Colorado Springs - The Begining

So before my injury and after Mount Evans came Colorado Springs, Colorado.  The transition went well and Kevin and I were able to unload the truck for Mathew.  In the back of the house is a park with an amazing sunset view while sitting on the boulders.

 

Thursday evening Mathew invited us to a swing dancing event and the weather was perfect.  From all the fires surrounding Colorado Springs there was a hint of smoke in the air.  However, the turnout was great and I am still trying to remember every one's name.

Friday late afternoon Kevin and I hit up the Incline in Manitou Springs since we did not have enough time to rent bikes.  The incline seemed on par with the mile after Chicago Lakes but even at the lower elevation it took 56 minutes for the mile (the temperature was 96F outside).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fracture

Adventures would not be adventures if you knew the outcome.  And during such an adventure even the best plans must succumb to reality.  I am afraid to say that sharing the gospel on the disc golf course is on hold.  Reality is that during one of the least competitive ultimate Frisbee games I have played, I managed to slightly fracture my 5th metatarsal.  And now this is the part of the adventure were time must reign despite all of the fortunate circumstances.

Mount Evans

Mount Evans, hiking the Chicago Lakes trail, in pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denver In A Glance

 

After the stop in Chicago to visit Kevin's grandmother, losing a disc in a lake with dead fish, and resting a night in Omaha with a room were the bathroom door could not close: Kevin and I arrived in Denver.  More specifically, Golden Colorado where we enjoyed a delicious pizza buffet outdoors with the sun fading behind the hills.  Do pray for Bob and his family who we met at the West Lake disc golf course and Terry who we met in a mall in Des Moines.

Sunday for church Kevin and I decided to go to a theme park filled with Corvettes, well more specifically Red Rocks church.  Ate lunch, hiked Mount Galbraith, and finished the day off with dinner.

Monday after I finished work we met up with Kevin's cousin and played an amazing round of disc golf.  Beaver Ranch/Conifer Park plays among the mountains with expansive views and we only encountered one 5-minute hail storm before the weather cleared up again.  To give an idea of the difficulty level, I ended with a +8 on the course with the majority of my drives well placed and my putts in the basket.  The timing was great because unfortunately the road to the course is temporarily closed due to another wildfire at the moment.

 

 

 

Tuesday I took the day off work to hike Mount Evans/Chicago Lakes with Kevin.  We started at Echo Lake Park and followed the trail all the way to the two Chicago Lakes.  The mile immediately after the lakes is like a wall (my guess is around a 60-70% grade incline) and after a cold, windy, and low oxygen altitude climb we arrived at Summit Lake.  A storm was brewing and the final section to the peak is fairly exposed leaving the decision to hitchhike back down a wise decision.  Daniel, Eddy, and Annika were gracious enough to give us a lift in the back of their SUV.  Many thanks as this saved us 9 miles of walking down the road!

That evening we spent walking downtown Denver.  Kevin purchased some Bacon Soda.  And for dinner we met up with Ryan at Mellow Mushroom for some more delicious pizza.  I should also mention that the new light rail W line was very a convenient way to access downtown.

Well, Wednesday our time ended in Denver and we headed down to Colorado Springs where I will be renting a room and using it as a base for the next part of the adventure.  So stay tuned, more to come - like pictures of the Mount Evans hike!

Delayed but Colorado Bound

After nearly a month of delays my trip is underway.  The last delay has allowed my friend Kevin to join me on the drive out to Colorado.  Home grown, hand picked delicious strawberries are a great way to start the trip.

Bucket of home grown delicious strawberries

Here is my thought of switching vehicles for the road trip.  Unfortunately, Kevin does not seem to be a huge fan of the front seat.

John Deere

Where's Rob?

Where's Rob?  Ready, set, find!

Midland and South Haven, Pure Michigan

As I write these words, the smell of campfire smoke still lingers.  It is the distinct smell easily associated with s'mores.  This past weekend was Pure Michigan at its finest.  Driving the country roads, cycling the rail-trails, watching the glow of a campfire with a painted sunset over Lake Michigan culminates the essence of Michigan.  All of which words do little justice and pictures only offer a glimpse.

Cycle the Campus was a great trip with delightful biking weather in Midland, MI.  The day consisted of 7 hours driving and about 6 hours of biking.  David and I spent about 2.5 hours for 35 of the miles and then rode with Johnson to the finish line.  I have snagged the following partial group picture of the WMU clan.  Notice this is before due to my lack of sunburn.

Cycle the Campus - WMU

Pere Marquette Rail-Trail - Midland, MI

The following day the journey continued to South Haven to visit my parents who were camping.  As is typical for Michigan, the weather went from 80s the prior day to the 50s.  The cold weather does seem to bring out the blue of Lake Michigan.  With that, the weekend concluded with a drive home.



South Haven Pier

South Haven Light House

 

 

The next stop, Colorado!