LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Labor Day weekend started a little early for us. Wednesday after work, the Bops packed up the Xterra, and we were off to Ouray, a small town about 50 miles by car from Telluride, but only about 10 miles away on a straight line. We arrived in Ouray at about 11 PM, went straight to bed, and got up at 5 AM the next day. We started our weekend in Ouray because my mother-in-law's husband (we'll call him Gman) and I were attempting to climb the 14er Mt. Sneffels. I had never climbed anything this high. Gman had hired a guide for the climb, which after talking to the guide, was not entirely necessary, but worth the money for us. After some discussion on the ride to the trailhead, we ended up going up the "moderate" route. This route started with a nice hike along a snowmelt creek on the way to a saddle. This shows the view east from the saddle.

From the saddle, we climbed across a talus (larger boulders) field, and then up the south ridge to the summit. The climb up was not that rough, but it is not a route that we as inexperienced climbers would have chosen. The popular route up Mt. Sneffels is up the east side which is all scree (lots of small pebbles---SUCKS), then up a talus field, through a crack, and a short climb to the summit. The route we used was fantastic. It was an experience that we would not have enjoyed without our guide. It combined a nice hike with a cool climb ending in the same spot as those struggling up the scree field. When we got home, I checked the internet. The only other mountain I had summited was Divide Mountain, on the eastern border of Glacier National Park. Divide Mountain is only 8900 feet. Climbing a 14er did make me realize that while it's nice on top, and the experience great, it's not something I am going to race around Colorado doing every weekend.

MY SPIRITUALITY

I lived in Denver years ago when I was young and dumb (not so young anymore). When I got here, I found myself in a place I loved and working a job I hated. With immaturity running high, and money running low, after 2 and a half years I left and went back to San Antonio. 10 years later, I've returned with my beautiful wife and daughter. I love everything the mountains have to offer. I like to ski, hike, fish, camp, look at, and do just about anything in the mountains. The time I was away was spent figuring out how to get back. I knew when I left that I wasn't done here. Once I was married and a father, this spent some time on the back burner. But, through hard work and diligence (some groveling too), Mrs. Bop agreed moving to Denver might be a good idea. We've been here a little over 6 months, and the best thing I have found is how much I enjoy sharing the mountains with my daughter. She is very much a 6 year old little girl. Princesses, pretty things, painted nails, fancy dresses -- she loves them all. But every once in a while, I make her do something with me in the mountains and she has a great time. Me too.

MY MICHELLE

So after taking a day off of work and drinking and fishing with friends, I had to pick up Mrs. Bop and Lil Bop at the airport at the butt crack of dawn. They landed at 7 AM. Hey, cheap flights are at weird times. Anyway, we all had an early start, Lil Bop had a back to school tea party with her best friend from school around lunch time, and we ended the night with a Beatles concert at Red Rocks. That's right, the Beatles--live--in concert. SWEEEET!

Yes, that is the Beatles tribute band down there. They recreated the Beatles show at Red Rocks from 1964. It was awesome. We went despite all our other travels because Lil Bop's teacher played the Beatles in class for the kids occasionally. When she came home singing "Eight Day A Week", it brought up an old memory of mine. My mom, who was a teenager during the Beatles invasion, said it was weird hearing her 12 year old son singing the Beatles while doing Saturday chores. Mrs. Bop and I thought it would be a good first concert for Lil Bop. She had a good time, but Mrs. Bop and I were wiped out.

So, 8 Day tally: 4 lakes, 2 fish, 1 hangover, 1 concert.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS 8/24/07

After struggling through four days of work (I took Friday off), I took off to Steamboat Thursday night to meet up with some friends. We drank a little that night, and after some grocery shopping in the morning, we finally did some fishing. We went up on top of Rabbit Ears Pass and fished Dumont Lake. We parked about 200 feet from the lake, walked to the first spot we hit water and started fishing. After a while (with no bites), we decided to move around the lake. After two hours and a good hike, we were right back where we started. It was pretty windy and there was lots of grass in the water along the banks. The first spot we fished was blocked from the wind by trees and had a nice drop off close to the edge. It ended up being the best spot on the shore. I had my first catch in Colorado followed about an hour later with my second.

So, 7 day tally: 4 lakes, 2 fish, 1 hangover.

WE GOT AN XTERRA

We moved to a place where it snows on my house. SWEEEET. I've lived here before and was lucky enough to learn how to drive in the snow in other people's cars. Mrs. Bop grew up in South Texas where it has snowed once in the last twenty years. She's learning to drive in the snow in our cars. She was handling it like a champ before I was able to join her here in Denver. But to facilitate her getting around town and to preserve my sanity, we bought a 4WD vehicle. This was purely for her and Lil Bop to be safe when tooling around town in the snow. WINK-WINK, NUDGE-NUDGE. WE LIVE NEAR THE MOUNTAINS. This picture is from March when we bought it. The first place we went for a hike was at Red Rocks State Park and I thought this made a good picture.

GUANELLA PASS 8/18/07

I heard about fishing the Square Top Lakes above Guanella Pass purely by chance. But I took the information and ran with it. I've known for a couple of weeks that Mrs. Bop and Lil Bop were going to visit friends in San Antonio. So after dropping them off at the airport, I hightail it to Georgetown (about an hour west of Denver). I meet up with a buddy coming down from Steamboat Springs, and we drive over the pass. The pass is about 11,600 feet. The Square Top Lakes are about 2 1/2 miles from the pass and 1000 feet above it. We went over the pass and set up camp at about 8000 feet. We get back in the truck and head up for some afternoon fishing. Back at the pass, it looked like we were going to get some rain. So we settled for fishing a little pond next to the pass. The rain cleared and we decided to push for the Square Tops. The hike ended up longer than either of us expected but was well worth the work. We made it to the lower lake (about 12,600 feet) and fished it for about an hour and half. We didn't have a strike, didn't see a ripple, nothing. But check out the view.

The next day, we wanted to hike less and fish more. So we drove about 30 minuts to the Blue River inlet on Lake Dillon started to fish. By our second casts, we were getting pounded by big ole elephant rain drops. We walk out and my buddy decides to head for home. Since the family is away and I-70 already looked thick, I took the scenic route home. As I went over Hoosier Pass on my way to Fairplay, down in the valley I spot a nice little stream. I keep driving towards the town of Alma, and on the outskirts, I see a lake with state property signs all over it. I pulled over and fished for 2 1/2 hours. So, 2 days, 3 lakes, 0 fish. I still had a good time.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

For those wondering what I have been up to, here is an update for the past two weeks: I've driven 1100+ miles, hiked 40+ miles, climbed a 14er, fished four lakes and a river -- caught 9 fish (6 big enough to keep), went to a concert, rubbed elbows with the film industry, and had a blast every minute. More info coming.