SALIDA, CO - AKA MOUNTAIN BIKING WITH DOORNBOS FAMILY: AUG. 5-7

The gang gets together again!

We ended up back in Colorado mountain biking again, and it is all my fault.  I take all responsibility for insisting that our earlier weekend in Crested Butte just wasn't enough mountain bike time or Colorado time and we had to have more.  Luckily, the Doornbos family could swing it too, and we picked Salida because the Freeman's have a "place" in town.  We were going to camp at the Freeman's, but weather forecasts were ominous, so at the last minute Dan found an adorable ramshackle 1800s semi-log cabin near Monarch Crest. Salida was a good base of operations because in addition to biking, we did a little rafting and fishing and rock collecting. We managed to get in three different rides with the kids. Weather concerns kept us from doing the "epic" Monarch Crest Trail day the guys had planned to do with the kids; however, we took them on an out and back instead.  It was so fun to see them all riding through the alpine meadows above treeline! It was great to have the Hanna(h)s together again to encourage each other on the climbs. We also enjoyed seeing their new puppy Wheeler again.  He is such a mild-mannered, great puppy. - Hillary

"Good dog, Wheeler!"

Everyone needs a puppy who can bring you a beer.

We arrived the first day about 2:00.  We went on a mountain bike trail and rented a cabin with Hanna's family. The second day we went on a ride that went up and down a lot. Then we went white water rafting! It was exciting. The next day we went on a trail called Monarch Pass.  It was four miles straight up hill and then four miles back down the hill.  That afternoon we left for Fort Collins. - Hannah

The Hanna(h)s swim through the town hole....Hannah....

Hanna

The boys take a more casual approach.

In Salida we fished and mountain biked. I caught nine fish those days.  There was a hotel pond near the cabin and a lake near town. We did three mountain bike trails and whitewater rafted one day. All things considered, it was fun. - Jackson

The view from Freeman's yard.