Normally we would have taken off after work on Sunday evening and driven out, especially since we were sailing early this morning, but there were no campsites to be had… So we left today. Oy. Our alarm was set nice and early, and I managed to sleep until it went off… I got up, took a shower, loaded the cooler, and got the last few things together. Matt was making noises by then, so I knew he was up. We took the requisite last few trips to the car and we were off! And by off, I mean headed to the bagel place. 

Bagels in hand, we hit the road. An hour-ish later, we arrived at the Dillon Marina. It took us a minute to find our boat, but we did, we got our stuff from the car, and jumped aboard. 

After getting all the things we needed and rigging the jib, we pulled out of our slip, motored out a bit, turned into the wind, put up the main, and we were sailing! 

Well, for a minute. The wind did its usual stupid and died after a little while… We were determined to get somewhat across the lake. 

We didn’t make it as far as we wanted to, but we finally decided it was time to turn around and start heading back to the marina. 

Then, the wind kicked up a bit, and we decided to take advantage of the wind while it blew. It was great for a bit. 

And then….

Wow. It’s even hard to write about after the fact. At the end of the day, nothing major happened.  But in the moment…. 

Well, the wind kicked up something fierce. We realized afterwards that a storm must’ve blown through, but it didn’t occur to us to pay enough attention. I realized a little late that we needed to depower the sails NOW, because we were heeling pretty far over and we were NOT comfortable. Okay, I wasn’t, anyway. 

We dropped the jib, then realized one of the sheets had come untied. Instead of making sure the other one was cleated, my dumb ass decided to retie the one that had come undone. 

Eventually I got its tied then set about trying to drop the main. Matt was trying to keep us into the wind so I could do that, but every time he tried, he lost steerage and we ended up getting blown around towards downwind, which made us heel like crazy, which made me freak out more… Our toe rail was in the water at one point, and I was SURE we were going over. 

Needless to say, not a damned thing happened. Matt joked later than an experience like that on a bike would’ve led to bruises, but we were physically unharmed. We even saw another boat with its toe rail close to the water after we’d gotten our sails down and were motoring in and they looked like they were having a blast. Maybe someday we’ll be comfortable with that, but today sure as hell wasn’t that day. 

We made it back to the marina via motor, and we pulled into our slip flawlessly. I had to sit and breathe for a few when we were back… I might have screamed a bit, and I DEFINITELY hyperventilated a little, but thankfully I managed to do what I needed to do to get the sails down. 

Thankfully, we were fine, and more thankfully, the highest tiki bar in North America (Pug Ryan’s Tiki Bar) happens to be at the marina we were docked at. Two margaritas and a shrimp po’boy later, and I could breathe again… Holy FUCK, what an experience. 

After lunch, we made our way to Peak One Campground, where we found our spot and set up camp. It was the first time we pitched our new tent, which was interesting… We didn’t have too much trouble, and finally we were all set up. 

We hung out for a while, realized we needed sunscreen, and went to Wal-Mart for a minute. Then back to camp, where we made dinner and hung out by the LavaBox for a bit. Before that, we’d gone down to the water and watched the sun go down.  Finally, it was bedtime. What a day! 

I woke up at the ass crack the next morning, per my usual, made a cup of coffee, and watched the sun come up over the lake. It was GORGEOUS. 

By the time I got back to camp, Matt was up, and he had some coffee too. We chilled for a bit, then made what turned out to be a MONSTER breakfast. Potatoes, onions, green peppers, eggs, cheese, sausage…. Holy shit, it was huge. But – we ate it all!  And it was SO good!

Then… we had to wait for a WHILE before heading out for our bike ride. Gotta digest, ya know? 

We set out on a bike ride, riding all the way around Lake Dillon. It was pretty cool. The big climb was at the beginning, which was nice, and the views of the lake were for days. All in all, it wasn’t too bad. 

Just over halfway, we were back at yesterday’s tiki bar, where we just could NOT resist a round of drinks… Then, we finished the loop and were back at camp. 

After hanging out for a little bit and munching some snacks, we decided to go find the Breckenridge troll, Isak Heartstone. We’d visited Rita, his kin in Victor, when we were in Cripple Creek for the Ice Castles, and we were curious about the troll in Breck. 

We’d seen that the trailhead was at the ice rink, so we parked there and headed out the trail. 

There was a sign that said 400 feet, but we thought that was to the beginning of the trail. Nope. 400 feet brought us to the troll. The satellites on my watch acquired right when we got to it. Whoops. 

Isak was cool, but he was just sitting there, in the forest, chilling out… At least Rita was on her hands and knees, crawling around… Hee hee! Regardless, we took some pictures and videos. He was still pretty cool. 

Thirty seconds later we were back at the car. Matt then decided we should go for a drive up Boreas Pass Road…

SO pretty. And thankfully not a technical 4wd road or anything. We got to the top, which was at the Continental Divide, took more pics and videos, and came back to town, detouring by the City Market for some firewood. As much as we love our LavaBox, it sure is nice to hear the crackling of a campfire!

And so here I sit, enjoying said crackling. Soon it will be dark and I’ll enjoy it even more. But for now, peace out. I’ll write again tomorrow…..

I woke up to another gorgeous sunrise on the lake, coffee in hand… 

We broke down camp and packed up after breakfast. After packing up, we hit the road. I had found a hike near Silverthorne, claiming beautiful views of Lake Dillon. We found the trailhead, and started up the trail. 

Holy UP. Up, and up, and up, and up some more. Eventually it leveled off a bit, where we were treated to a bunch of wildflowers growing in an old burn area…  And found the views we were promised. Sure was pretty up there!

We turned around,  walked back down the heinous hill to the car, and headed home. On the way, we stopped by Cabin Creek Brewery for lunch – good beer and good food!

Well, THAT weekend was an adventure for SURE!!

Here’s the video: