Volleyball tourney and Guanella Pass Camping

Our volleyball team had their end of season tournament on Saturday, and after our first tourney where we didn't advance out of our bracket we weren't sure what to expect.  The week prior Ryan, Karla and Matt had the great idea to go camping after the tournament to Guanella Pass.  Naomi wasn't on board, but she came around.

Our team 'Set it and forget it' did very well, finishing in 2nd out of 21 teams.  It took alot longer than we thought, and we didn't leave the park until a little afer 4pm.  Exhausted and sunburned, we decided to hurry home and still pack up and head out to camp.  Fortunately we made good time and got out to the pass around 6:15 or so.  A few miles from the campground we encountered a herd of bighorn sheep, maybe 15 or so.  We had originally planned on going to the official Guanella Pass campground, but it was full and we got lucky and found a site off the side of the road that noone had gotten to yet.  It was fantastic!  groves of aspen trees, and basically the suite of camping; 3-4 sites side by side but not being used.  We didn't have neighbors, and it was great.  The best part, the fire ban was lifted a few weeks ago, so we got a campfire!  Karla was in her happy place, and we just relaxed with Naomi and Ryan for the evening.  A little chilly at night, but we were able to sleep decently.  Got up this morning, Ryan had a campfire already going, and we relaxed for a few hours before packing up and heading back to the city.  Now relaxing after a long day of volleyball and some mountain time...great weekend.

Weekend of Menko

We were very excited to have our BFF from Chicago to visit...the one and only Menko (aka Kristen Klimenko).  She flew in Thursday night and we grilled out at our house while drinking a few bottles of wine.  On Friday, Matt unfortunately had to work, so it was girls' day.  We slept in a bit and then went to Red Rocks to do some hiking and explore the amphitheater.  For the first day at altitude, Menko did great on a 4 mile hike!!

After Red Rocks, we headed to have lunch and explore Golden.  We didn't go to the Coors brewery, but did have a Coors product at lunch (which we felt obligated to do since we were in Golden).  The sign welcoming you to Golden looks very old west, which adds to the charm.

Friday night was a happy hour with volleyball friends and then dinner at Ignite with  Naomi and Ryan.  On Saturday, you could tell Matt had something to do with what time we left because we were out of the house by 8:30am...no sleeping in this morning!  We met up with Naomi and Ryan and hiked up Chief Mountain.  Menko was a little nervous about the altitude (started at ~10,600), but she rocked it.  The views from there are amazing.

After Chief Mountain, Naomi and Ryan headed home while the three of us went to Idaho Springs for lunch.  We ended up at Tommyknockers where Matt and Menko enjoyed the craft beers.  From there we drove through Golden canyon and decided to go alpine sledding (Menko and Karla spotting it on Friday and decided it was a "must do".).  Matt was a little hesitant at the idea, but it ended up being really fun.

After a quick trip to Colorado Cider Company for some tastings (and for Karla and Matt to replenish their stock), it was home for a quick nap.  For dinner we hit up downtown for dinner and then LoDo's for drinks.  We met up with two friends of Menko's that lived in Fort Collins...she met them while on her 6-week Europe trip.  Her friends were aghast that we hadn't been to Rio for margaritas after living in Denver for 5 months.  So, we ended up at Rio for margaritas, which were really good and quite strong!  Of course, we had the munchies on the way home and ended up at Biker Jim's for some gourmet hot dogs at 1am.

Sunday morning was brunch at Snooze where our waiter could tell we had a late night.  He asked Karla if she wanted a small or large orange juice and all she could do was stare blankly at him.  He ended up taking pity on us and giving us a free pancake for breakfast dessert, which was awesome.  There's a reason we love that place - they have great service!!

It was a fun-filled weekend...we can't wait for her to visit again.

Mt. Democrat

Friday night we headed to Kite Lake - the trail head for Mt. Democrat.  We arrived there around 8pm (after hitting a little traffic in I-70).  It was dusk, but still enough light to set up our tent.  It was a gorgeous night.  The full moon made it easy to see around and made the mountains look beautiful.

Sleep was a little hard to come by, particularly because our air mattress didn't have any air in it.  Our battery operated blower decided to give out after blowing for about 10 seconds.  Luckily, the ground wasn't too bad and we were semi-comfortable with a sleeping bag and a few blankets.

Our goal was to hit Democrat, Lincoln, Cameron, and Bross, which are all accessible from the same trailhead, but Karla was having a tough hiking day so Democrat was the sole 14er of the day (which is still an excellent day)!  Here we are at the summit:

At the summit, we ran into someone who told us about a Which Wich promotion.  If you take a picture of you and a Which Wich bag at the top of the 14er, print out the picture, and bring it to Which Wich, you get a free sandwich!  We, of course, had to take advantage of this because we love Which Wich and even love a free sandwich more.  :)

On our way down, we saw a mountain goat.  Just one, but it seemed as though he was keeping track of all of the people trekking up and down his mountain!

And finally, a view of Kite Lake from Mt. Democrat.