A Visit from James

James and Melissa came to our house while David was out-of-town.  We loved having them!  James is changing so much right now….he understands so much of what we are saying, including “no!”.  Following are a few photos from his visit.

He bear-crawls and is very fast!

He loved the “new to him” toys.

Loves spinning the wheels on any toy that he can.

Stands alone and takes a few steps and then goes back to crawling….walking is just too slow for him right now!

Hurricane James in my pantry.

Enjoying some “face-time” on the iphone with Daddy.

Nothing sweeter than a baby after his bath.

We are looking forward to spending the weekend with the family for James’ first birthday coming up in September.

Lily Pad Lake Hike

On one of our last mornings in Summit County we took a short hike that we had taken about four years ago.  It is an easy hike back to Lily Pad Lake.

The views on the way to the trailhead.

Yellow was the flower color of the day.

We will miss the cool days and all the outdoor activities.  It was a great month spent in Colorado and the weather could not have been better.  It is always good to be home in Texas…..but we will be ready next year to go back to our summer  home away from home.

Mt. Evans–Elevation 14, 264 Feet

After our Quandary Peak hike we wanted a day to take it easy so we invited the Terrals to drive the Mt. Evans Scenic Byway which is the highest paved road in North America.

We stopped for a picnic lunch.  Mike was a trooper carrying his oxygen at the high altitude.

Steve climbed up to a over-hanging rock and was showing off.

More mountain goats.

And we finally saw bighorn sheep.  This was a younger herd.

Conquering Quandary Peak–Elevation 14,265 Feet

I don’t really know what came over us, but we decided we wanted to climb a 14,000 foot mountain while we were young enough and healthy enough to do so.  We did not know entirely what to expect, but in short, it was pretty difficult.  There is not much oxygen at this elevation!

A photo of Quandary Peak in early winter that I found online.

We start our hike about 6:15am.  The first mile of the hike was forested and we enjoyed the sunrise creeping over the peaks.

The second two plus miles were above tree line, very rocky and steep.

Parts of the last mile were a 30% grade!

Steve and I on the summit.  Our feet and legs were so tired.  Actually, the 3.2 mile hike back down was difficult as well because of all the rocks.

Gorgeous views from the summit….it felt like we were literally on top of the world!

We encountered lots of mountain goats along the trail.  We even had to leave the trail a couple of times to let them pass by.

Photo of Blue Lake taken on the hike back down.

This is not a hike I feel that I need to repeat, but Steve may tackle it again sometime.  I am just excited to say we hiked to 14,265 feet!

Wildlife Day

We took a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and to see our friends, the Potts at their ranch near Grand Lake.  We were hoping to see a lot of wildlife and we were not disappointed.

On the way to RMNP we spotted this osprey nest with at least three young osprey.  The mother was away from the nest at this time.

Near Granby, where we lived about 34 years ago, the Continental Divide has this unusual formation.  What do you think it looks like?  We have always said Abraham Lincoln lying in repose.

We traveled to the top of Trail Ridge Road where we came upon a herd of elk.

The Alexanders at the top of Trail Ridge.

At the west end of RMNP we spotted this young moose.

Steve and I went on to Grand Lake and hiked to Adams Falls.

A pretty striped chipmunk on the rocks near the falls.

We stopped by the Potts ranch to visit.  The views from their house are fantastic.

They raise llamas on the ranch.

Hummingbirds at their feeder on the deck.

This gorgeous red fox walked just beyond their deck in the meadow.

And a buck deer was strolling through the willows near the stream on the ranch.  We saw so many different wildlife while on this day trip…so fun!