Keystone, Colorado - Day 5

Day five started a little slow for us as we were pretty sore after a couple tough days of serious activity! Sarah and Meghan headed out bright and early to hike Quandary Peak while the rest of us decided to take it easy or so I thought. When you vacation with Jim it's not necessarily the type of vacation where you sit on your butt, I tend to do more activity on vacation than I do when I'm at home. I always thought I was in relatively good shape when I am on vacation I feel like completely out of shape! So the easy part of our hike was Lily Pad. This hike is great for any ages and size as it's easy and there is little elevation change and roughly 3.2 miles roundtrip.  

And up we go!

The beautiful lily pads

Jim decided since we were right next door to Buffalo Mountain we should check it out as we had heard good things about the trail and views. We had talked to a few older guys on the Lily Pad trail who claimed the first mile of the trail was very difficult but the rest wasn't too bad. The six of us walked the short distance from Lily Pad to the Buffalo Mountain trail head and started out on our next adventure.

If I had done any research about Buffalo Mountain I would've probably recommended that we find a different trail as it is considered advanced. Considering Megan, Brian and Vogs has arrived the night before it probably wasn't the best trail to pick considering the elevation change was approximately 3,000 feet. The first mile was pretty easy and flat which made all of us scratch our head as the guys we ran into earlier noted how difficult the first mile was. We should've know that it wasn't the first mile but the last mile!

Considering I had pushed my legs and lungs to all ends the last two days I was not overly excited about embarking a difficult trail. My legs were like jell-o and not in shape to hike for a long period of time but Jim wanted to see what this trail was all about so away we went. Unfortunately we sadly didn't get all the way to the top as the last part of the hike was pretty much rock climbing... I knew there was no way my body could handle rock climbing and then getting myself back down the mountain so we turned around. We heard the views were amazing and I can only imagine consider what they were like when we decided to turn around.

Excited we are almost to the end!!

As a treat after our hard work we all headed out for sushi - I know you're thinking sushi in the middle of the mountains?! We made reservations for 9 at Nozawa Sushi and Teppanyaki but arrived to find they weren't really ready for us... a little frustrating but eventually they found us a table as the place was extremely busy and for a good reason. The sushi was amazing and the portion sizes were huge! So after stuffing our bellies with sushi and beers after a full day of activity we were all ready for bed.

Keystone, Colorado - Day 4

On day four we decided to load up the bikes and head out for a bike ride up the dirt road we traveled to gain access to the Lenawee Trail. It was a perfect mountain biking path with many hazards along the way. The road inclines almost the entire time so my legs were burning after I had worked them so hard the day before. The views along the way were amazing and it was very peaceful, except for when the ATV tours came flying by! I'd highly recommend biking this road/trail as it's difficult but it's a road which makes it much easier than the narrow bike paths where I fely like I might fall off the side of the mountain!

Jim's attempt to make it over the small creek....

Very peaceful

Jim landed himself a mohawk thanks to his bike helmet

After a wonderful biking trip, we headed back to the condo so Jim could find himself on yet another golf course, this time he checked out River Course. He said it was a beautiful course and enjoyed the views. As Jim golfed the girls loaded up in the car and headed to Vail to visit Chris, Sarah and Hope. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at The Red Lion. We walked around and checked out the shops and the great artwork.

Needed at least one picture with our Colorado bear! 

Smile girls!

Kisses for Albert

Aren't I just the cutest lil girl you've ever met? 

The Sarah's toasting to the great accomplishments - baby, graduation, birthday

Caymus had to keep herself entertained since we were too busy chatting!

Keystone, Colorado - Day 3

Day three started with all of us getting up for a little breakfast before we all headed out for the day. Jill decided to dive into the 10 lbs. of pancake mix (I'm not sure if we even put a dent in the bag). Jim and I filled our bellies, loaded up the camel backs and headed out for a hike along Lenawee Trail. We arrived to the trailhead to find a long, bumpy and rough road. Since we were unsure how far back the trail was we decided to follow the other fools in their cars to find the trailhead. The road was extremely rough with potholes the size of my car. I wouldn't recommend driving a small, low-profile car unless you enjoy the challenge of dodging potholes and large boulders....

At last we found the trailhead!

So a little about Lenawee Trail. The beginning elevation is 10,320 feet (Des Moines elevation is 817 feet) so the air is quite thin....Jim of course didn't know much about the trail except that it had some great views. Well after huffing and puffing up the steep incline (elevation gain of 3,500 feet) we hike 3.2 miles to the top. The views were amazing and it was a very peaceful hike as there were very few other hikers. After taking in the views and stretching the legs we started the hike back down. The weather was acting a little goofy today as we encountered light rain, heavy rain with some thunder and lightning, sunshine and pee-sized hail! It was crazy how the weather changed over the course of the hike. The hike is rated difficult so I'd recommend you give yourself some time to acclimate to the thin air before attempting this one.

The starting point

I was hoping we were almost to the top.. nope about 1/2 way!

Finally leveled out for a bit.

Beauty from above

At last the top - only rocks and grass at this point.

We met up with the rest of the crew at the condo for a quick bite before we headed out for our next adventure - McCullough Gulch. Jim decided to skip this hike and played a round of golf at Keystone Ranch. The girls loaded up in the car and headed for the mountains. Apparently if you are only going to do one hike in Summit county, McCullough Gulch is the one to do. The hike is approximately 2.8 miles roundtrip and has majestic waterfalls. Sadly we didn't make it to the top of the trail which apparently finishes with a lake. Instead mother nature decided to surprise us with a thunderstorm which included significant lightning. During a thunderstorm the last place you want to be is on top of a mountain..... So all of us huddle together and got down as the rain came pouring down on us. We were able to see part of the majestic waterfall from where we huddled together but it wasn't as majestic as it would have been if the sun was shining. This one will be on my list for the next time we visit the area.

A little Dirty Dancing??

This sucks! Rain go away!

Majestic waterfall

After the hiking I was exhausted and looking forward to some dinner at Snake River Saloon in Keystone. Jim and I sat in the bar and enjoyed a couple cold beers with our delicious food. It was an early night for us as the hiking and golfing sucked up all of our energy!

Keystone, Colorado - Day 2

Sorry so this blog idea sounded like a great idea at one point or at least until my schedule became insanely busy! So I have a lot of catching up to do from the last month as it's been a busy one so here is the start....

Day 2 started nice early as we tried to acclimate to the ever thin air and time change! Jill, Nicole, Jim and I decided to spend our day in Breckenridge. We didn't realize Jim would be the shopping fool but go figure he was the one to walk away with multiple bags including two new pairs of shoes! I think he has a shoe problem. :)

Breckenridge is a great little spot for shopping, eating and drinking!! We parked and made our way down main street stopping along the way only to land ourselves at the Breckenridge Brewery for a nice little lunch and of course microbrew! For lunch around the table you could find an amazing appetizer ~ Pork Wings (highly recommend) followed up with a Las Vegas-style burger, chicken salad sandwich (very dry), mango chicken spinach salad, and soup and side salad. Overall the food was good. Breckenridge makes some tasty beers and we all enjoyed a round of Avalanche, Breck Lite and Oatmeal Stout.

After our bellies were filled we continued our shopping back down main street. Jim of course had to make a stop at North Face as the girls sat outside and waited and waited and waited! But I won myself a wonderful pair of snuggly winter pants!

As we cruised along main street we fell upon this great little wine, cheese and chocolate shop. What more could a girl ask for but one shop with her three favorite things!! So we settled into chairs outside and enjoyed the cool, fresh mountain air as we sipped on wine and nibbled on dark chocolate.

We were feeling a little guilty about our lack of exercise or I should say Jim was feeling guilty so when we landed back at the condo Jim and I took off on a short bike ride along Hwy 6 which runs between Dillon and Keystone. Sarah arrived after a LONG drive from Mesa, Arizona ready to celebrate her graduation from the Physician Assistant program.

High Five!

Hmm??

We put Jilly in jail...