Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

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A Day Trip to the Paint Mines

We had the best day yesterday exploring the Paint Mines , the Paint Mines are a natural feature south of Denver.

“The Paint Mines Interpretive Park is one of El Paso County’s most unique open spaces. The Paint Mines are named for their colorful clays that were collected by American Indians to make paint. Brightly colored bands, caused by oxidized iron compounds, are found in varying amounts throughout the many different layers of clay.

The Paint Mines Interpretive Park is located in the northeast section of the County near Calhan with approximately 750 acres. The paint mines have evidence of human life as far back as 9,000 years ago. The park features fantastic geological formations including spires and hoodoos that form through erosive action that creates incised gullies and exposed layers of selenite clay and jasper. The park includes a restroom facility, four miles of trails, interpretive signage, and many natural wonders.” – SOURCE

There is so much to explore.

Cannon and Emerald loved climbing around and finding hidden caves.

If you are in the area I highly suggest a visit.

Paint Mines + February Goals

We had the best day yesterday exploring the Paint Mines , the Paint Mines are a natural feature south of Denver.

“The Paint Mines Interpretive Park is one of El Paso County’s most unique open spaces. The Paint Mines are named for their colorful clays that were collected by American Indians to make paint. Brightly colored bands, caused by oxidized iron compounds, are found in varying amounts throughout the many different layers of clay.

The Paint Mines Interpretive Park is located in the northeast section of the County near Calhan with approximately 750 acres. The paint mines have evidence of human life as far back as 9,000 years ago. The park features fantastic geological formations including spires and hoodoos that form through erosive action that creates incised gullies and exposed layers of selenite clay and jasper. The park includes a restroom facility, four miles of trails, interpretive signage, and many natural wonders.” – SOURCE

The hike was easy and there was so much to see and explore.

The are lots of little canyons and caves to explore.

We spent a little over two hours there and could have spent more time but we were getting hungry.

If you are ever in the Colorado Springs/Castle Rock area the Paint Mines are definitely worth a visit.

When we got home Cannon was super excited to help wash the car, I love that he loves to help!

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It’s February 1st so I thought I would set some little goals for the month:

  • Run every day of February
  • Run at least 100 miles
  • PT everyday, must get strong for all of our hiking trips and hopefully races in the summer
  • Strength train AT LEAST twice a week. This is a must do!
  • Spin Class twice a week (at home on the Peloton App)
  • Get outside as much as possible with the kids, at least one hike a week to meet our #52hikekidschallenge and #1000hoursoutside

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Any goals for February?

6 Great Winter Hikes Near Denver Colrado

Hiking often gets hyped as a summer activity, with maybe a little allowance in fall for peeping leave but I would argue that hiking can be enjoyed year-round. Here are six hikes we enjoy near Denver in winter:

Paint Mines – El Paso County

  • Paint Mines Trail – 3.4 miles (Can be longer or shorter depending on how much exploring you want to do.
  • Traction might be necessary after a storm

Red Rocks Canyon Open Space – Colorado Springs

  • Red Rocks Open Space – Manitou Springs, Colorado
  • 3.8 mile Loop, Muddy and icy in spots, traction might be necessary
  • Very fun hike for kids
  • Garden of the Gods s very near and any hike there is incredible as well

Emerald Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park

  • Emerald Lake Trailhead – 3.2 miles out and back
  • Snowshoes may be needed after a new snow but this trail is very popular so spikes are often enough
  • this trail stays icy October through June
  • Be prepared for high altitude

Hessie Trail – Nederland, Colorado

  • Hessie Trail – 4 miles out and back
  • moderate difficulty but can be made easier by turning around early
  • Very popular hike, spikes likely needed for icy spots, this is a popular snowshoeing and Nordic skiing trail.

Rainbow Lakes – Frisco, Colorado

  • Rainbow Lakes Trail Head – Near Frisco, Colorado
  • 2.6 miles out-and-back
  • Mostly flat and easy
  • Mico-spikes recommended

NCAR – Boulder, Colorado

  • NCAR to Mallory Cave – 3.1 mile out and back
  • Moderate with some climbing
  • I love hiking here all year long
  • Can be icy in spots
  • fantastic views, easy access from Boulder.

**Remember to practice leave no trace principals while enjoy our wild spaces! Winter hiking tips, be sure to be prepared and be safe!

Please share your favorite trails!

We did it!!! 1000 Hours Outside

One of our big goals for 2021 was to spend 1000 hours outside:

Some Family Goals For 2021

It felt a little daunting but so much research shows how important being outside is for kids (everyone really). We made it our mission to make it happen and loosely tracked our hours outside in a simple spreadsheet. Let me know if you want the template, I will be happy to share!

This is what our spreadsheet looked like for 2021. The times outside are in hours and always just an approximation. Our total could be much less or more but the idea was just to spend more time outside.

You can see from the spreadsheet that some days we spent 0 hours outside and others it was all day. Also you can see that our hours total were much more in the summer than in the winter. May had the most hours outside and January had the least.

We tried to get out no matter the weather but it is much easier in the summer when we can enjoy meals outside and enjoy the freedom of summer.

We logged approximately 1189 hours outside this year and I am very proud of us.

One of our goals for 2022 is to beat last year and be outside at least 1200 hours.

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What are some of your goals for 2022?

2021 IN REVIEW

What a year 2021 was…. So many good things and so much worry and disappointment. Just like in 2020 the best times were when we are together and I love that the most.

January was quiet and cold but we still had some fun. Cannon spent most of the month doing online school but got to return in person at the end of the month. A highlight of the month was visiting the ice castles, I am so bummed they aren’t open this year.

February was looking up we got to go camping and enjoy Colorado Springs. We visited some new to us places in Colorado. We also started our adventure Wednesdays. Cannon had Wednesdays off of school so we made it our mission to go do something exciting like going to a new playground further from home or a hike.

March was one of my favorite months! We started adding some favorites back into our life like swimming at our local pool. We also got to go camping in Canyon City and it was so pretty. We celebrated St. Patricks Day and one year since we started this pandemic. We had the most fun on our spring break trip to Southern Utah, such a beautiful part of the world and lots of nights in the camper. We all loved it.

April was amazing because the weather started to warm up and we got to celebrate Easter with family.

We also got to celebrate Emerald turning three by taking a trip to Dinosaur Colorado and Rifle falls. We also made a special trip to the aquarium and had a small family party.

Cannon played another season of soccer.

We got to camp a lot in May including camping with friends and a trip to the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Cannon finished his second year of preschool and we celebrated with an amazing trip to Ouray, Silverton and Telluride. This trip really was a dream and an amazing way to kick off summer!

In June we went to Steamboat Springs, visited the pool a lot and celebrated Cannon turning 5!

We celebrated the 4th of July in Aspen, this was another amazing trip! The Maroon Bells are truly stunning.

We also got to camp amongst some Mountain Goats near Breckenridge.

In August we made a quick camping trip up to Leadville and went hiking in Frisco.

Much too quickly it was time to get ready to go back to school. I will readily admit that I don’t love my kids being away at school but I do see how much they love it and grow. Summer for these years I have them will forever be my favorite.

Over Labor Day we took a long weekend to explore Gunnison, Crested Butte and The Black Canyon on the Gunnison National Park. This was another surprisingly awesome trip. I think this campsite was one of Cannon’s favorites!

We squeezed in another camping trip to Twin Lakes and Aspen in mid September so we could enjoy the fall colors.

A big highlight of the year was our big trip to Disneyland to kick off Halloween time and celebrate my birthday.

Cannon played his third season of soccer and Emmy got to play in her first season. Emmy was a little timid at first and wanted Cory out on the field with her but by the end she had made some friends and was excited to play.

We had so much fun celebrating and dressing up for Halloween.

We got to enjoy a very dry fall, lots of time outside and a trip to a ghost town in the mountains.

Christmas was so amazing we got to do so much more than we were able to in 2020. This year we celebrated early on December 18th so we could go out of town on our last big adventure of the year.

Our Christmas Cactus trip exploring New Mexico, Arizona and California was the best way to finish off an amazing year.

Looking back I can’t believe we were so lucky to have such amazing adventures together. While there have been stressful times and lots of things missed out on because of COVID, we were together and we made the best of it.

I am just so grateful. I am not sure we can top it in 2022 but we are going to try, and probably get back on a plane for the first time since 2019 🙂

2019 babies, the last time we were on a plane flying home from Germany.

Snow Day + Currently February 2021

One more 4 AM checked off, 3 progression miles to start off the day.

It was a snow day for us, meaning Cannon didn’t have school and we got about 8 inches of snow overnight.

I love having more time with Cannon home and Emmy does too.

The kids helped us shovel the driveway and sidewalk.

We spent most of the day indoors playing, doing crafts and cuddling.

I know it won’t be long before she won’t fall asleep in my lap anymore. Trying to soak it all in while I can.

It was a teaching night for me so Cory took over kid duties while I took over the office. When Cory goes back to the office in person I think I will clean out and redecorate our home office to be mine again.

Given that it’s been awhile I thought I would share some things I am currently loving.

Currently Loving –Theses Birkenstocks, even if the make me an aging hippie. I prefer them to any slippers. So good after a workout or cold mornings.

Currently Going –  To playgrounds and Hiking whenever possible!

Currently Eating –  Homemade coffee creamer. It’s good and it’s fairly often that I can’t find my favorite creamer in stores.

Currently Researching – Our trip to Utah! We were hoping to go to all 5 National Parks but Zion is starting their shuttle service back up and we aren’t loving that idea. We might decide to go somewhere else in South-west Utah.

We will be using the GyPSy Guide App to inform our visit. The narration is grate, we loved using it in The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone

Currently Shopping For – Easter Baskets! We will be gone most of the end of March so I wanted to get most of our shopping done before our trip. Our stores seem to run out of seasonal items a few weeks before the holiday so now is probably the time to start anyway.

2020 Easter Baskets

Currently Reading –  I just started Bravey by Alexi Pappas so I can’t give a full report but I have heard great things!

Currently Dreaming About- Summer camping!

Currently Watching – Lots of travel vloggers on YouTube and dreaming of going overseas. I have been gathering ideas for our trip to France (hopeful that we will actually go in 2022).

The real test starts now for the 4AM wakeup, the weekend is definitely going to be the hardest. starting to really question myself taking on this challenge.

What’s current with you?