trip to Durango

Thanks to some way far in advance budgeting and intense saving, we were able to go to Durango this past weekend. We stayed in a cabin at an RV park (not as bad as it sounds!!) that was surprisingly nice, even though it was on the small side. The great thing about the cabin lodging was that we could take Grizzly with us and didn't have to leave him with anyone.

The drive up was sooo pretty, since the leaves were changing. The timing couldn't have been more perfect for that. Here are some shots I took as we drove!

my weekend - colorado dragon boat festival

I was looking for something to do this weekend, and found out that Denver is hosting the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival! Admission was free*, so why not?

The first thing that drew our attention was the opening ceremonies, and the double dragon dance! I got a ton of pictures, here are the best ones.

Then we went to the Cultural Unity tent and watched a popin' lockin' dance crew perform. Sorry, no pictures of this one, I was too entranced by the performance!

 Docked dragon boats!

And then we went back out to the lawn and watched a dragon boat race! We'd seen one as soon as we got there, but we picked our favorite boats this time. I picked the boat in the middle, and Alex picked the one closest to the shore.

 My boat is the one in lead, Alex's is in last place here.

Boat #2 winning the race! Alex's boat isn't in this picture...that boat didn't actually finish! Bad luck!

*We did have to pay $5 for parking, because we couldn't find a spot on the street, but that doesn't seem like a lot for the fun we had!

my weekend - hike 31: Mount Falcon

We hiked number 31 out of my 100 Classic Hikes of Colorado guide. (I gave a small intro to the book in this post.)

Location: Conifer, CO

Estimated Hike Time: 2 hrs

Actual Time Hiked: 2 hrs

Distance: 1.9 mi

Difficulty: Easy

This hike was probably one of my favorites so far. It was really easy to get to, following the directions in the book. It was also really easy to follow the trails as the book described them.

The trails were simple, well marked, and it was overall an easy hike. 

We saw a lot of deer! This buck walked right across the trail.

This baby was a little more skittish. We also saw the doe that we think belonged to this little one, as well as another baby.

We also saw this little bird! Alex took this awesome shot!

One more artsy picture - a wildflower on the trail.

View from the trail.

View from the Eagle shelter, along the trail.

my weekend - hike 40: boulder creek

This weekend, we hiked number 40 out of my 100 Classic Hikes of Colorado guide. (I gave a small intro to the book in this post.)

Location: Colorado Springs

Estimated Time Hiked: 2 hrs

Actual Time Hiked: 1 hr 30 min

Distance: 3.2 mi

Difficulty: Easy 

This hike was really enjoyable. It was at the Florissant Fossil Beds. We were a little worried when we got there, because it looked like it was under construction. We realized later that it was actually an excavation site.

The hike was really pretty, and there was a big pile of rocks that we could climb on and around.

my weekend - albuquerque, nm

                 

                  

This past weekend we drive down to Albuquerque, NM for my cousin's birthday. She had a Star Wars/Cinco De Mayo themed party, and I convinced Alex to dress up with me for the occasion. I was R2D2, and he was C3PO.

*Side note: I have an awesome husband. There aren't many that would agree to dress up as C3PO , putting all his trust in my (maybe?) capable hands!

Anyway, I made both of our costumes for a fraction of the price of what it would have cost to buy us both costumes.

R2D2:

a white dress - I already owned this

gray duct tape - had this in the laundry room already

blue duct tape - $3.37

C3PO:

white t-shirt - Alex already had one

khaki shorts - Alex already had these

gold glitter fabric paint -$3.87

multicolored yarn - $2.74

Oh, and, this should probably come out of my shopping spree.

Total: $9.98

$$ left: $104.84

my weekend - montgomery reservoir

I mentioned our weekend trip to Alma, CO in this post, and here are some more pictures.

These were taken at Montgomery Reservoir, which is right outside Alma. The reservoir was covered in snow, since it's at a much higher elevation than the Denver area.

my weekend - alma, co

I'm back from our weekend trip, and as promised, pictures!

 On the way up

 

On the way up

Alex and I outside the cabin

 Panorama view from the cabin porch