But I had scheduled myself because one of my new managers is expecting a child any second and I had a striking suspicion that she would go into labor Monday night in order to have the baby Tuesday... just so the universe could give me that little extra jab.
So I was pleasantly surprised when new manager called to say that he and his wife were just leaving the doctor and he had a favor to ask. She was going to be induced Wednesday night. So, he wanted to work Tuesday in order to be off Thursday. Well that was just an easy switch of who was off Thursday being off Tuesday. And that was ME!
I got the schedule all sorted out, had a slow in business but productive Monday and then headed home to enjoy Carter's birthday in the company of my own little family.
We started by planning out where we wanted to hike. Devil's kitchen was one we had been talking about for a while. A short hike just the other side of Pikes Peak. Then we looked at what geocaches were up there. A year ago as we were getting things together for Carter's funeral, we bought a travel bug. We were struggling with whether to spread or keep her ashes. I think it is probably a hard decision for anyone to make for someone else. And these were our thoughts: she was just a baby, she belongs at home. Her entire life was spent in a hospital, she should be in a really a cool, beautiful, amazing part of the world. That was when Pete's dad suggested a travel bug in her memory. We loved it. Her ashes stay at home, but a trackable keychain travels around the world via geocaches to see sites, meet people, etc. (I'll stay brief in the explanation. See more here )
So we picked out a keychain to attach where people could write notes, and got a travelbug.
And it has stayed in the bag where her precious few items are kept in the storage closet.
So I was insistent we finally place it. But Devil's kitchen did not have any geocaches that were big enough to put it in. It also... did not really have any caches. There was one. In a 3 mile hike. So we stayed up late Monday putting together a cache, setting up the webpage for Carter's travel bug (track the adventure on the geocaching website)
Tuesday morning dawned bright. I had a short conference call to make for work and then we were off!
But first a power breakfast:
I love lox and a bagel. Don't judge me. Its delicious. Top it off with a cup of coffee in a very wise mug and I'm all set!
The mood was kind of silly. We were both trying so hard to keep the mood light and excited for hiking, that we just became slap happy. We both got the peanut butter jelly song stuck in our head as pete mixed peanut butter into his mixed berry smoothie, "for a protien boost." We giggled and carried on, but every once in a while one of us would break back into, "Peanut butter jelly and a baseball bat!" (I won't link it here, but its a dumb youtube video from a WHILE ago. Look into it if you dare, but the song will be stuck in your head for two days, minimum)
And then we headed for the mountains. I played deejay and navigator as Pete drove. Oh, how wonderful I new car is!
When we got to the trailhead, we let ursa carry the geocache in her backpack. I tried to take a picture, but this was the ONE time my dog wasn't interested in being a camera ham!
You can at least see her pack here. She loves it. And we've been know to put a few rocks on each side... just to slow her down a little.
It was a lovely day for a hike. We found we wished we had brought our snowshoes, but the trail was passable without them.
At the top, (devil's kitchen) was a really cool rock formation that framed the top of the hill with large, flat on top boulders. I tried to get a picture but it didn't come out.
The view on such a clear day was great from up top.
So, as luck would have it, just down from the top of the rocks was a very nice fire pit with wood left beside it! Not having to gather as much wood is always a special treat.
Since Peter could pretty much be crowned royalty in his ability to start a campfire, we tend to have AMAZING hiking meals. With a fire, you can have almost anything.
For this occasion we went with teriyaki beef kabobs with peppers, onions, pineapple, and mushrooms. We had fruit on the side. Pretty nice little lunch spread for hiking
Oh, and... Pinot noir. There is something wonderful about sharing a bottle of wine mid way through a hike. (You just have to make sure to be very hydrated and know your ability to drink at altitude.)
After lunch, we dutifully put out our fire, left our new geocache in the rock formation and headed back down. Which is when we found... we hadn't really hiked UP to get there. So we made slower progress than expected. Funny how when hiking down seems level until you turn around.
Cheyenne Mountain.
Pikes Peak. We are a little disappointed in this picture because in real life, the mountain dominates your view as you come around a corner of the trail.
The nice thing about out and back hikes is you turn around and see a whole new view.
Upon getting back into town, we showered up and had dinner with our friends in Manitou Springs. I didn't take any photos because I was concerned that a get together in honor of two dead kids birthdays (March 6, 2011 and March 7, 1998) might be kind of somber.
But you know what, it was very enjoyable. I mean, you put a bunch of hilarious friends together (yes I just titled us all hilarious), with Mexican food and Margaritas, its easy to have a good time, no matter what the date.
So, there you go. First birthday down. And it was not awful.
It was pretty nice.
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