Gray's Peak

Jeff (a coworker), Kelly, Heath, and I were planning on going for a hike on Sunday morning up to Cataract Lake. It was going to be a 10 mile round trip with 2300 feet or so of elevation gain. Saturday night, Jeff copped out to do homework, so I thought hmmm...why not do something a little easier...like climb a 14er? Somehow I talked Heath and Kelly into going, and we got up early Sunday morning and headed west to Gray's Peak. Gray's is just a few miles south of I-70, just west of Georgetown, CO, so it's a pretty popular trail. It's also supposed to be one of the easiest, and most people cross the saddle and summit Torrey's Peak also. We figured since this was our first one and we weren't sure how we'd feel, we'd start with just Gray's. We got there about 7:30 to an almost full parking lot and headed up. The first two miles of the four mile trail (you start at around 11,000 feet altitude) have a fairly gentle upward slope, which really helped me get acclimated to the altitude. At about the halfway point, the trail starts getting steeper. There were still a lot of snow patches, which were a little tricky to traverse. We (or at least me) had to stop at first every 100 feet or so, then every 50 feet, then about every 20 feet to catch our breaths and rest our legs. It wasn't so much that we were out of breath from exertion, it was just the simple lack of air. After we stopped, about five seconds later I was breathing normally. We finally reached the summit around 10:20, so it took just under 3 hours to go the four miles (and, more importantly, the 3040 feet in elevation gain). At the top, we ate, rested (behind some rocks, out of the cold wind), and took pictures. There were two people there when we got there, and soon after about 5 more showed up. That group decided to go on to Torrey's, which is about a half mile away but a 500 foot elevation drop then a 500 foot elevation gain. By then, it was starting to get really cloudy and windy, and we weren't too prepared for a snowstorm, so we took off. Going down was MUCH faster, although much harder on the knees. We passed many more people going up, even one that Kelly and I worked with, and ran into some sleet. Closer to the bottom the sun came out again, and I was able to take off my hoody and get some sun on my arms. We got back to the parking lot about 12:30. On the way back to Denver, we stopped at a really slow Starbucks to reward ourselves. I think I might be up for doing a 14er again, now that I know I can. There's nothing like the feeling of success when you finally summit. :)

So that was another first. That weekend was just full of firsts for me! Now, if I had worn the bikini on the 14er hike....lol.

Six Flags

My friend Kelly and I decided to go to Six Flags in Denver today. We bought season passes and had yet to use them, so today seemed perfect. It was also a big day for me, with two firsts. The first "first" happened this morning before going to the park. We were hoping to make the water park a big part of the day, so I had to finally break down and buy a suit. Last night I went to Kohl's with the intention of looking for a bathing suit, but an hour and $100 later, as I was walking to my car, I realized I totally forgot to look. They were just having way too great of sales, lol. Anyway, this morning I went to Target to look. I knew I probably wanted a tankini, and the bottoms would have to be the skirt kind. I found the bottoms, but there really weren't any black tops that I liked. So I took a chance...and tried on a bikini top...and to my surprise, it actually looked decent! It's the first bikini I've owned in about 15 years.

So onto the park... after working out and eating, we got to the park around 12:30. We stood in line to get our season passes, we stood in line to get through the gate, we stood in line for the lockers, we stood in line briefly for the bathrooms before deciding to wait, and we stood in line for the only two rides we ended up going on. After the second water ride, it was getting cloudy and cool, so we decided to go over to the roller coaster part of the park. Here's where the second "first" comes in. I walked around with just my shorts and the bikini top. Yes, that's a big deal to me. Being in the water park was okay because there were plenty of other people who looked way worse than me in a bikini, but in the regular part of the park, most people were wearing normal clothes. I got some dippin' dots (mmmm....) and Kelly got a coke and we walked around looking for rides. Unfortunately, it was starting to rain and thunder, so lot of the rides were shut down. The ones that weren't had horrible lines, so we decided to call it a day and go home. Next time we're getting there when they open at 10.

More House Work

The end is in sight for my basement work! My dad and sisters came out last weekend, and we framed and put up drywall in the basement. Yesterday, my friend Mike came over and helped me tape and put the first coat of mud up. After a few more coats, I'll be ready to prime the walls, and then the fun begins. I've decided to paint a beach theme on the walls and floor (since we're about as far from a beach as we can be!). I'm not too good of a painter, so I've recruited a few people to help out. Hopefully it'll turn out great!

Athena is doing better. We bought her some expensive toys, but she prefers to play with the plastic rings that hold the lids on milk jugs. Sometimes she'll just get a wild hair and run up and down the stairs over and over. She's also starting to sleep in my bed more. Her favorite thing is hair. She'll try to lay on our heads when we're laying on the couch and knead our heads with her claws. Since she's not declawed, that hurts a bit. She's also warming up to visitors more, she only hides for a few hours before coming down to check them out instead of all day. I think she needs a playmate, though. Maybe I'll have to get a kitten... :)