And that's a wrap!

House sit Number 7 is in the books!  Thank you Colorado for being such an awesome place.  But before we close the book on this one, here are a number of things we did and saw that you don't know about...be jealous!

A hike to McCullough Gulch, just south of Breckenridge, was a moderate hike and then you add in the snow that has not melted yet factor and you get more than your money's worth! (A gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully...I didn't know what one was exactly)  It was a great hike with a great destination, with a little wildlife smattered about that made it worth every shoe full of snow.  2.7 miles up and in, produced a great alpine lake to view, surrounded by walls of granite.

Beth maneuvers a log bridge with technical ease!

We kept getting advice from hikers coming
back down, to stay close to the rock when
there is snow, to avoid "post holing"...
sinking up to your knee in snow.  Didn't help,
I post holed plenty.

White Falls, full of spring snowmelt.

This Ptarmigan was hard to find with his coloring, if you took your eye off of it.

The reward!  A beautiful lake and a hug!

Sometimes excitement comes from nowhere!

So after a long hike, what do you do...celebrate with cheese and "ritas."

Local restaurant, celebrating their 30th B-Day.
So we helped!

One Day, Beth and I drove over to Leadville to ride our bikes on a trail I had read about.  It is a paved trail, like the Summit County rec. path, but it went up into the mining area of Leadville and had signage to educate tourists on its mining history.  Very nice trail and informative as well.  Highly recommend it.  If you do it, ride clock-wise...a little easier!

Bike trail in Leadville trailhead.

Slight uphill grade for 5 and a half miles, then down about 7!  I loved the down.

Each day usually began with me walking up the street to retrieve the local newspaper, the Summit Daily News.  Besides the local news, it has all the activities in the area and a must read for tourists or wannabe locals!  One day I saw in the paper they were advertising for people to send in photos of local events and activities they participated in.  So I started sending in photos of stuff we did or saw.  Our neighbors (and couple we sat for in February) are photographers and saw they sent in interesting shots, so we sent in a few of our own.    We first made the paper through someone else's lens.  It was a picture of us and Beth's aunt and uncle, who spend a couple of months each year in Frisco.  We were strolling through the 1st Farmer's Market of the season in Dillon.  It was taken by a woman that approached us and said she was with the newspaper and asked permission to take our photo.  A few days later it shows up in the Summit Daily.  Then the photo of the "rock man" I had in a previous post, I sent in and it got published.  What better way to be a local than to participate in their newspaper.  I'm afraid that if I lived their, they would get tired of my endless stream of photos filling their "Inbox."

My daily morning read.

Beth's aunt and uncle and us at the farmer's market.

My credit listed under the picture in the corner says I'm special!

The Dillon Amphitheater hosts summer outdoor concerts on Friday and Saturday nights all summer.  Such a picturesque setting, truly unique.

A tribute band for the Allman Brothers Band heats up the cool mountain air.

One hike Beth and I went on revealed some small Brook Trout clustering up in a small feeder stream.  I got one there, but a hike Greg and I went on did not give us even a look, but the surroundings made up for us striking out.

Up North Ten Mile Creek trail, I found some friends in a feeder stream,
but not very friendly..  So close but yet, so far...from my fly!  No Takers...

...except this one that did not get the memo!

Greg and I hiked around Lower Cataract Lake
as part of a fly fishing trial by fire attempt to let
Greg experience fly fishing.  We were great at
the fishing, just not the catching.  Didn't even see
one cruising the shore.  We did happen to see a
few doing flips out of the water in the middle
of the lake though.  The white area (top middle
left of center) is Cataract Falls.

Cataract Falls.

Along the trail around the lake...swarms of
some kind of bug made breathing a challenge
...look a little closer...

I kept hearing Greg spitting behind me as
we walked.  I chose not to breathe while
walking through these living clouds.

Once again, the surrounding beauty makes up for things like no fish and
and abundance of bugs!

The tutor indulges in a selfie, with the tutee wetting his line in the background.

And the evening sky always shows up with a surprise, here are a few...

On one evening walk (out of many) the sky puts on a color show.

As the sun sets, a full moon rises.

Besides the mountain goat on the bike trail, we were visited by a fox beside the deck of some friends while eating breakfast...

Yes, that close!

Lastly, Beth and I have been looking for just the right wood to finish off our room at home with a murphy bed in it.  At a Home Depot in Golden, CO, we found they carried the "beetle kill" pine or "blue stain" pine that is the result of a certain kind of beetle that is responsible for killing a bazillion pines in the Rockies and now is affecting the west coast as well.  One result of the beetles and their dirty work is the grayish blue tint to the wood they cause that sets it a part from regular pine.  You can't get it at just any Home Depot because it is locally sourced.  After securing our prized pine, we loaded it in the car for its special delivery ride home.

25 beautiful 1x6x10, tongue and groove pieces
of blue stain pine, headed to Missouri.  Each
individually hand picked and lovingly placed on
the cart to go.

It just fits!  Now, where is Beth going to sit?

As we end this visit, we thank our friends, both new and old, for another great Rocky Mountain experience.  

My Zen from the Road:  After my finger drilling learning experience, I had my last doctors visit after returning home.  In a little over a months time, my finger had repaired itself to a better than I had anticipated result.  There is even some fingerprint replaced on the damaged area.  The doc was pleased, as was I.  I always knew we are incredible beings, capable of incredible things, and even as small as this injury was compared with larger catastrophic ones that result in even more unbelievable recoveries, its a reminder I will always have and will help hold things in perspective for me, as I try to make decisions that will not land me in such a painful learning situation again.  It's best to learn from your mistakes, not to reproduce them and see if there is a different outcome!  I love my new finger!

May 19th...

June 30!