A really BIG hike

Today Jim and I hiked from our house to Tomboy Mine, a long 3,300 foot elevation gain UP. Now we forgot our camera, so I've attached a photo Jim took last week when he did this same hike with a friend. It was snowing during his hike, but when we went today, that snow was nearly all melted.

Tomboy, a once robust mining community in the late 1890s, still has a lot of mining and housing ruins left, and you can almost feel at least some of the energy that was once there. It took us two hours to get there, all up hill. My almonds tasted really, really good at the top.

The weather was incredible, and really has been all of October (with the exception of one day!). Perfect sunny skies, no humidity, and cool, crisp air. We are still able to hike in shorts as long as we leave around 10am after the sun has had a chance to warm things up.

So back to our hike. After we started to head back down, the laces on my fancy Salomon shoes busted, so it was nearly two hours walking 5 plus miles down in what felt like a slipper. Not good, as my step-son Justin likes to say.

But it was a great accomplishment -- a nearly four hour hike, longer than any hike I've done in more than two years. Of course Jim regularly hikes this distance, but it kind of kicked his butt, too.

Oh, and my PBJ tasted really, really good when I was done.

SNOW Part 2

We officially got snow here at the house (as opposed to just at the higher elevations) for the first time this season. It's a mere dusting, but would be enough to close the schools down back in Charlotte or Atlanta! It was actually a big storm that started yesterday -- a ton of rain and ice with very strong winds and thunder. Overnight the wind was so strong it felt like a tornado was moving through! Anyway, it's now sunny and 28 degrees, and I'm sure the dusting will be gone shortly, though we're expecting more snow later today and over the next couple of days before it warms back up. We'll be heading out shortly for a long walk with the dogs. They absolutely love this weather. It somehow energizes them to play and run even harder.

On an unrelated note, we had a very productive trip to Grand Junction this past week. We did some major grocery shopping and have filled both of our refrigerators and freezers and have an assortment of all kinds of stuff neatly stored in the basement. It looks like Costco in here, really. But you know we are really going through some food. We hardly ever eat out, so with three meals a day, everyday, we're cranking through the stuff. It's different from when we lived in Charlotte with Jim working and eating out more. Fortunately, I an enjoying cooking and Jim enjoys eating, so "it's all good!"

SNOW!

We did in fact get snow, but it was at higher elevations than our house. It made this morning's hike so different than what I am used to from the summer months. On the way back down the mountain, it started raining with little bits of ice and snow. The dogs were wet and muddy but happy. I was cold and couldn't stop thinking about a warm shower! Much of the day there was cold rain, which will show up again as snow in the surrounding mountains, but a little while ago it turned super sunny and gorgeous.

This is a test, this is only a test

Over the next three days we are expecting some interesting weather. Highs only in the upper 30s/low 40s and lows in the 20s with wintry mix of rain and snow all weekend. This ought to test our ability to walk the dogs and continue our enthusiasm around not driving the car unless truly necessary. But at last, it's only a test since after this front, we are expecting the beautiful Fall weather to return with lots of sun and the highs back in the 50s!