Crested Butte

Our friends the Fox's come to Co frequently to vacation in Crested Butte

Usually we manage to squeeze in a dinner or a couple of days hanging out at our place.

This year we were able to go up to C.B. with them.
Knowing that it was going to be a super fast trip we debated about whether or not it was worth going.
It the end we decided that a little time with them was better than none and we packed everyone up and headed out.
And we were SO glad that we did!
We had such a fantastic time.

It was great to hang out with them and catch up.
We have been friends since before there were any little Hahl's and little Fox's running around.
It only takes a few minutes together to remember how much we love being with them.
They are such great people.
I feel honored to be able to call them my friends :)

(Emma and I at the start of the trip)

The main event was a fourwheeling trip up to Tin Cup.
Riding Tin Cup was on Larry's bucket list so he was really excited to be able to check it off.
Personally I had no idea what I was getting into.


( Everyone pretending to be blown off the top. See the elevation sign - I have never ridden to that elevation before)

Usually when we ride we do short little trails and as a family we can't go out all at the same time.
I was expecting a similar ride this time.
I was completely wrong.


(Some random dog decided to pose with us)
Everyone loaded up, I rode with Lily and since Larry's atv is larger and he has mad skills he rode with Bella and Brooke.
And Brendan headed out on the little atv.
We rode, and we rode and we rode some more.
By the time we were done we rode around 32 miles.

(our F.B.F.F.'s Hunter, Emma, Matt and Caleb)
Part of it was on an actual dirt road and the rest was up rocky switchbacks.
And on some of the switchbacks the shoulder was very narrow.
It was a little bit scary.

(one of the mountain top views)
After we reached the top of the mountain we continued on another couple of miles to some property Matt's brother owns.
The trail to it was terrifying.
I was pretty certain I was going to roll the atv and die.
Larry kept telling me that I was going to be fine.
It looked worse than it was yadda yadda yadda.

(the other side of the mountain)
And while it was scary, and I DID almost run off the trail, in the end I made it!
When we got to to the property it was so windy.
Larry actually leaned into the wind trying to fall forward and the wind held him up.
It was crazy!
(The town church in Tin Cup. So quaint)
What a great ride!
The memories the kids are going to have from that trip!

So thanks Fox's for letting us hang.
We are looking forward to next year's vacation with ya all!

what's a little mud?

everyone in our family loves to go four wheeling. so why it's been almost a year since the last time we went as a family on a serious all day adventure is a mystery to me. determined to get a fix we loaded everyone up on saturday and headed for central city. not to gamble, but to ride.

lil's loves to ride as much as the rest of us. and even though it looks like they are going really fast in this picture they really weren't. it was a little windy and that's what is blowing her hair. not warp speed. just had to clear that up since the picture is a little deceiving and neither of the kids have helmets on. and we weren't on the trail. brendan was just taking her for a little ride around the parking area. we are very safety conscious when we ride I PROMISE!

our friends the wilson's went with us. joe was nice enough to take bella on a dirt bike ride. her first one ever. she loved it of course. i thought she might be a little bit scared, but no - she's fearless!

for some reason larry and i love to ride the little four wheeler. it's a ton of fun. of course i think part of the fun is just knowing how ridiculous you look on it. but lil's thought it was great that her daddy took her for a little spin.

brooke got to ride the little four wheeler by herself for the first time ever. she thought she was pretty cool. and yes she is actually driving with her feet up like that.

the trails were really muddy from all the rain. this was my favorite puddle.

that's me hitting the puddle at full speed. you could say that i got a little bit wet. but i loved every minute of it! i came back with mud everywhere. it was awesome! i look at it as my own personal mud bath without the cost of an expensive spa.

Bear Lake Chronicles - Four Wheeling Fun

Another great thing about the Bear Lake area is that four wheelers are everywhere. You can ride them on the beach, you can even ride them in the road if you want. We took our three and Larry's sister Charlotte took her two along with two dirt bikes. So there was a whole lotta riding going on. Which was fine by us because we love to ride. The trails were extremely dusty so everyone came back caked in dirt and cow pies. Yuck!!

Nephews Dan and Spencer
They look like they have been through a desert dust storm or something. And the bad thing about getting this dusty is that you have grit in your mouth for hours. The men definitely rode the most, but the girls got in some good rides as well.

Niece Ryan, Nancy and me
Now I know what you are thinking:
1. Are they riding or scuba diving?? What's up with the giant goggles?
2. Are those really porta potties in the backgroud??
Answers:
1. We are riding but didn't feel like wearing helmets. We needed good eye protection so we took the goggles off the helmets and just wore those. When I ride on a trail I prefer to wear a helmet. This ride I didn't and I had an accident which could have been really bad, so it was a very good lesson for me. You will not catch me on the trail again without a helmet. Promise! And we always make our kids wear helmets.
2. Those are porta potties! When you have 31 people at a house you need a few more bathrooms. We also had an outdoor shower, three tents and three hammocks. Yes, we got a few stares as people drove by.

Larry and I took a ride up to the top of a near by hill that over looks the lake. We had grand ideas of watching the sunset because they are so gorgeous up there. Unfortunately, we forgot our bug spray and mosquitoes ate us alive within two minutes of stopping. So we watched the sunset as we were riding back to the house.

Our attempt at a little photo shoot before the mosquitoes chased us away.

As for my accident, I wasn't going to go into detail because it's a little bit embarrassing. But there were some comments about my gimpy leg and a few questions about what happened so here is the scoop. We were riding and I went through a little stream crossing that was uphill. For some reason the backend of my fourwheeler slid and drove me off the trail. Now there are spots on the trail where the sides are open and there are spots where the trees line the trail. This was a spot where the trail was lined by trees, or big bushy tree like things. I hit one of those which caused the handlebars to turn sharply to the right. My body flew off my seat because the bike was no longer moving. I flew into the end of the handle bar right above where my leg meets my abdomen. The pain was horrible and shot all the way to my backside and down my leg. So I have a nasty, nasty looking bruise (which I will not post pictures of due to the delicate location) and for a couple of days I could hardly wear pants, walking was hard and stairs was almost impossible. But it is healing really well and only hurts now when I do stairs. It honestly was a good lesson for me though because it showed me how fast a ride can go from fun to dangerous.