colorado trip 2011 day 6 cont'd
still using my nikon 3000 and my 18-200mm lens
Day six was early to rise again as today was the last day of snowboarding for the kids and then a special surprise...we all took off after a breakfast of leftovers from the previous breakfasts and everyone seemed happy...tomorrow we all agreed we needed to try the local breakfast joint on route 6 heading to eagle-vail named "route 6 cafe " that a friend had told us about...we decided to do that on our way out of town to denver saturday morning...
once we all got pack with the gear ...off to breckenridge...ms boo decided to hang with me and see if we could go to the top of the mountain or see about snow biking...
as it turns out the kids had the best day of snowboarding and boo and i rode the gondola all the way to the top...11640 ft above sea level...'top of the rockies' it was a life memory...one i'll never forget...for a man scared of heights and yet amazed at the beauty ...checkout my photo's of these mountain top view...
part two of day 6...the dog sled surprise...and what a treat it was...in the valley off of route 24 we found alpine adventures and the dog pen and farm complex...right out of the country and in valley was the old homestead..and for the next 2/12 hours we all had a blast..anna was our guide and she was picture perfect..a western cowgirl is a understatement...she was a cute and rugged as you would expect...and could handle herself in the brutal cold and wind..yet be just as hospitable as a bartender with a smile and a drink waiting for you...i took action photo's again and some still shoots of the complex and the pens...
the actual ride was harder then one thought and when the wind kicked up it was most difficult...it was not fast..but bumpy...yet making the turns made you pay attention...and just hanging on while standing on 1 inch rails was interesting to say the least...without the googles at times it was miserable...and yet it was a beautiful day and the sun was out...just goes to show you what the wind does...
After saying goodbye we headed back to town to end the day with a nice dinner and to pack up our gear...for the morning departure and ride back to denver..
Day 7
route 6 cafe...a true western gas station that also happens to be a dinner with a bar, and a bakery...nothing like i had ever seen before...breakfast was just as we all hoped... delicious!
off to denver ....it was... we made a couple of photo stops...one in the country to see a bison herd and then in downtown denver ...then off to the airport...dropping of the rental suv and then taking the train to the airport...we all loaded the plane and landed in raleigh...
wandering for a week with 5 kids in colorado was priceless and made me appreciate those special moments we all have when we realize that something special happened...until my next wandering i hope you enjoy all my colorado photo...
chow...chow...
nc wandering
tobacco rows
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
colorado wandering march 2011 #2
day 4 cont'd:
my nikon 3000 and my 18-200mm lens...
...cont'd...We got ty off to the airport...then we got bundled up and headed off to breckenridge colorado and to try new slopes at keystone...the gondolas looked better and more adult friendly...
Got to breckenridge after about a 40 minute ride...spectacular beauty ...straight up cliff...valley's that go on forever...massive mountain views and ear popping climbs...
Kids had a blast as i wandered around and found out different things about the village..great possibilities for next stay...took some photo's
walked back to bottom of mountain..to scared to ride gondola by myself...caught beverly on the end of her snowboard run...said everyone got split up...funny on how taking one turn can lead you astray ...everyone finally meet up and we had a beer and laughs...they all agreed they had a blast on this mountain...day two of snowboarding turned out a huge success for all!!
packed up and decided to try visiting leadville again...this time coming in on hwy 191...wow... drove thru a massive valley...which turns out later where we did our dog sled adventure(more to come on this)... also stopped in another valley which was the WWII camp for the 89th division and was called hales' campground...got to visit the town of CLIMAX...LOL and saw a live wolf...( kids did...i missed it driving)...then thru the valley of Climax and into leadville...we parked at the start of downtown and walked down..visiting stores and saloons and finally stopping in quincy's a 1 menu item restaurant...all they served is filet mignon, salad and baked potato...PERIOD...nothing else..LOL...it was fantastic...everyone had the same thing...best of all the meal was $7.95 per person...loved it!!!
....took some great photo's of the true western town...never gone believe it but once again...got the damn...27 miles to park on the gas gauge...guess i'm not gonna learn...we all held our breath to minturn and got fueled...lol..
Day 5
great breakfast ...everyone sore....but in good spirits...early rise...today is our snowmobiling day...4 hours plus lunch......lot's of excitement....something we all have been waiting on....piney river excursions was the host and our guide karl from lakoda guides totally exceeded our expectations...Wow...so here go on a amazing 4 hours in the mountains of colorado...got picked up at 10:15 in the lobby... drove to vail and up, up, up the mountain to the entrance of the white river national forest ... got dressed with helmets and snow boots..and once again...signed our life away...the most paperwork we've done to date...
meet our guide karl...got 15 minutes of instruction on bike...including starting, stoping, leaning, holding on, kill switch, hand signals and finally trail etiquette....told us we were going to travel 30 miles during the day...the park had over 45 miles of maintained trails for snowmobilers...and 1/2 way we would stop at piney river ranch lodge and have lunch...everyone gave their lunch order.. joining us was a couple from san antonio and two guys from hot atlanta....off we took...up, up, up, again even further...starting on a one lane road...and finally turning off onto a single trail...hard to take photo's while driving...so most you see are still shot's..
words are hard to describe the first 1/2 of the trip...spectacular...mind numbing...amazing...god's special singular touch...massive...small.. and OMG...scary..and dangerous...why dangerous...here's why...20 minutes into the drive...coming around a corner i saw what appeared to be one snowmobile stopped and josh running and pumping his fist in air with the stop sign...as i came up i saw that the snowmobile in front of josh had turned on it's side in a huge hole...the two girls were laying on their side...but quickly jumped up...whew...as i jumped off mine and ran jerking my helmet off i heard .."i didn't see it"
..."gas is leaking...help us get it up"...when karl arrived...he was praising us and said you did good...and yes .just a slight misdirection into the powder can pull you over...lesson learned for all...and off again we were... on a incredible journey thru the woods and into a large valley and to a cleared area twice as large as a football field oval in shape....karl said ..two things...don't hit any trees and go as fast as want, till time to move on...THIS WAS MY FAVORITE PART! wide open...leaning, sliding, holding ones's breath, braking, grinning, over and over...around, straight, and then finally stopping....gave my camera to josh and he took some incredible action shots...
...the next part of the journey was spent traveling to the ranch...we traveled on bunch various of trails, some single, some roads, some not sure...bumpy and very narrow, to come to another large valley...signs directing us to piney lake...lunch was coming...i could begin to taste it...pulling thru the gates of piney river ranch i knew we had come to a special place...the photo's will never do it justice as so much of my photo's i've taken during this trip can't compare to the views one's eyes receive...a lunch of cheeseburgers and a lengthy visit with karl fascinated us all..the old lodge sitting in the valley on the lake... which was snow covered from a winter of heavy snowfall...all knowing it held all kinds of stories and secrets....took killer photos here...
after lunch we took off for what karl said would be another journey as we had to eventually come down the mountain...not sure what it initially meant but found out after 30 minutes ...as we stopped for a breath taking view on a ridge and karl gathered us to discuss the next stage...a straight downhill descent of over 1/4 of a mile... this proved to be one of the most difficult parts of this adventure and one i was not totally sure i was ready for...as i saw each snowmobile take off and as i was the last...i couldn't help but wonder i just sat here would anyone comeback???
next was the journey to the backside of the mountain and views of the white river national forest...and our final descent back to base camp...this journey was mostly across rugged terrain, that of massive boulders and step cliffs...the trees were larger and split between evergreens and aspens...all larger then most of the previous parts...as we entered onto the two lane road that was packed with all types of tracks...i knew we were approaching the final stretch ...and was beginning to swell up with tremendous pride to have witnessed such beauty and nature, given to us all to treasure and share...and most important to take care of for the next generation..i will always do my part...i promise...as each kid promised...
as we said our goodbyes...karl leaned over and told me how appreciative he was of "my" kids and how we handled ourselves...and he would love to host us again...and you know...we just may do that.........
a magnificent spaghetti dinner tonight was prepared by the kids as i played on the computer and loaded/edited photo's...wow...what another blessed day......
to be continued.....
my nikon 3000 and my 18-200mm lens...
...cont'd...We got ty off to the airport...then we got bundled up and headed off to breckenridge colorado and to try new slopes at keystone...the gondolas looked better and more adult friendly...
Got to breckenridge after about a 40 minute ride...spectacular beauty ...straight up cliff...valley's that go on forever...massive mountain views and ear popping climbs...
Kids had a blast as i wandered around and found out different things about the village..great possibilities for next stay...took some photo's
walked back to bottom of mountain..to scared to ride gondola by myself...caught beverly on the end of her snowboard run...said everyone got split up...funny on how taking one turn can lead you astray ...everyone finally meet up and we had a beer and laughs...they all agreed they had a blast on this mountain...day two of snowboarding turned out a huge success for all!!
packed up and decided to try visiting leadville again...this time coming in on hwy 191...wow... drove thru a massive valley...which turns out later where we did our dog sled adventure(more to come on this)... also stopped in another valley which was the WWII camp for the 89th division and was called hales' campground...got to visit the town of CLIMAX...LOL and saw a live wolf...( kids did...i missed it driving)...then thru the valley of Climax and into leadville...we parked at the start of downtown and walked down..visiting stores and saloons and finally stopping in quincy's a 1 menu item restaurant...all they served is filet mignon, salad and baked potato...PERIOD...nothing else..LOL...it was fantastic...everyone had the same thing...best of all the meal was $7.95 per person...loved it!!!
....took some great photo's of the true western town...never gone believe it but once again...got the damn...27 miles to park on the gas gauge...guess i'm not gonna learn...we all held our breath to minturn and got fueled...lol..
Day 5
great breakfast ...everyone sore....but in good spirits...early rise...today is our snowmobiling day...4 hours plus lunch......lot's of excitement....something we all have been waiting on....piney river excursions was the host and our guide karl from lakoda guides totally exceeded our expectations...Wow...so here go on a amazing 4 hours in the mountains of colorado...got picked up at 10:15 in the lobby... drove to vail and up, up, up the mountain to the entrance of the white river national forest ... got dressed with helmets and snow boots..and once again...signed our life away...the most paperwork we've done to date...
meet our guide karl...got 15 minutes of instruction on bike...including starting, stoping, leaning, holding on, kill switch, hand signals and finally trail etiquette....told us we were going to travel 30 miles during the day...the park had over 45 miles of maintained trails for snowmobilers...and 1/2 way we would stop at piney river ranch lodge and have lunch...everyone gave their lunch order.. joining us was a couple from san antonio and two guys from hot atlanta....off we took...up, up, up, again even further...starting on a one lane road...and finally turning off onto a single trail...hard to take photo's while driving...so most you see are still shot's..
words are hard to describe the first 1/2 of the trip...spectacular...mind numbing...amazing...god's special singular touch...massive...small.. and OMG...scary..and dangerous...why dangerous...here's why...20 minutes into the drive...coming around a corner i saw what appeared to be one snowmobile stopped and josh running and pumping his fist in air with the stop sign...as i came up i saw that the snowmobile in front of josh had turned on it's side in a huge hole...the two girls were laying on their side...but quickly jumped up...whew...as i jumped off mine and ran jerking my helmet off i heard .."i didn't see it"
..."gas is leaking...help us get it up"...when karl arrived...he was praising us and said you did good...and yes .just a slight misdirection into the powder can pull you over...lesson learned for all...and off again we were... on a incredible journey thru the woods and into a large valley and to a cleared area twice as large as a football field oval in shape....karl said ..two things...don't hit any trees and go as fast as want, till time to move on...THIS WAS MY FAVORITE PART! wide open...leaning, sliding, holding ones's breath, braking, grinning, over and over...around, straight, and then finally stopping....gave my camera to josh and he took some incredible action shots...
...the next part of the journey was spent traveling to the ranch...we traveled on bunch various of trails, some single, some roads, some not sure...bumpy and very narrow, to come to another large valley...signs directing us to piney lake...lunch was coming...i could begin to taste it...pulling thru the gates of piney river ranch i knew we had come to a special place...the photo's will never do it justice as so much of my photo's i've taken during this trip can't compare to the views one's eyes receive...a lunch of cheeseburgers and a lengthy visit with karl fascinated us all..the old lodge sitting in the valley on the lake... which was snow covered from a winter of heavy snowfall...all knowing it held all kinds of stories and secrets....took killer photos here...
after lunch we took off for what karl said would be another journey as we had to eventually come down the mountain...not sure what it initially meant but found out after 30 minutes ...as we stopped for a breath taking view on a ridge and karl gathered us to discuss the next stage...a straight downhill descent of over 1/4 of a mile... this proved to be one of the most difficult parts of this adventure and one i was not totally sure i was ready for...as i saw each snowmobile take off and as i was the last...i couldn't help but wonder i just sat here would anyone comeback???
next was the journey to the backside of the mountain and views of the white river national forest...and our final descent back to base camp...this journey was mostly across rugged terrain, that of massive boulders and step cliffs...the trees were larger and split between evergreens and aspens...all larger then most of the previous parts...as we entered onto the two lane road that was packed with all types of tracks...i knew we were approaching the final stretch ...and was beginning to swell up with tremendous pride to have witnessed such beauty and nature, given to us all to treasure and share...and most important to take care of for the next generation..i will always do my part...i promise...as each kid promised...
as we said our goodbyes...karl leaned over and told me how appreciative he was of "my" kids and how we handled ourselves...and he would love to host us again...and you know...we just may do that.........
a magnificent spaghetti dinner tonight was prepared by the kids as i played on the computer and loaded/edited photo's...wow...what another blessed day......
to be continued.....
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
colorado wandering march 2011
colorado wandering...march 5-12-2011
all taken with my nikon 3000 and my 18-200mm lens
taking time off in march is not something i do unless it's for march madness...but this year..i got two condos in avon colorado for a week..i invited my kids & friends ...we all piled into the plane from raleigh and took off for denver...got a rented suv and then headed 120 miles west..we got in very late...day one was getting our bearings, getting rentals and shopping...that afternoon ..we all headed to beaver creek for snowboarding..the mounatin elevation of almost 11K ft....it was snowing and the kids all had a different experiences...all in all very good..everyone bonded ...i got a couple of pics...we then went out to dinner..
next day....day 2...soreness was the laughable word and it was a blast chuckling most of the morning and listening to stories..then a beautiful day appeared and we took off wandering...heading east with no real place in mind...got a map at a tourist info center and decide to visit the towns of red cliff and leadville colorado.
we found out quickly they were calling for a winter advisory warning...8-16 inches of snow start at 5 pm..so we blast full steam ahead not wanting to waste any time. we found hwy 24 and off we went..kids and i stopping for photo shoots along the way..and several absolutely breath taking views and some excellent shots... for lunch we found mango's in the town of red cliff and enjoyed the local cuisine and view..upon exiting a local said to look up on the cliffs and see the herd of elk grazing..wow..so cool...then off to leadville and see the clouds bearing down ..from just a beautiful 50 degrees to a sudden drop to low 30's in less then a hour...
leadsville was a incredible town reminiscent of the old west towns..and yes it was a old west town......but with the weather pushing us we only took a quick bathroom break..and back on the road back to avon...kids cooked a killer meal of beef stroganoff and salad..then we all quietly crashed...
day 3...woke up to a snowfall of 4-6 inches in the valley and 12-16 on the mountain..spectacular...one kid went to the slopes as he was leaving early due to work....he took on the ultimate double diamond ride...called.. "birds of prey"....the rest of us went tubing...a extreme snow sport for the old man..it was a intense blast in high altitude..on and off snowing the entire time...just amazing how the weather changes so quickly...after that we all decided to grill some dogs and make grilled cheese sandwiches before a afternoon of wandering to the west..once on hwy 131 we decided to head to the town of state bridge...stopping along the way for many shots as the colorado terrain changes drastically...we also has numerous encounters with deer...seeing 50-60 during our 2 hour trip...we found that State Bridge is a small village not a town and is literally named after the state bridge that crosses the colorado river...a check of the gas gauge proved to be a reality check as it said 29 miles till parking...so a new adventure began..coming back down to edwards to refuel all the while wondering did we have enough to make it the final 10 miles..LOL..yes we did..21.5 gallons..in a 22 gallon tank.. driving back to beaver creek we found a great local hangout called Finnegan's wake...and proceed to have drinks in restaurant before being told upstairs was a neat sports bar...with pool tables and Foosball tables...yes..it was a riot...and loud...and lots of fun...bonding ...why yes...competitive ..yes...thank you kids for a spectacular day and evening! and yes we stumbled home as not to endanger any local or wildlife... i love you all so much...those were some killer life memories...
day 4...breakfast on own..and watching ty pack up to head back for nc and the work grind...today we try new slopes and if time permits maybe a return trip to leadsville...
MORE to come..as the wandering continues...
all taken with my nikon 3000 and my 18-200mm lens
taking time off in march is not something i do unless it's for march madness...but this year..i got two condos in avon colorado for a week..i invited my kids & friends ...we all piled into the plane from raleigh and took off for denver...got a rented suv and then headed 120 miles west..we got in very late...day one was getting our bearings, getting rentals and shopping...that afternoon ..we all headed to beaver creek for snowboarding..the mounatin elevation of almost 11K ft....it was snowing and the kids all had a different experiences...all in all very good..everyone bonded ...i got a couple of pics...we then went out to dinner..
next day....day 2...soreness was the laughable word and it was a blast chuckling most of the morning and listening to stories..then a beautiful day appeared and we took off wandering...heading east with no real place in mind...got a map at a tourist info center and decide to visit the towns of red cliff and leadville colorado.
we found out quickly they were calling for a winter advisory warning...8-16 inches of snow start at 5 pm..so we blast full steam ahead not wanting to waste any time. we found hwy 24 and off we went..kids and i stopping for photo shoots along the way..and several absolutely breath taking views and some excellent shots... for lunch we found mango's in the town of red cliff and enjoyed the local cuisine and view..upon exiting a local said to look up on the cliffs and see the herd of elk grazing..wow..so cool...then off to leadville and see the clouds bearing down ..from just a beautiful 50 degrees to a sudden drop to low 30's in less then a hour...
leadsville was a incredible town reminiscent of the old west towns..and yes it was a old west town......but with the weather pushing us we only took a quick bathroom break..and back on the road back to avon...kids cooked a killer meal of beef stroganoff and salad..then we all quietly crashed...
day 3...woke up to a snowfall of 4-6 inches in the valley and 12-16 on the mountain..spectacular...one kid went to the slopes as he was leaving early due to work....he took on the ultimate double diamond ride...called.. "birds of prey"....the rest of us went tubing...a extreme snow sport for the old man..it was a intense blast in high altitude..on and off snowing the entire time...just amazing how the weather changes so quickly...after that we all decided to grill some dogs and make grilled cheese sandwiches before a afternoon of wandering to the west..once on hwy 131 we decided to head to the town of state bridge...stopping along the way for many shots as the colorado terrain changes drastically...we also has numerous encounters with deer...seeing 50-60 during our 2 hour trip...we found that State Bridge is a small village not a town and is literally named after the state bridge that crosses the colorado river...a check of the gas gauge proved to be a reality check as it said 29 miles till parking...so a new adventure began..coming back down to edwards to refuel all the while wondering did we have enough to make it the final 10 miles..LOL..yes we did..21.5 gallons..in a 22 gallon tank.. driving back to beaver creek we found a great local hangout called Finnegan's wake...and proceed to have drinks in restaurant before being told upstairs was a neat sports bar...with pool tables and Foosball tables...yes..it was a riot...and loud...and lots of fun...bonding ...why yes...competitive ..yes...thank you kids for a spectacular day and evening! and yes we stumbled home as not to endanger any local or wildlife... i love you all so much...those were some killer life memories...
day 4...breakfast on own..and watching ty pack up to head back for nc and the work grind...today we try new slopes and if time permits maybe a return trip to leadsville...
MORE to come..as the wandering continues...
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