To celebrate thirty-three years, Karen and I hit the trails in Ouray.  What could be better than taking in air from the top of the world?  We spent day one exploring the Perimeter Trail that rings the box canyon.

We drove up to Molas Pass on day two and hiked between the lakes.  The weather could not have been more perfect with the cooler temps I’d been dreaming about in Texas.

We discovered our favorite trail on day three when we hiked the Blue Lakes Trail.  The forest road is a bit long, about eight miles, but drivable with a low clearance car.  The trail runs mostly through gorgeous pine and aspen.  It breaks just around tree line for the first lake, catching snow melt in the basin.

We stopped by Khristopher’s Culinaire one day to say hi to Khris and Janet.  They said the crowds have been great this summer.  I agree, the trails had a healthy number of hikers.  People were pretty good about either wearing a mask, or stepping off the trail if they didn’t.

I had time one day to hike around Molas Pass with my buddy Rob, who drove up from Durango.  We began on the Colorado Trail and bushwhacked our way up to a high point offering tremendous views of the San Juans.  I also ran into a work colleague in Silverton eating lunch with his family.  We work together almost daily, and had never met one another before.

We ate at several good restaurants in Ouray.  Red Mountain Brewery was good, along with Brickhouse 737.  My favorite dinner was at Bon Ton.  These were my first restaurants since late March.

A hiking vacation might not seem very romantic to celebrate over three decades of marriage, but we know what we want these days.  This was one of the best vacations ever.