Colorado xo

Coloradoo xo

Red dirt road.

Uncle Myron’s at last. (Amy’s great uncle, who is probably the coolest cowboy who ever walked this earth). We trucked through the night to reunite with our home sweet cabin tucked peacefully about half a football field away from the ranch. No cabin fever here. It was all fixed up for us and touched with love by Aunt Janine. ( great Aunt, who is the most in shape 50 year old I will probably ever meet, still whooping us youngin’s on the Manitou incline—I will explain in a few). It was about 2 am by the time we settled and tucked ourselves in. We sure did get our 5am wake up call, COCKA DOOODLE DOOOOO, but all chose to pay no heed to it and rolled over to catch more shuteye. Although, Amy set her alarm for 8:30 and 8:35 (she always sets two, because if she snoozes the first one without setting another one she will undoable sleep right through it), to try catch Aunt Janine & Uncle Myron before they headed to work. The rest of us started stirring around 10:30 ish and headed down to east some “eggs in a basket”, made with love by Amy. Yes, if you all were wondering what “eggs in a basket” is (don’t worry I was just informed as well). But its quite delicious, it’s a pretty complex dish… a piece of bread, cut a hole out of the center..(with your teeth or the circumference of a cup) plop an egg in the hole and fry it sunny side up). Children under 13… do not try this at home without parental supervision. Anyhow, we than all frolicked around the pasture, collected the chicken eggs, fed the horses, fooled around on the ATV for a bit. Billy fervently wanted jump on a horse and ride it bare back but we forewarned him not to all we needed was him to be bucked off a 1400 lb brawny black beauty.

Cowgirl up!
And then we decided to do a little saddle horseback riding ourselves. We called a near by place and giddy up we went riding. Cowgirl up! We hit the happy trails and trotted. It was pretty much Billy’s first time riding & same with Cobra’s. I was a beginner too, (except for last July when I rode a mule for 6hrs and got horse burn and swamp ass galore). And Amy she circled intermediate on the contract, (could have guessed right? She’s always outdoing us) Kidddinggg… she has rode a handful of times. WHOAA! But since she checked intermediate she was dealt with Kane, (the horse with the attitude) she handled his reins like a cowgirl though, except when the Kane trots… the little girl side of her comes out again, “Guys, how aren’t you pissing your pants!” And then laughs uncontrollably. When our trail ride came to an end, we brought em’ back to the carrel and hurried home for Uncle Myron’s famous cooking! A pork dinner. More like a feast! Tender pork, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, salad, sprinkled with the thickest cowboy accent, “ It’s all ready now, come & eat.” Did I mention he is the coolest cowboy ever? And boy, did we eat. Especially Cobra, who slapped on at least a half of dozen pieces of pork in his plate. But, what do you expect he’s a cobra. After dinner, we digested ourselves with a ride through the 11-mile canyon much thanks to Aunt Janine. Pure Gorgeous it was. And now back to the Manitou incline part above, once we returned Amy & headed back up to the cabin and hit the hay, knowing we had to wake up a 430 am to tackle the dreadful MANITOU INCLINE. The boys chatted with Uncle Myron for a bit down at the ranch, and followed us not long after.

Stairway to Hell

So for those who aren’t familiar with the Manitou incline… Google it now, but its basically it’s a 1 mile of hell steep rising up to 2000 ft in altitude on 2800 railroad ties. :) So we needed our rest, mentally and physically. Last year, Amy & I took on this same challenge and were hoping to beat our times. (mine, 1 hr and 27 min & Amy 57 min) As for Aunt Janine, her able-body faithfully masters this task weekly with a jaw-dropping time of any where in the mid thirty’s. She’s a pistol. COCK A DOOODLE DOOOO, but this time its Amy’s cell phone alarm, at 4:23 am, yes another one was set at 4:27 and that’s when Amy & I rolled out of bed in misery to put on our incline gear an scurried down to the ranch for peanut butter on toast (supposedly the right nutrients for this hike). With my eyes barely open I scarffed it down and filled up my camelback. You’re probably wondering where the boys are huh? They are still comfy- cozy in bed. But hold up, waiiiiitttt a minute, a text comes through from Billy, “did you guys leave yet.” And in time he jumps on the quad and we greet him in the driveway with his orange and 3 cookies. Cobra, is still in a coma, not liking the idea of a 430 am wake up call followed by the hike to hell. So therefore, he continued to dream. The rest of us, including Whit (Amy’s cousin) ventured off to Manitou Springs, home of the incline. It was a bit cold, but that faded quickly after the first couple steps of the hike. Aunt Janine & Billy neck to neck for most of the time took the lead, followed by Amy in the distance, Whit behind her, and well for me last…Because if your not first your last… humming Miley Cyrus’ the climb… wiping the sweat of brow, talking to myself in the third person, “come on Tric, keep digging.” And I dug. I wasn’t giving up for the world. A few hands and knees crawls later I heard from the top “Come onn tric, almost there, as the rest of them were cheering me on…. And I clocked in at 51 minutes on the nose!!!!! 36 minutes of improvement from the previous year,,,wooo woo! Mustve been my membership at the gym.. or… And for the other’s Aunt Janine finished in 35 minutes, Billy next with 37, followed by Amy with 45 min, & Whit with 48! Butttttt, I was rewarded with the most improved player! I didn’t get a trophy though, but we all did get a victory picture at the top. And then it was time for the trek down the switchbacks, my busted hip isn’t a fan of downhill jogs so myself or hip wasn’t the happiest of campers. And there she was, glowing in her lit up circular light…STARBUCKS…. we treated ourselves to & hugged and thanked Janine as she went off to work. It was only about 8 ish and I already hiked a mile up and about 4 miles down…so that’s what it feels like to wake up in the crack of dawn. It felt like lunchtime. We drove back to the middle of no where lake George, and fixed ourselves some of Uncle Myron’s famous pancake mix with strips of bacon to accompany it. Mmmm another delicious feast! If your wondering about Cobra, he is still up at the cabin… sleeping the day away..! It’s a beautiful morningg!!!!

keep climbing,
tric.xo