maroon bells!

So we left Thursday afternoon

and headed towards Aspen 

view on Independence Pass

We got to our campsite around 7pmish and started setting up, cam did food, i did tent.

it was a great site

kinda secluded from others,

close to the bathroom,

and te weather was BOMB!

yes yes, pregnant people can camp too :) this is my new shirt, and i had to wear it.

it was getting chilly!

i kind of love this photo

with the pretty aspens in the background

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so we ate & played phase 10 & went to bed.

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we woke up and it was 40* ahhh!!!!

we ate breakfast made by cam

and then headed to the trailhead (by car)

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i will let you enjoy the beauty

but let me just say it was amazing.

and i live here SUCKAS!

okay okay, i lied about enjoying the beauty, i have to say, i love love love this pic.

this is crater lake

we hiked here (1.8miles)

and had a picnic

then headed back to the car.

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the hike wasnt so bad, but i went really really really slow.

so hans may or may not have gotten so tired that he would lay down and not move.

so poor cameron had to carry him on several occasions.

and yes, notice his booties :) he did really well with them.

he actually did really well on the way up, he just won't pace himself.

this got so much attention it was ridiculous.

there were several people that had to stop and take pics and videos.

nevermind the big fat prego hiking, lets look at the 3-legged dog with shoes being carried :)

i mean, what a pathetic dog. but he's soooooo cute....

all in all it was a great trip.

we were both worn out, so instead of camping another night,

we packed up and went home.

as we were packing up i subluxed my kneecap and it was NOT fun.

it hurt like a mofo.

it used to happen all the time, but hasn't happened since

i think right before our wedding.

anyway, cameron was great, and made me an ice pack

and packed up the car, and drove THE WHOLE WAY home.

we got home, showered, and ate while we watched a movie.

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it was the perfect end to the trip.

babymoon

this is where we are gonna go for our

babymoon

or our first (and probably last) camping trip of the summer

MAROON BELLS

yes, we are taking the dogs

yes, we are camping

yes, the weather will be oh so much cooler than in denver

yes, there will not be fancy hotels or massages

yes, i will be hiking my big fat butt 3.6 miles one day

yes, i can go slow

yes, it is the most beautiful place i have ever heard about in CO

yes, i have always wanted to go

yes, last night hans ate 2/4 of our chicken skewers pre-grill, skewer and all, and then barfed up a skewer at 4:30 this morning and i had to clean it up

and yes, we still love him.

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so i think this will actually be an awesome trip, little stress, not a long crazy hike.

we will hike 1.8 miles and eat lunch and hang out and let hans swim, and then hike back 1.8 miles, and go back to our campsite. it's near Aspen, so we can always go into town if need be. but i can't wait.

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we are going the weekend after Lane & Jess's wedding

and i can't wait for that either,

it's gonna be hot, but with really awesome people!!!!

hiking/camping Lost Lake

this was in June sometime... oh the day before Father's Day

the blanks and the cannons went hiking

for our last hoorah before they moved

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we wanted to hike in, have a fire, and it be FREE

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we drove to Nederland

stopped at the visitor center

got a map

headed out

stephen, cam, bethany, both dogs
crazyyyyy waterfall/river

our tent to the left, theirs to the right

it was a perfect little spot!

me and b

schnooze kept wandering off

so we had to put her leash on...

ella kept wanting to play with her

and was grabbing the leash and pulling schnooze, it was awesome!

cam reallllllly wanted to start the fire without matches

so here he is with his flint

and some tender...

don't worry, this took about an hour,

and it burned out very quickly

we finally resorted to a match

love this pic!

this was sunday morning,

we hiked around the lake

(ps, super cold out in the morning... water had to be 34*)

cam decides to swim in it

this is as far as he got, and the cold was making his arms and legs

freeze up... no drowning allowed

he's so crazy

we put schnooze up on this tree :)

schnooze and ella are so cute

ella wanted up too

the end

Kenosha Pass Camp Trip 2009

Kenosha Pass Backpacking Trip 2009

October 31-Nov 1

Djamel, Camille, Shiner, Kimel, Shellie, Nelson, Chad, Bethany, Stephen, Ella, Macy, Brad, Matt, Jamie, Liz, & Cameron, Schnooze
cam & stephen

it was sunny and about 45* perfect!

macy, jamie, shiner, djamel, chad, cam

beautiful!

after about 3 miles; we got to the site

the gals put up the tents, while the boys started the fire and dinner :)

getting our frito chili pies on.

and if you note the nalgene bottles full of wine :)

ella

liz

liz and macy, and her awesome "plane size wine"

our awesome wine

around the fire.

it was about 20* at this point
but the fire kept us warm

tent city
we had like 5 tents

7 of us slept in our 6-man tent + 2 dogs!

moon

pretty

jamie and liz

shellie and liz

bethany and liz

*check out her new awesome hat

camille and liz

homeless liz:

with her clove cig & plane wine & winter clothes...

ho ho ho ho ho ho (that was how i was laughing...)

shellie & macy being silly

super smokey

chad & djamel

kimel & stephen

(kimel and i have the same jacket, just different colors)

Brad, Matt, Jamie, Cam

fire

i love this pic

my cute little husband
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after the fire hang out

we went to bed...

the 7 of us + 2 dogs in our tent; and the other people in theirs

shellie on the left, ella and bethany's arm on right

macy at me and cam's feet

bethany, ella, kimel, stephen
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it was super windy and in our janky tent

(*we wanted to use this big tent so we could have more fun hanging out, but we all have really nice small tents... so it's our own fault... but who cares, we could STAND in this tent :))

it collapsed on us so many times in the night, and would then just pop back up; bethany and i thought we were gonna suffocate, i felt like we were in an avalanche and there was no way out, and then it would pop back up. one of the poles kept hitting cameron in the head. but i got some sleep, others, not so much. but its a great story right????

boys packing up the tent

*still about 20*F at this time

my little angel bethany

(doesnt the light make her look like an angel?)

cameron all loaded up

still lighter than on the way in with the wood.
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we hiked out, stopped for breakfast, had to detour 285 because of a rollover, made it home, showered, picked up B for a bridal shower, went to the shower, came home for bible study, fell asleep watching Away We Go. Then started all over again today :).

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PS: another post on this later... but I got a great CookBook for my bday from Camille:

Super Natural Cooking...