Alaska APN Adventure: Mountains, mountains and more mountains.....

I haven't posted in quite a while, but get ready to view some great photos and latest update on my "adventures."

This time, my travels took me from Sand Point to Copper Mountain, Colorado. I was fortunate to attend the 35th Annual Nurse Practitioner Symposium and was even more fortunate it was located somewhere beautiful and WARM!!

As we left Sand Point and flew over the mainland it seemed strange to be able to view for a couple of reason. One, it was clear and sunny..and two, there was virtually no snow...the mountains were lush and green and the shoreline was clearly visible from way up here.

Of course as we passed over a few volcano peaks reaching up out of the clouds, they are still shrouded in snow and probably always will be...

My flight to Denver was a midnight to 7 am flight, so I slept (or tried to) and then took a shuttle 2 hours to Copper Mountain hidden amidst the Rockies.

Copper is a quaint sleepy village in the summer, but a bustling ski resort in the winter. A perfect getaway for biking fanatics and even more so for this hiking fanatic!

This was the view from my balcony I got to look at (whenever I was there), cause I was out exploring, hiking, and taking in as much warmth and sunshine I could.

The first few days I was here it was like a ghost town. No conference goers yet and I had these days to rest and enjoy myself before a 4 day sit! Yuck!! But, it had to be done..

My first ascent up Copper Mountain was to Hallelujah Loop and I know why it is named so. How could you not shout "hallelujah" from up here at the beauty and the awesomeness of the One who created it?

Self photo again, proving once again I was here and this old girl made up (and down) in one piece.

I was told they had not seen a bear up here in 3 years and I was definitely praying I wouldn't break that record. I had no spray, no gun, no radio..but I had found a good walking stick and made plenty of noise dragging it across rocks and tapping it as I walked. I'm sure the bears were laughing at me as they peered through the trees and thought, "yep, she's bear bait!"

When I stood here, I thought back to 4 years ago when I was riding horses in the Ozark National Forest of Arkansas and the horse stumbled and we both fell; I broke my leg, she just got a little shaken up. I had to get thrown back in the saddle and ride the horse out for an hour and a half till we got to the trailer. Anyway...I was reminded how fragile we get as we age and I sure made every step count and didn't take any chances up here since I was hiking alone and had no horse to carry me back down this hill!!

And of course I am hiking along and out of the scenery pops what?!?! The Bill Clinton Library??? For folks back in Arkansas they know what I am talking about..the Presidential Library in Little Rock looks like a silver mobile home sticking out over the bank of the Arkansas River. Well this isn't the library but it is the American Eagle ski lift, taking passengers up and down from Copper at 9,600 feet to 11,000 feet elevation. A 15 minute ride 80 feet in the air compared to a 3-4 hour hike while gasping for precious oxygen!!

I survived the hike and felt great..I'm glad I had this time to hike around before the conference otherwise I would've been in those rooms just day dreaming and wondering what it was like up there..now I really had something to day dream about, thinking, "now I KNOW what is up there and it was great!!"

I rested the next day, sort of, and took the free bus to Frisco. I got out at one end of town and walked to the other sight seeing and just soaking up the scenery and the grandeur of it all.

Rambling streams run through town and it was so clear. I'm sure cold as all get out too! Trout fishing is big up here, quite a difference from the salmon runs in Alaska..

And here I am, Captain Clark, as Dianna called me...contemplating my next hike..should I go left or right?? I definitely knew I had to go up first and then decide which way if any to turn..

This time I decided to go all the way...to the peak that is.....

Past myself, the other ski lifts....past the Ski Patrol Headquarters...

and past the last sign either warning you or welcoming you to the High Alpine view you were about to experience if you just didn't give out at this point.

So up I traveled to the very end of the trail... 12,227 feet elevation!! A far cry from our highest peak on the island which is only 1500 feet!!

I took a good break, kicked back, relaxed, let the feet rest and just soaked up the beauty and the vastness of this place...

I could have stayed up here all day and just looked and looked and looked some more..

Unfortunately I had to head back down..I had a 1 1/2 hour massage at 5 and I was not going to miss that. Boy was that going to make the hike worth it even more!!

Beautiful...what more can I say?

I stopped to peer over the rail of this neat structure on the edge of the lift zone..Wouldn't this be nice in your back yard...wouldn't this backyard be nice????

And then all things must come to an end, I must go home and I must have a window seat...looking at the patchwork of the landscape below and the different crop formations used by farmers..

Not crop circles..but a different way of planting and watering than I ever had seen before..

Reminds me of a quilt pattern I've seen, probably around my Mom's place!

And then the final mountain I passed as we took off from Seattle...Mt. Ranier appears in the distance as if it were just over there...it was...by probably a hundred miles to say the least..