Surf & Turf

It's that time of year again where Kent had to go down to South Texas for his annual get-together with his field guys, but decided to add a quick fishing trip in with the deal this time.  We went about 40 miles offshore from Corpus Christi for what seemed like an 18 hour boat ride to find a sweet spot to do some deep sea fishing.  As you can see, we were successful - that's one big fish!  We ended up with about 170# (only 4 fish) of Amberjack which we had fillet'd and brought back home for some fresh grilled fish tacos - YUM!  This one was about 40#.

 Kent's co-worker got the prize for the biggest catch of the day that didn't get away - 60#!



Of course, when we got back to the docks, we had to trade for some shark that another group caught from a different boat since we didn't get any.  Next thing on the menu is grilled shark tacos:)

The day before Kent went on his trip, we managed to snag some tickets for the Broncos game against San Diego - pretty sweet seats!  The Broncos lost a close game, but they at least put on a good show with their new quarterback, Tim Tebow.

Something we don't get to see very often was the fireballs and fireworks show every time the Broncos score!

Time For A Fall Road Trip!

With unspent vacation yet to burn up this year and only a couple of months left to do it, we decided to take two weeks and explore some parts of Colorado we hadn't seen before.  Our first day was kind of rainy, so we decided to take a road trip back over to Aspen and see the Maroon Bells again.  We were just a bit early for the fall colors, but the fresh snowfall leftover from the previous evening made for some spectacular viewing.  Ski season is just around the corner!!!

Along the trails, leaves are really beginning to start falling.

Near Leadville, the Jeep trail up to the top of Mount Zion was a beautiful drive.

Even the rec path around Lake Dillon was beginning to show some georgeous aspen colors.

One of our favorite rides between Frisco and Copper, the Tenmile Canyon path.

Aspens near Leadville.

Lake Dillon with Keystone in the distance.

Remains of an old abandoned mining camp along the Mayflower Trail between Copper and Leadville.  Behind those jagged peaks in the center of the photo sits Quandary Peak, a fourteener that we conquered earlier this summer.

Our next stop was Grand Junction to see the Colorado National Monument, reportedly one of the most beautiful bike rides in the country.  We arrived early enough so that we could drive around the loop and scope it out before riding up it the following morning on our road bikes.

Pretty cool monoliths, much like a miniature Grand Canyon, and yes, it appeared that the bike ride through the Park would be worth the drive!.

Balanced rock near the Fruita entrance to the Park.

Well, here's the road we're going to have to ride up to the top of the mesa tomorrow morning:)

Several tunnels and lots of switchbacks await us and our bikes!

 

 And lots of really steep roads going up to the top of the mesa.....

Nearing the half-way point going up, a look at some of the switchbacks behind us.

Breath-taking views once on top of the mesa.

 It's a long ways down to the valley!



One of the monoliths appropriately named 'kissing couple' in the center. 



Independence rock, a favorite for rock climbers in the summer.



The next morning, we got started just before sunrise and got some spectacular views while riding up on our bikes!





Trust me, it's much more breath-taking while riding along the edge on a bike than it is while driving by in a car!

On the way back from Grand Junction, we decided to stop at Glenwood Springs, park the car, then ride our bikes up Glenwood Canyon along I-70 and the Colorado River.  We saw lots of folks whitewater rafting down the river as we rode up. 

Back to Leadville

We had so much fun in Leadville a couple days ago before doing the Mosquito Pass jeep trail, so we decided to pack up the road bikes and bring them back to do more exploring around the area again.  The city of Leadville built the Mineral Belt Trail, a really cool recreational path around and through the city which goes through the old mining district as well with lots of scenic lookouts over Turquoise Lake.  The loop is just under 12 miles long and the entire path is paved so its a great short road bike trip.  Locals like to walk/hike it in the summer months then use it as a cross country ski trail in the winter.

Some of the old mining cars and track.  This place just reminded both of us so much of Butte since everything revolved around gold, silver, and other precious metals back in its heyday in the mid-to-late 1800's.  We thought it was pretty cool to learn more about the town since Dianna's Aunt Rose was born there and moved to Butte shortly afterwards.

California Gulch with all of the old abandoned mines.

 An old abandoned mine near downtown Leadville.

Our Awesome Grandchildren

We don't get many chances to have all four of our grandchildren over without their parents, so we jumped at the opportunity last week when parent-teacher conferences came around and just happened to be on the same evening for Sara's and Bradley's children.  Even though Dianna and I were outnumbered by a factor of two to one, we still lived to tell about it!  We were able to get all four of them to sit steady for a few minutes while we got this shot:)  Bella, Andrew, Joseph, and Sophie - our awesome grandchildren! 

PAPA AND MIMI LOVE YOU!!!!

Argentine Pass or Bust!

 Labor Day weekend, and still lots of fun stuff to do before going home.......

We first spotted Argentine Pass when we climbed Gray's Peak last year about this same time (Really cool, you can see the Argentine Pass trail almost in its entirety from Gray's Peak on our blog dated September 2010 under the 'Grays & Torreys' posting).  Argentine Pass was used in the mid-to-late 1800's long before trains and highways existed to get folks across the Continental Divide heading west out of Denver.  The trail was built to move folks on horseback AND stagecoaches over the Continental Divide - WOW!  It was a one-day stagecoach ride from Georgetown to Keystone to go over this pass.  After having hiked the trail over this pass, it's really hard to believe that anyone in their right mind would even attempt to go there any other way except by foot!

Here's the west side of the pass that we hiked up as seen from the Peru Creek valley.  The trail is barely visible above treeline cutting across the mountain.

Another shot of the top of the Continental Divide at Argentine Pass (slightly right of center).

As we began our climb, we could look back at one of the abandoned mines at our trailhead.  You'll see this same mine a few pictures later:)



We had a few critters watching us hike up the trail.  Mostly pika, but a few chipmunks too.

Right away, we could see Gray's Peak (one of Colorado's 14'ers) directly north of us.  The first time we attempted to climb Gray's Peak last year, we only made it to the base of the left snow patch near the top:(



Another shot of Gray's Peak.  As soon as we get higher up, we'll be able to see Torrey's Peak behind it.

Lots of bees feasting on nectar from the thistle plants.

Here's what I'm talking about regarding the stagecoach trail - carved into the side of this steep mountain.  Actually, this spot looks really good compared to some of the other narrow and steeper portions.  We're only about 1/2 way up to the summit at this point.

Hey look, there's the trailhead where we started about an hour ago - a little bit below the center and sightly to the right.

Now we can see both Gray's and Torrey's Peaks.  Gray's is dead center and Torrey's is the one directly to the right.

We made it to the top of the Pass, sitting on the Continental Divide!  Another shot of Gray's and Torrey's Peaks.



Zoom shot of Gray's and Torrey's from the top of Argentine Pass.  You can almost see people on top of both of these peaks.

Looking west down the Peru Creek valley, you can see the trailhead where we started our hike in the center of the picture.

View from the top of Argentine Pass.

Starting back down, you can see the stagecoach trail we just hiked up.  Yikes, really steep!

Lots of the wildflowers have already seen their first freeze, it won't be long before the snow starts falling again (and we'll be skiing:)

Some of the fireweed is still blooming. 

Once we got back down to the trailhead, we decided to do some exploring at some of the old abandoned mines - this was taken just above the Pennsylvania Mine.

One more adventure scratched off our list!