|
Our mission is to bring peace to every living being; to be compassionate in our lives and interactions with life; to be present in the moment; breathe...
Submitted by monty on Sun, 2012-01-01 20:36
First ride in 2012! What a great day.
Snowboard Eldora
Submitted by monty on Mon, 2011-12-26 21:35
The entire Groff family travelled to Mexico for Christmas vacation. What a beautiful place to visit. We had a very fun filled week:
- Touring Mayan ruins
- Swimming with the turtles in the ocean
- Jumping into some awesome cenotes (a sinkhole or cave)
- Sampling some great local food
What a blast!
Christmas in Mexico
Submitted by monty on Sun, 2011-10-16 20:12
We spent a long weekend in New York visiting some sites in the city and hanging our with Lynn & Rob.
New York
Submitted by monty on Sun, 2011-09-25 20:32
Mom & Dad come to Colorado for a weekend drive in the mountains. We started out from Denver and drove over Kenosha Pass to Buena Vista. Then, headed further West over Independence Pass to Aspen. The Aspen leaves on the trip were just starting to change color. So, we caught glimpses of bright yellow on the hills. We stopped at the Maroon Bells Wilderness for a relaxing lunch, then headed to Glenwood Springs to hit the Hot Springs Pool. We really packed in a lot of sightseeing in one day! On day 2 we headed South from Glenwood Springs towards Paonia and the Kebler Pass road. The largest aspen grove in Colorado is on Kebler pass and we were excited to see the fall colors. Next stop; Lake Irwin for a break, then on home to Denver. We had a great time and Mom & Dad got to see some parts of Colorado they had never been to before.
Fall Tour
Submitted by monty on Wed, 2011-09-14 20:35
We picked up Grace and Lynn at 4:30 AM in order to get an early start and beat the weather, but it didn't work. We had a great hike till around 12,000ft, then we entered the clouds. The rest of the trek was in the fog. Luckily it didn't turn severe and there was no lightning.
Mt Yale
Submitted by monty on Tue, 2011-09-13 20:35
Our next stop was in Davis, CA to see Nick's college. On the way we drove over Donner Pass. Davis was a very cool town and Nick was a great tour guide.
Donner Pass
Submitted by monty on Sun, 2011-09-11 20:35
The Dorsey/Teague clan met us in North Tahoe at the Squaw Valley resort on Sunday. We decided to hike to the to of Mt. Tallac, the high point on the South West side of Lake Tahoe. The climb was no easy feat. It was 9.5 miles round trip with 3200 ft of elevation gain. On the hike, Matt earned $20 from Lori for swimming across the alpine lake. After the lake, the trail steepened and we gained altitude fast. We joked on the climb, calling the mountain a 9'er in respect for the 14'ers we have climbed together. The reward was inspiring views in all directions. On the way back down we saw a Rubber Boa snake. It really looked like a big worm. We make a good hiking team!
Mt Tallac
Submitted by monty on Sat, 2011-09-10 20:35
Our final bike ride in the Sierras was at the Lakes Basin. We rode the loop around Long Lake, past Bear Lakes and Round Lake to the climb to Mt Elwell. This isn't a very well travelled bike route (mainly hiking), so some sections were pretty technical, rocky and just plain un-ridable. It also gets very steep near the top of the climb, so we ended up hiking long sections of the route. We paused on top to enjoy some lunch and much needed rest. The views from the top were spectacular. We could see the Sierra Buttes in the distance as well as looking over the lakes below. The reward was the ride back down. We passed through some spectacular Red Pine forest with its bright green moss glowing. The downhill section was steep and fast, so we made great time coming back to the car. It was a challenging trip and we were both worn out at the end. Now let's drive to Tahoe!
Mt Elwell
Submitted by monty on Fri, 2011-09-09 20:35
After the Downieville Downhill, we drove back up to the saddle to hike to the fire lookout station on top of the Sierra Buttes. The buttes are the high point for the area and it was a good climb to get there. We started walking on the Pacific Crest Trail and climbed steadily for a few miles. On the way we remembered the stories from Jack Kerouac's novel "Desolation Angels" about his experience as a fire lookout on Desolation Peak in the North Cascade mountains of Washington state. It would be a lonely job to live alone on top of a mountain. From the top we could see back into the east valley where there were several lakes. On the west side we could see the PCT snaking it's way south from the ridge. Now we get to go back to Downieville and have Mexican food again!
Sierra Buttes
Submitted by monty on Fri, 2011-09-09 20:35
We got up early to get to the bike shop and sign up for the first shuttle of the day. The guy at Yuba Expeditions, Wayno, was kind enough to dial in Lori's front brakes for free. The shuttle ride took us to a high point at Packer Saddle and dropped us off. From there is was a downhill blast all the way back to Downieville. There were a few technical sections, but most of it was just fast and steep!
Downieville Downhill
 |
