Independence Pass and the Glenwood Springs Bike Pathway + Vegetable Tian

Larr, Ellie and I all had four days in a row off at the same time so we decided to take a road trip to see Ethan while his job is still in Glenwood Springs.
We took a long drive over mountain passes through Leadville and over Independence Pass, down into Aspen and into Glenwood from the back way. Larr had Ellie drive a lot of the way so that she could get some experience driving in the mountains. Ellie did great. The altitude and I did not. I felt pretty bad much of the time when we wereat the high altitudes.

At the top of Independence Pass there was still snow. I am pretty sure it is there year 'round. We stopped at the Grottos on the way down. It had been one of the most interesting placed that I visited when I was in Snowmass two summers ago.

Ellie took some cool pictures with my new camera that can go in the water.

A farther bit down we stopped at the Aspen groves that I find so enchanting. I feel more at peace there than I do in most places.

That night Ethan returned to the hotel pretty late. It had been a long, hot day and his fatigue was evidence. Still, it was great to see him. I helped him pack his lunch and I fixed the hole in his work pants.

The next day we took care of a few details for Ethan, things like fixing the spare tire for his truck, picked up stuff for his lunches, etc. We spent some time walking around town.

During the afternoon we went out to the bike path that goes along the rive and to the Hanging Lake.


Across the river a train went by and that made Larr happy. There was also a volley ball that floated lazily down the river. When we went to watch the dam, we found that it had crossed safely to the other side.


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Here's a recipe that I found on Facebook that I want to try:

Vegetable Tian (thinly sliced veggies topped with cheese and then roasted)...

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium potato
1 medium tomato
1 tsp. dried thyme
to taste salt & pepper
1 cup shredded Italian cheese

Directions:

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 180 (400 degrees f) Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).

STEP 2: While the onion and garlic are sautéing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.

STEP 3: Spray the inside of an 8x8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.

STEP 4: Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

(Recipe adaptations: I made a variation of this recipe. I left out the tomatoes because Ellie does not like them and I used a yam (usually called a Sweet Potato)in place of the potato. It turned out great. Larr and Ellie both liked it. I added some left-overs into the scrambled eggs I made the next morning and it was good.)