It's back to work we go...

What a fabulous week in Colorado with the family. I got to go on a couple of hikes with mom and spend lots of time playing with Trinity. And as a bonus I got to spend time with Amber and occasionally see my brother. Our last hike was on Thursday and we attempted to go into the Rocky Mountain National Park but it was so crowded they were using overflow parking. Then you had to take a shuttle to the trail heads. Mom doesn't do well with crowds so we headed off for another hike to Gem Lake. I was happy because it meant at least 3.4 miles round trip. That seems like a fair trade off for missing my work outs. It was a beautiful day and a great hike. Gem Lake isn't big but its pretty. We sat there for a bit enjoying the view before heading back down. On the way back the afternoon rain rolled in. It got a bit chilly with the wind but felt pretty good over all. I saw a small rock overhang on the way down so I slid underneath to take a photo out of the rain. Mom thought I was stopping to wrap the camera better to protect it. She had to laugh when she realized I was taking pictures from under the rock.

Fun rock on the hike

Afternoon storm rolling in

During the time with the family I also got to go swimming with Trinity and Amber. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not big on swimming. But I'm guessing this doesn't really count since we were in the baby pool. On the bright side I felt tall since the water only comes up to mid thigh. When I started going in circles with Trinity she started kicking. Then she would do this little move with her backside that made it look like a dolphin kick. I had to take a video so her Aunt Katie could see her technique. Want to lay bets that Trinity gets her first lesson in two weeks when Aunt Katie gets there? Trinity is pretty chilled out at the pool other than when we got her kicking.

Chilling at the pool

The hardest part about heading for home was leaving the little cutie. Of course part of the difficulty was that Trinity had a full handfull of my hair. My next trip to Colorado isn't until October when Mom, Amber and I are going to see Straight No Chaser for my birthday. I can't wait to see what Trinity is doing then.

Her father said this better be the only time her butt is on the Internet

I headed back on Friday the 13th. One of my favorite days. I am a big fan of 13 to begin with and learned early that Friday the 13th can be lucky as easily as it can be unlucky. So I always get a kick out of when it falls on a Friday. Driving through Wyoming though does not make for a lot of adventure. The windmills are probably the most exciting thing on the route across the southern part of the state.

The view was either cows or windmills

Coming back on Friday gave me the opportunity to be in town to see Katie and my friend TJ compete in the Park City Triathlon on Saturday. Ever since Katie bought a road bike she has been really into riding. She has been doing team sprint triathlons with a couple of her friends. TJ does the Olympic triathlon distances. Usually TJ's wife (my friend Courtney) doesn't go to the triathlons. But I convinced her we could sit and laugh as they biked by us since they had a 2 mile up hill ride from the Jordanelle Reservoir to start the ride. Unfortunately we couldn't make it work to park in that area. We found a smaller hill further down the course and sat there cheering for each bike rider as they went past us. We got some smiles, waves and thank you's. We might have missed Katie and TJ but they waved or smiled at us so we realized we actually knew them. In the end Katie's team was 2nd and TJ won his age group. I am impressed. I have no desire to try one myself even if Katie is trying to convince me and Amber we should do one sometime.

TJ

Katie
(Only looks like she's in a bit of pain)

To finish off my two week break Courtney and I went to see the Lion King in Salt Lake City today. I had tickets 6 years ago but moved 2 months before it arrived in Indy. This was the first opportunity I have had to see it since. It was amazing. I'm sure everyone knows that and we were the last to see it, but if you haven't, you must go! I'd be willing to go see it again. Such a spectacular show. I admit that I love anything Disney but this was truly fantastic. The actors were phenomenal, the costumes were unreal and the singing was superb. Probably one of the best musicals I have ever seen. I'm so glad that it came to SLC.

Now it is back to work until my next adventure at the end of the month. Ten days, 4 states, lots of family and friends!