Aspen 2009

After a little under a week at home, Matt came to join Misty and I in Connecticut. The very next morning, we woke up before dawn and went to Colorado. Every summer, my Grandparents rent a home in Aspen. Aspen has a wonderful music festival during the summer, as well as great hiking up and down the mountains and valleys.

Matt and I, along with my parents, spent three full days in Aspen. We arrived on Friday in time for lunch with the Cantor-Stones and Angie. We had a Mexican fajita lunch next to the river. Back to the house for goodbyes and NAPS! I have gotten sick from the altitude for the past decade, so I have to sleep and drink a lot of water. Matt and I woke up and walked around town while the folks went and listened to Chamber Music in the tent.

On Saturday, Matt climbed to the top of the mountain again. Last year I did it with him, but this year, he wanted to go faster so I didn't go. Instead, my parents and I met him at the top of the mountain with a picnic. There was also a brass quintet playing at the top of the mountain so we stayed and listened. They were great. However, we forgot to bring house keys with us and by the time we got back to the house, my Grandparents had left and we were locked out. Matt climbed the side of the house and brought my book down off the porch and then went biking. I guarded the door until my Grandparents came home. That night Matt and I joined my Grandparents for La Boheme (the opera that Rent is based on) in the park. We picnicked and listened to opera.

On Sunday, Matt woke up and biked from Aspen to Ashcroft. Ashcroft is a ghost town since 1939 when the last resident died. He biked all morning. In the afternoon, my parents and I went to the arts festival and I bought my first holiday gift of the year (craziness!). We went out for a delicious dinner that evening also.

On Monday, Matt and I went out for breakfast with my Grandfather. Then we went for a hike with my Mom. Whenever we have flown to Denver and then driven to Aspen, we drive past an exit called Hanging Lake. So this year we drove out there and went for a beautiful hike. It is a mile up climbing over rocks. I went slow on the way up since I still have a hard time with the altitude. Check out the pictures. When we got to the top there was a pristine lake with a huge waterfall. It was so beautiful! Maybe another 100 feet up we could climb under the waterfall. We have some great shots up there. We had lunch at the lake and then climbed back down.

We went home for a shower and then right back out to visit Angie and Shag's cabin. I forgot to bring my camera, sorry. They have a log cabin built on the side of the mountain. Since Angie has moved in (almost a decade) they have been terracing the mountain. there are large gardens with every vegetable and flower imaginable as well as ponds for trout. They also have deer and turkeys that eat on their porch regularly. Not to mention the hummingbirds on one side of the cabin and little birds on the other. It is so beautiful! And then out to dinner.

On Tuesday, we woke up with the sun and came home.