Tuesday: Today we woke up a bit early and went for a breakfast at Izzy's Bagel shop...but were met with a closed sign! Turns out they don't serve food on Tuesdays...who knew? We went to McGill's instead, and had some filling eggs and toast. It fueled us for our hike on Snodgrass. I'd already made this hike this visit, so I knew it was clear and low enough in elevation to be manageable for Alli. She handled it like a champ! Along the way we saw/heard baby nuthatches, chipmunks, finches, robins, and loads of wildflowers. I tried to give Alli a short introduction to the wildflowers of the area...she probably ended up overwhelmed though.
After the hike we went for a drive up Washington Gulch Rd. to see Paradise Divide, surrounded by Mt. Baldy, Cinnamon Mountain, and the maroon bells. It's a stunning sight with dizzying heights (literally). The altitude will get to a newbie pretty fast, so we stayed up top for about 10 minutes before beginning our descent. Instead of following Washington Gulch Rd the entire way, we drove down Slate River Rd. So many sights to see in a short amount of time...I'm so grateful for my car hauling my sea lungs around up there!
We cooled down and had lunch in the condo afterward, and then drove into CB so Alli could get a fishing license! I don't know if it agreed with her vegetarian sensibilities, but she gave it a chance. She's such a good sport. I drove her to the Taylor River Canyon, and we met with Dad and Dillon briefly. He lent us a fishing pole and told us about a few of his favorite spots. Sage advice. :) We tried Tod's Slot first...I taught Alli how to tie on a spinner and attach a lure. Then we practiced casting. She picked it up very quickly, and then we turned to do our own fishing. On my first cast I saw a MASSIVE brown trout make a jump for my lure; he'd been hiding under the boulder we were standing on. I tried again two more times, and he leapt at the lure each time. By then I'd called Alli ovr to see the river monster, and she was impressed by his size. On my fourth cast the big boy attacked my lure and I began the desperate struggle to reel him in. He was so strong that my line kept feeding out despite my mad reeling. I had to hand my rod to Alli at one point so I could climb off the rock and wade into the water. At this point he and I are practically eye-to-eye, and I'm pulling the line in by hand....and then he gives one last violent shake and SNAPS MY LINE! He took my lure with him too, the jerk. I wouldn't have kept him, in fact he would have been admired and then dropped back into his home...but no! He's gotta work that lure out on his own now. I swear I'm going to hunt that fish down and take his picture! Haha! I actually got a shot of him before he swam away, but you don't have any idea of the scale. Just know that when I finally pulled him up to me he was as long as my hand and forearm combined. I invested in a fishing net the next day, LOL! We also had some issues with tangled fishing lines and snagged lures. This is where Alli astutely pointed out: "You call this fishing? It's more like 'fixing'!" Hehehehe...and she's totally right.
We ended the night with drinks and pizza at the Secret Stash, and then hit the hay early on. We were both wiped after a long, fun day.
It's too bad that I don't have any pictures to document the tremendous fun I had on Wednesday. It was my first day to go out on a Program with the ASC. We took a group of 9 children and 2 adults out to the Gunnison River to white water raft. The white water was a class 2, meaning the smallest waves and drops possible before you drop down to a class 1 (still water). The kids flew in from Houston, TX where they live and attend a school for children with disabilities. In the summer they attend a camp called 'Serendipity' that works with the ASC for a 2-week long stay including many outdoor activities. During their stay they'll be hosted by the ASC during a campout, horseback riding, hiking to the summit of Mt CB, white water rafting, and canoeing. They'll also have a bbq and a pizza party provided by the ASC. It's mind blowing how much the ASC does for groups like these. I HIGHLY recommend telling your friend about this place if they have a disability or someone in their family does.
We rafted the Gunnison River in three large rafts guided by Brynn, Jeff, and Sara. I was in Sara's boat all day which is awesome because she's a fellow longhorn/Austinite and we get along swimmingly. We had a rotating series of kids in our raft because Kelzie the intern had a "duckie" (inflatable kayak) that sat two people. She'd paddle up to our rafts and ask if anyone wanted a turn in the kayak, and nearly all of the kids jumped at the chance. I have to say that Serendipity is a very supportive, kind group of kids. You are almost (almost) overwhelmed by their kindness and encouragement of each others' accomplishments. So touching. <3 The day went smoothly and all too soon we floated up to our shuttle spot and had to part ways with the kids. We drove back to CB around 3:00, "de-rigged" the bus, and cleaned up the Bellvue building.
I went back to the condo, showered, and ate a snack with Alli. She'd been shopping, to a yoga class, sightseeing, and relaxing while I was out volunteering. We decided to hike up to the Beaver Ponds on Ohio pass to fish and visit the hummingbirds. It was a total shock to me that, as advertised, the beavers came out and chilled on a nearby island for about half an hour right in front of us! Never, ever had that happened to me before! They were so cute with their big noses and chittering noises! The hummingbirds were out in force protecting their favorite scarlet gilia haunts; they'd dive-bomb each other (and us) if they thought their flowers were being invaded. It's a really special place up there in the aspen groves; I'm so glad Alli enjoyed it. No fish were caught, but it was awesome just being out there.
We ended the night with dinner at Lil's and dessert (chocolate fondue!!!) at the Dogwood. Delicious!
Thursday: Alli's last full day meant white water rafting on the Taylor! She was admittedly nervous about the whole thing, but I reassured her as much as possible. She wasn't very comforted by the safety talk the guides give before we hit the water, so I made sure she sat behind me and near the middle of the boat (one of the safer spots because it's less bumpy). Almost immediately she got over the nerves when she realized that it's like "floating down a river on a big pillow". :D She was always smiling when I'd glance back, so I felt better about dragging her along. ;) We had a young guide named Michael who looked like something out of Jersey Shore. He had a creeper mustache, no shirt, big biceps, and a dark tan. Not to mention his backwards hat and 80's Ray Ban sunglasses. Hilarious. :) He kept us safe though, even when we'd get stuck, and get stuck, and get stuck again! We'd signed up for the Upper Taylor ride plus the "extender" which takes you along the banks of private property. I'd never done the extender and was surprised how technical it was. The private land owners usually build big eddies (using huge boulders) just after the waterfalls...well, you can probably imagine why it's technical! We got stuck so many times but our raft was full of easy-going adults so it didn't matter much. Super fun! Follow this link to see some of our pics (pages 2 and 12 have our raft!).
After rafting we showered and washed up for a little bit of relaxing in town. We ate an early-ish dinner at Pitas in Paradise as storm clouds started heading into town. We took advantage of the Food and Wine Festival kick-off by going to the Center for the Arts building to watch Sideways. It was such a nice, relaxing evening. We packed our bags that night for Denver in the morning, and crashed.
Friday: We drove to Denver early in the morning so Alli could catch her flight at 2:55. We ate at Izzy's (finally!) and started our drive down. It's the same route I'd taken before, but it was fun to show it to someone whose never seen Colorado. All too soon it was time to drop her off at the airport. It's been amazing having my friend stay with me...looking forward to many more future visits!! :D
Up next: Steve flies into Denver!!!! <3 <3 <3
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