hike/run mud creek trail, 4 miles, 800 feet of elevation gain. a barn in a meadow and a boulder filled creek where several family members fell in. oh, and a jawbone of an ass.


hike up/run down, fish creek falls trail, roundtrip 6 miles, 2 thousand feet of elevation gain. no small children or senior citizens :-), fish creek, waterfalls, up-up-up-up, lots of pretty flowers and aspen trees, outrunning the hail storm, down-down-down-down-down.

strawberry park natural hot springs. hot, warm, cold pools… i mean, ponds surrounded by jagged, sharp, slick rocks that i kept falling on. pretty to look at, not to be in after 13 year old niece screamed about a dead fish. ew. when there is water involved, it can be too natural for this one.

drive to denver through cameron pass, poudre river canyon. rocks i wanted to climb but couldn’t, people with tubes to float down the poudre on a hot lazy 4th of july jumping in front of the van, fire branded mountain slopes, lunch in ft collins wendy’s parking lot. starbucks!

4th of july party, my aunt beth’s house, broomfield, co. aunts and uncles, cousins, old childhood acquaintances and lots and lots of food. then, guess what, fireworks. oren’s lost hedgehog, nero.

visit with an old friend, kathleen and her little family, mike and newish baby josie. jaunt to pearl street, boulder, shine gluten free restaurant. guy playing while standing on a tall, blue, string bass. a contortion artist. we DID NOT go in the patagonia store! :-O lizard replacement for oren’s lost hedgehog, nero.

afternoon, dinner, sleeping at sister melissa’s. leftover taco salad, man from snowy river, kid snippets, zzzzzzzzzzzz.

start trip home, through nebraska. drive-drive-drive-drive, harry potter and the goblet of fire, army vehicle museum, smell of old exhaust (surprisingly pleasant), bikes, trucks, jeeps, tanks, hummers, helicopters, lots more tanks with big guns outside, 100 degrees makes me want to drive again.

day 2 driving in nebraska. stop at the strategic air command air and space museum. bombers, fighter jets, helicopters and more. inside of a b-17 flying fortress. airplane models from the gift shop.

2nd night on the road. camping at a koa in illinois. hot, humid, a gurgling stream. birds at dawn and then rain. let’s just get out of here and drive home.

getting home is not home, but brian’s dad’s house. our house in disarray from a bathroom remodel. trip over, but still living out of our bags. wonder when we’ll sleep in our own beds again.

Posted on July 21st, 2013