Life’s Uphill Climb

September 5, 2013 By

I’m under a pile of deadlines and stresses here with car insurance nightmares (really? Our car was hit two weeks ago and we’re not any closer to a resolution and you’re unwilling to cover a rental vehicle?), homework, book reports, soccer practices, volleyball (I’m coaching), surgery for Jamie next week and life.

On a positive note, we had a glorious weekend away at The Broadmoor and their new Ranch at Emerald Valley. Many details on that when I carve out the time but in the interim, I found a few quotes this week I absolutely love love love!

There are two kinds of climbers:

Those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.

-Alex Lowe

And then, this.

How to Climb a Mountain

Make no mistake. This will be an exercise in staying vertical.
Yes, there will be a view, later, a wide swath of open sky,
but in the meantime: tree and stone. If you’re lucky, a hawk will
coast overhead, scanning the forest floor. If you’re lucky,
a set of wildflowers will keep you cheerful. Mostly, though,
a steady sweat, your heart fluttering indelicately, a solid ache
perforating your calves. This is called work, what you will come to know,
eventually and simply, as movement, as all the evidence you need to make
your way. Forget where you were. That story is no longer true.
Level your gaze to the trail you’re on, and even the dark won’t stop you.

-Maya Stein

Last weekend: I slipped away from The Broadmoor for a few hours and hiked this.

View of The Broadmoor from my perch atop Upper Columbine Trail, Colorado Springs, Labor Day 2013

It was an empowering climb where I felt stronger, more powerful with each step and literally never wanted it to end when I reached the summit. But now I’m back on firm ground, exhausted, and lacking the clarity I always seem to achieve when I’m soaring several thousand feet in the air. But alas:

You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.

-Rene Daumal, Mount Analogue

Here’s for the knowing.

Filed Under: Colorado, hiking

The day I almost lost a kid at a birthday party

September 3, 2013 By

I’m talking children’s birthday parties in the Denver Post this week!

As a kid, my birthday parties consisted of friends, games and a cake. I’m not sure what happened between my childhood and motherhood, but when my friend hired a party planner to throw an over-the-top fete for her 3-year-old, I was exposed to a whole new world.

I personally don’t think you need a lot of fuss when it comes to birthday parties — that it is possible to have fun and keep things affordable.

We have traditionally hosted at-home birthdays to keep the cost down but when my daughter was five, she begged to hold her party at

Click to keep reading Price Isn’t the Scariest Thing About Kid Parties (and the day I almost lost one of the kids)

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So, you want to plan a special event for your child’s next birthday but don’t want to break the bank. Kara Allen from the popular party idea site KarasPartyIdeas.com and author of the book “Kara’s Party Ideas” has these seven tips for throwing a spectacular bash.

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor Tagged With: ,

St. Mary’s Glacier: A Disastrously Fun Day

September 2, 2013 By

Every year, our family has climbed St. Mary’s Glacier, one of the top tourist destinations in Clear Creek County. Well, with the exception of last year when I got really sick on the day we were supposed to climb it. And then there was the time Jamie drove over Hadley’s foot at the trailhead so that didn’t exactly work out, either.

So, it’s a family tradition barring whatever disaster comes our way.

This year, we were delighted when our friends, the Carrolls, decided to join us. With six kids, they are a mobile party wherever they go so we knew we’d have a blast! The drive from Idaho Springs to the trailhead is full of hairpin turns and, after a steep, rocky 3/4-mile hike to the base of the glacier, we were at about 10,500 feet.

Jamie and I hiked ahead with the quicker kids and reached the lake at the base of the glacier in record time.

We threw rocks and scaled logs while we waited for the rest of the group but they didn’t come. After a half-hour, I started to hike back down but they were nowhere to be seen so I called them. Their daughter Maeve was struggling with car and altitude sickness so they were turning around and would wait for us in the car. The rest of us hiked to the base of the glacier where we played and played and played.

The quickies

We were delighted to see Maeve toward us a half-hour later, fully recovered after leaving a piece of her misery on the trail (I’ll leave that one to your imagination). In fact, it was a near-perfect afternoon and we practically skipped down to the car.

One of our other traditions is to stop for some epic mountain pies at nearby Beau Jo’s pizza in Idaho Springs. As we were waiting for our lunch, we received a text from Eva:

“Hey, our car won’t start. Are you still at Beau Jo’s?”

Just as we were getting ready to go back up the mountain to retrieve them, I got another text assuring me their car had started and they were on their way.

It was one of my family’s smoothest trips to St. Mary’s Glacier but our friends weren’t so lucky.  Turns out, disaster is contagious.

Just a forewarning for anyone who wants to come play with us anytime soon.

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Getting There: Take I-70 West from Denver, past Idaho Springs’ three exits. Take the next exit marked “Fall River Road.” Just past the bottom of the ramp, take a right (north) on Fall River Road. Follow this road up approximately 9 miles to one of two parking areas for the clearly marked trailhead to St. Mary’s Glacier. Parking is $5.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, hiking, outdoors
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