Hiking cures what ails you

by Duf Anything and Everything

After our less than desirable start of the day dealing with dog haters at breakfast, the rest of our full day in Aspen was nice.  For a small chunk of the afternoon Ali napped while I caught up on stuff on the computer.  The dogs were zonked out as well.  I just sat here typing away with the door wide open enjoying the zero % humidity.  It was just a treat to not have to drive at all for one day, seriously.

I later went down to the fitness room here at Sky.  It was the best one we have seen on the trip with nice cardio machines, dumbbells and even a pull up / dip station!  I had the place to myself.  I did 3 sets of push ups, incline presses, dips and pull ups.  The elevation really does a number on your endurance.  I was sucking wind big time and felt very weak.  Even so it felt good to work out a bit. 

In between sets as I was trying to catch my breath I watched the end of the Milwaukee / Rockies game.  Man the Rockies relievers sucked balls.  It was tied up 1-1 going into the 9th.  The Rockies gave up 5 runs.  In the bottom of the 9th the Brewers brought some lanky righthander that threw 97 mph smoke as well as a nasty curveball.  He mowed down the side 1-2-3.

We decided to go on another hike in the afternoon on a trail that was recommended to us earlier in the day.  This trail was steep but shaded which was good for the dogs.  Once we got up onto the trail we again let them off their leash and off they went.

Both Sadie and Nicki LOVED hiking up the mountain.  It was so funny to watch them.  We hiked for a good hour or so, some of which was very steep.  They had no problems going up or down.  We may try to get some more hiking in tomorrow before we shove off for Santa Fe.

After hiking we went straight to eat at another place with outdoor seating.  Again we felt a bit like second class citizens as we were told we had to sit on the outside row of tables and the dog leashes had to be fastened to the fence that surrounded the area.

I had a couple beers and a burger which was good.  Ali talked about how much fun hiking was.  It’s funny that the most enjoyable part of Aspen for us is the simple, zero cost options.  I got a lot more enjoyment out of that than the $52 it is going to cost me to have the van driven around a corner tomorrow.  More pics are uploaded, check them out.

Did you know Ali went to charm school as a child?  Seriously.  I guess that is why she is so charming today.