Boyce Thompson Arboretum-October 11, 2009

Matt had never been out to the arboretum, and I was on an outdoors high after my trip to Colorado Springs, so I organized a trip out towards Globe with my parents for some hiking. My family has been going to Boyce Thompson for years, before it was as popular as it is today we used to have Easter picnics there every year. I highly recommend the trip out to BTA, just perhaps not on a holiday weekend.

There was a bird watching hike when we first arrived, which sounded neat, but turned out to be rather slow. I did get a picture of the elusive hybrid hummingbird. We did see a bobcat, briefly, but I didn't have my camera at the ready.

Saturday in Colorado Springs-October 3rd 2009

Well, it's taken me several months, but I'm back to blogging, and picking up where I left off. Saturday morning after our late night at the Better than Ezra concert, Doug & I still managed to hit the trail early for hiking!

We went up to St. Mary's Waterfall, and having found that was a ridiculously short hike, scrambled our way to another trail.

Our ridiculously short hike soon became a 4 hour adventure, as we scurried along rocks, dropped cameras, and ate snacks. We did our best "Anchorman" poses, then set off for civilization.

We rounded out the afternoon by having pizza at Leon Gessi's, ice cream, then some rousing bouts of Guitar Hero with Doug's friends. I even got to meet Colorado Amber.

Seattle Trip

I went to Seattle to visit my aunt & uncle for the Thanksgiving holiday. Seattle was beautiful; the sky was clear the entire weekend, and even though the highs were only in the 40s, it was great weather, and with proper layering, walking around outside was quite pleasant!! The neighborhood they live in is a pedestrian neighborhood, there are tons of restaurants, bars, and shops within a few blocks. Also, there is a lake, a zoo, and a park! On Friday we went whale watching up in Anacortes, about an hour and a half north of Seattle. The water was as calm as glass, and even though we didn't see any whales, we saw lots of other wildlife. Being on the water for a day was good enough! On Saturday we drove up to Snoqualmie pass so my aunt could get some snow pictures for her Christmas cards. It was very cold up there, especially for a desert dweller such as myself, but peaceful, to hear the wind through the trees, with no traffic, and the sound of a running creek. I enjoyed my trip, and look forward to visiting Seattle again soon!!

Total Colorado Vacation

I thought I would try out the SlideShow. . . .

Pike's Peak

This morning my friend Doug drove us up to the top of Pike's Peak. It's an hour drive, versus a nine hour hike, so I was happy with the chosen mode of transportation. The morning was perfect. The drive up the mountain was wonderful, and I got a chance to take quite a few pictures from the passenger side. The summit was freezing, and there was a lot of cloud cover rolling in, which made for some breathtaking pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Hiking in the Springs. . . .

I'm on vacation this weekend visiting my buddy in Colorado Springs. Last night we had an excellent meal at the Blue Star Wine Bar
consisting of tapas and a bottle of Rioja!!.

This morning we got up and took a 6 mile hike, we finished in under 3 hours, and the guide said it took 3, so we kept up a good pace!!
There was a small creek flowing down the mountain, then we also stopped at Helen Hunt Falls for a photo op. It was quiet and peaceful, the perfect way to spend a vacation day. The weather was beautiful, just a tad windy at the top of the mountain.