It seems we can’t get enough of Colorado!

Hikes galore, mountain vistas are breath-taking, the rocky streams are cool and refreshing, lots of rocks to pick through and the people we’ve met along the way have made our travels here an absolute treasure.

With all the exploring , hiking and kayaking, I bet you’re wondering, “When does  the ‘creating’ part happen?” Well , I’m glad you asked. It usually happens a day after a big hike or, for Alfredo,  a 45 minute swim across the cold lake and back. More about the icy challenge later.  Our recuperation days are our Paint Days. We’ve been doing this all along but our photographer (that would be yours truly) has been slacking off wandering around in the woods looking for moose. Nothing up-close-and-personal , mind you, but at least a nice rack poking out of the marshy shrubs (one of their ‘fav’ eating spots)…from a distance. What a thrill! No? OK, back to the painting. Alfredo brings out his watercolors and I bring out my box-o-pastels as we pick our spots. If I’m not covered in pastel dust then I’m weaving my wires for my next wearable art piece. 

On another creative note, Alfredo, as always, has great fun doing caricatures of some of the folks we meet along the way. We met this family on Lost Lake Slough, located 9700 ft above sea level, the day of Alfredo marathon swim in the very chilly lake. The girls surprised him as they caught up to him during his watery trek on their paddleboards as he was heading to the other side. “If you get tired, you can stop and rest on our boards”, they said. He was so touched to see their concern on their faces, as if they knew he was doing something dangerous.  He told them not to worry, but he needed  to keep moving in order to make his destination. During Alfredo’s return trip, Dan, the girls father, grew a bit concerned about this emboldened swimmer and hopped on the paddleboard to go out and check on him and to make sure he wasn’t going into a hypo-thermal state.

Unbeknownst to everyone there, Alfredo has a secret weapon called the Wim Hof Method which he has been using for a few months now. The extra oxygen he gets from his morning breathing exercises have increased his tolerance for very cold temperatures and extra tough workouts. I’m not as consistent as he is, (which is why I’m not swimming across the cold lake)but I’ve noticed an improved tolerance to the cold and the breathing REALLY helps when doing those steep upward mountain treks.

So, I guess you’re wondering where I was during this cod challenge. Onshore, (dry)…talking… oblivious. However, in my defense, when I saw Alfredo in the lake, he was on one the paddleboards making everyone laugh with his antics and singing “O Sole Mio”. I had no idea he about to attempt his daredevil swim. In the meantime, I was learning so much more about rocks, opals and more form Preston and Penelope. They are the hosts for the Lost Lake Campground which is 1 ½ miles from our campsite in paradise. Preston is the one who told us about the sighting of the moose and her calf around the lake. Hence, my intrigue about moose!

I’m adding some photos of our latest hike. We climbed up as high as we were able (the word “safely” is not included, on purpose) with the total time of 6 hours. Beautiful meadows, snow melt creeks running from the mountaintop and the intoxicating aromas from the different trees and flowers. Once we were up there, we just relaxed and took in the immenseness of it all!