is this thing on?

The Fourth of July was fairly anti-climactic due to the drought, but we did go down to Aspen to watch their parade. It was a nice parade with many fun floats. I would recommend it. All the firework shows were cancelled so it didn't really feel like the 4th. Since the holiday was on a Thursday, Brian and I took Friday off to make a long weekend out of it. To make the most of our time off, we hiked up to the Savage Lakes outside of Basalt. It's a beautiful hike along cascading waterfalls. For a while we didn't even care if it we made it to the top; the walk up was enough in itself. But the top was totally worth it. There's an upper and lower alpine lake with great views and lots of areas for camping. We decided next year we'll backpack up and stay the night. Ew. That next week we packed up and drove 16 hours up to Twin Lakes, Idaho for a Stoess family reunion. The drive gave us a lot of quality time looking ...

We have been busy bees. Here's a June re-cap. In early June we headed to Colorado Springs for a friend's wedding. We took the 'back way' over Independence Pass after work so we were there at sunset. It was breathtaking. For Father's Day, we met my parents in Steamboat Springs for the annual Mustang Rally. We had beautiful weather and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the Mustangs (despite my envy for every single one from the 60's). We finished the weekend with a nice brunch on the mountain. All you can eat and all the views you can see. It was very nice! This was the weekend after the Black Forest fire devastated parts of Colorado Springs. I had spent the week constantly checking the evacuation map and my parents had unwanted front-row seats. I'm sure they appreciated a break and some fresh air. The next weekend Glenwood Springs hosted their annual Strawberry Days festival. It's a big deal around here and because ...