Quandary Peak

It is so easy to get sucked into the daily grind of work and chores.  But STOP!!!! As my dad used to say (quoting Mark Twain):  "Never let school work interfere with your education."  It would be quite a treat to head to NYC to see a broadway show on a school day.  Well- I am not quite as spontaneous as my dad but Owen and I wanted to get one more 14er in before the snow covers the mountains.  I looked at the weather forecast and the only way to do it was to miss school.  So.... at 5:00AM Monday morning we headed off to the Quandary Peak Trailhead.  It was such a fabulous day and we had a wonderful hike up to the summit.

Sadly this month I have had a lot of reminders that life can change or end in a heart beat.  First my Uncle Phil died after a long illness, then my friend Matt died very suddenly on a camping trip, then my colleague Jared, along with his wife, died in a tragic car accident and left behind their two year old daughter.  All of these events make you stop and ask what really matters.  And of course the answer is always- time with those we love.  So pick up the phone and call that person you have been meaning to call, make a date with someone you need to catch up with or snuggle up a little tighter with those you love.  Yes I missed a day of work and Owen missed a day of classes but I am going to guess twenty years from now he will still remember the day he went hiking with a goat and you can be sure that whatever we missed at school wouldn't have been that memorable!  Here's to keeping it all in perspective!

Farmer Helen

This summer I have created a nice garden.  It is fun and I enjoy the time in the yard.  But I will be surprised if this is cost effective.  So far I have spent the following:

Soil $120 for 2 yards delivered:  I once heard this quote:  "I would rather put a $5 plant in $30 soil than a $30 plant in $5 soil."  I learned the hard way last year that good soil is critical.  Our soil is mostly clay so I got 2 yards of planters soil delivered to mix in with the current soil.

Mulch $200 for 2 yards delivered:  I am really, really good at growing weeds.  Maybe the best in the neighborhood.  I do not like to use chemicals to keep weeds away but all the watering makes more than just the plants want to grow.  So I plant everything and then mulch like crazy.  I like to use Gorilla Hair Mulch because it matts down nicely and mostly stays where you put it.

Water:  Not only do I need to spend a bit watering the plants.  I also use quite a bit soaking the greens and then rinsing the greens as I prepare them to eat.  Hard to know the cost of water because we are on a tiered system.  The first 5,000 gallons of water is only .0024 cents a gallon.  The second tier is .00342 cents a gallon.  I usually never hit the 3rd tier that starts at 15,000 gallons and cost .0042 per gallon.  I like this tiered plan because it encourages conservation- the more you use, the more expensive it gets.

Seeds $12:  I bought radish and cilantro seeds.  I also tried to plant some pepper, lavender and carrots but seed but none of those germinated.

Starter Plants $70:  I bought six tomato starter plants at the farmer's market.  I know I could have gotten these cheaper but there is so much fracking going on near me, I wanted to know exactly where the plants were started and that there were free of fracking soil and chemicals.  Some other plants I got for fun were:  Bok Choy (already harvested- YUM!!!!), Kale (3 kinds), Swiss Chard, Brussel Sprouts, and Celery.

Garden in a Box $70 from  Center for ReSource Conservation:  This is my second year using Garden in a Box.  I love it.  This year I got the Xeric Greatest Hits for my perennial flower garden out front.  I also got the Savory Seasonings vegetable garden.

Ultimately I will say this is a fun hobby.  I will not be harvesting enough to cover the costs but at least I am making good use of the land, learning a little bit about farming and enjoying fresh picked greens.  Here are a couple pictures of the garden so far.  I hope to post and update around harvest time.

Biking in Hygiene

Bad News:  The mountains are still filled with snow which limits hiking choices.
Good News:  While trying to cross train, I learned that I happen live near some fantastic bike routes in Hygiene.  So while I am not wearing biker shorts (and have no plans to do so any time soon,) I am enjoying this new-to-me sport of road cycling.  Here is a video of one of my favorite loops- a 14 mile relatively flat trip that starts and ends right at home.... How lucky are we to live with such great routes right from our house?

Snowshoeing to Chuck's Hut

Since I moved to Colorado I have wanted to plan a hut trip.  So back in August I logged into the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association and looked for a family friendly destination.  Normally it requires a lot more planning than a few months so I  was surprised when I saw Chuck's Hut was available.  Granted it was for a Sunday night but I figured I would follow my dad's advice (via Huck Finn):  "Never let schoolwork interfere with your education."  I asked everyone if they were on board and booked the hut.
Fast forward a few months to mid January when I looked up my reservations.  I noticed a slight problem- our hut trip was for Super Bowl Sunday.  Well- no problem.  Usually we don't even know who is playing.  But as every week got closer it was more and more obvious that the Broncos would be headed to the Super Bowl this year.
Oh well- what's done is done and I was not about to give up our hut trip for a football game.  So we headed to REI, bought a backpack and some freeze dried meals, ordered a radio from Amazon and headed up to Vail Pass.  On our way we stopped at Dam Brewery in Dillon to get a good hot meal before our trek began.  From the trailhead it was 2.7 miles to Chuck's hut.  This does not sound hard but between the wind, the snow, the slight incline and the 10,500 altitude, it was far enough for a family outing.  After about two hours we arrived at the hut.  It was like a little dream in the woods.
And even the Super Bowl worked out fine because we were able to tune it in perfectly on the radio.  Here are some outside views:

And in case you want some more details, here is a short youtube video I made about our trip.  I would certainly tell anyone interested to go ahead and plan your trip- even if it does turn out to be on Super Bowl Sunday!