I Myself Have Found a Real Rival in Myself; I am Hoping for a Re-Arrival of My Health

Sorry, no post yesterday. I know, I've been bad lately, but I've been super crazy busy here at work. The Big Boss Lady keeps throwing projects at me but never gives me a chance to finish the first one before she hands me another. Of course, they are all top priority so I'll have to explain why I didn't finish on time when she asks for them. I don't think "because you kept giving me all of this other crap to do" will go over so well.

But work is lame. Let's talk about some other stuff. Hmmmm... what's going on in the life of John... Well, last weekend the Mrs. and I climbed Horsetooth Rock. Horsetooth Rock sits atop Horsetooth Mountain and overlooks the beautiful and lovely City of Fort Collins, Colorado. It is called "Horsetooth" because I guess a long time ago someone thought the peculiar rock formation resembled the lower part of a horse's jaw. The rock is extremely visible from Fort Collins, and many streets and landmarks are named after it, not to mention the absolutely gorgeous Horsetooth Reservoir.

As far as Colorado mountains go, it is just a baby. It is only about half the size of some of the really big peaks that we have around here, but it was still a pretty good hike. It is about 5 miles round-trip and we were up and back down in about 2 ½ hours. The view is magnificent from the top, as you can see the entire layout of the city below to the East, Rocky Mountain National Park to the South, Wyoming to the North and tons more beautiful hills and mountains all to the west.

But forget all of that; let's get to what you really want to see. Here are some pictures:

Here is a picture of Horsetooth Mountain from the road to Horsetooth Reservoir. The jagged formation on top is Horsetooth Rock.

Here is a pic of Horsetooth Reservoir. This shot was taken this past summer. The water is a whole lot lower right now.

Here is the Southwest view from atop of Horsetooth Rock. You can see snow-capped Long's Peak and Rocky Mountain National Park off in the distance.

On top of Horsetooth Rock. It was fairly breezy up there.

I've done the hike several times before, but it had been several years. I love to hike, but with the little ones it is hard to get out sometimes. We took them to RMNP a lot last summer and did a few short trails, but until their legs get a little longer, we won't be doing any extreme treks any time soon. However, my wife has a friend who used to be really into hiking with her husband, but they haven't been out much lately, either. So, we hooked up and did Horsetooth Rock with them and made plans to take on more. As an added bonus, they have a teenage daughter who can watch the girls while we are all out. This is a very cool development, and I am looking very forward to getting out into nature a whole lot more than I am now.