Crested Butte - 12 July 2008

Well this week end we ventured down to Crested Butte which is about 3 hours southwest of Denver. Last Fall (September) we went to Aspen to check out the Fall colours with all the beautiful Aspen trees. It is where we took the photos of Kaiden & Simon at Maroon Bells in front of a mountain lake with the snow capped mountains in the background and all the yellow trees.

k & S at Maroon Bells last Fall

It was beautiful. Anyway . . . . my point is, if you climbed straight up and over that mountain and down the other side, that is Crested Butte. So with that said, we headed off early Saturday morning for our adventure. That area is known for the wild flowers that come out at this time of the year so we thought we'd go check it out. We set out on an 8 mile hike up the trail of Rustlers Gulch, over & through the mountains, hills, streams, shrubs & of course through the flowers. It was really beautiful.

There weren't as many wild flowers as we were expecting but it was still really beautiful. The closer we got to the mountain & of course the higher we hiked, the colder it got but that didn't really pose any problems because it was a gorgeous day. We did come across some snow still lingering from the winter but all in all it was a great hike. We had a few streams to cross which was fun. Simon had to take off his boots & carry Kaiden across a couple cause the water was too cold, deep & fast. I mostly found fallen trees to help me cross but on the was back we decided just to hoof it across one really strong flowing stream. Simon put Kaiden on his back & I used the walking sticks to help steady me as we crossed. The water was above our knees so we got pretty wet which was fine. We were going for quick & easy by that stage. The last part of the hike was a little slouchy & soggy but not too bad.

Some of the flowers & Kaiden crossing one of the little streams.

Kaiden was an absolute trouper. He did a great job hiking all that way. It was a way for Mum & Dad but his legs are half the size of ours, so he did awesome! We played games all along the way like getting points for the 1st one to get to the next stream etc . . . . stuff like that. It kept his enthusiasm up & it helped keep things interesting for our little 6 year old. On the way back Kaiden came up with the idea of joining together in teams so we could help each other accumulate points, which I thought was interesting because he was winning anyway. Still we did. The teams consisted of Kaiden & I against Simon & James. Needless to say, team Kk won at the end of the day. I don't think James really pulled his weight & he ended up being a liability to his team. Oh, James!

So heading home I was driving & with a recent experience of being pulled over by the police after our rafting trip (similar area) I was very careful about my speed. I have said it before & I will repeat it again here & now . . . . Simon speeds just as much & actually I would say, more than I do but he NEVER gets pulled over. NEVER! Anyway, I am being careful & sticking to the speed limit amongst comments from the peanut gallery of "Gee, we'll be home tomorrow lunch time at this rate" All in jest but still there is always a little bit of truth in all sarcasm . . . . . So I am minding my own business, driving down the road at about 1 mile UNDER the speed limit when all of a sudden I have a car on my tail. A few miles down the road the blue lights come on. GREAT!! What the . . . !!! So the cop comes up to the window & says that I was speeding. I profusely confess my innocence & tell the lovely Policeman that I was being really careful & watching my speed. So he says OK, well let me see your drivers licence, rego & insurance. Hmmmm the problem is officer . . . . I don't seem to have my licence on me. So I gave him everything else along with my name and D.O.B. & he returned to his car. Then it dawns on me . . . . I still haven't payed my last fine yet cause I lost it. Yep, I think our dog actually ate it. Yep that dog that we don't actually own. That's the one! . . . . I thought I would just wait for the notice to come in the mail & pay the late fee. So I started to get a little worried thinking that this cop was going to come back to the car and arrest me for an unpaid driving violation, plus stick me for not having my DL on me. Arhhhhh! Cause you know this is the country where the kids that were beaten up in the play ground at school end up in jobs of authority. They get puffed up with thoughts of self importance & let the sniff of authority go to their heads. If you don't know the story of me crossing the border back into the USA from Canada 4 years ago, ask me. It's a tale & a half. But I guess I was being smiled upon that night because I must of had the nicest Policeman in the county. He came back to the car gave me my papers back & just said, watch your speed & drive safely home to Denver folks. Phewwww. Thank goodness! I was sure I was going to be in deep #$%@. Luckily I was not. We then had an uneventful trip home. Thankfully!

We didn't get home until after midnight. Kaiden managed to fall asleep in the car which was great & when Simon put him into bed he said in his sleepy little voice, eyes still closed . . . . . " I had a really fun day today " How cute is that. Hearing Kaiden say things like that makes life worth while don't you think. My precious boy!!