Visitors from Wisconsin

This week our dear friends Paul and Maris Fried stayed with us in Fort Collins, Colorado. They drove one thousand miles to visit and spend time together. We had the opportunity to show them around the Front Range and do some hiking in the Poudre Canyon. They joined us seeking out geocaches in town and in the surrounding regions.




Paul and Peter took the hike to the top of Horsetooth Rock and Renée and Maris hiked the trail to Horsetooth Falls.

Paul was able to complete a Earthcache with information he gained from signage at the top of the Rock.

The Rock overlooks the City of Fort Collins to the north.

Paul and Maris' visit to Colorado

In May 2011, Paul and Maris drove from Milwaukee to visit us.
During their visit with us, we introduced them to our surroundings as well as our newest hobby...geocaching.

On one of the first days they were here, we took them for a drive north and Wwest of Fort Collins on a road that runs along the Poudre River and through the canyon.  No matter what time of the year we head out in this direction there always seem to be new sites to see.  On this trip, we noticed that the river was beginning to swell.  Rafters were enjoying the exciting ride.

Our goal for the day was to head about 20 miles west to pick up 3 new caches that had been placed in the canyon along the road.  The first one had us (not Renee) climbing down the steep slope in search of the elusive cache.  We never did find this one and actually have been back since with no luck as well.  Giving up on that one for the moment, we headed back east to pick up the remaining 2 and have our lunch.  Success!  Both were found in record breaking time.  We had our lunch along the river and headed back to town.  Along the way, we were all treated to a small grouping of Big Horn Sheep that had progressed down from the mountains to feed on the new grasses.  Great photos.

Exploring Craig, Colorado

As it has been raining/snowing in the Steamboat Springs area we decided to head West and explore the small town of Craig, Colorado. It is about 45 miles west of here.

We did some caching for the day and actually exceeded our old record.
We are working on a 100 day straight challenge. Finding at least 1 per day for 100 straight days.
We are now up to 98 days. Really never thought we would get to this point.

There are so many places to see in the Craig area.
We started the day in the hills above Craig. Peter chose to do the climb above the town. It was muddy from all the rain and snow melt. I took pictures of him from down below. As I was waiting for Peter to come back down, 2 local police cars pulled up. Thought they were there to see if I needed any help (which I did not). Oh no, they were there to say that they had reports of "someone taking pictures of kids in the area". We were parked near the high school. I cleared up the issue. They seemed satisfied after taking my license information, but I did not like the process at all. Soon after that I drove the car to another location to pick up Peter from the other end. Sometimes local Police can be too vigilant. We have been stopped before, but not for taking pictures!

Heading back west again today as it continues to rain/snow here.

Wood Carvings in Colorado

While traveling through Craig, Colorado we came upon this park that had incredibly detailed wood carvings. There were probably over 30 in this one park alone and another 25 or so scattered around town.

Heading to Rabbit Ears Pass

Cloudy morning.
Rain expected here in Steamboat.
We are headed up to Rabbit Ears Pass to do some exploring.
Possibly snowshoeing or x country skiing.
Will depend on the conditions of the snow.

Sunday in Steamboat Springs

Sunday morning was bright and beautiful. Birds were singing outside of our room and it looked like it would be a wonderful day again.

We headed into town to attend Mass and then to Winona's for a breakfast. It is said that Winona's has the "best cinnamon rolls in Colorado". We were definitely tempted. The rolls were the size of dinner plates. We were going to share one, but after the breakfast that we ate, we chose to skip that portion of the meal. Perhaps having one without anything else later in the week would be a better option. We may come back during the week.

After breakfast, we chose to walk along the Yampa River to get a few caches in the downtown area. The river was swollen and moving rapidly. We walked for about a mile until it became too warm and uncomfortable for us. We did not have our hats with us and the sun was too hot for our heads. We are sooooo delicate!

Heading to Steamboat Springs

On Saturday, Peter & I headed West to spend a week in Steamboat Springs.
The plan was to relax, explore, do some caching,photography and perhaps a little snowshoeing or some cross country skiing.
The weather in Fort Collins was good and there was definitely no snow to be found there.
We borrowed the snowshoes from Doug and Heidi and took off to see if we could find any last vestiges of snow in the mountains.

We drove West on Highway 14. This highway follows the Poudre River and cuts through the canyon. We stopped along the way to catch a couple of caches. When we stopped, we were rewarded with some beautiful spring wildflowers. Stopping for pictures was a definite must.

We spotted only one moose along the way, but it was too far off in the marsh to make a worthwhile shot. The colors in the marsh were spectacular.

We made it to the condo by dinner time without any problems. We unpacked, had dinner and relaxed for the rest of the evening with plans to explore the area in the daylight. We were here last fall, so it would just be a matter of getting reacquainted with everything.