Fourth of July in the Snowy Range

Kevin & I had a really nice camping weekend. We headed up to Medicine Bow National Forest just outside of Centennial, WY.

We weren't too quick about getting out of town on Wednesday morning. We drove through Cheyenne on our way up thinking it'd be cool to stop at the Sierra Trading Post. We were both pretty disappointed and figured we should have just stopped at REI in Fort Collins. Oh well, now we know. We found a dispersed camping spot that was pretty close to some of the National Forest campgrounds. So, we got to camp for free and were close enough to some water and vault toilets. We found a site that was next to Libby Creek and it was very nice.

Thursday morning, we got our mountain bikes out and rode all over the area. We had a few hills we couldn't go up, or down, due to the rocks, but it was fun otherwise. The mosquitoes weren't too bad and we REALLY enjoyed trying to figure out all the flowers and shrubs we saw. Kevin bought a rocky mountain plant life book. So, we were pulling that out quite frequently. We probably logged about 15 miles throughout the day. We had a nice evening by the fire and he taught me how to play backgammon.

Friday, we head up to the pass and the views were absolutely wonderful! WE wanted to do some hiking, but a lot of it was cut short because there was still quite a bit of snow everywhere. They didn't even open up a lot of the roads or campgrounds because there was so much snow and they don't have enough funds to plow everything. They just have to wait for it to melt. We ended up going on a few short hikes and to some of the observation points. We then drove down to Saratoga Springs. We were going to go to the free Hobo Hot Springs but decided it was too darn'd hot. So, we paid $2/each to use the municipal pool and showers. It was so nice to cool off after such a hot day. We ate some food in town and had a margarita before heading back up over the pass. Oh, on the way down to Saratoga, we did see a moose! :) We got back to the site and enjoyed the campfire for quite a while. We had one neighbor that just got a new chain saw. He decided to use it Thursday night, all day Friday. He was a little weird. He also decided to thump his music the entire time. Dah.

Saturday morning, I was pretty lazy while Kevin read his book. We finally decided we'd had enough of thumping base from our neighbor and packed up camp about 2:00 or so. We headed up to a trail where we tried to do some more mountain biking. I think we ended up walking more than riding on the way up. There were about a half dozen trees or so that covered the trail. I was pretty tired of lifting my bike over them. It was pretty rocky too. Since we're not very experienced mtn. bikers, it was a bit tougher. Coming down was pretty fun though. Probably more so for Kevin since he loves downhillls. We ended up going about five of the nine miles of the trail. We then decided to just head back to Loveland. We drove back via 287 from Laramie to Fort Collins. That road is so beautiful and the scenery was amazing. We headed to Adalitas for some margaritas. It was a nice evening.

Yesterday, we just took it easy and got things cleaned up and regained our bearings before heading back to work today. We got some breakfast before picking up the dogs. I ran into Travis from college! Couldn't believe it. He had his little girl with him and their expecting a second pretty soon. They now live in Loveland. I told him we should get together soon. What are the chances of seeing him at that coffee shop? Aspen & Zula were pretty happy to be with us yesterday. Aspen's still wigging out from the fireworks, but she'll be back to normal once the banging & popping stops. Kevin & I also managed to go to the nursery for some new plants and then we grilled out hamburgers and enjoyed the evening. I headed home and unpacked all of my junk.

It was a great weekend even though the pollen was out of control. I felt pretty claustrophobic because I was so clogged up in my nose and throat. EVERYTHING had a nice yellow hue. It was crazy!