Turkey Skiing

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. I spent Turkey Day on the ski slopes. I went to Breckenridge with my friends Mark and Kathy. Lots of fun, despite not having any skiing skills. The adrenaline rush allowed me to ignore the pain of my ski boot and socks digging into my left leg. I sure could feel it after we finished skiing. I'm hoping it is just a deep contusion. I've been out of action the rest of the weekend. D'oh! TV has been my friend. Lots of good football, both versions.
Mark & Kathy on the Chair in front of me.











Me

Mansion On The Hill

Saturday's hike took me back to Mt. Falcon Park. I went to the park's east entrance this time. It took a lot longer to get to the park than I thought. It must have taken eight minutes. I was only expecting five. I headed up the Turkey Trot Trail. It is a hiker only trail that has some beautiful views of Bear Creek Canyon. The trail is well used, but it is in descent shape. The Turkey Trot Trail connects up with the Castle Trail, which goes the rest of the way up the mountain. The Castle trail is like a major highway up the mountain. It is a Horse/Mountain Bike/Hiker trail. The terrain was beautiful, but the trail was wide and worn down. It will be interesting to see how long they allow mountains bikes on this trail. There is just too much traffic in a significant park. Anyway I took the Castle Trail to the Walker's Dream Trail, which took me to the ruins of the Summer White House. The previous owner (John Brisben Walker) of the land had plans to build the summer home of the President of the United States on a peak across from his own home. The project came to an end when Walker's home burned down in 1918. The foundation of the Summer White House was the only thing that got built. It would have had great views of Mt. Evans and Denver.













This picture is looking northeast towards Red Rocks. It was taken from the peak that has the Summer White House Ruins.














This picture is taken from the same peak. Denver is to the left of me. Bear Creek Lake is to the right of me. I have walked to that lake from my apartment. I believe I picked out my apartment while I was up there.

On Sunday, I went for a hike at Mount Galbraith Park. Like Mount Falcon Park, Mount Galbraith Park is apart of the Jefferson County Open Space Park System. The trails in this park are hiker only, and they are in great shape. The only issue I have with trails here is that they don't have a trail that goes to the top of Mt. Galbraith. I'm not sure why, it would be easy to put a trail to the top. Anyway the trail loops around the mountain and gets close to the top. There are some great views of Golden, Colorado from this trail.

There is some beer being born down there.

Retrospective

Good Day, eh? Unfortunately, I didn't take any new pictures this weekend. However, I've created a photo site that contains some of the pictures from my past adventures that did not make this blog. Click Here, if you want to check them out.

I did go for a hike Saturday after watching a great football game. I started at my apartment and walked over to Bear Creek Lake Park. It turned into one of those hikes that became longer than you really wanted. I didn't have a map of the trails in the park, and there wasn't a trail where I thought there would be. Rather than backtrack, I took a trail that I knew would loop me back, but it would taken a little longer than I wanted. The Sun sets behind the foothills at about 4:30 pm. I didn't get back to my apartment till a little after 5:00 pm. That last half hour was a little chilly. It's amazing what powerful source of energy the Sun is. Hmmmm... Anyway I made it back to my apartment and enjoyed a hot shower and a cold beer. Sunday was a cloudy, cold, snow flurry kind of day. I stayed home and watched the world's favorite sport.

-M

Feeling Gravitys Pull

Had a bit of a lazy weekend. I didn't have much energy. I think I came down from my after Halloween Chocolate High. Oh well, I did manage to get out Saturday and enjoy the sights. I went for a drive and a short hike. I found myself back at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. I did a short snow hike on the Raccoon Trail. It was a pretty hike through the woods.













My sports teams let me down this weekend. The Dawgs are continuing a dismal season. They weren't on TV, which was probably a good thing. I would have required a lot of Lifebuoy if I had watched. The Colorado Rapids also failed to advance to the MLS Cup. The Houston Dynamo beat them soundly today by the score of 3-1. Oh well, at least I was drinking some good beer while I watched. Next year should be fun; they get to play in a brand soccer specific stadium.
The Dolphins did win one for the 1972 team by knocking off the undefeated Bears. Somebody needs to beat Indy. The Dolphins will have the last shot, but I hope it doesn't come to that. I have been following the Broncos while living out here. It is kind of hard not too. I'm not a true fan yet. I have gone hiking while they've played. Enough sports ramblings.

Take Care,

-M