Montrose, CO ~ Day 2 Rafting, A Bear & Fireworks!

July 4, 2013 ~ Happy July 4th everyone! What a perfect day to spend with friends! It's so weird to have a hot day with no humidity... in fact I like it! With Whitnee's older kids (Elaine and Conner) going to their dad's for the day and little man staying with his Uncle Gary and Aunt Cindy we decided to head out on a rafting adventure!

We forgot about the parade going on and luckily we found a parking close by. It was really cool to see so many families come out for this and I wish we had known about the parade as we could have went rafting later.

We headed into a shop called Toad's Guide Shop. (We wanted to go white water rafting but on a holiday weekend we would have to travel to find a good one and it would be a 1/2 day adventure or a full day adventure. We didn't have a whole lot of time to spend with Paul and Whitnee so we decided to go for a raft tour which is more than floating but less than white water rafting.... a nice mix in the middle) We headed inside and met Tim Kenney (owner) and Tyler (our guide). They got us fitted with oars, life jackets and boots for Whitnee (apparently when her husband called to see what you wear and they said water shoes that have straps because your feet will get wet but no flip flops didn't really occur to him that he might need to take her to get some shoes.... Boys... what are we gonna do with them!?!?) Whitnee tried on one of the boots to make sure it was the right size and we loaded up in the van and headed to our starting point.

So this is where things got fun! Apparently Whitnee did not try on both boots or she would have known she had 2 left boots. 

She quickly got the name "Lefty"

 Brandon on the other hand got his life jacket mixed up with Paul's life jacket and looked like Chris Farley from Tommy Boy. You know... the part where he puts on Richards jacket and sings "Fat Guy in a Little Jacket".  (Sorry no picture as we were laughting too hard and he quickly took it off as he knew his shutterbug wife was going to capture this moment... so you just have to imagine the view)

(Here's the link... http://youtu.be/ohz8_IafGwE which is too funny not to watch and this was something we all laughed about!) Brandon quickly got the nickname "Farley"! 

After a few quick instructions from Tyler we were ready to rock! 

 

 "Farley"

"Serious Paul"

"Shutterbug"

"Lefty"

It was a lot of fun and although it wasn't "white water rafting" it was a blast. We were on the Uncompahgre River and it was faster than a float trip and we did have to push through certain areas where the water was rough. (Well I got out of paddling because Paul was in front of me and it was just easier for him to do all the work up front rather than me getting confused on pushing or pulling back so I just took pictures! Imagine that!)

Tyler was an awesome raft guide! 

Here's some of the views from our ride....

As you can see it was pretty cool with a nice mix of calm and choppy water. The scenery was pretty (except for the junk yard you pass) and a fisherman that scared us when we popped around the corner! 

When we got to our stopping point we had to cross a lake...

 "Lefty" and her hubby.... he's extra special!

The boys carried our raft while the girls watched! 

(Well of course I took a few more pictures)

The guys got things ready for Tim to come back and pick us up.

When Tim arrived he brought Pato (Spanish for "duck"), his service dog! 

 What an awesome dog who loves people! 

Tim Kenney and Pada! 

Tim joined the military at age 42... super nice guy and awesome day to spend with one of our veterans! If you are ever in Montrose, CO and just have about 2 hours to spend then call Tim's shop and tell him the Spry's sent you! 

Toad's Guide Shop

309 E Main

Montrose, CO 81401

970-249-0408

After everyone got cleaned up and picked up Damon we headed down to Ouray, CO.

(Which is about 45 minutes from Montrose)

Ouray is known as the "Switzerland of America" because of its setting at the narrow head of a valley, enclosed on three and a half sides by steep mountains.

He is 100% boy and just like his daddy! 

They have some of the neatest flower displays using old stuff... Loved it! 

We did some window shopping and I loved this boot!

Loved this piece too! 

(Reminded me of Roni's dad who was taken much too soon and his love of guitars)

Oh and I loved these blue things... such a neat little town! 

We made reservations for dinner at The Outlaw which is a great little steakhouse... YUM!

The Lear's and The Spry's! 
Once our bellies were full it was time to head back to Montrose!

As we were driving back through Ridgeway headed to Montrose Brandon noticed a minivan on the side of the road. He said "I wonder what they are looking at" and just about that time we see a big black object run up this embankment through the weeds and then BAM! That black object was a black bear and we had just hit it! It all happened so quickly and we didn't know for sure if we had killed it or if it was hurt but we knew some damage had been done. (We were going 62 mph) We turned around up the road and went back. The people in the minivan saw it happen and a lady behind us saw it happen. We called 9-1-1 because we didn't know about the bear and needed to have them dispatch an officer to handle the situation if need be. Once we got out of the car (everyone was ok) we noticed it did some good damage to the Tahoe. It was all cosmetic and it was still drivable but it broke the passenger side front bumper, ripped the entire fender well out from the inside of the passenger front wheel, dented the front fender and dented the two passengers doors. I think it was safe to say:
Tahoe 1 - Bear 0

Front passenger bumper

Front passenger fender and doors

Can't help but laugh on this one... ripped the whole dang thing out from under the front fender!

The lady that lived where this all happened was in the barn and said all of her animals were going nuts (these two critters were going crazy) and then she heard a loud noise and saw the bear limping back to the water on the other side of her property. (Not so sure the bear made it but it took off... certainly has one heck of a headache I am sure)

After a day like this we thought our rental might look like the car in Tommy Boy when the deer they hit wakes up.... Ha!
http://youtu.be/QbSFxlfuf9s
(Watch the video clip on the link above)

With all that crazy ride back home we decided that we needed some ice-cream!
(This was a really nice Russell Stover's store)

Damon is such a funny kid. He loves to hit his cup to your cup and say "Cheers"! He also likes to show you his muscles then give them a little kiss. Another cute thing he does is bumps knuckles and then blows it up! I love listening to him talk.... kid goes non-stop! Most is jibber jabber but there is a lot you do understand. He loved to share with Brandon and he would offer him something and then say "Reach Brandon Reach"! So funny!

We went back to the hotel and waited for it to get dark enough for the fireworks to start...
I got some pretty cute pictures of Damon while he was showing off for us!

I told you he is a funny kid!

Then we heard fireworks going off so we headed outside! 

(It's hard to take pictures of fireworks for this amateur)

Now this is good ol' redneck firework watchin' from the parking lot of Holiday Inn Express!

I think it's safe to say that these two are buddies!

It was a wild and crazy day but we truly enjoyed spending time with these guys!
Now for a little shut eye so we can start another crazy adventure tomorrow!

Montrose, CO ~ Day 1 Colorado National Mounment Fun!

July 3, 2013 ~ Today is a day that we have been looking forward to for a few months! We were flying out to Montrose, CO to visit the Lear Family! This would be our 3rd trip to Montrose and we absolutely love it! We were super excited when we found out we could fly from Columbia Regional Airport (http://www.flymidmo.com/ ) since it was about a 25 minute drive from home rather than driving 2 hours away. (We would still have to change planes if we drove to St. Louis or Kansas City to get to Montrose, CO) We headed to the airport at 5:15 AM for a 6:35 AM flight. I love how smooth it is to fly from this airport and we always try to fly from here when we can!

Well, hello sunshine! 

(I knew it was going to be a great day with the Missouri sun sending us off on our trip!)

After a quick 1 1/2 flight to Dallas we would wait for our next flight. 

We found our happy while kicked back on the reclining chairs with a hot chocolate and people watching.... yes lots of great people watching in airports! 

After a 2 hour flight we finally made it!

We got our rental car (2013 Chevy Tahoe) and decided to hit the road!
(Paul and Whitnee had to work today)

We decided to go see the Colorado National Monument!
If you have never been here you should go...it's beautiful!

As you can see from just a handful of pictures this place is beautiful!
Pictures doesn't really do this place justice because of the panoramic view.


This year I was much wiser....
I brought the tripod for our camera so we could get some great shots of us too!

We had so much fun!

Brandon even found this Geological Survey Bench Mark from 1934!

Independence Monument is all that remains of a continuous ridge that once formed a wall between Monument and Wedding Canyons. A cap of durable Kayenta rock has protected this picturesque 450 feet (137 meters) high monolith from the relentless erosion that carried away the surrounding rock.

 We had just learned that each year on July 4th (Independence Day) climbers will climb to the top of Independence Monument and place an American flag on top. I bet that is amazing to watch and see!
You can read more about it and see pictures on the link below.....
 http://www.nps.gov/colm/planyourvisit/independence-day-tradition.htm

 Since we were so close to Utah we decided to take a little drive to get our picture in front of the sign!
(It was windy and Brandon was laughing at all the truckers driving by honking... anything for his wife! Ha!)

After a nice little drive through Utah to find somewhere to turn around to head back to Montrose, CO we had to stop and get our picture next to the "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign!

Heading to Paul and Whitnee's for dinner... we are starving!

Paul and Whitnee live near a dairy farm.... amazing to see this place in operation. I bet they have hundreds of dairy cows and seems like every time we drive by they are eating. I do love me some beef!

I didn't take my camera in at Paul and Whitnee's (what? Are you sure I am feeling ok?) because I wanted to just visit. Whitnee had fixed dinner for us and it was amazing! Some crock pot creation from pintrest and it was awesome! It was good to see the kids and I can't believe how much they have grown in a year! We decided to call it an early night.... heck we are old people that traveled all day!

 On the way to the hotel we saw a beautiful Colorado sunset... if my husband hadn't been driving like 60 miles per hour I might have gotten a better shot! :)

Holiday Inn Express in Montrose, CO would be our home for the next 4 days!
(Thank you Wayne Washburn for letting us use your Platinum Ambassador status... hello free upgrade! Oh Yeah!)

My 9th 5k ~ Paleo Walk/Run 5k

June 29, 2013 ~ Today I would put my 9th 5k in the books! I signed up for the Paleo Run that was put on by RecoverFast and Transformational Fitness benefiting the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Missouri and the Columbia Farmer's Market. It was held at Cosmo Park in Columbia, MO.

I got to the event early and got signed in so I thought I would do some walking to warm up. With the sun beaming down I couldn't help but notice this person following me and then I realized....

This is my shadow. She follows me wherever I go. If I give up, she gives up... If I keep pushing, she keeps pushing. Today we will embark on our 9th 5k.... We don't give up! 

(This was my Facebook post pre-race)

 As we were waiting for others to show up and the race to get started many of us were talking about our past races, what we did as far as walk, jog or run and how warm it was already! 

 Let's get this race started! 

Official Finish Time: 38:06 

 It wasn't my best time yet again (but wasn't my worst). 

 When I was done I went over to see the guy working the RecoverFast tent. At the 1 mile mark I began to get cramps in my right calf and I have never had that happen before. He put a machine on it and I like to call it a miracle machine.... My leg felt awesome and didn't hurt at all! 

I have been doing some reflecting and trying to figure out why my times are going up instead of going down. What started out as completing one 5k this year as turned to a goal of completing 13 in 2013. (Anyone who knows me knows I always do things to the extreme) I do realize that I don't train in between my 5k's but I stay very active. Because we are getting to hotter temps and when the races get started it's already hot and humid and I am miserable when I get out of the car. I think I have lost my focus which is why I have been doing so crappy these past couple races. I added music to the mix and I think that actually hurts me. I find myself slowing down and listening to the music rather than getting in there and knocking it out. I also think I get bored easily and when you have a track that you run multiple times I get bored with the scenery. I think our upcoming vacation will help me re-energize, re-fuel and relax which will help put me back on track to getting my times back down and hopefully reaching a realistic goal of under 30 minutes. These are all just goals and if we don't apply ourselves to do our best now then how can we stay on track?  

Recap of races: 

#1 Glow Run 5k 4/16/2013 (Not timed but finished in under 45 minutes)

#2 Coyote Hill 5k 4/27/2013 (43:25:71)

#3 Girls on the Run 5k 5/11/2013  (36:52:3)

#4 Go Girl Run 5k 5/25/2013  (35:44:84)

#5 Baer & Edington 5k 6/8/2013  (35:37)

#6 Stu22 5k 6/15/2013  (35:07)

#7 Hallsville Optimist 5k 6/16/2013  (36:02)

#8 In2Action Trail Run 5k 6/22/2013 (41:30)  

#9 Paleo Walk/Run 5k 6/29/2013  (38:06)