Red Rocks

Mr X and I decided to do some exploring one day in the recent past and as we meandered we came upon the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater. If you've never heard of it, it's an outdoor concert venue in Colorado, carved into these incredible red hogback rock formations. I've never been to a concert here but Mr X has and he says it's quite an experience. Apparently when no concerts are in session this place doubles as a workout area. When we showed up loads of people were busy sweating it up as they repeatedly ran up and down the bazillions of stairs. The area immediately surrounding the amphitheater is filled with seemingly endless trails to hike, bike or jog. At one time this area must have been quite the dinosaur hangout because a vast number of fossils have been discovered here.

(This picture below is a fantastic example of Red Rocks Hogbacks.)

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Two weekends ago Mr X and I bought a year-long state parks pass and we went on a hike in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It's the closest one to our house, roughly a thirty minute drive. A lot of the snow here has been melting lately due to the spring temperatures (40's and 50's during the day) so aside from the evergreen trees, the park looks quite brown and dreary. Even so I thought it was beautiful and I'm very much looking forward to seeing it when the wildflowers bloom in a month or so and also when the aspens change color for the fall. At the visitor's center we were told that many people had spotted a female moose with a baby. I was constantly on the lookout, hoping to spot moose myself but unfortunately that never happened. Maybe next time. Our hike was close to a 10 mile round trip and it was fairly easy. We packed our lunches and ate them at the top of the hill/mountain and then came back down. It was gorgeous and loads of fun. I can't wait to do another one soon.

DC People Pics

My brother and his son. His son who melts my heart with his excruciating adorableness.




My brother, his son and Mr X, enjoying Mount Vernon.

Arlington Cemetery post-viewing playtime.

What a charmer...

So my brother asked me to watch his son while he ran to work really early in the morning. I was still in bed and I could hear My Brother's Son in the dining room eating stuff and generally making himself merry however 3 year olds do. I figured being tucked in bed in the very next room with the door open provided adequate adult supervision. Then I heard, "WHAM! Crack!" and horrific wailing ensued. I swear I've never moved so fast in my life. Luckily nothing damaging happened and I was able to soothe my nephew with some hugs and some treats. I was much more vigilant from that point on. I don't think my brother knows about this incident.

DC Sights

I know these pictures are ridiculously old for a post but hey, better late than never, right? These are just a few pictures from Mr X and my trip to DC last summer. Rather than bore you with the details, I'll just let you peruse the pictures. NOTE: I don't think the details are boring - I had a wonderful time! Many thanks to my fantastic brother and his equally fantastic wife and children for giving us a stellar tour and being such generous hosts. Much love to you.

Sequoia National Forest Trip - Part 3

The last night we were in Sequoia there was a huge snowstorm that dumped all night long. The next morning we went out to the parking lot and you couldn't hardly see the cars.


The picture below is our car. Do you recognize it? It took us a while to recognize it and even longer to dig it out.

We decided to go out for one last snowshoe hike before we left the lodge to go home. We wanted to try out snowshoeing in nearly 4 feet of fresh powder. It was SO exhausting, but incredibly beautiful. Below is the walkway from our lodge - so much snow was piled on either side of all of the walkways that we felt a bit like rats in a maze.

My first fall while snowshoeing is captured below. It's hard to get back up on your feet in all that powder.

Mr X took a rest by a bridge, which he nearly fell off from while trying to sit down.

This is what would happen if one went walking around without snowshoes - you pretty much wouldn't get anywhere because you'd have to dig yourself out after each step.

I am SO glad Mr X and I had the opportunity to visit this great national park before leaving California a month later. It was an incredibly experience and sight.

Sequoia National Forest Trip - Part 2

The sad part about these Sequoia posts is that these pictures don't even come close to capturing the grandeur of these trees. Regardless, here's me sub-par photos of the forest:

This is actually two tress that had grown together and the bottom center got sort of burned up a bit in a fire at some point in history. Jeff and I are so tiny standing at the bottom of the tree.

I loved the really HUGE trees like General Sherman and General Grant, but I found the actual clusters or groves even more impressive, even though they were made up of smaller trees, comparatively speaking of course.

I did a vertical 'panorama' here, above, in an attempt to capture an entire single tree. It doesn't really work unless you can see the photo in it's original large state.

We snowshoed all the way from our lodge down to the Giant Forest and then some other areas of the forest.

The center tree in this photo is General Sherman.

This one is just another random giant Sequoia.

Out for a jog...

This morning Mr X and I went for our usual morning jog (bundled up like mad because it's about 30 degrees at 6 am here). We jog next to the winding back roads from our house. About three quarters of the way through (read: just down the street from our house) we were stopped in our tracks as a herd of elk decided to leisurely cross the road in front of us. Mr X and I just stood there freezing because we didn't want to upset them or anything - they have horns, we don't. I quit counting after I reached 100 but I think I got most of them so it probably wasn't too many more than 100 elk. But still! 100 ELK! Crazy, I tell you, crazy.