update-a-roo (along the same lines as an updizzle)

this past weekend was packed with activity. Brad planned a really nice hike for us Saturday morning. we hiked herman gulch which is a trail very close to the continental divide. the hike was short but challenging with most of the hike being uphill. we brought maya along and she is still doing awesome at hiking right along with us. she is such a smart dog!

the girls at the beginning of the hike

maya could barely contain her excitement for this picture

there was a beautiful lake at the end of out hike

maya and I enjoying the view of the lake

maya was trying so hard to be a good listener and sit with us instead of chasing marmots

our lunch spot. it was such a gourmet lunch brad set up for us. it included fruit, chili flavored almonds, gouda cheese, bread and sausage...plus the guy even carried up a bottle of wine for us. what a nice romantic surprise :)

the view from our lunch spot. it was a super view and we had the whole lake to ourselves for a while!




Then, I planned an outing for us on Sunday. We took the long drive (100miles) to the town of Leadville, which by the way is the highest incorporated town in the US. but before we hit the town, we drove north up Tennessee pass to the Colorado trail to do a little mountain biking.

getting things together before hitting the mountain bike trail

brad taking on a cool bridge along the trail

brad and the camera couldn't keep up with my speed!

we stopped to take some cool jump pics. our jumps and camera taking abilities could probably use some improvements. ha.

this jump is the jump that did me in. i hit a rock with my back tire and got a flat.

this was me changing a tire before we realized that brad's extra tube was actually flat too. bummer. i had to walk/run my bike four miles back to the trailhead. not fun.

having the time of my life...not really. let this be a lesson, always make sure you have "new" spares along for the ride.

we finally made it down the mountain to the cool/historic mining town, Leadville. The town was really cute and beautiful and we made sure the first thing on our agenda was to eat a packed lunch on a park bench. food always seems to take priority.

cool guy pose

i loved how colorful the buildings are, it reminded me of mexico in a way.

posing for brad..ha.

well, even after all the excitement of the day, we crazily decided it wasn't enough. When we got back to Golden, we hurried to the bike shop for THREE spare tubes (can't be too careful) and we grabbed maya and decided to head up to Boulder to fit in another mountain bike trail before it got dark. mostly we wanted to see how maya would do on the mountain bike trail. well...it started off rocky. she was a bit scared of the bikes but then she settled in and loved it. i think she really loved running at her top speed (bc up until now she was only running as fast as i could run, which is super slow compared to how fast she COULD run). when we came to a tight spot through trees she stayed right on my back tire the whole way, slowing down and speeding up as i did. All was going awesomely until...POW...I blew ANOTHER tube. what luck. i was so frustrated that I didnt want to change it and risk loosing another new tube so brad took off to go and get the car while maya and i walked out. i am starting to get really tired of walking my bike. i think i just need to buckle down and get new tires (esp since I have never gotten new tires, EVER) oh well, at least the walk granted me a beautiful view of the boulder flatirons and a glorious red and orange sunset.