Aspen y Burley

After two days back at work post Costa Rican vacation we decided we were fed up and ready for another adventure. We packed the bags and the dog and started on our way to Aspen, CO.

I’ve been to many CO ski towns, but not yet Aspen and was truly impressed. We stayed at the Sky Hotel which is dog friendly, and they provided treats for Rocco and wrote his name on the doggie board at the front desk.

The entire town is actually super dog friendly and we took him everywhere besides inside restaurants. We went hiking, checked out the town, swam, watched movies, and tried some mostly delicious restaurants. A good time was had by all.

Matt kickin it by the pool with some delicious eats.

Quite curious

mmmmm sushi

Rocco decided he wanted to play in the fountain.

Isn't Aspen gorgeous?

Friday morning we headed on our way to Burley, ID – through SLC. Ryan had asked us all to participate in The Spudman Olympic Triathlon which took place on July 31. We picked up Ryan in SLC and introduced Lauren and Meggie to Rocco. Meggie just squealed and wasn’t afraid of him at all. Then we thought it a great idea to take Rocco to the local dog park for 5-10 minutes before we got in the car again. He LOVED it, splashed around in the water, and started rolling around in the mud like a hippopotamus. Cute and fun, except we had to get back in the car and drive another 3 hours. Needless to say, our car is filthy and in need of a serious detail.

We then cruised to Burley, attempted to register for the race, but they were closed up for the night, so we ate some Mexican food at Angelo’s instead and hopped back in the car to head to our hotel in Twin Falls. Jon & Kaylene met us there – and we woke up at 4:45 am to run back to the race site to get registered and set out our gear. We made it just in the nick of time, as Jon arrived at the scene just 4 minutes before his heat was to leave.

Kaylene and I were in the 7^th heat, so we stretched a bit and got ready to go.

Ryan was in the 8^{th (10 minutes after us, he passed us on the bike)}. I freaked out a little in the open water at the beginning, but thanks to Matt’s encouragement on the side regained composure and got back in the game.

Jon, Kaylene, and Ryan all did really well – and I think it is something most of us will consider doing again.

The bike ride for me was actually pretty fun, though my toosh started hurting about 18 miles into it. I found myself thinking about the part in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure where he wins the Tour de France in his dreams and found myself laughing out loud. The laughter continued with additional pee wee references when the song Tecquila came on over the loud speakers and I started doing the dance he does in the biker bar with Satan’s Little Helpers.

Kaylene’s pedal fell off of her bike, so she had to be picked up and taken to the run (huge bummer!). The run was the hardest part for me, because it was at the end and my legs were jello – plus by that time it was hot. But… we all finished.

We were so hungry after the race we went for burgers, fries, and milk shakes – then drove back to SLC. We stayed with my parents for the night (though it was a very quick stay), and they got to meet and love Rocco. They were so great with him, got up in the morning with him, took him on a walk, etc…

The best part about all of this, it feels like summer. Real summer, like when you were a kid. Road trips, airplanes, swimming pools, milk shakes, hotel rooms, etc… Summer has always been one of my favorite seasons, and it’s nice to feel like it’s been a real summer. And… it’s barely August.