Bite Me: Beaver Creek Fun

We couldn't have had a better week for our annual summer trek to the Colorado mountains. After a rainy Monday, the rest of the week unfolded perfectly for spending every moment outside enjoying the fresh Rocky Mountain air......and hiking until we could barely walk, Literally!

On Tuesday morning, we walked the two miles uphill to the village and concluded that between the thin air and the fact that I hadn't done much in the month since my surgery, it would be a great idea to take the gondola to the top of the mountain and hike down. Genius!

Or not. Now four miles is no big deal and as I said, we were hiking DOWN. Well, Colorado "down" and Alabama "down" are two entirely different animals. Colorado "down" is hard on the quads, shins, calfs, and toes (slamming into the tips of your tennis shoes.....goodbye toenails).

And let's not forget, once we hit the village we still had two more miles DOWN to get back home! Talk about sore!

But worth it, I'd say, wouldn't you?

In order to balance things out, on Wednesday we decided to concentrate on more uphill so our hamstrings could join in the misery. Seemed fair. This is a fun hike that we've done before. It's about 6 miles total with the first two being a somewhat challenging uphill climb via the Five Senses and Beaver Lake trails which lead you to the Village to Village trail. That takes you four miles across the mountain to Bachelor Gulch.

I love this hike. It's got some beautiful scenery and it's mostly through the woods, which is cool and quiet.

And the best part is it dumps you out at the Ritz just in time for lunch if your timing's good! What could be a better reward for a tough morning's work than a bison burger and a cold beer at the outside bar.

My niece's boyfriend, Ben, flew out on Wednesday afternoon, and he's a disc golf fan so we rode the gondola up (don't judge.....we'd worked hard for the last two days!) to watch him play. We all thought we were going to play also, but that shit's much harder than it looks. Except not for Ben. It does look really fun, but I think I need to practice on a flat course. This one was anything but!

Since the gondola passes are good all day at either Vail or BC, we decided to head to Vail for a quick trip to the top of their mountain and this is what we got ourselves into!

We were the last people to get off the gondola before they shut the sucker down and we were stuck up at the top for about an hour and a half. Perfect opportunity for a few beers or a margarita!

Friday morning, Ben took off to Vail for some mountain biking while the rest of us met Lisa, our Exclusive Resorts Member Services Manager, for lunch at Tavern on the Square at Arrabelle. (Baked Petit Brie with Huckleberry jam and a glass(es) of Champagne will make you a happy girl. Or that may just be me!) It was so nice to meet the person that has taken such fabulous care of us over the past several years at ER. Great to finally put a face to all those emails!! She and another MSM, Ginger, drove from Denver to specifically meet some of their members and Ginger was kind enough to send along the best homemade salsa we've ever had. I hear the stuff is legendary at employee picnics and we devoured it. I've requested the recipe and if Ginger will give me permission, I'll post it in the near future!

Then we headed back to BC to take advantage of the great afternoon golf rates.....normally $190 for 18 holes, after 3pm it drops to $90 for as many holes as you can get in before dark. Which this time of year was 18. Beautiful course.

As we were coming up to the 18th green we saw this guy right beside the cart path. I think if we had offered him food, he may have crawled right into the cart with us!

On Saturday we wanted to hike a trail we'd never done before so we rode the gondola up (shut up) and took the Overlook Trail down. This was by far the most gorgeous trail and the next time we're in BC I'm hiking UP and taking the gondola DOWN. Swear! It's about 5 miles of pure beauty but if you choose to hike it up, be prepared. The mile and a half at the top are TOUGH. Even coming down!