No, this is not a throw-back post. Last week we braved planes, (airport) trains, and (rented) automobiles to visit our daughter in Colorado. Instead of our usual line-up of shopping and eating out, we mostly hung out at her place and went hiking. We even were lucky enough to score an entry ticket for hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Getting an early start towards Bierstadt Lake.
Hiking In Rocky Mountain National Park
To control crowds and encourage social distancing, Rocky Mountain National Park was issuing timed entry tickets which go on sale at 8:00 am local time the day before. You have to be quick with your fingers because the tickets are gone within a matter of minutes. We were lucky to get tickets for an 8:00-10:00 am entry, which was perfect.
Don’t worry, we took that water bottle with us. ^^
The weather also was perfect–we were treated to blue skies which made a lovely contrast with the bright gold of aspen leaves changing colors. We started out in long sleeves, but were happy to have worn layers for the warmer hike back.
Our daughter and her boyfriend, with Sprague Lake in the background.
My daughter chose a hike she was familiar with–to Bierstadt Lake. This view was worth the 1.5 miles of steep switch-backs!
So gorgeous!
From there, we hiked to the more popular Bear Lake. We encountered a few more people there, but not as many as we would have in a normal year.
We laughed as this photobombing chimpmunk!
One more photo on our way back down, with a glimpse of orange aspen leaves:
To give you an idea of just how lucky we were with the weather, here are pictures from the previous days, when the wind was carrying smoke from the wildfires in our direction.
On our first day, we could smell smoke in the air as we walked around McIntosh Lake.
You should see mountains in the distance.
The air was a bit clearer on Saturday when we hiked around Lagerman Reservoir, but every once in a while we caught a whiff of smoke.
You can see the front range, but not the mountains in the distance.
As you can see, we had a great time. It was wonderful to finally see my daughter again–we hadn’t seen her since New Year’s day! While any change of scenery would have lifted our spirits, this particular scenery had them soaring. That said, we were not comfortable with traveling. Our flights were full, but the flight attendants seemed to be vigilant with enforcing correct mask-wearing. We brought several packages of sanitizing wipes and used them to wipe down surfaces on the plane, in the rental car, and in our hotel room–where housekeeping service wasn’t even offered. We bought disposable bottles of water instead of using water fountains, and cooked at my daughter’s place instead of going out. We seem to have stayed healthy, but still aren’t sure about holiday travel.
Weekly Run Down
My workouts back at home can’t compare with the Rocky Mountains! I kept up with my Peloton core workouts, did a lot of 10 min Strength for Runners Workouts, and did a few upper body strength workouts. I really enjoyed the fall weather on my runs with Scooby, even though many started at dark o’clock.
Monday: 10 min core (travel day)
Tuesday: 3.5 Scooby Miles +20 min Peloton Strength + 10 min Peloton Yoga
Wednesday: 3.5 Scooby Miles +45 min Peloton Strength
Thursday: 6.0 Scooby Miles + 35 min Peloton Strength
Friday: 30 min Peloton Boot Camp + 20 min Peloton Strength
Saturday: 7.7 Scooby Miles + 10 min Peloton Strength
Sunday: 45 min Peloton Strength + 21.3 Miles Cycling
Here’s one picture of Scooby from Thursday’s run:
And because we all could use a good laugh these days, here’s a photo of us in our lederhosen cycling kits–the perfect outfit for a warm October ride.
Thanks to Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down link up. It’s always great for motivation and encouragement, but now it’s especially important for distance socializing. We may be physically apart, but we are in this together!
Have you been on an airplane since March?
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I am so glad to see that you all got out there for a visit! Those views are sure worth it. I bet she was thrilled to be with you!
It was a really good visit.
That’s so cool that you were able to go there for a visit and I love all of the photos that you were able to take there!
I will forever love those cycling kits!
I’m glad you enjoyed seeing them. 😉
What an awesome trip, Coco!! I am so happy for you that you did this! Those photos are beautiful.
Nice that you finally see your daughter. I remember she could only attend her brother’s wedding via video earlier this year.
Yes, I have flown once since March – a one-hour flight to Hamburg. It felt quite safe, but like you, we were extra careful.
I think my husband wants your Oktoberfest cycling gear!
It was s pretty fantastic!
I think he got them from a company in England …. 🙂
This sounds like a wonderful visit.
It was really good to see my daughter — and nice to enjoy such great hiking!
Yes. Just went to see our daughter for my birthday. Short flight but I was surprised at how many people. Flight there I was alone in my row but on the way back very full flight. Also had flight attendants that had to keep reminding people about masks. Other than that I felt fine about the trip.
Looks like we both stayed healthy, so that’s good!
Glad you got to see her! I’m not at all comfortable with flying. I can’t even get parents to wear masks, much less correctly, in my exam rooms. I’m just so over it. I want to travel so badly.
From what I saw, people were wearing them correctly and flight attendants were reminding them when needed, but, yeah, it’s still risky.
Yay I’m so glad you got to visit your daughter! I’m sure that did wonders for your spirits. I think airplane travel would freak me out, but on the other hand I’d give anything for a change of scenery!
It was a much-needed trip from a lot of perspectives.
We haven’t done any traveling this year, for the simple reason that it isn’t “worth it” to us just to go on vacation. If we had family to see, that would be a different story, I’d get on a plane in a heartbeat. I’m glad that you got to see your daughter and get a gorgeous change of scenery for a few days.
We didn’t take this trip lightly, but figured we had to see her while it was still warm enough to enjoy activities outside.
That’s great that you were finally able to see your daughter! It sounds like you were as safe as possible. I haven’t flown since January. Thinking about the holidays definitely makes me nervous.
It’s a tough year for family visits. 🙁
Looks like you had a great time in CO with your daughter. The hiking really sounds like fun, too. Gotta say, those Octoberfest kits are the bomb!! I probably wouldn’t have too tough of a time getting the hubs to wear one (he sported his Team Buttcrack jersey yesterday LOL).
Don’t forget it’s my husband who got us these — and reminded me we needed to wear them since it’s October. 😉
I’m so happy to hear you were comfortable with the travel and had such a great time! Awesome pics.
We weren’t exactly comfortable, but we did what we could to minimize the risks.
What a great time to CO! Glad you saw your daughter. I want to travel but not sure I am ready for it.
What a nice visit and gorgeous scenery, despite the smoky days. When we flew to Atlanta in August they made sure we boarded the plane 6 ft. apart, but then of course you sit virtually on top of each other because they pack the plane. I don’t get it.
I guess they are doing what they can. We tried to board nearly last, but then ended up in a queue on the jet bridge ….
My brother, his daughter, and his son have all traveled. His daughter a few times. His son came back home from India (where he has lived quite a few years)! They are all fine. Although you should have seen what my brother wore on the plane . . .
We visited Rocky Mt National Park probably a good 20 years ago at least. It was amazing!
Very glad you were able to make the trip & be reunited with your daughter.
Those lederhosen kits crack me up. They are perfect 🙂 I didn’t know they had timed tickets for the parks! A good idea though. It looks wonderful out there. I’m surprised the flights were full. I heard flights didn’t have as many people, but I guess they probably aren’t flying as many planes.