Fun in the sun...

Labor Day weekend... A celebration of the end of summer in most of our minds. Since arriving in Leadville, it hasn't really felt warm and hot like summer... We have even seen the beginnings of winter on the peaks of the mountains out our window. So a trip to the lake for us usually doesn't include much of this...
However, on this Labor Day weekend we had some friends who were camping and their boys were splashing in the water and the boys wanted to go in... We said OK, but since there were no swimsuits, they went in clothing and all. If you could see pictures of the adults you would find us standing around in sweatshirts and I personally think Seth had the right idea...
He chose to play in the sand instead of the surf... What to do when the fun in the water is all over...
Gather around a hot fire and try to warm up!

24 hours of Leadville...

Bike and running races are all the hype in Leadville at this time of the year. These events, sponsored by the Trial 100 team, offer us a great opportunity to get out in our community and raise some much needed funds in the process. For this 24 hour event we enjoyed selling soups and hot drinks.

Road to the Stars...

Going to the top of a 14,000 + foot mountain is exhilarating... The view is indescribable and breath-taking! We are hoping to hike one before the winter weather starts, but our first trek to the top was on a paved road nicknamed the Road to the stars...

Mt. Evans has a paved road that twists and winds it way up to the peak at about 14,000 feet! A short hike about 150 feet up takes you to the peak!

Here are just a few of the views we saw along the way and at the top!

Horseback Riding through the Mountains...

The Breckenridge Church scheduled a horseback riding fellowship event. We met at the stables in the morning and took an hour long ride through the mountains...Zeke was old enough for a horseback ride...I went with him...

NoahJJ
and Seth got to do Pony rides around the coral with Dad while we were gone...
And we ended the day with a fabulous lunch is a beautiful Mountain cabin sponsored by a couple of church members!

The Yurts... Leadville Backcountry...

What a beautiful place... There are some members of our congregation who own a couple of Yurts in the Leadville Backcountry. First we drove in our van for a few miles on blacktop... Then we drove on a dirt road for about 2.5 miles. Then the church members loaded us into a 4WD truck for another 2.5 miles of what may or may not have been a road.This is the view we saw when we made it to the top!We went for a hike to the second peak (somewhere over 13,000 feet in elevation). As we were walking along we passed a cattle ranch...

And stopped to take in the view from several different places...
And we hiked... The second peak in this picture is our final destination!
And then we reached the top...
When we weren't hiking we played a few games...
So what exactly is a Yurt... It is a little insulated tent on stilts (with a floor and beds and a cooking stove to make camping fun)!

Leadville Trail 100 Foot Race...

A week after the Trail 100 Bike Race is a 100 mile Foot Race over a similar course. Most of the racers go for over 24 hours.
We set up a Brat and hotdog stand for the race supporters and family of the racers...
With a view like this you know it had to be a great day!

Foolers Gold Rush...

Living in an old mining town means that there are lots of tailings to climb around on...

Tailings are the left over rock taken out of the ground when they are searching for the ore...

One of the fun parts of climbing around on these is that there are lots of sparkly rocks... Fools gold to most... A fun gem hunt for our boys!