Difficult Campground and a Bit of a Difficult Time

Sometimes it is easy to forget that Ellie is still a kid. Yesterday her behavior reminded me that she still very much a kid. Part of that is the highs and lows concerning both energy level and emotions. She can go full speed ahead for several days, and then be a slug in an office chair in front of a computer for days, too. It is such an interesting dynamic that is so very different from my own. I am more steady. I need some up time and some down time every day.

On paper and in discussions it seemed like doing the three day bike race series, camping and then going to art camp would be fine. After all, there is a lot of down time in between things. There were ample opportunities to hang out in the hotel room, to play card games, watch a little cable t.v. (which we can’t do at home) and time to visit with friends. There is all of the driving that I am doing. However, yesterday proved that theories that look good on paper do not always translate to real life.

After pulling into the campground very late on Sunday night and not having stuff organized on Monday morning we found ourselves at Anderson Ranch without time for her to really eat a proper breakfast. She just snacked on food in the car until we arrived. She figured it would be no big deal to hold out until lunch time. So off she went to class. The girl I picked up at the end of the day was less exuberant than I had hoped. All she could think of was that she was cold and hungry. She needed food and quick. The hunger, combined with the cold exhaustion showed itself in her sarcastic, biting attitude. Her first comment about the class was to ask how many days she would be doing it because she could not imagine doing what she did for many more days. She said it was too much sitting. She said she could not think of things to draw and that her classmates thought she was funny because she was having trouble cleaning up the big mess she made on her work table at the end of the day. Her responses to me where short and kind of mean.
I spent my time in the dorm lounge doing online work and a bit of laundry. Not an exciting day, but a necessary one.

Off we went at the end of the afternoon to Aspen in search of a battery operated air pump for the air mattress that we could not use the night before, a shower at the Red Brick Recreation Center and a warm dinner. I was also hoping to tuck in a little time at the Laundromat as some of the clothes were still damp, including her warm sweats.
We did not find a pump that would work for our purposes so I changed my plan from having the mattress in a tent to having it in the back of the van. This way I could pump it up using my plug in pump and my power converter. The stuff in the van would go in the tent and Ellie would have a better, warmer place to sleep. At the end of the day she declared it good and went to bed.

During the hunt for dinner we also came across the consignment store I had heard about so we took a quick look. Ellie perused the clothing racks and I helped the shop keeper close up shop. She was supposed to lock the outer door, but it was not functioning correctly. In the end I handed her my stuff, stepped up on the step ladder and used all my strength to get the latch to go down. She was very thankful and sold us the Volcrum hoodie that Ellie liked for half off. It was a nice gesture of thanks. Next we stopped at the grocery store for more food for lunches and then found a restaurant for dinner. We ended up at Boogie’s Diner where we had a nice warm meal. I had a grilled cheese sandwich and a side of wonderful mashed potatoes with gravy. Feeling better, we headed home.


Back at the campsite, we worked together to get things more organized and a sleeping den set up for Ellie. Thankfully we were able to get it done and her in bed by a much more reasonable 9:30 last night. I am hopeful that it will net an improved attitude today. Yesterday’s attitude caused me to take note and reconsider whether I will plan back to back events in the future. It also reminded me that I need to keep a stash of snacks in my van like I used to.

Ellie's Favorite Road Race and A New Adventure Begins

When we pulled into our campsite last night it was pretty late, easily 10:45. But even in the dark I could see that Difficult Campground is a truly lovely place. We’ve parked ourselves at the end of the main loop in lot 24. Near our spot a small river flows and the wind rustles the leaves just slightly. It is the beginning of the next adventure and an end of a wonderful weekend.
On Sunday the kids woke a bit tired even though they slept in as late as possible, but up in time to get the hotel breakfast that they love. I must say, Comfort Inn in Salida does have a great hotel breakfast. There are so many options. Had I not known it, I would not have suspected that they had planned for a more laid back day than those before it. After packing up and checking out, they were off on their bikes to go to the river in hopes of hooking up with biking friends again. Salida is such a bike friendly place that I did not have to worry about them. Once we all arrived we found that we were the first ones. Davis, Ellie and Skyler busied themselves a casual game of Nerf football and running around while I stitched up the front of Davis’ jersey since his zipper was broken. Scott, Davis’ and Skyler’s dad, showed up and made them happy. You could see that they had really missed him. We hung out at the river and went to the grocery store to purchase stuff for a picnic lunch. Eventually the older kids rode over to the race at the end of town so that they could see the pros. Scott and Skyler did a bit of fishing and I tried to knit, but could not really get focused.
Once we were all assembled at the race location things were not exactly ideal. Due to the problem from the day before, Davis could not take off his back wheel and use his trainer as is his habit. Skyler appeared to be a bit overwhelmed since it is a hard, hilly course. She had only driven it in the car and not done it on her bike yet. All three kids were tired. Some of them had sore necks from playing Chicken in the pool. Ellie was exhausted from going full speed for so many days in a row. To top it off it seems like she broke her pinky while playing in the park. We had to tape it to her ring finger and hope that she could ride well enough. There was also a new, local and unknown girl in her line up. Ellie geared herself up for her race. I was a bit nervous because she seemed to have so many things that were not ideal. However, once the race started that all melted away and they were off. Ellie had a much stronger ride than I had anticipated and won her even, coming in about 7 minutes ahead of the second place rider.
By the time the awards were handed out the sky had a threatening look. We had the option to stay at George’s and Joan’s house in Salida for the night, but Ellie really wanted to go to the camping site so off we went. Although it was dark, I could still see that it was a lovely drive up over Independence Pass. Ellie was in a chatty mood and so we talked the whole way from Salida to Difficult Campground in Aspen. At one point she told me that she was glad that there were other cars behind us and that she was creeped out when she saw people by the side of the road at night. It reminded her of a scary movie she had once seen. Just as we crested the top of the pass there was a person, standing by the side of the road. However, this person had a headlamp on and so was not reminiscent of a horror movie hitch hiker. A few yards later we were treated to the sight of a few deer taking a sip from a large puddle. Down the road a little farther we spied a fox. I was growing tired and was happy to pull into our camping site. We were both ready for rest.

How to Have Fun in Salida with a Gaggle of Kids - Salida Criterium

Day Two in Salida was a lot of fun. The kids did not race until the early evening and so we had the whole day to hang out. The older kids spent part of the morning riding the Road course for Sunday. Skylar and I did a bit of window shopping. We went to the bead store, the fiber store and fun clothing store. Skylar checked out the toy store while I added art to the sidewalk chalk gallery. We met up with the older kids, grabbed lunch and watched the pro race. It is always an interesting race.


Davis raced first and was doing great. He was hanging with the top 3-4 guys in his age catagory until he had a michanical and had to drop out of the race. He was pretty bummed, but dealt with it well. While the girls raced he had to walk his bike to the bike store and get help. The folks with the guys at Absolute Bike took care of him, jsut as I knew they would.


Ellie and Skylar raced next. Ellie had a great race. She was out in the front and wond her race. Behind her a boy crashed in the first turn, just about 200 yards from the start. That freaked Skylar out and made her a bit more cautious for the remaining laps. She came in fourth.

After the races the fun really got going. We picked up some stuff from the grocery store and joined a bunch of other families with junior racers for a BBQ in the park near the river. Some of the kids played in the river and climbed the tree. After grilling dinner we made s'mores and then headed to the hotel for more fun in the swimming pool. There were games of Chicken, a variation on football. We made a ton of noise. The kids were having so much fun! Skylar said that it was the funnest night.

We closed up the party at a little after ten. We retired to the room for a few more card games and silly company. I rounded them up and put them together so that they could actually get some rest before Sunday.

Racing in Salida - The Time Trial Race

The Salida Omnium is our favorite set of races for the entire Road season. This year it is the Salida Classic and it is also part of the Rocky Mountain State Games. The place we usually stay in was not available this weekend so we were going to camp. However, two kids on our team wanted to race this weekend, but their parents were not available to go, so we worked out a great deal. I take all of the kids to the races and Barb rented a big room for all of us to share. Ellie was very happy with the deal.

We left the house at around 7:15 am.m to make sure that we had plenty of time should there be any sort of delays. The idea was that the kids would sleep part of the way, but they were little chatter boxes and played games instead. Davis and Skylar are siblings as well as great kids.

Once we arrived in town we drove all of the three courses so that the kids could see where they would be going. Ellie loves the TT course. When we were driving it we saw several sets of deer with their fawns. One little fawn was just a few feet from the car window. It was a treat to see them. We checked in early, enjoyed each other's company, put the TT bars on Ellie's bike, etc. I also watched the weather closely. Last year it was very cold and rainy during this race. This year we were lucky and mostly dry.

Davis was keyed up to do well as he is very close to winning the Best All Around Rider (BAR) award. Ultimely, he placed fourth, which made him unhappy. His main competitor won the race. He is now setting his sights on the Road Race on Sunday.

Skylar ran a great race. She is new to racing and had a good time, coming in third. That means she will earn one of the beautiful medals that the Rocky Mountain State Games folks award.Her competition is much more stiff during the next two days of racing.

Ellie was awesome, coming in ahead of the second place rider by more than a minute and a half.

This is Davis and Skylar being silly. Aren't they cute?

After the race I took the kids down to see the river. We also had a really lovely dinner at 216 Ferraro's where they made the pasta by hand. It was a bit of a splurge, but well worth it. I had the best Caesar salad that I have ever tasted. That was served with ciabatta bread and butter. My main dish was Eggplant Parmesan. Carbs are good the night before a race and this hit the spot. Davis was in the mood for Fettuccini Alfredo and the girls simply wanted noodles. I will have to go there again.

Color Abounds and a Frittata Recipe

[Photos coming soon]

It began when I didn't feel like paying quilting store prices for white fabric (about $8-$9 per yard) that I wanted to dye. I found that I could get great, soft and oh so pre-washed white fabric by purchasing pillow cases, the ones made of 100% cotton, at the thrift store for $.99. That started a trend. Since then I have been back at least three times this summer. I seem to always have cloth in the dye bucket ready to go. Even as I write this there is a full size flat sheet that I imagine will become a quilt backing at some point.

And so I have had some thrifty fun of late as I dye fabric. The first batch consisted of mostly colors blending into each other. Ellie, Christy and Connie did a bunch of clothing as well. The next round was mostly dyeing solids for a quilt I am working on. This week it was some solids, some blends in specific combinations I need for the quilt and two sets of gradations. One goes from Bright Orange to Fushia. The other is a blend of blues to purples as I had to mix in more than the usual two colors. Even though I have done enough dyeing that I know what to expect, it still feels a little bit like magic to take a tired, plain white pillow case and turn it into a vibrant cloth full of possibility. Washing out the pieces that have multiple colors is always a little like opening a present since you never know for sure how it will come out.

In between bouts of dyeing fabric, I took the time to whip up a frittata that was inspired by the one that Mike made for us last week. I am offering her recipe as she made it and my own changes. Mike says that the beauty of the recipe is that you can really just use what ever you happen to have around. I found that was very true.

Today Ellie and I are prepping for a small road trip. We will travel down to Salida for a set of three races. They are her favorite races of the year. We usually stay in the house our friends own and make it into a small family vacation. However, this year the boys are staying home. We will take Davis and Skylar, two siblings from our team, down to Salida with us so that they can race, too. We will stay in a hotel with them. I like staying in the house because it is flexible and I can cook our meals. However, the hotel will be fun, too. It has free breakfast, a swimming pool, a hot tub, air conditioning and cable t.v. That will be nice, but we will miss Larr and Ethan. Davis and Skylar will go home with their dad and Ellie and I will head out to Snowmass so that Ellie can go to art camp at Anderson Ranch. I am super excited for her to have this opportunity. I am certain she will have a blast. I will spend some of the time exploring the mountains and working on my photography. I will also see if there are volunteer items that I could do to help out the folks at the ranch.

Mike's Flexible Frittata
via Mike Rathbun

12 eggs, large
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup Cream
1 1/2 tea. Dry Mustard
2 TBL. Oregano (fresh is best, but dried will do)
Salt and Pepper - just a bit
4 Potatoes, large Russets *
2 TBL. Butter or Olive Oil
1 tea. Italian Seasoning
1 c. Spinach (clean and stems removed)*
3-4 Roma Tomatoes, large, sliced *
1 1/2 c. Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded

* Note: I did not have these items so I substituted 3/4 # Italian Sausage, cooked, 1 c. Zucchini, shredded and Grape Tomatoes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil your pan well. Mike used a lovely Calphalon Dutch Oven pan with high sides. This caused her frittata to dome. I had to use a 9" x 13" pan. It worked, but the frittata was much more dense.

Begin by prepping the potatoes if you are using them. This involves scrubbing them and then microwaving each one on high for 5 minutes. Once cooled, slice them. Saute' them until they are brown in a small bit of olive oil or butter with a bit of Italian seasoning as well as salt and pepper.

In a bowl mix the eggs, milk, cream, dry mustard, salt, pepper and oregano. Fluff it up using a whisk to incorporate some air.

Gently pour in about half of the egg mixture into the pan. Next, layer the potatoes (or sausage), followed by spinach (or zucchini) and then the tomatoes. Sprinkle about half of the cheese on top of this. Next, whip up the remaining egg mixture and gently pour it over the ingredients in the pan. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until it is done. let it sit for a few minutes before serving. Mike likes to offer creme' fresh or sour cream on the side. The frittata reheats nicely.

Mount Evans Hill Climb Colorado State Championship - What a Difference a Year Makes

Oh, what a difference a year makes.

For many years, or perhaps for all of the years that Ellie has been racing, her coaches say she is a real hill climber. When she was much younger, it was much easier for her. She assumes it was because she weighed so little. When she was 12, it changed because she had changed. It was much harder, but she still did well. By 13, the year when I think she was suffering burn-out, she hated it. Ellie raced because it was a team required race. In the past I made sure that we went to the practice rides up the mountain. This year she did not want to do that and I did not make her.

Driving up the day of the race I think she was feeling some dread, looking forward to having it over. After all, it was a required race again this year. I was working the race so we had to show up three hours before her race. It was 6:00 a.m. when we arrived at the base of the mountain. She hung out, waited a little, chatted with other junior racers, and then raced. I was driving the sag (a van that follows behind the riders to pick up anyone who is not going to finish the race, or who has mechanical issues) so I could not be on the starting line to cheer her on. I love seeing my strong, beautiful girl in the line to start. I love a chance to cheer her on. I am not sure if she notices it or not. She is in "the zone." Due to driving sag, I also did not get to see her finish. I was behind a young girl who was inching her way up the mountain when I saw Ellie whiz by on her way down the mountain. That took me by surprise for several reasons: 1. In the past she has not wanted to ride down the mountain because it eats up the break pads, 2. It is easy to get out of control when riding down hill on a steep hill for 11.5 miles, 3. She was smiling. Smiling? I wondered about that the most. Was she happy because she had the hill climb behind her until this time next year, was it because she had done well? Later, while driving home, I asked her about it. She was smiling because this year it was a pretty fun race, she said. Hum, imagine that - she was smiling because she was having fun. I had not even considered that possibility.

After the race was over and I had completed my duties, we went to the after race party to wait for podium and chat with friends. I also took the opportunity to pet a few dogs. Ellie was happy with third place. Marta, who won, is second in the nation and Jenny, who was second, is a great hill climber.

During the drive home I looked at my contented girl and asked her about the race, as is my habit. She said that it was pretty fun and much better than last year. Again, I was surprised. I told her that her coach still thinks of her as a good hill climber and that the main difference this year was her attitude. We had a good discussion about how much impact your attitude has towards how you will perform. It was a great way to end that event.

Ethan and Harry - The End of a Journey, and the Start of a New One

In the beginning, many years ago, he and I sat side by side on the grey couch that once belonged to my brother-in-law, Rex. I would read. He would listen. Sometimes, during the tense sections of the story, he would wind my long hair around his index finger and play with it. Each day he would excitedly reach for the book in preparation of our next session of reading together.

As he and Harry aged, we would listen to the books during road trips to Grand Junction to see the Foster Family, or to Moab, Ethan's favorite place. Jim Dale's voice became like that of a welcomed friend. Listening to him read was wonderful. (Even now when I listen to other audio books he has recorded, such as "A Christmas Carol" or his part as a narrator for "Pushing Daisies", I can only really hear the characters from the Harry Potter books.)

The movies, first on VHS and later on DVD, were often given as gifts. We are considering re-watching all of the movies in order during the winter break.

As Harry grew, matured and became a young man, so did my son. They have both moved into the times of their lives where they do not need the support that they once required. My role has changed to one of sideline support. So even though I enjoyed "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,Part 2", I found myself weeping through parts of it. My son patted my arm and tried to hush me, telling me, "It's only a movie, Mom." Little did he know that my tears were more about the end of that element of our life than what was actually happening on the screen. I'm proud of the young man he is shaping into. His life is becoming ever more independent, as it should. Thus, our days of reading or listening to the books together may have come to a close. It is my hope that we will find other books to enjoy together. Some of my friends who have young sons have been successful in carrying that tradition over into adulthood. For now our tastes in literature are very different and our paths take us in different directions. But I trust that they will find a way to come together and enjoy each other's company while sharing a book again.