aussie-merican momos: And here is update number TWO!

So here is segment numero 2 from the further adventures of Mandy and Sam in Colorado. We had quite the long list of adventures in the 3 weeks we were home so pardon the long list of photos following... :)

So after traveling back to Estes and spending some time with dad, Sam and I starting looking for a 14er to climb (Sam had been looking forward to climbing one since I mentioned it in Dec 2007). I was thinking something somewhat easy like Mt. Elbert...the tallest 14er but also a relatively easy climb... good for beginners, right? Well... Sam decided that instead of starting out easy, we would just tackle Long's Peak (which is classified as a 3, the most difficult you can get before you need ropes to climb). What is that saying he likes so much?.... oh yeah.."Bite off more than you can chew, and then chew it." Yup... that's my man! :)

Long's requires an early start in order to summit before potentially dangerous storms come in, as they commonly do, during the late afternoon in Colorado. This means we got up to the trail head at 4 am (no you aren't reading it wrong...I said 4 am!) :) The picture below is after about 2 1/2 hours of climbing as the sun is just rising over the mountains and burning off the morning mist...

At the base of Long's Peak's boulder field..hmmm...wonder where they got that name....

Sam was excited about seeing snow...especially since it was still 'summer' in Colorado

On the home stretch...after passing through the very windy key-hole, we scurried along the steep narrows

This is about where I gave up...Poor Sam was still ready to go but with my legs shaking and exhaustion setting in, 1000 more feet seemed impossible... Sam started getting nauseous from the altitude soon after so we congratulated ourselves on a good 7 hour climb and turned back down the mountain.

So Sam had planned on proposing at the summit of Long's but since I wussed out and the altitude was getting the better of us he pulled me over at the keyhole and proposed with the words, "Mandy, you have the key to my heart. Will you marry me?" I of course said yes and had a smile pasted on my face the whole rest of the way down! What a romantic man I have!

In response to Sam's proposal, we made and appointment and gathered at the Denver temple with my closest friends to celebrate our engagement and enjoy the peace and beauty of the Lord's house....

Sam and I with my best girlfriends, Casey and Christina, and their husbands

Now re-energized by the exciting events of the week, Sam and I set out to squeeze in as many more adventures as we could before he flew home to Australia. Since Sam had lugged his bike all the way from Australia (we affectionately call his bike Zoe...his other girlfriend), we sent him up old Monarch Pass while mom and I followed behind on foot.

After getting excited about the wilderness, we packed up mom and John's camper and headed out to Cottonwood Pass to spend a couple days enjoying all that the mountains had to offer....

Here's a picture of my puppy, Kaleb. The silly thing was terrified of the fire and kept running off to hide in the forest. Ah...well, anything done with Kaleb in tow turns out as some sort of adventure.

While me and mom enjoyed the warmth of the camper and slept in, Sam and John rose at the crack of dawn to go high mountain lake fishing....

Sam's first catch....

Gotta love the ever-changing weather in good 'ol Colorado

John headed out early to catch a football game back in Salida so mom, Sam, and I spent the rest of the day hiking up to Ptarmigan Lake.

Here we are! At the high mountain Ptarmigan Lake.

On our final day before Sam flying out, we decided to try one more 14er. Since we hadn't summited Long's Peak we decided to try Mt. Shavano, a difficult climb (a 2 on the difficulty scale) but still obtainable.