Backpacking with my Big Sis' - September 25-26, 2009

I convinced my older sister, Angie, to come out for a backpacking trip in the mountains. I knew it was something she always wanted to do, so I really pushed for her to come out and do it. She came out be herself and said she wanted to go all out. Because of some recent snowfall I changed our plans of traversing Holy Cross Ridge to camping at Snowmass Lake, my favorite place to camp, in the Snowmass/Maroon Bells Wilderness Area. Here is a photo of North Maroon Peak. Here is a picture of Angie after we had started the "hard part". Angie was a real trooper about the hike.

Angie and I on the way up to Buckskin Pass.

The path to Buckskin Pass.

A shot of Pyramid Peak while heading up the mountain.

Angie trekking up some of the switchbacks up to Buckskin Pass.

Victory at the top. We started at 9500' and ended up on the pass at 12600'. That is a huge elevation gain, especially for someone from the flatland's of Minnesota.

An awesome picture of Angie at the top of the pass.

On the way down, Angie's favorite part about hiking. That is Snowmass Peak out there; Snowmass Lake is right at the base of that mountain.

Our campsite at Snowmass Lake. Always have to get a picture of the tent.

We brought some hot chocolate and M & M's for desert that night. That is what we are trying to display in this picture.

It was a little chilly that night; we had frost in the morning. This fire felt really good to warm up by.

Reflection of the mountain in the lake the next morning.

A nice bridge crossing that the forest service built for us. Because this is a wilderness area, the bridge had to be built by hand tools only: axe, hand saw, etc.

Heading back up to Buckskin Pass the next day. This was only elevation gain of 2200'.

There is a mountain goat in this picture.

A nice fall picture.

On the way out. Angie said this was the most physically demanding thing she had ever done, so I was glad I could be a part of it. It ended up being a 15 mile out and back hike with a total elevation gain of 5300'.

It was an awesome trip with some great views; I hope she comes out and does again some time.

Captiol Lake - September 17th, 2009

I had accrued extra time off because of all the hours I put in during spotlighting so I took a day off during the week to hike up to Capitol Lake and do some fishing. It was an 11 mile hike round trip with 2200 ft of elevation gain, but it was a beautiful day and I had a great time. Fall colors and Capitol Peak in the background.
Fall colors
Capitol Peak reflecting in Capitol Lake.

A photo stitch of Capitol Peak and Capitol Lake.

I didn't' catch any fish in the lake, but I did have some good luck in some beaver ponds further down stream from the lake.

Grand Lake and RMNP - September 11-13, 2009

We decided to head to RMNP to camp and to listen to the elk bugle. I woke up during the night and forced myself to stay up for an hour so I could hear them bugle during the night. That is the great thing about the Park in the fall. We actually felt our first snow fall on September 12th while at the Alpine Visitor Center at Rocky Mountain National Park. This is probably our favorite town in Colorado. The town of Grand Lake on the west side of the Park.

Out for a little walk around Grand Lake.

Sunset in RMNP.

A shot from Trail Ridge Road that bisects the Park

A cow elk in the Park.

The fall colors starting in the aspen trees.

Holy Cross Wilderness . . . Again - August 28-29, 2009

Another car camping trip enjoying the good life. A look from our car camping spot.
We decided to try a little something special since we were car camping. Potatoes, onions, and sausage over the fire. It was actually so good that a raccoon visited our camp in the middle of night and enjoyed licking the tinfoil.

A little look at our meal.

The lake we hiked up to the next day.

Julie, being pregnant and all, was beginning to feel the effects of carrying a child during this hike, but I know she would tell you that all the tiredness is definitely worth it.

Holy Cross Wilderness - August 1-2, 2009

We've fallen way behind in our blog posts so I guess now it's catch up time. Over the 1st and 2nd of August we went car camping in the Holy Cross Wilderness. First, we stopped in Minturn, CO for their Saturday farmer's market where this wonderful picture of my wife occurred.

When we finally reached our camping are we had a fire and had some hot dogs over a campfire. The great thing about camping in a national forest and wilderness area is that the access is free and the camping is free.

Mmmm, looks delicious.

Of course if we have a campfire we have to s'mores.

Car camping is nice because we can break out the air mattress and pile on the blankets.

That day we hiked up to a lake to see the sights, do a little fishing, and then cook some lunch.

Here is a picture of the lake we hiked up to.

The sign entering the Holy Cross Wilderness.

The Year of Matt and Julie Continues...

Last January, when we flipped to a new calendar year, I really thought to myself, "This is going to be the year of the Rustand's!" Turns out, I was right!

So far, in 2009 we...
~ moved back to Colorado
~ both have full-time jobs, using our many degrees, and love them!
~ purchased our first home
~ have spent time this summer doing our favorite activities
~ seen family about the same amount that we usually do, if not a little more! :)
~ still have four more months to see what else this year has in store for us

I'm already POSITIVE that 2010 will be another great year, especially since...

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!!!!

We found out a while ago and are due in March! We can't wait to meet our new son or daughter! YIPPEE!!!

Matt's Side Job

While I was busy loafing, um, I mean working on the house this summer, Matt was busy working 40+ hours for the BLM AND umping baseball games on the side. After walking 10-13 miles every day this summer, Matt somehow mustered up enough energy to stand on the field for a few hours before coming home for the night. He umped half a dozen games in Rifle, and then someone gave out his name to the Meeker Park and Rec, so Matt ended up umping the same amount or more games up there, too. I went to a few of the games in Rifle to watch Matt, and boy, was that ever an experience. I promise, my almost-3-year-old nephew has waaaay better skills than half of the kids on some of those teams! Matt had a lot of fun umping the games and his season went out with a bang - tons of controversial calls (by the other ump) and even a kid getting ejected from the game (again, by the other ump). And those kids were ages 10-12! It was crazy!