The MEGA Post!

We started our week off great with a visit from our friends A & J from South Carolina. They used to live here but migrated home to the south to be closer to family quite a few years back. They were on their annual pilgrimage for some snow sports and came down to visit and have dinner with us. It was awesome as usual and we can always pick up the conversation right where we left off with them. Their visit put our week on the right track from the start - always great to share time with friends!

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Saturday at Red Rock Canyon

We hit the trails Saturday at Red Rock Canyon Open Space and were greeted by some fantastic bluebird skies for our run. Though a bit on the cool side, the conditions were really unbeatable for February in the mountains - we're pretty spoiled!
We have tried many times to get a good photo passing through this slot in the rocks on Contemplative Trail and today the light was perfect for it! There is only a small window when the sun is actually overhead as it is such a narrow passage.

CAUTION: STEP DOWN

Kathleen making the transition from Contemplative to the Roundup Trail. Last year at this time most of Roundup was snowpacked and icy - this year it is dry. We hope that is not a bad sign!
Rounding the switchbacks and up onto the Roundup trail with an awesome vista of Garden of the Gods in the distance. You could see for miles with the clear skies and cool air - it was a postcard day.
Getting a little balance for the plunge off the slickrock - you better know where your next footstep is planning to land going off this one!

Once up on the top of Roundup, we had great views down one of the canyons.

One of the remnants of the quarry that once occupied this land. Notice the climbers on top of the rock in the upper left - vertigo anyone?!?!
Kathleen descending off the dirt road portion of the Lion Trail - this road is the transition from the red rocks into the more desert terrain on the east rim of the park. The landscape at RRC is very diverse.
Once you reach the Hogback Valley Trail, it is sandy trails, Sagebrush and Yucca - voila, you're in the desert!
Kathleen heads off the Hogback Trail and down to the trailhead to finish out the run. We had a great day in the sun and enjoyed the trails at one of our favorite parks. There were not many trail users today - really odd for a sunny day, but Happy Trails nonetheless!

Shoes - Both - Asics Gel Trabuco

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Sunday at Cheyenne Mountain State Park

It was another warm day today and a perfect day to hit Cheyenne Mountain State Park for a run. We got things started on the Zook Trail and had to get a shot of Kathleen sporting the new Livestrong gear - with Steve's mom being a two-time cancer survivor and Kathleen's mom currently battling cancer, we're big on the Livestrong Yellow. (Plus we're Lance homers!!!)

It really started warming up on our first big climb on the Blackmer Trail. It was just unseasonably warm today and we were loving every minute of it! The trails are a little trashed on the upper reaches from being wet and having a lot of bike traffic - we're bikers, too, so we won't soap box too much, but STAY.OFF.THE.WET.TRAILS. How hard is that to figure out?????
It was a good weekend on the trails for both of us - we are both coming out of the energy-lag we were in and starting to feel some motivation to run more.

Cruising on the Boulder Run Trail.

Kathleen weaving through bare scrub oak on the Soaring Kestrel Trail - once again it was as if we had the trails to ourselves today - won't complain about that!
Negotiating the rocks on the Coyote Run - and soaking up that Colorado sunshine!

Blackmer Trail wandering through granite boulders and lodgepole pine.

Kathleen crusing the Coyote Run!

High atop the Sundance Trail looking west to Cheyenne Mountain. Blackmer and Cougar's Shadow Trails run through the dark pine forest that is visible right at the base of the mountain. Turkey Trot and the bottom of Talon trail run through the valley below. This is an awesome park and we really enjoy having it so close to home!
Stop for a group photo at the finish of a perfect trail run - Good Times! We spent a couple hours on the trails and had an awesome day in the "winter" sun!

Shoes - K - Montrail Odyssey
S - Asics Gel Trabuco

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Congratulations to Levi Leipheimer and the Astana Cycling Team for a great win at the Amgen Tour of California. Nothing like having Lance Armstrong as your number one domestique! As cycling fans, we're looking forward to Lance racing this year - he brings the level of excitement and intensity up a few notches at the races. Plus it is all great publicity for the Worldwide Cancer Initiative.