After a solid weekend of sausages, fireworks and beer, it was time to head back out west. I’d never been to Colorado in the summer and it was time to rectify that. I flew out to hang with Casey from 7/7-7/11.
Our first adventure was camping, so we made a supply run.

We found some awesome coozies at the grocery store. Mine is the one with the shark (of course). The full message is: If ya messin with my drink, ya might sleep with the fishes. Odd threat in land-locked CO.
Tuesday afternoon we headed back to civilization so we could do some additional adventure planning. Casey had never been white water rafting, so we had to fix that.
After lunch, we decided to drive up to Mount Evans. I had never heard of it, but it’s the highest paved road in North America. It opened in 1931. The original plan was to link three 14,000-foot peaks, as part of a Peak to Peak Highway system, but it proved too ambitious. So, from the comfort of a car, we got to ascend from 7540 ft to just under 14,130 ft in about 45 minutes. The brochure was full of fascinating facts, like:
*Every 1000 ft gained in the mountains is equivalent to traveling 600 miles north in latitude
*Temperatures drop 3.5-5 degrees F for every 1000 ft of elevation gained. The average summer daytime temp is around 42 at the top of the road, and it can snow any day
*The sun is 5% stronger every 1000 ft of elevation gained
*The Alpine zone is the treeless land above 11,500 ft. During the 8 months of alpine winter, most animals hibernate or head down the mountain. Even the wildflowers have special adaptations; the leaves of Alpine Avens contain anthocyanin, an antifreeze-like pigment that converts sunlight to heat
*The Mount Goliath Natural Area (11,540′) contains Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine, wich are the oldest single living organism on earth, capable of living for thousands of years

Our first stop was Summit Lake Park. It’s the highest park in the Denver Mountain Park system. The environment mirrors the arctic. Luckily, we had our rain jackets in the car.

We made it to the top! We took the trail from the parking lot, and we could see most of the Continental Divide.

The views from the top were mind-blowing. We also checked out the highest observatory in North America. There used to be a restaurant called the Crest House, but it burned down in 1979. We walked around the ruins. I hope they bring it back. What a place for a cup of coffee!

The next morning we did a fitness class on Stand Up Paddleboards. This was a first for me. I made it until about the last 2 minutes of class before falling in.

That afternoon, we went to the Denver Botanic Gardens, where a Chihuly exhibit was going on. He’s known for his glass work and the installation was seamlessly throughout the gardens.

We finished out the day by lounging at the roof top pool, riding the Denver equivalent of Citibikes, having a delicious dinner at Root Down and drinks at Linger.
We packed a lot into 4 days. I can’t wait to do it again. The losers at Frontier Airlines wouldn’t let me on my flight Friday morning, but there was no way I was going to miss this: