Thanksgiving Week

6 days of not working and the weather was awesome - Wednesday was 70F and I was running in shorts

On Thanksgiving Maureen and I did Green Mountain from Flagstaff Road. It was pretty crowded but people were in good moods and friendly. A traditional dinner after - a little real turkey for Hudson and soy turkey for me



Friday morning we sat around debating about going to windy Long's Peak and eventually decided on Golden Gate State Park less than an hour away. We had always wanted to check it out and it is an excellent place

We decided on the Mule Deer loop - 7.4 miles. Somehow made it into 11.7 miles and still not sure how to do a complete loop without getting on other trails. Still - didn't get lost which I had read was possible.  I used both my GPS apps and while they are close on mileage they vary wildly on elevation gain - MapMyRun said 1,100' and Strava said 1,800'.  Not that it matters - they're both free







Using the telescope from Panorama Point looking - I think - at the Indian Peaks







Yet another cool sunset in Boulder. Will not see these in Seattle



Finished off the week with drinks with our friend Jill. Festive egg nog and whiskey

Last Days of Sun

10 days left before we head back to the Pacific Northwest...





So, we're getting out and enjoying the great weather. That includes lots of time at Dry Creek for Hudson with his friends. Sunrise Wednesday



Saturday on Sugarloaf



The iPhone camera is convenient but sucks at zooming in. The guy by the tree had just proposed - successfully



Sunday morning Hudson did his 10th summit of Green Mountain this year - half from Flagstaff Road and half from Gregory TH





Afterwards went with Maureen up Flagstaff Mountain



On the way down swung by Crown Rock for the first time



Today vacation starts - no evil work. Did Bear Peak. Bear is tough, very steep. But it's the final 50 yards that is sketchy to me so I was pretty happy to finally have made an easy solo scramble



We're hoping to get out to Long's Peak Friday and run to the Keyhole. We were thinking of Thursday but it's supposed to be cold, 7F with wind chill in the afternoon. Hahaha!

Boulder Quad

Mellow celebrating Tuesday night



Early Saturday



Came across a fun list - climbing all mountains and hills in the Boulder Quadrangle. A Quad seems to be 1 of the 55,000+ "7.5-minute" maps (1:24,000) from the USGS

24 destinations - probably 18 of them are hills - lots of great exploring. Some of these I've wanted to do anyways - like Lee Hill near the Sunshine Saddle and Arkansas Mountain up near Sugarloaf (below from Betasso)



Here's the map and list. Hopefully can drag someone along for the ones on private property...





Chautauqua Sunday after a light snow

Halloween Week

Moon setting over the Flatirons on the morning of Devil's Night



My dates for Halloween



This pic cuts out my tuque which was a key part of my costume - I was a Vancouver Canucks fan. The girls were not impressed but I ended up with more comments and compliments than the 2 of them combined. Drunk Boulderites are good people

Took All Saints' Day off and went with Maureen up to St. Vrain Mountain TH to do Meadow Mountain. Came across long-horned sheep



"Someone" bailed after a mile because they "felt funny" (hung-over) so I headed up solo to hit the summit. Unfortunately I lost the trail in the snow and ended up hiking up steep off-trail



After a long slog was still further away than I had hoped (I was going the wrong way) and with Maureen reading a magazine in the car decided to call it a day. 5.6 miles with 2,100'



All Souls' Day on Sugarloaf with Hud at sunrise



Later that morning we went to look at houses in Genesee. Elk everywhere



Sunday we went to Bergen Peak in Evergreen. It was one of my better runs of late - 11.3 miles with 2,000' - several miles down with some guy I met on the summit



"Someone" got lost on her way down - she needed to hop a gate to be "rescued" on CO-74. Must run in the family

I looked up "Boulderite" - used earlier - to see if it was a real word. Urban Dictionary does a good job on the definition

Boulderite - one who:

1. Trains for a marathon before work
2. Spends more than 10 hours a week in spandex
3. Eats out at fine establishments, wearing a fleece vest and expensive outdoor shoes
4. Carries plastic bags for picking up dog poop
5. Drinks 2 oz of espresso for breakfast, 2 oz wheat grass for lunch, and 24 oz Micro-brew with dinner
6. Drives a Subaru Outback with some clever form of an anti-Bush bumper sticker
7. Buys groceries on a commuter bike, or cross country skis
8. Owns Bike rack and Bike that costs more than the price of Subaru
9. Lives within walking distance of a yoga studio
10. Wonders how CO can still be a Red State