working out for Disney

[HouCuseChickie]

A little bit more...

I had seen this little park and trail area along the river near our hotel for this part of the trip, so we decided to stop. Nothing majorly exciting yet still pretty.


I felt like I hadn't gotten in enough walking that day, so I went on another walk once we got to the fields. This was the bridge that led me back to the fields upon my return.


It wouldn't be softball without softball sunsets. At least there was a clear view at this point. We had dust blow up for a while that made it hard to see anything.


More to come.

 

[Songbird76]

For that first trip, I believe the place we stayed was in Keystone. We stayed in Rapid City the last time we visited. Yeah, I would not be ok with that setup in Sturgis. It seems like it's really designed for people attending the annual bike rally who are looking for more of a social/community lodging environment. i.e. that walk to the facilities is part of the festival experience. Definitely not what you'd want on a standard vacation.

It's funny...I'm not a big broccoli fan but I really enjoy cauliflower. I'll eat both but I do have my preferences. Hollandaise sauce has made asparagus more palatable to our entire family. I can eat it plain.

Yeah, we stayed at the campground the week before rally started, and that was part of the problem. I purposely avoided rally, but people do start trickling in a bit early, and a lot of the better places are already booked full, and everyone raises their prices. I don't think it was worth the price we paid considering there was no private bathroom, and the cabin really was just the two beds and that's pretty much all that fit. But that's kind of what you get during rally. I made the plans avoiding Sturgis Rally, when everything all the way out to Gillette is booked, and also to avoid National High School Finals Rodeo, which is the same way...people book places all the way into South Dakota, etc. And to avoid Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, because then everything in the Laramie/Cheyenne area is packed. And driving during any of those events is crazy!! I don't want to be anywhere near there during those events.

A won't eat any veggies except spinach in lasagna or Peas in Rendang. E and I are big veggie people...we make up for what he won't eat. DH will eat most veggies, but he can take them or leave them. If we make them, he will usually eat them, but he won't go out of his way to make them, and he won't ask for them. If I ask him what he wants, he'll generally say "I don't necessarily need a vegetable." while E and I will both say "I want something with vegetables!" But I am not much for sauces usually. I DO like a cheese sauce on broccoli sometimes, but I never make that myself. DH makes a sauce for with cauliflower, but I won't eat the sauce. We made spaghetti tonight and it was so good! We roasted some tomatoes from E's garden as well as some from the store because she didn't have enough in her garden, and some red pepper, garlic, and onion, then pureed it. So it was pretty vegetable rich. And we used whole grain pasta, so it was a bit healthier than standard pasta. We COULD make our own pasta, but it takes such a long time. And A requested Rendang for tomorrow, and while he eats his with rice, we do wok-sauted veggies instead, so low carb, lots of veggies. So we usually do pretty well on that stuff at home if either E or I cook. But DH doesn't usually cook, and when he does, he tends to do frozen pizzas, ordering in, or something that doesn't require much work and isn't very healthy.

 

[Songbird76]

Sam Loveland trail but different day. I had more time and made it pretty close to the foothills.
View attachment 875348View attachment 875349View attachment 875350

This was the day we had a morning free and headed up to Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins. My parents were with us but my dad has since decided that he will no longer be visiting spots like this. He's had a few recent falls and saw that their old dr died on unpaved area like this due to a spill. Thankfully, his only fall this trip occurred on pavement and wound up to be fairly minor. Still, it's a pretty spot and I had some fun climbing on the rocks. Also got some great bird recordings on Merlin.
View attachment 875351View attachment 875352View attachment 875353View attachment 875354

View attachment 875356
View attachment 875355
View attachment 875357


...much more to come.

Did you travel on 287? That's such a beautiful drive with the mountains. I miss mountains. My brother and his husband own a restaurant in the Snowies...well, technically on the way up to the snowies. It's in Centennial, which is right on the road that leads up into the mountains. When we visited Wyoming in 2022, we went for breakfast at their restaurant, and then we drove up to Lake Marie and Mirror Lake and hiked around a bit. So beautiful!! But that whole area from Southern Wyoming down into Colorado is gorgeous! I miss that so much!! Thank you for sharing your pictures!

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

Checking in with another treadmill and core workout. It was boring and brutal. I was going to go for a walk, but my left sinus is killing me. My upper teeth, my throat, my cheek and eye all hurt. I felt like this over the weekend and thought I was developing a sinus infection, but the humidity went down and I felt better. But it's been creeping back up again. I'm just going to chill, drink lots of water and take something for my sinus.

I started this post earlier in the day and got side tracked by stuff.

I was on my walk yesterday and all of the sudden, I saw a fawn running down the street. He was alone and he looked panicked. He was moving his head back and forth like he was looking for something. He was in front of a wooded area where I have seen deer, so I thought maybe he was going to go in there to find his family. I saw him again when I was coming back from my walk, in a different place. He looked scared. We made eye contact and I thought about going over to him, but I thought, "What can I realistically do?" I can't take him around to help him look for his family, so I walked away. (Plus, he likely would have run away if I moved towards him and we were near the street.) But I started crying like an idiot. He looked so scared and that upset me. I hope he found his family, because I have seen a lot of fawns on the side of the road. They can be a nuisance, but that doesn't mean I want them to come to harm.

 

[Songbird76]

Hello-

Checking in with another treadmill and core workout. It was boring and brutal. I was going to go for a walk, but my left sinus is killing me. My upper teeth, my throat, my cheek and eye all hurt. I felt like this over the weekend and thought I was developing a sinus infection, but the humidity went down and I felt better. But it's been creeping back up again. I'm just going to chill, drink lots of water and take something for my sinus.

I started this post earlier in the day and got side tracked by stuff.

I was on my walk yesterday and all of the sudden, I saw a fawn running down the street. He was alone and he looked panicked. He was moving his head back and forth like he was looking for something. He was in front of a wooded area where I have seen deer, so I thought maybe he was going to go in there to find his family. I saw him again when I was coming back from my walk, in a different place. He looked scared. We made eye contact and I thought about going over to him, but I thought, "What can I realistically do?" I can't take him around to help him look for his family, so I walked away. (Plus, he likely would have run away if I moved towards him and we were near the street.) But I started crying like an idiot. He looked so scared and that upset me. I hope he found his family, because I have seen a lot of fawns on the side of the road. They can be a nuisance, but that doesn't mean I want them to come to harm.

Oh that's so sad...I hope he found his family and that his mother wasn't hit or something, being close to a road.

About the sinuses, could you use some nasal spray and maybe a heating pad to release some of the pressure? Sinus pain is brutal. I used to get sinus infections all the time that would then move down into my chest, and they won't give you antibiotics for that here, so I'd end up with bronchitis, and eventually also an ear infection and THEN they would finally give me antibiotics. My doctor says sinus infections are viral and antibiotics won't help, but I know that's not always true. They can be either bacterial OR viral...you have to do a culture to see if it's bacterial, but he just wouldn't help me. I had a really bad case for 4 months when I was pregnant with E, and I only got antibiotics after I had been there several times and he had an intern working with him and she's the one who saw me that final time. She asked me what I had tried and how long I had had it. I told her I used nasal spray, steam, decongestants, pain relievers, cough syrup. So she asked the doctor if she could try an antibiotic for me, and within a week it was gone. If he'd have just listened to me the FIRST time I went to see him, I wouldn't have had to be miserable for 4 months.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Did you travel on 287? That's such a beautiful drive with the mountains. I miss mountains. My brother and his husband own a restaurant in the Snowies...well, technically on the way up to the snowies. It's in Centennial, which is right on the road that leads up into the mountains. When we visited Wyoming in 2022, we went for breakfast at their restaurant, and then we drove up to Lake Marie and Mirror Lake and hiked around a bit. So beautiful!! But that whole area from Southern Wyoming down into Colorado is gorgeous! I miss that so much!! Thank you for sharing your pictures!

I had to go back to the map. So, I apparently did get onto 287 at various points, but it was the more populated portions of Fort Collins. In fact, the gym location I was frequenting during that part of the trip was on 287. Sadly, I did not get a ton of exploration time when we were in CO, so I was happy with whatever pretty stuff I did get to see.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

This was our last day in Fort Collins. Sam had a camp at Colorado State. We'd be heading to the Denver area afterwards and also changing hotels. Our first hotel was not the greatest. Definitely better than @Songbird76 's lodging, but the sad excuse for a gym was tethered to the laundry room and had really limited hours (which we disregarded). I got in my walking on campus that day.


This bar cracked me up. No name on the sign, just a pic of a marmot. It also coincided with me passing some really smelly people standing in a parking lot and praying to the mountains.


This was the next hotel room. I was so happy to have a full kitchen.


I took pics from nearly every gym I visited during travels this summer.


This is how close our hotel was to downtown Denver.


David found this place for dinner. Supposedly famous for fried chicken...and yet none of us ordered any! LOL


Prairie dog town right outside of the restaurant.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We had a big organizational workout in front of coaches the following morning. Then Sam and David went to an academic camp for her later that day. My parents and I ended up at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

I just love magpies!


Sam also ended up doing really well at the camp and received a special invitation to participate in an all-star game. Definitely a sports highlight for the trip.


Next day we were playing in Aurora. All of the CO ballfields backed on trails. This trail was linked into the front range trail. It was getting a lot more bike than foot traffic and there was zero shade, but it did the job.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I think this is now July 2nd. We had a day off. David wound up taking the car to take Sam to go rafting in Idaho Springs... something that was sprung on me last minute. I had booked entry into RMNP, so I was really mad. I ended up hanging back and walking into downtown to hit the gym.


Next day, July 3rd...we were playing at different fields with different nice trails...


We went out for food after and I got the most ridiculous presentation of chicken lettuce wraps for my lunch.


I believe this is now July 4th. The fields also had trails but not the best part of town. The trails were pretty but a lot of homelessness along the way.


We went out for dinner with the team that night. David got a ridiculous drink. We saw fireworks on our drive home, but didn't really watch any particular show. The best was probably at the Rockies' stadium.



...more CO to come, as well as GA and CA.