure how it works, maybe the miles are like the blue chip stamps we collected years ago. Once he gets a book full of miles he can turn it in for something really nifty that you could buy at the store for $9.99.











Gary did his research and located an 11k walk through the Garden of the Gods,which is a beautiful place to walk with or without credit. He and Donna set out for this walk with only the clothes on their back and one bottle of water each. No, that was not a typo, they each only had one bottle of water for an 11k walk in 85 degree weather and an altitude of 6,500 feet .
















Gary is hoping this will get him extra credit.





































In the meantime, Alex and I were off on our own adventure. Our plan was to take the car and go find something to do. Instead we decided to take some of the little spur trails to see what we would find. After all, Alex had a hiking stick and had every intention of using it. He was determined to do some rock climbing and found the perfect spot for it.






































Would someone take the camera away from Gary?






























I am pretty sure Bart said the sun would set to the west................ or was it the east?














It didn't take Donna long to see the error of their ways. Realizing that if she went on, the buzzards were likely to find them before we did, she did the smart thing and gave Gary her remaining water and went in search of a cool place to wait for Gary to complete his walk.













Donna sent a rescue team with water to find Gary.
















This is what a Colorado "Best Day Ever" looks like.

LOCH LEVEN JULY 12, 2009

Polly, Cindy and I had just spent a wild weekend with our friends at a cabin near Donner Lake. I can't go into any detail because you know they say "what happens at the cabin, stays at the cabin". All I can say was a good time was had by all and we were ready for a good workout. This is Cindy's second hike with us, a couple more hikes and she will no longer be considered a guest. She will become a member of the "best day ever gang", however, it will take a while longer before she is given decision making power.









Our hike today was Loch Leven and yes, it is my favorite hike. Loch Leven is located right off 80 about 20 minutes west of Donner Lake. It is a seven and a half mile hike and takes you to three beautiful lakes.










Loch Leven offers a little bit of everything. The hike begins in very rocky terrain.






















But quickly turns to this lush greenery.

















Before you know it you are headed into what feels like a rain forest.





















The only problem with allowing Cindy to join the best day ever gang is she never gets dirty. That makes the rest of us look bad.


















Cindy got to experience natures obstacle course.


















Unfortunately I tripped over a rock. As I hit the ground I felt a rib pop and for a brief moment thought we would be calling for that Ranger Rescue. Luckily that was not necessary. No worries, there was no permanent damage, but we were forced to cut the hike short and didn't make it to the upper lake to our favorite lunch spot.



















Since we were so close to the middle lake, we settled and ate lunch there before heading back to the car.















Somehow this doesn't look like we settled?















A nice swim in the lake would really make this a best day ever.

Lake Tahoe Rubicon Trail July 6, 2009

Polly and I decided that a quiet day was needed to recover from the lovely weekend we had just endured, I mean enjoyed. So we left everyone behind and headed to Lake Tahoe to explore a new trail that she and Bart had discovered the previous weekend. It is approximately a two hour drive from Polly's house, but worth every minute. Polly had warned me that it was a fairly flat hike, but was so beautiful that you forgave it's lack of incline. I am not sure where she went hiking last weekend, but it couldn't possibly have been this place. It was indeed beautiful, however, far from flat. This is my new favorite hike and will be until the next hike. My favorite hike always seems to be the one I am on. The only negative was the allergy attacks we both had. I would highly recommend taking allergy medicine with you even if you do not normally suffer from allergies.








I am sure they don't mean me.



















We learned a new terminology this week, PUD. Can anyone guess what a PUD is? When beginning a hike, PUD's are fun. By the time you get to the end of a 12.5 mile hike, you will be making every attempt to avoid the PUD's.












The trail takes you around the lake, so you have an amazing view from start to finish.














We came across a bench that overlooked the lake and decided we should stop an enjoy the view. As soon as we sat down Polly spotted an Osprey enjoying his lunch on a tree right in front of us.












You have heard of tree huggers, Polly is a tree sniffer. According to her, the tree smells like butterscotch. It appears to be catching on as she had other hikers sniffing trees as well. Personally, I was looking for the candid camera.









This is one of those hikes that you can't wait to do again. From start to finish, this was a best day ever.

Best Day Ever? Today our destination was the American River Bike Trail. We had planned to take the kids on a three to five mile walk, another family fun day. If you read about our last family day, you already know how much work they are. You may even recall that I confessed to scheduling our last family day when I thought I would be out of town. Don't get me wrong, I love our family days, once we get going.




I believe everyone should be encouraged to participate and for the most part everyone enjoys family fun days. However, every once in a while, someone decides they don't wish to participate. If you are ever planning a family day and someone is insistent that they don't wish to participate, I would advise leaving them home. If you are already on your way when you realize they really don't want to go, I would stop at the nearest bus stop, open the door, gently but firmly push the individual out of the car and drive off quickly without looking back. This may sound like drastic measures, but in the long run it is the kindest thing you can do for all participants.





It was so touch and go there for a while that a couple of people even tried to fly away with a passing flock of birds.












As always, I will use discretion and not identify any of the annoying parties.


















Skyler finally gets to try out her new hiking digs. Now that is the only way to travel.


















They look like they are in trouble already. I think they forgot to put their dog on a leash.















































After our walk, which was cut very short, we all piled in our cars and silently drove to a friends house for an afternoon of eating and swimming. Everyone had a great time and the day was salvaged.



































We survived Saturday which couldn't have been too bad because it is now Sunday and we are all together again to celebrate Katie's XX birthday.



















This is our hostess reminding us of the importance of always wearing protective gear when cooking.



















Katie is blowing out her pretend candles. We were afraid to light real candles now that she is XX.



































Now we are talking fun!



























































Reminder: Best Days aren't always obvious, but if you look hard they are always there.