A few highlights of the two-Barton trip.
- Hiking the continental divide at Loveland Pass. We went 5 miles total ~ along the "spine of the Rockies" as the book called it, and then we looked (and looked and looked) for a non-snowy, not too steep, not too rocky way down. There was only the rocky way down, so that's what we did. They were rather loose rocks too and I kept hoping the whole way down that I wouldn't start a rock slide. On the hike back in the valley, so to speak, we found a large bucket (about as big around as a five-galloner, but only half as tall. Would I call that a 2.5 gallon bucket?). It was duck-taped shut with the date and location written on another piece of tape. These facts were mostly faded out. We had many theories about what it was...a bomb...a scientific study...trash...When we told the Texas Butlers, Bob thought we may have stumbled onto a geocashe.
- Geocashing. Bob showed us the app he has on his iPhone and we went and found a geocashe stuffed under a stump on the hill behind my parents house. Then we tried to find one on our Cataract Lake hike, but we didn't have any cell reception and there were LOTS of "twin pines", so the clue didn't help at all. Of course, Dad thinks this is a great adventure and downloads the app to his iPad. We found our second geocashe in a little "park" (a concrete pad with a bench and a bear statue surrounded by trees) next to walmart in Frisco. Rather exciting little treasure hunting. It adds a little bit more fun to a hike.
- Hiking Cataract Lake. My favorite hike ever because it has all sorts of different terrain and the flowers were beautiful this time. There was so much snowfall (lasting well into June) and so much rain that the flowers are everywhere. Then there's the waterfall which runs right though the dense trees at the top. It's cool and peaceful with a pine needle floor and the loud sound of the rushing water. It's the highlight of the hike. And Bob had used Axe body wash, so all (and I mean hundreds) of the mosquitoes went to him and not anyone else. Biting mosquitoes are female ~ so the ads must be true that women can't resist Axe!
- UNO extreme. The Texas Butlers shared Wesley's version of UNO ~ that involves "helping" others as well as slapping the table and hitting your forehead. I thought Dad concussed himself once by slapping the table and then smacking his forehead ~ quite a ricochet of his hand. Luckily there seemed to be no brain damage.
- Jeeping up to Georgia Pass. I love to Jeep. And my dad is the best Jeep driver. He's totally trustworthy so I don't have to worry about falling over the edge of the cliff or slipping out-of-control down the mountain. While we were bouncing up the road we saw a HUGE MOOSE who had gigantic antlers just standing in the valley eating shrubs. We stopped and watched him wishing someone had brought a better camera than a cell phone. I took a picture, but it doesn't look as impressive as it really was.
- I became the mom of two little gold fish while away. Who knew. They are about an inch long. No telling how long they've been there...how big is a freshly hatched baby goldfish? Now I'm up to 5 fish in my little pond!
- Anniversary Party! I almost forgot the whole reason we went at the end of July. Chip and Jane celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary ~ the whole gang was there. All the Butlers and all the Rutledges. It was great to see everyone and catch up just a little bit. We laughed and watched a DVD of old pictures and ate a great meal. It was crazy to have all the kids running around, having a great time together. We do not see enough of each other!
 |
| "I am king of the world!" |
No comments:
Post a Comment