Anna’s Geneva Glen camp group: Cabin 15 (not 14) – Anna is front row, second from right

Marcy and I ended our six night stay in the mountains on Wednesday morning. We had a lovely time at Keystone, just the two of us. But we wanted to have a couple of nights at home before the kids got back from their respective camps.

The first night of camp with his friend Chris from school

Jude was first. His camp ended on Friday at 2pm, so we both drove out to Windy Peak to pick him up. He had a great time but he was happy to see us. He wanted to stop at a gas station to get some junk food on the way home, so we did, and then stopped at Dairy Queen for a blizzard, too.

Doing some rock climbing

Jude did a four day backpacking trip to the Great Sand Dunes National Park, where he had never been. He loved it and he came back with sand in everything just like our trips to the beach.

Backpacking in Great Sand Dunes National Park

We picked up Anna on Saturday morning and she also had a great time. They spent all the time on the Geneva Glen property but they had a ton of activities. Anna liked shooting rifles, archery, alchemy (making products from nature), Wild (learning to make a fire and other survival skills) and all the games they got to do. The food was really good and Anna made several good friends. They have a group chat going with everybody.

Now, we just have one more day at home before we drive to Iowa on Tuesday.

Starting out on Colorado Trail Segment 6 from Kenosha Pass

With both kids away at two-week long summer camps Marcy and I decided to do something we had not done in decades and had never done together: take a backpacking trip. I have been semi-obsessed about the Colorado Trail for some time so we decided to head up to Keystone and tackle most of Segment 6 from Kenosha Pass. Officially it goes to Breckenridge but we diverted to Keystone for the last part of it so that we could walk home.

An hour in and we have beautiful views of the valley towards Fairplay

We started at 6pm Friday after getting a Lyft ride to Kenosha Pass – which is 56 miles by road from Keystone. We will get back to Keystone via a more direct route which is 32 miles. Friday evening started out a bit dicey with threatening clouds and we got rained on a little but it wasn’t too bad and we made it to camp just after 8pm, hiking six miles of relatively flat terrain in a little more than two hours.

The highest elevation of the hike on Georgia Pass at around 11,900 feet (above tree line)

Saturday we knew would be tough. We climbed 2,000 feet up to Georgia Pass (11,900 feet), which was spectacular – you could see what felt like 100 miles in every direction and began a long descent until good camping by a river after around 13 miles of hiking. My feet were bothering me and I had some issues with my pack so I struggled the last few miles and we didn’t make it to camp until almost 7pm.

Setting up camp on the evening of day two

Today, we faced the steepest incline of the trip with over 1,000 vertical in less than three miles. We did pretty well on the way up but then we began the long decent (almost 10 miles) back to Keystone. By lunch time my feet were shot and I wasn’t sure how I would continue on. But we were right by Keystone Gulch Road where you can drive cars so Marcy had the great idea that I could ditch my pack and we could pick it up tomorrow.

Olive loved playing in the snow at the higher elevations

So, we made it back to our place in Keystone by 5pm enough time for me to catch the last hour of the US Open golf. Then we went to the local Mexican place for dinner. I counted eight different blisters on my feet and I have a lot of aching muscles. Marcy did great, she said at dinner tonight that she could have easily stayed out on the trail another week. It was a great trip overall and we know how to make some changes so it is better next time.

Jude about to head off to Windy Peak for two weeks

Today, we did something we had never done before. We sent both kids off to camp on the same day. For the next two weeks Anna is going to be at Geneva Glen and Jude will be at  Windy Peak. Yes, both kids will be away at the same time, the first time that has ever happened.

Anna ready to head off for two weeks at Geneva Glen

We dropped Anna off first as she was on the way to Jude’s camp. It was quite the process with all the Covid protocols but we were out of there in 30 minutes. Jude’s was a little easier and by 4pm it was just us and Olive. We decided to do a late afternoon hike and we discovered the Colorado Trail ran right by Jude’s camp so we did a two hour hike there.

Jude and the victorious Rapids burgundy team (he is in the front, third boy from the right)

Jude has been playing on the white level Rapids team for some time. He is now one of the best players on the team and he has been wanting to go up to the next level for some time. The call up finally came this week. He was invited to practice with the burgundy team and then play in their season ending tournament this weekend.

He made the most of his opportunity getting better with each game. This morning, the third game, he set up the game winning goal and it was great to hear all the parents yelling out, “Great job Jude!” Needless to say, he was very satisfied with his performance and he hopes he has done enough to earn a permanent spot on the team.

Anna and Daddy date at Urban Putt downtown

Anna and I used to go on date nights semi-regularly but the pandemic put a stop to that. But with Anna now fully vaccinated (well, the two weeks after the final shot is this Friday) we decided to head downtown for a date night. We rode our bikes downtown and went to a burger place, then Urban Putt for some indoor golf and finally to an ice cream place. It was a great night.

Jude addressing the crowd at his graduation ceremony

On Wednesday this past week Jude graduated eighth grade at the International School of Denver. The past three years have flown by and we find it hard to believe we are about to have a high schooler. Jude really enjoyed his time at ISD, it was a good fit for him and we were really pleased with the school. He has become very proficient in French, his favorite subject. He ended his middle school strongly with his best grades of his entire time there.

The family photo after the ceremony

The ceremony it itself was really cool. Rather than just call each student’s name the teachers get together and decide on one word that best describes each of the students. Jude’s word was “candid” as he is always forthright in telling the truth, a quality his teachers clearly valued.

Throwing the caps in the air

This weekend was all about soccer with the annual end of season tournament at Aurora Sports Park. Jude’s team played four matches over two days. They won one, lost one, and drew one and that was enough to make the final. But they lost to a team from New Mexico who were really good. Jude played really well.

Jude gets around this defender and has a breakaway up the field

Tonight, Marcy, Jude and I went to see the US Mens National Soccer Team play Mexico in the final of the Nations Cup which happened to be in Denver. It was a wild and crazy game which the US won 3-2 after a penalty from Christian Pulisic (our biggest star). The fans were wild, in a negative way, and the game had to be stopped a number of times because of objects on the field. But it was an epic match and we were all glad we went.

Watching the USA play Mexico at Mile High Stadium