Welcome to October

I came across this really great blog the other day, there were really well written, interesting posts with some great photos and stories. Then I realized it was my blog, my life and I hadn't updated it since September, what the hell?!?

So the end of the Steamboat trip in photos is as follows:


This was the view from the saddle when we went to the ranch for a horsey ride.


The hike up in the hills wherever it was in the land of the scenic and the falling leaves.


Dempsey is really good at jumping over stuff, but he's very hard to catch in the act.


Grommit went foraging for food somewhere after mile seven of the hike. Little dogs can move, but it takes a lot of energy.


We were a hair early for the leaves to be in their full glory but we were able to catch some colors as well as the first snowflakes. After the hike we headed back to the house to get ready for dusk at the hotsprings.


Strawberry Hot Springs are tucked away on the hillside outside of town and it is a pretty cool set up. The spring is up the hill and "natural" pools were built into the creek and depending on how far downstream you go, the water is either hot or not so hot. After a few hours of soaking we were nice and pruney and it was time to head back to town. We went for a mountain bike ride on Friday before heading back to Denver. Howelson Hill on the other side of Highway 40 has some pretty incredible singletrack. It had been forever since I had been on a mountain bike with the exception being a single cross race last year.


This was one of the more technical sections with lots of rock and junk to ride over. For the most part it was smooth singletrack with the occasional root or stump.


We hit the playgound at the end of the ride . . . shenanigans!


I did mountain bike though, I swear! Once back in Denver, on temporary permanent vacation, the fun and games continued. Sarah and I bought a bushel of roasted Hatch chilies for kicks. We were motivated by the fact that they were there and we had made a batch of chicken green chili once using peppers from Whole Foods. At $20 a bushel, this batch was much cheaper and I still have six pounds of peppers stashed away in the freezer. The chili was followed up by chili-cheddar cornbread, chili stuffed burgers, egg/cheese/potato/turkey bacon/chili breakfast burritos . . . and I have a loaf of chili-cheddar bread going into the oven in moments. So yeah, welcome to October and the blur that is unemployed life.