Slightly warmer to wake up this morning - another lovely sunny day. We shared a shortish, slower run this morning, which we both felt tired and sluggish on, then headed to Denver to meet up with Rudy's college buddy, Zach. We got in a little shopping, then arrived at Ruby Hill Park a little early. Rudy played around in the bike park while I strolled around it. A little more BMX-like and less XC-like, so I opted to do some yoga in the wonderful grass elsewhere in the park. Rudy and Zach got a little bit of riding the park in, then we headed to Idaho Falls - Zach needed to do some work at the distillery he co-owns. After a mini-tour, we walked across the street for some BBQ, spotting some big horn sheep up on a ridge along the way!
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| Helping out with QC |
Following the hearty meal, we returned to help label and package a batch of whiskey (their first to be distributed!) and Rudy also helped troubleshoot some equipment. Of course, I got to sample some of the goods, and some experiments, all of which I enjoyed, but I am nowhere near a 'connoisseur'. I also had to buy myself a bottle :) Idaho Springs is quiet enough that staying in the parking lot for the night was a good, easy option.
September 30
A cool, overcast morning, and I succumbed to the temptation to stroll the few blocks to Starbucks for a coffee. I think this is the first Starbucks I had on the trip - skipping coffee, making my own, or going to a non-chain coffee shop is preferable, but I do admit I like Starbucks and have no qualms with giving them a little business. I hung out there about an hour before returning to the bed to rouse Rudy. We strolled around town a bit in the morning, but didn't stay long enough to do any touristy stuff - I did buy some local beer though - I remember my dad enjoying Tommyknockers when we lived in Colorado, so it was fun to pick up some of that. Just over an hour of driving brought us to the Buffalo Creek area in Pike National forest. Quite a bit of dispersed camping, but it was already filling up early Friday. We found a spot easily, and had a few hours before rain was forecast to move in, so got a bike ride in right away on the Colorado and Little Scraggy trails. Most of the trail was smooth going, but there were a few miles in the middle I struggled on, but mostly could ride through. Rudy claimed he didn't mind me slowing him down - mostly he went at his own speed, then waited or came back to check on me once in awhile. I did crash though - fairly low speed where the bike slid off the trail on a loose side hill and I slid down the trail. I cursed, got up, looked around, relieved there wasn't an audience, dusted myself off and didn't find any obvious damage to myself or the bike. Unfortunately this was at the top of a long descent, so I was sketched out for the rest of it and going slower than I would have otherwise. Still, the rest of the ride was good, I did notice my left hip was a little tender though. After we got back to the van, we checked out the area a bit - cool rocks everywhere!
I was noticing my hip tightening up and really getting sore with some bruising and a goose egg already starting - dang! The clouds were a little darker, so we cleaned up quickly and were hanging out in the van as the rain started about 5pm. Rudy watched half of Dumb and Dumber and I worked on some puzzles until my pen ran out, then we made some cornmeal and black beans for dinner, looked at trails to check out tomorrow, and watched some more GOT.
October 1
Definitely felt like a brisk October morning! My hip was pretty sore - I walked to the trailhead 1 mile away and it didn't loosen up - no run for me today, sad! Rudy went on a bigger ride, I did some puzzles, carefully with a marker, cleaned up the van a little, hoped to lay in the sun, but more overcast and drizzly today - still managed to avoid a full day of sulking! Rudy enjoyed his ride - ended up with 28 miles - pretty big day on singletrack! Being Saturday, we ended up with a few close neighbors - some dogs and children about, but no issues. Evening was Rudy finishing his movie, me being glued to more puzzles, making some pasta! Playing some Trivial Pursuit and watching some Game of Thrones
October 2
A decent morning weather wise. Made some hot beverages and breakfast, judged my hip to be improving, so I tried a run while Rudy got another bike ride. I was aiming for 7-8 miles, but didn't add up my route correctly and ended up with 11. Felt good though and enjoyed some big rock formations and relatively easy trail.
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| I think these fit the definition of 'batholith' |
After the run I found a nice big flat rock to do some yoga on, chilled out a couple hours, then got out for a bike ride, same route as the run - definitely made up for feeling like a slouch yesterday! Rudy brought out the hammock for, I think, the first time on this trip, and spent a good amount of the nice afternoon there! Our neighbors headed back to their lives and we had the campsite to ourselves again - ahhhh. Dinner was rice and lentils, then more GOT.
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