The open car was SO fun!

Lots of rafters out to have some fun, even though the arkansas was at flood stage

Lisa, Becca and Alex

Some ROUGH waters!

The water was REALLY moving....we saw about 7 rafters get flipped over on this rapid in the picture, they all go dumped! Six were able to get back in, one was over by the shore, not sure what happened to him.

After the train ride, and some dinner with Alex and Becca in Canon City, we headed toward Salida to camp for the night. Some beautiful views on the way

Awesome sunset

We got up in the morning and drove from our campground in Salida west to Monarch Pass - WOW!

Then we headed northeast up Hwy 285 towards Buena Vista....and found where we want to retire or quit our current jobs and open a B&B and rafting outfit! In a valley just south of Buena vista, the views are GORGEOUS....to the west are the Collegiate Peaks.

Some sweet summer fun with rafting and hiking, and some super awesome skiing in the winter!

On our way to 11 Mile Reservoir, we ran into some jackasses....literally :) There was even a baby, such a cute ass

You had to pay a ridiculous amount to use the lake and there were rangers everywhere, so we just decided to have a little lunch by the lake

As we made our way across Park County towards Cheesman Reservoir, we got a little lost but found this GREAT campground right next to a river with a great tubing area.

Very quiet campground, well groomed, definitely taking another trip to this one!

Next we drove through the old Hayman Burn, that was started in June of 2002. Its amazing what growth there is, yet how much is still needed.

Some staining on the rocks in the Hayman Burn

Cheeseman Reservoir...our destination for some canoeing. However, there's NO boating allowed including any floatable device! Stupid.

So we headed to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs for some mountain biking, however a big nasty storm chased us out!

A parting shot as we started to head back to Boulder after our weekend of FUN!

Birthday Bike Ride

The guys took a mountain motorcycle ride the day after Ben's birthday....it was a gorgeous day! So it was my Dad, Ben's Dad, our friend Javier and Ben. They were a gang :) Their trip took them up Coal Creek Canyon, over to Nederland and up the Peak to Peak Highway to Estes Park, then up Trail Ridge Road, then back down to Boulder. A 7 hour day!

The Pops, up at the top!

Ben's birthday!

It was Ben's birthday on Tuesday, so we thought we'd have a small get together complete with BBQ, lawn games, helium, pinatas, and MAJOR fun! Vanessa, Ben's dad from Tucson, my dad from Nebraska, our friend Whitney from the Springs, our friend Kristyn from Pueblo, Conrad and Jon, and our friend Javier from here in Boulder all came for the shin dig!

The decorations

The MULTIPLE cakes made by Vanessa and I

Whit helping get the pinata ready....through the bull's butt!

Baking away, ready to pop! (she's due in 9 days!)

Birthday boy and the Dad's

Kristyn and Lisa playin some beanbags

Javier and Whitney

PARTY TIME!

With all the helium balloons around...it was bound to happen :)

Got the horseshoes out for some fun game time...Ben and his dad.

Whitney and my dad on the return end...

For those of you who know Ben, you know he LOVES cake....he got two this year PLUS lots of cupcakes!

What's a birthday without a little pinata action????