Blanca Peak 7/18-7/19

Last year when we took our vaction to Colorado we spent most of our time in the southern part of the state. This is the part of Colorado that we fell in love with. Though the Denver/Front Range area is lovely, fun and filled with great people it does not compare to where we spent last summer and this past weekend. One of the major draws to Colorado was the people we met last year- always stopping to chat on the trail, never failing to hold a door and always interested in the stories of a stranger. The blaring horns of impatient East Coasters are nowhere to be found. We haven't been blown over by the niceness of people in Denver, but heading back down south we were happy to see it alive and well.

It took us about 4 hours to get from Denver to the base of Blanca Peak, just north of Alamosa and just south of the Great Sand Dunes. Though we camped on the Dunes last summer and got to see the Sangre de Cristo chain, this was the first time we actually hiked in that part of the Rockies. Blanca Peak is one of the southernmost mountains in the state. It is the fourth highest in Colorado at 14,345ft and is the highest in all of the Sangres.

The trailhead for Blanca Peak is at the bottom of a huge four wheel drive road- considered by many to be the hardest road in Colorado to drive. We had been overly ambitious, imagaining that we would hike this portion of the trail (since our car was not made for this type of terrain) but after a very brief start we were approached by a friendly man in a Wrangler. He told us that once, twenty years ago, he thought it would be a good idea to hike the road and that it was one of the worst experience he had ever had outside. He invited us in the jeep and proceeded to take us up to nearly-the-end of the four wheel drive road (round trip this took him about 2.5-3 hours all out of his way just to help us. This is what we mean when we talk about the nice Coloradans). He dropped us off about a mile from lake Como, which is where all of the drivers park their cars and car camp. The entire lake was surrounded by cars and tents (boo!) so we hiked about another mile past that lake and set up camp in a remote spot. Driving in the Jeep was actually pretty fun- the car had to tackle big boulders and obstacles along the road and it was pretty scary being so close to the edge of the mountain.

The next morning we woke up before sunrise to start the summit. We covered about 2,400 feet in less than 1.5 miles. Most of the final summit approach is talus and scree- all loose rock requiring tricky footwork. The hardest part was making sure we were on the trail- since it was marked with rock carins! Not that easy to find a pile of rocks IN a pile of rocks. We were the very first people on the summit Sunday morning and are thrilled to start our fourth year with our fourth 14er :)


Flowers on the drive down= Gorgeous!


Reading Monique and the Mango Rains- pretty reading room!
















Us at the Summit! First people to the top :) The talus in this picture is pretty indicative of the terrain from our tent to the top of the peak

Three Years/Ten Months

On Wednesday we celebrated 3 years of being married and ten months of living in Denver. That’s some pretty exciting stuff. THREE YEARS! I know it doesn’t sound like a lot to our parents who have been married almost 38 years, but it is amazing the difference between year one and year three. Both amazing, both stupendously happy, but different

And the ten months in Denver is awesome too. Out for dinner on our anniversary last year, we had just ‘officially’ decided to head out in September. We had told our parents and started planning. This entire third year has been a big adventure, and this seems to be setting the tone for our relationship. Since being in Denver we have been constantly on the go, rarely stopping for a weekend at home. With so much beauty within a few hours (and usually less) there’s no reason to stay back. And yet, the time we spend in the city of Denver itself is always a blast.

In three years of marriage we have learned A LOT. We’ve learned that time spent doing our own things is just as important as time spent together. We’ve learned that cat allergies can subside if that cat is cute enough. We’ve learned that chores will never be split evenly and that that is OK. We’ve learned that the scariest of adventures isn’t that scary with the right person by your side. We’ve learned that we will never be clean people no matter how hard we try. We’ve learned that ten deep breaths and a sense of humor can diffuse most any situation. We’ve learned that supporting each other's dreams doesn’t mean giving up our own- and that really the most important dreams are the ones we share. What we've learned the most, though, is that we are a really great team.

In ten months of Denver we’ve learned, too. We’ve learned that snow camping has some major perks over summer camping (hello eating in the tent! No bear bag hanging. No worry of rain or bolts of lightning). We’ve learned that just because ‘it’s a weeknight’ doesn’t mean we need to stay inside. We’ve learned that fish tacos are, in fact, delicious and that every good restaurant in Denver has a famous Margarita. We’ve learned that one car is enough for two people. We’ve learned that drunk people sometimes smash in the car hoods and sideview mirrors of people they've never met. We’ve learned that you don’t need to be in Philadelphia to watch an Eagles game with real fans. We’ve learned that a lot of people play kickball after third grade, and that none of these people can agree on the rules. We've learned that you CAN get used to seeing the mountains- but a friendly reminder or a sunny day can remind you that they are majestic, breathtaking and not to be taken for granted.

We're excited for the next year and the next adventure! There is soooo much more to see/learn/do. There are so many questions about what the future holds- but the one thing we know, that we have each other, makes those questions exciting instead of scary!

Heading to Sangre de Cristo mountain range this weekend (southern Colorado) to climb Blanca Peak and do some backpacking. Expect a full report next week. With pictures!

For the first time since Crick and Kate’s wedding (October 2007) the whole family was in one place at one time (including the two newest additions to the family!) and we had some non-family members but still fabulous people join us as well. As our family knows very well, a full house is a fun house and this week was no different. One week on the beach of Topsail Island in North Carolina was exactly the break we needed. It is hard not knowing when we are going to see the whole family again, but we made great use of the few days we all had together:

Surfing. Skin boarding. Shell collecting. Sand castle making. Deep sea fishing. Greased-up-watermelon playing. Birthday (Carrie) and anniversary (Tim and Beth) celebrating. Beach reading. Crab eating. Michael Jackson memorializing. Dolphin watching. Ladder ball competing. Frozen drink consuming. Outburst screaming. Barefoot soccer-ing. Champagne toasting. Baby bump watching. Occasional short term babysitting. Iced coffee drinking. Relaxing. And lots and lots of family loving.







Sean and the green surfboard were inseperable for most of the trip. At least in the early am hours anyway. That beautiful yellow-green fish Sean caught is a Mahi Mahi and we ate it the night he caught it!




Each night of the week one couple (or the group of singles) were assigned dinner duties. It was a lot of fun and we ate like kings all week. Tim and Beth's make-your-own Kabob night was a fun way to get everyone interacting around the food. We followed their cue and brought the Strong Family tradition of fresh crabs on beach vacations to the Helfrich family dinner table. Sean cooked his first busshel of crabs and then taught all the novices the best wAy to get the most meat out of one crab. It was the only night we ate outside and with Jack Johnson playing in the background I couldn't imagine a more perfect beach night.









Seeing the adults is always fun, but we will definitely treasure getting to spend a whole week with all of these adorable nieces and nephews. It's amazing how quickly they develop their own personalities...








And would it be a Helfrich Family Vacation without at least some competition? Never. OUTBURST resulted in two rounds of the guys beating the girls. An intense laderball tournament had Timmy and Danny crowned champions. But the most important competition of the week was greased up watermelon. Just like it sounds, a watermelon is covered in Crisco and rolled into the pool by Kaitlyn and/or Matty. The object of the game is then to get the watermelon past the other team and out of the water for one point. Sean, B, Spencer and Curtis were victorious over Danny, Timmy, Keith and Crick.






Kaitlyn and Beth treated us to an all-star recital in tribute to Michael Jackson. Carrie joined inon the fun before it turned into an all out dance party.








And a big thanks to the two beautiful people who made it all possible!