Capris on men....the ongoing debate

Capris on men......what do you think? Not really, it was necessary I promise. I decided to be a minimalist on this camping trip and what happened, I spilled fajita sauce all over my only shorts resorting to pants in mid ninety degree weather. Outcome....man in makeshift capris.


Initially it was our plan to head down to Durango to stay at our friend's cabin. Due to the work issues of multiple people we decided that a 7+ hour drive each way for a weekend wouldn't be the best idea. Outcome.....camping just past Nederland by Eldora.

Jump in the story. Its amazing how fast people can come together in the pursuit of a safe haven. We located a perfect campsite but upon arriving the clouds aligned, not in our favor, and proceeded to dump water slash hail by the buckets all while we were trying to set up a tent. Oh but yes, we came together in a frenzy setting up the world's largest tent in record time.

Within an hour the weather took a turn for the better and we found ourselves hiking a trail known as fourth of july. I had never been up in this area despite the fact that I have lived within an hour of it for years. It was great though. This distant picture doesn't do the waterfalls justice but know it was pretty sweet thrught the binocs. Dinner....excellent in my mouth, not so good on my shorts.


The next day was beautiful. I don't say beautiful in a serious way too often so know that I am serious here. The air was clear, cloudless blue sky.....a little spicy but not too bad. We took a hike up to Lost lake on the Hessie trail. It was a nice incline with waterfalls dotting the path. The lake water was refreshing. I wanted to jump in but my jean capris would hold water like a sponge so it didn't happen. We had lunch at the lake and worked our way back down the trail.

Triple Bypass

This past weekend I did the Triple Bypass. It is a cycling tour from Evergreen, CO to Avon, CO and is about 120 miles. The route covers Squaw pass, Loveland pass and Vail pass with a fair amount of up and down in between. I rode it two years ago but didn't sign up in time last year so I signed up extra early this time around.
The ride was nice. I rode with a friend and we kept a pretty steady pass throughout. I felt better this time compared to last time. Now, whether that was because I knew what I was getting into or whether my physical shape was different.....I don't know. But, I can say that I really don't see how the pro riders do that multiple days in a row without stopping. Pretty phenomenal.

Fourth of July Weekend

This past weekend my brother, father and I went out to the cabin site to see if we could make some more progress towards a permanent structure. I decided to take a couple days off of work after the fourth of July so we could work for two days and play for the rest of the weekend. Part of this was my wife's idea seeing as how she would be conveniently coming up on Friday evening just in time for the end of construction. Of course we ran in to some problems as always along the way but we now have concrete in the ground ready for piers on the next trip.

I consider myself to be a fairly independent adult. I am 27 years old, married, and somewhat making it in life so far. What amazes me is the ability my parents have to emit this sense of comfort during times of difficulty. There were definitely points during the work that I was uneasy about the way things were going or frustrated by the difficulty of getting things right and the presence of my father and his good attitude made everything fine. I have also seen these traits in my in-laws as well. So, is this a learned trait, is it something that exists based on the relationship that is developed over years....I don't know. But it exists for me and it has pushed me through a lot of experiences, including the foundation of the future Howell cabin.

Although my wife got out of hucking 80 pound bags of concrete around and digging holes, she definitely had her fair share of rugged activities.....these include

1. Shooting a .22 for the first time, hitting a quarter from quite a distance.

2. Catching a 13" rainbow trout....while I caught nothing.

3. Chopping wood

4. Fighting off bears around our tent (in her dreams)

5. and....Setting a serious pace on our hikes

......so about my hairstylist

Recently I expressed the desire to have gray hair. Why you may ask.....I don't know. It just seemed like a good idea and hey why not get a glimpse of my inevitable future minus tarot cards, crystal balls and pink monkeys. My hairstylist was excited about my request...she recently learned of a new formula that would make all my dreams, of having gray hair, come true.

Time passed and just when I thought maybe it wasn't going to happen the time had come. Now at the time I wasn't aware of the process that would have to take place nor was I aware of the possible effects but I was open to the idea of experimentation for the sake of furthering the style repertoire of my good friend and of course the pursuit of gray hair.

Step 1 - Bleach hair to a lovely off white.
Step 2 - Apply the magical gray potion and bam!.....gray hair.....kind of.
Step 3 - Salon closes, transfer the operation to home salon for cutting
Step 4 - Cutting reveals slight discolorations in the gray, lets reapply and call it good.
Step 5 - Huh
Step 6 - That's gray isn't it?
Step 7 - If I'm not mistaken.....it looks kinda purple.....lovely shade of lilac. Very cool but maybe not the best look for the architecture profession.
Step 8 - Strip the tone and its back to a "creamy blonde"...my name is....my name is....
[Day Passes]
Step 9 - Back to original color...kind of...scalp burning....lessons learned and quite a great time through the process

It was a funny experience. Knowledge has been gained through experimentation.....on my head. My conclusion...I will be ready to try it again in a couple weeks.....with short hair and expertise through experience on our side....maybe.

Pictures to follow shortly...

Sunshine Hillclimb

I decided I was going to do this race in the middle of last week. I had never done a real race so I thought....hey....why not start with this one. The race is a 9 mile climb gaining 1300 feet of elevation in the process, 3 of the miles on dirt. I had done the pavement section many times and felt comfortable with it....at least at my pace.

Throughout the week I had visions of myself rolling in last so I was a bit nervous at the start. I started at a consistent pace and tried my best to carry it through to the end. I felt pretty good about the overall race and had a good time as well. I didn't roll in last and even if I did I think I would have still felt good about it.