Summary of my Summit

This past weekend, we loaded up the car and headed out to Vail for a quick weekend getaway-climb-a-14er kind of weekend. If you have never been to Vail in the summer or even in the winter, it is a must see. Very family friendly, BEAUTIFUL scenery, pricey? yes, but what mountain resort isn't?! Gary and Linda rented a little condo for all of us to stay in. A place that they used to stay when Erin was a little guy but very much updated now. We putzed around most of Friday around the condo, Henry planted some flower seeds at the little Nature Center and played around the playground not too far away.

Saturday morning, Gary, Erin and I got up the mountain at about 630 am and began our climb. Not more than 5 minutes into it and I was panting, hurting and taking a LARGE drink of water. For me, the hardest part rests in the first 20 minutes of the hike. Getting my lungs acclimated, my legs functioning and brain in focus. This climb was much different from the last one we did back in 2008. This mountain (Gray's Peak) is on the front range of CO meaning most Denver people flock here for the weekend to get in a quick climb. I probably saw between 200-250 people on my way up/down. Mt. Massive we maybe saw 5 people the whole trip. I like the solitude of the mountain but at the same time it was kind of nice to be following on the heels of someone you didn't know. Thoughts ran through my mind like, "are they as tired as me", "why on earth are we all here putting our bodies through this" "I wonder if he has ever exercised in his life before, hope he doesn't have a heart-attack" "Oh, I really like her sunglasses, I should get some like that". It was about the same on the challenge level for me. Total climb was 7.75 miles and took us about 8 hours to complete. Very proud again that I am able to do this being the flat-lander I am.

The weekend ended with a trip to the toy store for Henry, a nice ice cream treat in Vail Village, Julia picking up a tampon (unused) and sticking it in her mouth, a visit to Erin's Grandma Elsie in Sterling and a pukey Henry in North Platte. Very fun trip for the Bright Family.