Category: Uncategorized

In a whim, we decided to visit a ghost town up in the mountains near Aspen. Apparently for a time, Ashcroft was a bustling mining town, but it gradually faded into oblivion and now remains only as a half-dozen crumbling buildings. Still, it’s very picturesque with the nearby hills and mountains (peppered with aspen trees, of course).

It was interesting to wander the fields and poke around the old structures. A quick peek on the internet taught me that Colorado has over fifty ghost towns still standing!

After our Utah trip, we figured we were halfway to Colorado anyway, so we met up with friends and hiked the Maroon Bells. It’s been a few years since I was in that area, and it was just as breathtaking as I remember. Here’s the iconic scene– the photo everyone takes when they visit:

It’s obvious why: the quiet lake, the beautiful aspen, and the stark granite and snow are a great combination.

Here’s the crew– our friends the von Niederhauserns and Pattersons:

And here’s my beautiful bride:

As we walked the trail up to Crater Lake, a storm brewed behind us.

Continuing up the trail, we were able to see the familiar peaks from slightly different angles.

As the grey clouds continued to roll in, there were really cool mixes of sunlight and shadow on the hills.

The sky had clouded over by the time we reached the lake, but the view was still awesome.

It was a great day for a hike, and great to put some miles on my shoes in good ol’ Colorado.

Seen in a t-shirt store:

Given our recent spate of bear sightings at the house, maybe I should get one…

While driving along the highway in Utah, Pepper, Kyra, and I noticed a bunch of little specks in the sky. Squinting a bit, we realized they were paragliders! Paragliders by the dozens. We drove up to the top of a huge hill (the “point of the mountain” in Utah-ese) to their takeoff/landing area.

We sat on the grass with a few dozen other people, watching the gliders leap from the cliff (in the background of the photo above) and come in for landings (in the middle area). Above, there were probably around fifty people sailing in slow circles on the thermals. It was awesome.

Honestly, it didn’t look all that hard. Pepper even commented that she’d love to do it sometime. Heck, maybe I’ll take her up on it one of these days…

Kaitlyn saw a little toddler-sized fedora and felt like she just had to get it for Ollie. He’s not quite big enough yet:

On the other hand, the hat’s a wee bit too small for the grown-ups:

We went on a test drive today. When you put the pedal down, this thing moves.

The best part was when we couldn’t figure out how to get into the dang car…

Now that we’re hooked on Survive, we bring it on trips and introduce it to people. Everyone seems to love it. Alex and Kaitlyn are the latest converts; here’s Alex considering which of his “special” tiles to play.

It was kind of hard to watch Alex playing ultimate with his BYU intramural team, and not be able to play. It’s been almost two years since I was in a game of ultimate… hopefully I’ll have a chance to throw a few poorly-executed hammers later this summer.

On the other hand, though, it was fun to see Alex using some cool moves on the field.

Is it bragging to say I taught him everything he knows?

This is what happens when your kids grab your phone and change the background photo.

Now those are some blue eyes!