Back to Telluride with Nathan and Jess...and some new loved ones

Jessica found a deal on Living Social for half off on hotel rooms with a jacuzzi, steam shower, fireplace, etc. in Telluride, so we decided to all take advantage.  I hadn't been to the town since they let me and some boys join them for the end of their honeymoon at the Telluride bluegrass festival six years ago, but I've been raving about it ever since.  I was quite excited to return.  We fly-fished, rock climbed, mountain biked, and ambled around the dead town. The rooms were cheap because this is definitely their off season...quite different then when the hundreds of people are there for the festival.

The boys fly-fished while Jess and I played with Genevieve

Rappelling down the Pipe Line wall with a view of Telluride (and the festival grounds) in the background

Bridal Veil falls ("mega classic" ice climb) and the pump house

The quiet (for now) town of Telluride

Enjoying the last bit of fall at the Ophir Wall.  The place was just as chossy as I remembered it.  We only did the first pitch of our route because it was loose and dirty.

Darren made me cross this tree.  I could see hundreds of beaver teeth marks on the log.

A unicycler outside our pizza restaurant

Genevieve having fun at the restaurant

Stephanie Visits!

Darren and I have plenty of people and friends we know around Colorado, but not really anyone right in our town.  What I miss most being away from an Adventist ghetto are all the big group adventures (even if that were like four people) so it's really exciting when a friend comes to visit.  We humans need relationships.  

Anyhoo, we were happy to show Stephanie some of our favorite places: 

Shelf Road--arguably Colorado's best sport climbing crag area.

Stephanie and I both led this 5.9 route.  Yay!  Good ole Darren was our rope gun for the rest.

On our drive home through Cripple Creek, I spotted my first wild tarantula.

And more mountain goats (we've seen them on Shelf Road before).

In the evening we took Stephanie to our favorite restaurant, Adam's Mountain Cafe.  We love it because there are a lot of vegetarian options, and everything seems very fresh and local.

On Sunday we hiked up the Manitou Incline.  It is one plus miles up something like 2,000 feet.  The most fun part to me, however, is running down the 3-4 miles down the Barr Trail.  It is at a perfect angle  for a floating, fast descent.

First Snow of the Year

We had our first snow, so we knew we wouldn't be doing any climbing this weekend.  Instead we went to church and then hiked in Waldo Canyon.  Shamefully (but not offensively) we totally got called out. The young adult pastor said something like, "The weather is bad.  You guys are at church!"  Oh dear.

But in our defense, the weather was good last weekend and we went to church.  AND I wanted to go this weekend anyways because the pastor spoke about why he is an Adventist and I was curious about what he'd have to say.  I will briefly outline his three points he gave.  Obviously there are many reasons he could give, but these are the ones he chose to share:

1.  Sabbath--It speaks of our origin.  It is a day of rest and is a gift given to us to help fulfill our spiritual and physical needs.  Otherwise we can lose sight of what is important and lose our relationship with God.

2.  The Second Coming--it reveals our divine destiny.

3.  The Great Controversy--it is our current life.  It is our part in a cosmic battle. It is our divine mission to everyday show that evil can be overcome with good.  Ephesians 6.

The sermon was not what I was expecting (What, no dragons or timelines?  What about the state of the dead?), but refreshingly simple.  I like how it spoke to our past, present, and future.

Then we enjoyed our walk in the woods, passing still brilliantly yellow aspens hovering over our snowy, wet trail.  I should have known better and worn my ice climbing boots, but wore my 5.10 approach shoes instead.  My feet were sufficiently sopping by the time we finished.

Where's Waldo...Canyon?

Pikes Peak and the canyon

On Sunday we went climbing with our friends from Pueblo and a group of Pathfinders in the Wet Mountains.  The area is almost always people-free and great for enjoying uninterrupted nature.  I was just glad to be out climbing with friends...although kids don't last too long with activities.  They were done by around 2PM, so we left as well and drove about two hours directly to the Denver Aquarium to enjoy a free meal and a free pass to the exhibits curtesy of the Alumni department of the Allied Health department Darren and I had both been in.  It was fun talking with other former alumni, eating tons of food, and seeing the tigers and fish.  This was the cheesy picture they took of us for the newsletter. 

Fly-fishing Gets Another Chance

This past weekend we took it easy and enjoyed the last gasps of fall.  We went to church on Saturday and then Sunday went fly-fishing and climbing in Eleven Mile Canyon.  My father had bought us a casting class at our local fly shop, so we took it Sunday morning learning the many ways one can move a rod at "10 and 2."  Our real fishing produced Darren's first fish on a fly rod and me with several lost flies, but I still had fun.

Afterwards I led up a trad route on the side of the road.  Although leading sometimes freaks me out, like kayaking, when I finish I get a relieving shot of adrenaline.