Hiking in Colorado

Occasionally I forget about things that I love to do. I'll put down my knitting for a few weeks or not pick up a book for months. As soon as I take up that hobby again I can't believe I let myself go so long without enjoying it.

Hiking is one of those activities. I did it all summer in college when I worked at camp. It was wonderful. When we were in Colorado last month I indulged in hiking almost every day. One of the best hikes we did was taking the Lily Pad Lake trail and then heading down into Frisco.

I wonder how Lily Pad Lake got its name.

Jeff leads the way.

So it turns out I enjoy wearing a t shirt and a stocking cap. Don't judge me.

Checking out Lake Dillon and Frisco.

I've decided I'm not going to go a decade without hiking again. I bought boots and intend to hike at least once a month (well, not when it's winter). I went up to Ledges State Park on Sunday and got in three hours of hiking. I am hoping to get even more done on Labor Day. If anyone is looking to take a walk in the woods give me a call. I'd be happy to join you.

Garden

I decided to plant a garden this year. I've managed to keep only one houseplant alive for more than two months, so I wasn't exactly hoping for the best. I'm happy to say I've exceeded expectations and have a lot of tomatoes and peppers. I'm loving being able to go grab a tomato from the garden every day.

Beers of Colorado

I recently returned from a vacation in Summit County, Colorado. I'll be splitting up my vacation into a few posts, instead of writing a really long blog.

One of the things that we did in Colorado was visit breweries. The first one we stopped at was Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs. It was our dinner stop on the way to Jeff's apartment in Keystone. The food was great, and the beer was even better. After a sample of their beers we picked up a few for Jeff. I would give this brewery a solid A. Their beers were all very good.

The next day we headed to Breckenridge Brewery. I'm a big fan of their Vanilla Porter, so I was excited to check it out. Unfortunately, the beer was not as fantastic as I imagined it would be. However, even with average beer and food it's hard not to love being in Breckenridge.

The next day we took a hike after breakfast and ended up in Frisco. Frisco was a great town; heading off of the trail and into town we hit up a local coffee shop, a knitting store (Jeff and John were really excited about finding some yarn), and then headed to Backcountry Brewery. It was by far the best brewery we went to. After a sample of them all I decided on a wheat beer. It was the only time I had more than a sample of beer at any of the breweries.

We sat on the patio and enjoyed the beer. It was colder than Iowa, but nice enough to enjoy the patio.

Backcountry Brewery is Jeff's favorite in Summit County, so it was nice that we got to hang out with him there.

And if you needed further proof that this brewery is amazing, check out the view from the bathroom. That's right....the bathroom.

Our last night in Keystone we went to the Dam Brewery for happy hour. It was a disappointment. Think of all of the pun possibilities. Unfortunately, after noting hints of cauliflower in one of the beers all I can say is that I don't want another Dam beer.

Pizza Success

A few weeks ago I tried making pizza. It was a complete disaster. The dough was too wet, which made it incredibly difficult to work with. It also meant that I got very frustrated with the entire process. I am not used to kitchen mishaps, and did not handle that one well.

Luckily I was convinced to try it again. It's a good thing I did: this time the pizza was perfect. It was good all the way from the gooey cheese to the crunchy crust.

In fact, the pizza was so good I may give up on frozen pizza (a staple in my freezer). As you can see, I wasn't the only one who found it delicious.