Backpacking With My Boy

While my oldest was visiting family in Germany I wanted to spend some one-on-one time with my next oldest boy.  We decided to head up to Newlin Creek just outside of Wetmore, Colorado.  It was a perfect overnight hike because of the short distance (just over 3 miles each way) and the close proximity to our house.

We left Friday afternoon and made the short drive up to the trailhead, just 45 minutes from our house.  The Newlin Creek trail follows the creek upstream until it ends at an old saw mill from the late 1800's.

The area is very popular for climbing and bouldering.  Tiig and I found a cool boulder where we could crawl under.

One of the river crossings.  Tiig fell in the water just after this picture.  He was ok, just got a little wet.

The trail crosses the creek 16 times until it reaches the end of the trail.  After some time hiking we made it to the saw mill and found a perfect campsite.  First thing was to filter some water for dinner and breakfast.

Our perfect campsite. 

Tiig's first choice for dinner was hot dogs.  We couldn't finish them all so we had them again for breakfast.  Tasty!

We had a good nights rest and woke up the next morning to the sound of day hikers making it to the end of the trail.  After some exploring around the saw mill and resting in camp we had some lunch (Cup O Noodles, also Tiig's choice) we packed up camp and started heading down the trail.

The old saw mill.

The hike out was eventful as it started to rain.  Not a hard rain but enough to make it even more fun.

We found this perfect cavern.  We didn't venture too far into it though.

So many cool waterfalls.

What a fantastic backpacking trip we had together.  Tiig had such a great time spending time with his dad.  He's a lot like me in that he loves the out of doors and he finds the joy in the simple things of life.

Ordinary Mortals Triathlon Race Report

Every year I start off my triathlon season with a phenomenal small race here in beautiful Pueblo.  It takes place up at the Colorado State University Pueblo and is a reverse triathlon, run-bike-swim.  It's a great way to start the season because I am able to sleep in my own bed and compete with my parents and boys.

It was a beautiful morning and a great day for a race.  My parents and I got to the venue early enough to setup our transition area and warmup.  We lined up on the starting line and we were off!  It was a fantastic race as I was able to finish the run with a similar time to last year, I improved my bike and by swim was similar to last year.  I also saved time with quick transitions.  After I was done, I was able to cheer on my parents as they crossed the finish line.  I am so proud of my triathlete parents.

My awesome parents and I after the race.

After our race we were able to get the boys ready for their kids triathlon.  Finn was in Germany so just Tiig and Kell competed and they both did awesome!  They are great runners and both finished the race strong with a solid swim.

Check out this triathlete family!  Kell is not always the most photogenic...

Already looking forward to next year's race!