27 September 2007

The school is 'humongous'

Tonight, Julia told me that Ms. Bogner's class was close to the bathrooms but Ms. Matheny's class was not at all close to the bathrooms.
I said - The school isn't that big, is it?
Julia said - The school is humongous.

Where does a 5 year old get this stuff?

17 September 2007

A September Day Around Breckenridge


This is the perfect hike for a youngster - provided you have a high clearance vehicle to get to the trailhead. This hike has lots to see in a short distance, scenery and historic value. What more could you ask? Better weather would help but the cold and rain reminded us summer was about done and skiing was coming soon!

After half a mile, one arrives at Mayflower Lake. This is surrounded by old miner's cabins. Nice spot but it gets better. About 3/4 mile, we stumbled upon the Continental Cabin which is somewhat restored and a good place to hang out in the rain. Yes, it was raining off and on. As we hiked up, we told Julia stories about the miners. Then we found a mining adit, a horizontal shaft. Interesting that there was a warning sign here to stay the heck out and stay alive. Probably a smart idea ... This really fit into the stories, of course.
Even better, we found wild rasberries. Yum!

A mile from the trailhead was Lower Mohawk Lake (topo, picture) and a great lunch spot. We had hoped to get to Upper Mohawk Lake but it started raining again and it was cold. It was time to get to the Octoberfest in Breck anyway.

The German weather cleared out much of the Octoberfest crowds. This made it easier for us to get Bratwursts and a Weissbier. More room for dancing to the Austrian band too.

More pics here!

11 September 2007

Getting together with an old friend - Al Torrisi

We haven't seen Al since we climbed at Rumney, NH last year. Good to see him and meet his wife, Deb.

Mia whipped up a great dinner. Deb and Julia hit it off when Deb decided Julia needed her nails painted. (Oh, man ..) Four bottles of wine and we woke up the next morning ready for a hike up Mt. Audubon (topo). Well, sort of. That wine plagued us a bit during the day. Good stuff. We hope to see Al & Deb again soon.

06 September 2007

Climbing in the Black Hills with the Woods and Coopers


The featured photo shows Bob Wood climbing in the Chopping Block area of the Rushmore Needles. Typical of the beautiful scenery up there ...

The kids really enjoyed the opportunity to get together - unlike last trip when Julia was stuck w/ us for most of the time.

Night time entertainment was provided by Bob and Garett and their instruments.

More photos here! (Added to the end of the Aug Black Hills Climbing Trip)