Trip to Colorado (and brief hike)

July 21, 2010:
I left Pittsburgh for Colorado.  Goal: hang out with Candice & Kelly for a week or two, then bike the whole Colorado Trail (2 weeks, 500 miles, Denver to Durango, all offroad).
I stopped by Kansas City, and the Owen's house to say "hey" and see where we used to live.  It was great spending time with the Owens.  They are well, and I went to breakfast with Debbie and Stephen.

July 23, 2010:
I arrived at the Rocky Mountain National Park. I went for a hike and saw some great views and wildlife.  Here are a few pictures:

 

Drive from Houston to Pittsburgh - "The Departure"

5-27-2010 Close on house (sold finally!) (see last post for house details)
5-28-2010 Quit job and leave town for Pittsburgh (and beyond!)  :-)

This was a 4-5 day journey with very little pre-planning (30 minutes), an iPhone, and a laid back schedule.  I enjoyed it, and learned a bit about the benefits of pre-planning :-)  (after sleeping in a rest area with a car packed so full i couldn't put my seat back).  I thank God for a safe trip and some solid memories :-)

The Journey Begins: (headed to Tyler State park for some biking)

Tyler State Park

(my car was so packed, that when I opened the door, all this junk fell out.)

I got a good ride in though :-) big fun.

I stopped at a local diner (after sleeping in a rest stop) for some grub.
A pretty solid thunderstorm came through and I really enjoyed
sitting on the patio listening / watching / feeling the storm.

The Natchez Trace Parkway: I took a brief sidetrail along the "old" parkway.
It was nice and relaxing, a windy road through the woods.

Supposedly the whole parkway used to be like this!  (now it's a bit wider)

Along the Blue Mountain Parkway: A nice man named Elliot was out taking pictures, and kindly took my picture too :-)  We talked for about an hour about the way people, cameras, cars, and bikes work, and I believe we both enjoyed the company & conversation.  Then we went on our way.

That night, I ended up driving through fog at 20 mph for 2 hours (frown face) and finally stumbled upon some campers (2 girls with dogs hiking in about a mile to a waterfall).  So, I asked for some advice on where to sleep (i was pretty exhausted).  They told me to hike down a trail for about 1/2 a mile through bear infested woods to a field and "camp anywhere."  I felt like a big baby whistling and singing to myself to comfort myself.  Then I woke up and took a picture of where I had slept:

Somewhere in Virginia on the Blue Mountain Parkway:
I went biking and got caught in an afternoon thunderstorm.
Good trails & nice rain to cool me off.  :-) Another good ride.
I got sick of being constantly wet though, and drove all the way to Pittsburgh after
this so i could sleep in a dry place and put on clean (dry) clothes.

Before and After (only pics that are available)

Before I started fixing up my house, I took a lot of pictures so that afterwards I would have some great "before and after" pictures. BUT I just assumed I had plenty of "after" pictures. oops. So, this is what I can come up with:

From Street:

Kitchen:








Master Bathroom





Hall Bathroom

(hand washing faucet in the giant tub
was the only way to bathe for
2 weeks while i installed & tiled the shower)

Backyard (pool, deck, fence)

(I looooved having fires out back with friends) :-)

Dining Room Mirror Wall (removed)

(see! no mirror wall)

Misc:
Attic Ladder

Hurricane Damage, and me fixing roof:
Hurricane Damage: Tree In Pool (miserable to remove)
Turned storage room / pantry into hutch:
Retiled front entry (outside & inside):
Slate tile in sunroom & infamous beer fridge :-)
New door & view of pool
I vote for drawers - they are very nice.
Kitchen in progress:
Lovely mural came with the house:
Who needs a truck anyways?