A Wedding, Celebrating Cheese, and More!

Jeff and Emily at their wedding on October 22, 2011

Back from our trip to Colorado, it's been back to normal in Chicago. We quickly visited one of our favorite Ethiopian restaurants - Abyssinian; I started my fabulous new job on Tuesday, September 27; and we took the skyscraper canyon kayak trip on the Chicago River one lovely Sunday evening.

After reading the Cheese Chronicles on the road trip, I've added extensive cheese tasting to my "to do" list in celebration of October 2011 as the first annual American Cheese Month. So far, I've tried Vermont's Cabot Clothbound Cheddar and an ash goat cheese - Bonne Bouche. We also tried, a fantastic sheep's milk washed rind cheese from Missouri - the bossa from Green Dirt Farm. This weekend at my sister's wedding, we kept the cheese celebration going by serving two Wisconsin cheeses: Bella Vitana Sartori (cheddar/parmesan) and Big Ed's from Saxon Creamery (a gouda). In addition, I added a classic: the Grayson from Virginia's Meadow Creek Dairy (another washed rind cheese).

Trip Highlights and Superlatives

View from Mt. Ida Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park

Hiking Summary: 115+ miles hiked to 2 summits and 23 lakes over 12 separate hikes

Best Hikes: Andrews Glacier and Mt. Ida in Rocky Mountain National Park and Mt. Massive and Native Lake in Mt. Massive Wilderness

Best Rollerblading: Boulder's many paths

Best Brewery: Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, CO

Best Breakfast Bread/Pastry: the raspberry scone at Salida's Downtown Bakery and Deli, Melissa's zucchini (squash) bread, and Miriam Graetzer's banana bread

Best Drive: Independence Pass and south on 24 and 285 from Twin Lakes to Buena Vista to Salida

Best Overheard Phrase: "Babe, we're gonna bounce in 5," and then...5 minutes later, "Let's bounce."

Best Visiting: It was great to see Jane, Sandy, Ellen, Heidi, Terry, Jeff, Maurita and Linda, Don and Barbara, Nancy, Dave, Melissa & Milo, Greer and Gretchen!

Best ???: Rafting on the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs and retiring immediately afterwards to the Glenwood Canyon Brewing Company; dinners in at the Aspen Meadows Resort (listening to the river, watching the sunset, good conversation); low key hanging out at Avery Brewing Company - the first time with Nancy and the second time - me and Frank; soaking at Cottonwood Springs hot springs near Buena Vista, CO; and relaxing by the river at Valley of the Wind Winery in Estes Park

Kinda Unexpected: Coloradans are pretty nonplussed by our hiking activities

Food Highlights: For Susan - Tandoori Grill's malai kofta/For Frank - Smokin' Dave's smokin' philly sandwich/For both of us -homemade chili with fresh chiles; a takeaway feast of Guinness mac and cheese with bacon and a kale, goat cheese, dried cherry salad; and The Butcher's Block's quinoa salad

Final Days

Our final days in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park were lovely. We spent a beautiful sunny Thursday in town catching up on email, photos, etc. We lunched by the river, and at the end of the day, visited Valley of the Wind winery and enjoyed their Tempranillo by the water at sunset. Ahh...

Friday, we took our last hike: 4.5 miles one way to the top of Mt. Ida at 12,880 ft and with a 2200 ft elevation gain. Along with Mt. Massive, this was our only other mountaintop hike. We got the best weather of the whole trip. At the top, it wasn't too cold, and you can see we're not completely bundled up! We had company at the top, which hardly happened on our hikes. Along the way, we heard elk bugling in the valley below us, saw several marmots seeking a sunny rock on the clear warm day, and spied super-chunky pikas - there must be plenty of good eating on Mt. Ida! On the way back, we surprised a herd of young bighorn sheep, which was impressive and our closest encounter with "big" wildlife on the entire trip.

Frank and Susan at Valley of the Wind Winery by the river, Estes Park, CO

King of the hill marmot, Mt. Ida trail, Rocky Mountain National Park

Frank and Susan on top of Mt. Ida (and that's Longs Peak, in case you were wondering)

Herd of big horn sheep, Mt. Ida Trail, RMNP

Back in Estes Park!

We spent the weekend in Denver and Boulder with friends and family. I had my best meal out on the trip, in fact the best malai kofta I've ever had at Tandoori Grill in Boulder, and we enjoyed great pupusas at the Denver farmer's market. After a second roller blading adventure on Boulder's paths, we spent a pleasant lunch hour back at Avery Brewing Company in Boulder. Ah, the joys of vacation!

Back in Estes Park on Monday, we got organized for our last big hiking push. On Tuesday we headed out on our longest hike of the trip ~16 miles round trip to Lawn Lake and beyond to Crystal Lakes. On Tuesday evening, we rendezvoused with our friend, Greer, and her mom for dinner on Tuesday and a hike on Wednesday. The weather cooperated and was mostly sunny for our loop hike from Bear Lake to lakes: Helene, Odessa, and Fern. A fellow hiker tipped us off to a gorgeous view from atop a boulder just south of the trail. Our day ended with a soothing hot tub soak, which was much appreciated after ~25 miles in two days!

Frank at Avery Brewing in Boulder, CO

Lawn and Crystal Lakes Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park

View from recommended boulder - Lake Helene, RMNP

Gretchen, Greer, Susan, and Frank on Fern Odessa Loop Trail, RMNP

The Roaring Fork Valley

After leaving Aspen on Thursday, we headed to Glenwood Springs seeking sunnier weather and rafting. Though it looked really unlikely, our raft trip down the Colorado turned mostly beautiful. Part way down the river, we stopped at natural hot springs and warmed our feet. The water temperature was 60 degrees! The perfect end to our raft trip: a visit to the Glenwood Canyon Brewing Company.

On Friday, again, chasing the sun we headed back up towards Aspen and the Maroon Bells. We took off on a hike from Maroon Lake to Crater Lake and just a bit beyond. High peaks with plenty of snow abounded and a little sunshine! We headed back over Independence Pass and enjoyed a beautiful late evening drive east and south towards Salida and ended the night with a salad and pizza at Amica’s Pizza and Microbrewery.

Maroon Lake, White River National Forest
Susan and Frank at Crater Lake, Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness Area
Independence Pass views, Colorado

Unexpected Aspen

So Aspen is really ritzy - shocker, right? We've made our way through a few ski towns: Jackson Hole, Tahoe, Ketchum/Sun Valley, Whistler, Steamboat Springs, but they're nothing like Aspen in terms of chic. A little too outrageous really, but the stunning natural beauty of the surrounding mountains make it pretty obvious why this area became such a skiing mecca.

We explored town a bit, which has amazing homes that look very different than what I would have expected and some whimsical art, but even more fun was yesterday's back and forth bike jaunt down the Rio Grande Trail to Woody Creek Tavern for lunch.

Downtown Aspen homes

Aspen Meadows Resort, Andy Goldsworthy's Stone River

Rio Grande Trail

Frank at Woody Creek Tavern

Mt. Massive - 14,428 feet

Yesterday we hiked Mt. Massive, one of Colorado 's 14'ers, peaks at over 14,000 ft. Mt. Massive's summit is at 14,428 feet (depending on what source you look at...) , and it's the third highest peak in the lower 48 states. Mt. Whitney in California is the highest, and Mt. Elbert (right next to Mt. Massive) is second.

The trail is 13.6 miles round trip with a 4,377 ft cumulative elevation gain, and it was tough! The weather was not the best, so our views to the west were pretty minimal, but wow, what a hike!

Click here to see what we could have seen if the weather had been clearer. Our pics below!

Pre-dawn start on Mt. Massive Trail

Where we're headed, Mt. Massive Peak straight ahead

Frank and Susan at Mt. Massive summit (a little foggy/cloudy, but...)

Susan coming down from the Mt. Massive summit

Frank and Susan worn out!

Mt. Massive and Holy Cross Wilderness Areas

Leadville area hikes have taken us on the Highline Loop and lakes: Windsor, Native, and Timberline all in the Mt. Massive or Holy Cross Wilderness Areas.

Susan at Kearney Park, Highline Loop Trail

Frank on Windsor Lake Trail

Shimmering Native Lake

Timberline Lake

From Estes Park to Boulder to Buena Vista to Leadville

After 3 great hikes, we settled on 3 breweries in 3 days as the next feat.

9/3 - Oskar Blues in Lyons, Colorado - great Scotch ale, the Old Chub

9/4 - Avery Brewing in Boulder, Colorado - all fantastic -- the Reverend, Salvation, and Ermita I: Tap Room Sour

9/5 - Eddyline Restaurant and Brewery in Buena Vista, Colorado - our favorite, the Kickin' Back Amber Lager

Boulder offered great fun with our cousin, including dancing at the Hometown Festival and more roller blading on all the paved paths around town. We arrived in Leadville late on Monday after stops for local peaches and fresh roasted chiles at Merrifield Greenhouse in Buena Vista.

Tuesday allowed time to explore Leadville's downtown, and I found the new vest I've been seeking at Melanzana, a local company that gets materials from NC and MA to actually stitch the sports gear in Leadville. Tuesday also took us out on a hike recommended by Leadville rangers - the Highline Loop, 7.1 miles + an added spur up to Kearney Park and back.

Rocky Mountain National Park Hiking

Three hikes each at ~12 miles each:

Mills Lake to Black Lake and towards Frozen Lake - view of Black Lake

Lake Haiyaha to Loch Vale to Andrews Tarn and Glacier - the Tarn and Glacier below

Finch and Pear Lakes - Frank and Susan with pears at Pear Lake