Errands

Yesterday morning I got dressed to head out for a walk. Then I remembered I needed to pick up a few things at the store so decided I would walk. I emptied out my backpack and threw it on and headed out the door. The direct route would make it a 4/mile round trip. But I wanted to get a little extra in to recover from the Thanksgiving indulgence. So I ended up making it a 6.93/Mile outing.
After I got what I needed from the store I loaded it into my backpack and started heading back. Below is the route that I took.

Another Day

So the meatballs were just OK.  They could have been a little more spicey for my taste.  I just finished up 3.6/miles on the treadmill.   Hadn't done the treadmill in a while.  Set it at an 8% incline and did an hour.   Now ready for a shower and then to have some fun this afternoon.

Who wants Chinese takeout? I know a great place.

I Hope to head out early and get a quick 3 or 5/Miles in. Need to be back by noon as I have made reservations for his and her messages at the Broadmoor Hotel. Looking forward to taking advantage of the amenities! Love you babe!


Party on Candy!
Party on Dennis!

Through the Park

I got a late start this morning and for a little while there I though Candy was going to be called off work. She got a call at 5am and said they would call back in 4 hours if they needed her and then called back about an hour later and she had to go in. After that I just went back to sleep until about 8:30 or so.

I did my weekly sales call and then headed out the door. I did a short trip today as I just wasn’t into it. Not sure why though? Anyway ended up with 3.3/Miles and just did a quick walk through Bear Creek Park. Had the camera with me and didn’t really come across any good pictures until I was back on my street headed home. I did catch a nice little red finch and came across about 8 deer. This is the best picture that came out of the deer from all the ones I took.

I am working on refinishing a pie safe and went and picked up some of the pieces and brought them home and started sanding. A couple of weeks ago I was able to take it all apart and luckily didn’t break any of the pieces so as long as I can remember how it goes back together I should have a very nice piece once it is all sanded, stained and back together. It’s going to take a while! I will be sure to add some pictures at some point.

So tonight for dinner I am trying out a new recipe. Not sure how this one will go.

1 14-Ounce can Ocean Spray Jellied or Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

1 12-Ounce bottle Heinz Chili Sauce

1 2-Pound bag of frozen pre-cooked meatballs

Combine the sauces in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until smooth and then add the meatballs. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until meatballs are heated through.

I plan on cooking rice to go with this, so we will see.

Happy Hiking

When do you really get a Vacation?

I started my vacation today, but when is a vacation really a vacation. I think part of the problem is that I am so anal that I am afraid I am going to miss something. So I am always checking email to keep current on what is going on. It is liked being a smoker or hooked on drugs. With technology I can keep current and be found just about anywhere I go. Even though I am off I have a sales call tomorrow and plan on doing it from the Mountain with my phone and IPad. I don’t know why I worry as I work with a team of very talented people who all know what to do.

So my first day off was very busy and I hope to keep just as busy the rest of the week. This morning Candy and I drove up to Section 16 and did the Palmer Loop Trail. This is a great trail as the scenery is beautiful and after you get up the first 1.8/miles the remainder of this 5.8/mile hike is downhill. This is also part of the Ring the Peak Trail. The initial incline goes from 6,630ft to 7,725ft a nice 1,086ft climb in 1.8/miles.

We made pretty good time and actually passed two groups on our way up. I packed chicken that I had cooked last night for dinner as well as two turkey sandwiches. We didn’t get to the food until we got back to the truck. We opted for the sandwiches as the chicken would have been a little messy, but I did have napkins with us.

Then we headed to the office where I had to drop off a few items and then headed home. Once home we hopped in the hot tub and relaxed for a bit. Then I threw a roast in the oven. I am cooking it in Cream of Mushroom soup, Wine, Tomato Paste and Garlic. It should be ready soon so I will let you know how it came out.  (AWESOME!) cook at 350 for about 4 to 5 hours depending on size!

We made our list for the Thanksgiving dinner and headed out to the store. I am glad that we went today as the store wasn’t too packed. Hey and lucky enough we found everything we were looking for. Made it home and got everything put away and then started a fire in the fire place. Ready to just kick-back for a while and then lay out my clothes for tomorrows outing.

GPS Log tracking from today's Hike

Happy Hiking

Treasure Hunt

We talked a big game last night about leaving early so we could be on the trail before Sunrise. I think we left the house at 10am, later than we had intended, ha-ha.

Today we went on a treasure hunt. Last weekend I found a pair of earrings that Candy had gotten when we were at the State Fair earlier this year. She hadn’t worn them yet. So when I headed out for my hike last Saturday I took them with me. When I reached the top of the Mountain I buried them and marked the location with my GPS.

I say Mountain but not sure exactly what its name is. The loop that I take is 6.9/miles. Leaving the house I make my way over to the Bear Creek trail head off of Orion, then up to Gold Camp Road (GCR). Cross over GCR and make your way up a gully to the top. The elevation gain from leaving the house to the top is 1,298 feet and it is 2.5 miles to the top. Then work your way down the trail and through twilight canyon, down to High drive then re-catch the Bear Creek trail and back to the house.

The real purpose of the trip today was to show Candy how to use the GPS. She did a great job and was able to navigate us to the location of the hidden earrings. I didn’t have my camera with me today but will be sure to take it with me tomorrow. Not sure where I am heading.

This is an image of the route that we took today.

This is an image of the route that I took when I went up to hide the treasure.

Satire

So I have determined that the Beer and M and M diet that I found on the web just doesn't work for me. Based on the outstanding results that they had posted I thought for sure this was the way to go. But there you go; you can’t always believe what you read on the web. Now if I had seen it on TV you know it would have had to been true.

I thought this was a great way to go because I like both of these things. I mean you can’t go wrong with beer and when you throw M and M’s into the mix, OMG.

One issue was the mess that it made. I mean it is not easy to get peanut M&M’s into the beer bottle. When you do, then the beer foams up and comes flowing over the top and onto the counter and floor. Which with the first couple isn’t too bad, but when you are on your third or fourth you kind like screw it I will clean it up tomorrow. Beer and chocolate are a little difficult to clean once they dry up. What I found to be the best method was to take a couple of swigs of beer from the bottle and then try to get the M&M’s in. I got so serious about that I even had a funnel I used to try to get them in. The draw back with this method is you need a rather large funnel. Otherwise the M&M’s just get stuck.

I did try beer in a glass and then add the M and M’s but it’s not a pretty picture when you can actually see what you are drinking. It’s like this kaleidoscope of colors swirling around and when the chocolate begins melting your left with the low quality peanuts that you realize they use.

I won’t get into the other issues as it relates to regurgitation and bowl movements. I mean that is something you need to find out for yourself. My only suggestion is that if you try this diet that you do your own laundry.

I was reading about a blended broccoli and Kit Kat diet. I will keep you posted on how that goes.

Headed to Vegas

We managed to get 5 miles in this morning. Currently I am sitting in the Colorado Springs airport getting ready to head to Vegas. I get in around 11pm local time. We are starting to board so will have to update this later.

Time

Where does the time go? I can’t believe that it is already Wednesday and I am half through my vacation. Yesterday we got Eric to get his stuff moved out and into the rental house. Then the guys showed up to fill and seal the driveway. It looks so much better and should hold up over the winter.


This morning we got up and went out to breakfast and then headed down to Canyon City. We played 9/holes at the Frisbee golf course. The course is pretty decent and is by the college.

We then headed over to the train station and got tickets to ride the Royal Gorge train through the canyon. Oh man they had some awesome food and the scenery was most excellent.

We made it back to the Springs at around 4pm. It was a great day and I know I had a blast.

I need to call the tree trimmer and get him scheduled and take the truck in tomorrow to have one of the door locks fixed. I think we are headed out to do some more hiking tomorrow.

Happy Hiking!

Vacation and so much to do!

We finally closed on a house that we were looking at. We spent most of last weekend painting the basement and have several more rooms to go. I hope to get one more done this week before I head out of town.


I cleaned out the boys stuff out of the work-out room so I have it back finally. His stuff is in the garage and hopefully will be out of here tomorrow. Then I can begin focusing on our basement and get some more stuff move out of here.

This morning Candy and I took Clark to school and then hiked up Helen Hunt Falls. Came home and cleaned and then went out to run a few errands. I plan on taking Clark in the morning and then trying to get some miles in. Will most likely drive up to GCR and then see where I end up. I figure if I am out hiking I don’t have to help the kid move. I mean I already move it all down to the garage so he should be able to handle it from there. Know what I mean Vern!

With the work-out room clean I have been on the treadmill and doing some lifting. I called a paving guy today as we need to have our asphalt driveway sealed and hope to have that done on Wednesday and now I am looking for a tree guy as I need to have some trees trimmed and removed.

Man, I am on vacation but it seems like I am working my butt off!

Happy Hiking!