Monday, November 12, 2012

Colorado Adventure Weekend

 We spent a three day weekend in Colorado back in September.  We stayed with my friend from high school, Chad Staker, and his wife Brie.  On Friday, Chad and I went on a high altitude hike, starting at the Berthoud Pass and climbing to over 13,000 ft. 
 

Chad and his golden retriever, Riley, taking a lunch break on our hike


 Riley and I at the top of our climb

 the trail connected to the Continental Divide Trail, which seemed to go off to infinity

 the aspen trees were nice bright yellow accents in a sea of evergreens

On Saturday, Emily and Brie ran the Denver half marathon, while Chad and I did some intense local mountain biking.  Later, we met up with my cousins Dave and Heidi White (and their kids Taylor and Jackson) as well as my Aunt Rochelle and Uncle Lee for dinner at Dave's place.  Our trip just happened to coincide with the rescheduled Denver fireworks display (postponed from 4th of July due to wild fire hazards), so we got to watch the show from the comfort of Dave's deck.  Dave was also gracious enough to buy us all dinner (thanks!). 
On Sunday, we went for a hike around the nearby Red Rocks park (even after running 13.1 miles, Emily and Brie had enough energy left to hike up lots of stairs):

 athletes using the Red Rocks amphitheater benches as a rigorous training grounds


On Sunday afternoon, I had the chance of a lifetime.  For my birthday this year, Emily got me a 1 hour rental in a Lamborghini.  Like many, I have always dreamed of driving one of these exotic vehicles.  They are actually much smaller in person than you would expect (very short/low and compact inside).  I got to drive it on some curvy mountain roads, and the owner (riding shotgun) was not shy about letting me exercise its horsepower.  I was quickly up to triple digit speeds.  It was a great experience that I will never forget, but I was somewhat relieved to return it unharmed and without any interactions with the local law enforcement (whew). 

 best rental car ever!!

It was definitely a fast paced trip, but very awesome that we could squeeze so much into just one weekend! 

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