I managed to just squeak in under the wire at the Denver airport, which was shut down shortly after my plane landed because of the thunderstorms that were rolling in. (Let that be a warning to you: Denver airport on a summer afternoon = bad idea.) D was kind enough to pick me up, and we had an enjoyable but unfortunately trafficky (is that a word?) ride up to Breck to meed up with Dad. He had a delicious dinner ready of chicken thighs, salad, and corn. But first: vodka tonic. And with dinner: a Caymus.
Never a group to take it easy, we started out with my first day at altitude by hiking almost nine miles. "What? Just nine miles?" Keystone asked. He, for his part, ran almost 18, and enjoyed a lovely field of wildflowers.
We climbed about 2,500 feet in elevation, up to a max of about 12,880 feet at Upper Crystal Lake. To celebrate our successes, we drank, read, ate a dinner of tuna steaks, and passed out.
As if nine miles of mountain hiking wasn't enough exercise, we decided to go mountain biking the next day. Dad and D both had their bikes, and we rented one for me (which I liked a lot - a Specialized of some stripe). Mountain biking is so much fun! I hadn't done it in a while, and I forgot how awesome it is! What a rush.
Dinner that night was a party at the neighbors' house, which was surprisingly enjoyable! I'm not much for parties with strangers, but I had a good time! Of course, there was wine, food, and Aperol - a new one on me! And then I went directly to bed.
Then: fishing! We got up early and headed out to the Middle Fork Ranch for a lovely day of fishing. Aside from the bit where D almost got struck by lightning. Wait, what? True statement. Clouds started rolling in just before lunch, and the temperature dropped like crazy. There were storms on the horizon, and D felt the electricity - literally. Graphite fly rod = lightning rod.
We had leftovers for dinner, then headed down for Denver the next day to do some shopping. It was a perfect day in the city, wonderful for walking around and grabbing some delicious tapas at an outdoor cafe for lunch before getting back to the airport and the grind.
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