Well guess who found themselves in Maui…?

The best father in the world happened to have a very important birthday in the middle of November, so as a celebration we all flew out to the little rock next to the big rock to thaw out in some tropical waters for a few days.

It was a magical trip with some of the most hilarious and loving people in my life.

With some much needed swimming in the Big Blue, snorkeling with the fishes, hammocking, mai tai drinking and pupu eating, sunset and sunrise watching, Molokini Cratering and glowing bocce ball playing, we definitely made the most of our days away from the mainland. 

What a special treat.

Aloha nui loa,

M.

"Live every week like it's shark week." - unknown

(side note: we did see a tiger shark while we were on our way out to SNORKEL around Molokini Crater...ftw)

Look who I found floating in the abyss....

And who set up his own hammock with the million dollar view

We decided to rent some mountain bikes and head down the backside of Haleakala just the pair of us...the full-face helmets seemed a little excessive....although it was like biking on the moon minus the whole lack of gravity part....there was plenty of that. 

Look closely...this is the full moon setting with the SHADOW of Haleakala sitting underneath it 

(this is not a cloud)  this is a rare happening apparently

It felt like dinosaurs should be walking around the crater

Sunrise on a mountain top...check! (note Mauna Kea on the Big Island on the right side of the picture)

We were a little cold and ill-equipped for a mountain top morning, but still happy!!!

One of the most beautiful paintings I've seen in Hawaii- all the best colors.

The dinner crew! 

Our first sunset in Maui with Kaho'olawe (pronouced ka-ho-o-lav-eh) and the Molokini Crater in the foreground.

Nik befriended all the sea turtles...naturally.

Our last sunset on island with my new friends Jason and Moose swimming out to sea.

Back Back to Cali Cali

Long overdue, but a lot has been happening….

Here’s some facts about our trip:

We spent a total of 39 days on the road.

Approximately 3,951 miles driven from door-to-door (Murphys, CA being our starting and ending point)

We averaged 24.4 miles per gallon (yes we kept track)

We listened to every playlist I have on my iPod, including my workout mixes- poor guy…

Neither one of us ditched one another in an abandoned, one-horse-town in Nevada out of annoyance, nor considered it…I don’t think…

We spent about 3 ½ of those 5 ½ weeks sleeping in the truck (and no it was not uncomfortable, nor did we freeze to death) (we did wake up to snow and frozen windows a couple of times though)

We visited 5 National Parks despite the government shut down in the middle of our trip (Zion, Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde and Arches).

I only made Nik get up once to chase away a critter in the middle of the night who had found our food bin and thought he was clever enough to open it- Rocky Raccoon in Moab.

We only had to repair one bike, once, thankfully- my rear shock blew out in Moab and was repaired in Boulder at Dirt Labs which I highly recommend.

We paid for showers twice otherwise we charmed people into letting us into their homes to use their showers or were living in the condo in Breckenridge.  We stayed very clean thank you very much.

We drank local beers most of the trip.

No flash floods. Y-E-S.

No injuries except my pride at trying to bike at altitude.

No bears.

I finished one book on the trip.

We discovered a cast iron is an awesome piece of gear to take car camping and suggest it to all.

Sometimes you have to flop around like a fish to stay warm.

There is always time for champagne.

You can never take too many pictures.

Beaver, Utah does exist.

Speaking of, we finally saw beavers building a dam outside our window in Breckenridge

No moose…meese….mooses….moose-i to speak of.

I know now the plural is moose.

You’re welcome.

We learned if I do not eat for hours at a time, other than when I am sleeping, I turn into the Grinch and all I want to do is steal Christmas from everyone.  Hanger is a real thing.

My favorite chai was in Moab.

It’s best if you always have the following handy: chapstick, flip flops, headlamps, puffy jackets, spare keys and sippy top water bottles.  Life is easier that way.  Trust us.

Prepare yourself for Halloween no matter where you are, you never know what can happen.

When in doubt, bike it out, you’ll feel better.  J

All in all, what an incredible trip to places just a few hours east of here… ok, more than a few, but you get what I’m saying.

The adventures continue in Santa Cruz for a while longer and then who knows what will be next.

Until next time,

M.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”- Ernest Hemingway

Please Note: Pictures should be viewed from bottom to top....upload error....

just outside of Moab- Nik sacrificed a lot to get this photo as it was raining on us and freezing.

Arches National Park- Ham Rock or Balancing Rock....one of those

The infamous Delicate Arch

The landscape through Nik's glasses

Indian Creek- where we woke up

Mesa Verde National Park

BEAVER in Breckenridge!!!!!!! 

Colorado Continued

Climb time. Bike time. Hike time. Climb time. Bike time.  Hike time. It's a beautiful thing!

That being said. today is a rest day for me and so I have retired to a cozy sofa to catch you up on what's been happening on the CO side of things.

We have been so lucky and have had some amazing weather over the past few weeks.  We have been snowed on once so far (now that I'm typing this we are going to have nothing but snow for days now I can feel it).  We have gotten to climb in some amazing places that I didn't even know existed (Boulder Canyon is endless and the Flatirons are in a category all their own).

We've camped out at nearly 9,500ft elevation and woken up to a dusting of snow over everything.  We've been fortunate enough to hike around a small lake in Rocky Mountain National Park now that it is open and soak up the mountain air into our bodies over the past week and a half.  Colorado is quite a gem.

We are now in Breckenridge for a week in the "high country" (it all seems high to me still- we're staying at 10,300ft) and then heading down to the southwestern corner of the state for some hiking and hopefully climbing and biking.  We've been hiking, gotten some snow and today went out to find some frozen waterfalls with some new friends.  Such a treat.

We've made some great friends out here who have taken us under their wing and shown us some incredible areas full of some of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.  Instead of talking about it, please enjoy the photos below...

It is already mid-October.  We've been on this adventure for 3 weeks already.  Time continues to fly by no matter what you're up to apparently.  We are starting our "boomerang" back toward California at this point in time with Gunnison, Durango, Indian Creek, Moab, Salt Lake City and finally Tahoe still to go.

Until next time,
M.

~"There is nothing better than making new friends...except making new friends who have chocolate."
-anonymous

Our camp out and breakfast in Nederland- doing it right. 

Secret overlook somewhere outside of Ned and Estes Park

The locals at Rocky Mountain National Park

Nik made a friend

A blurry, but beautiful start to the day as the moon sets over Mt. Quandary

Mt. Quandary (the 14er outside our window in Breckenridge) at sunset

A lot of frozen water

Guess who tried his hand at ice climbing and rocked it

And yes we did finally traverse across the river for a lil climb time

Official photographer hard at work

Climbing in the aspens aspens aspens outside Frisco

Lenticular clouds!!! 

Colorado Part 2

With the generosity of a new friend, we have retired from the truck nook for the past 5 days and have been staying in Westminster… in a house!  

We drove in through a place called Clearwater Canyon into the little town of Golden, Colorado.  As we drove through we were greeted by a meandering creek on the right hand side, steep canyon walls on both sides and trails that lead straight up.  As we continued our way through we see climbers popping up everywhere, people driving creek boats up to a put in, mountain bikers heading up the steep cliffs and countless hikers….we’re IN Colorado now.  This is what we both thought it was going to be like- outdoorsy people everywhere.  It took some self control on the driver’s part to not pull the car over and dash for his bike immediately.  J

After a bike ride we thought was going to be much mellower than it actually was and a pint of local beer later, we’re at Radical Reels in Golden, CO to see this year’s international tour of outdoor films from around the world.  It didn’t disappoint. And yes we planned that.

We found a place to have my bike repaired, yussss, and while we waited climbed our first route in Colorado- a place called Castle Rock, kind of funny and ironic, coming from Santa Cruz.  Up in Boulder Canyon (having just opened up the day prior to us climbing due to horrible flood damage) we found about 1500 routes on these beautiful granite spires and cliff sides strewn all the way up at about 6,500ft elevation- beautiful.  In some spots it’s necessary to cross over a river to reach the base of these cliffs, so being the adventurous folks that Coloradans are, there are fixed pully lines in some spots where people  traverse across (we haven’t done this yet, but I’m sure sometime soon).

We ended up doing some more biking in Nederland, which is just like the little Colorado town I pictured in my mind.  It had a main little street, people walking everywhere and saying hello to one another and a little corner market where people bought fresh produce…you know, the “Murphys of Colorado.”

With adventure on the mind and the beautiful rock formations outside of Boulder taunting us, we wound up climbing one the classic Flatirons that line the “foothills” of the Eastern Rockies.  Beautiful rocks with incredible formations and holds all the way up.  Run out (thankful I wasn’t leading), chicken heads galore, perfect little pockets and some of the grippiest rock I’ve ever climbed on.  It also happened to be my longest climb yet- 7 pitches, 1000ft followed by some awesome rappels off the back to our hike out about 1/3 of the way down.  It was incredible to see out into flatness as we looked due east from the top.  (see the video below of our summit point...I was remembering I was a little afraid of heights at the time...)

I topped the week off with a leisurely mountain bike ride to Red Rocks Amphitheatre and back.  What an amazing venue.  They were mid-set up for a Saturday night show so I didn’t stay long, but long enough to relish in the memories of listening to John Butler Trio and Mumford and Sons performing live at this very spot...online…

We’re having fun, making new friends, living in the moment and trying not to spend every penny we’ve got on Italian Deli sandwiches and guide books…trying.

The adventure continues with friends coming into town, some climbing and some camping up in the mountains.

Be well wherever you are. 

-M.

~Today was good.  Today was fun.  Tomorrow is another one.  -Dr. Seuss

Over Vail Pass

Dusting of snow

Breckenridge...we'll be back for you

Unknown snowy place

Signage posted everywhere

Second pitch of the Flatirons, just hanging out

Nik rappeling our final rappel off the back of the Flatiron

Red Rocks!

 

Photographic Evidence

Here's some photos from the trip so far:

The Narrows of Pine Creek- my first canyon

Nik rappelling 

Me starting the 100ft rappel in the Narrows

Subway Canyon Selfie

Submerging in cold cold water

Driver!!!

Hiking through Subway Canyon

Dinner done right

Dinosaur tracks in our hike out of Subway- preserved for millions of years!!! Wow!!

First mountain bike ride in Moab and this is what we find! 

Nik in Fruita. 

Gemini bridges, Utah

Tailgate Kitchen