I'm back!

My dear readers, I am so sorry for the long delay. You can be assured that the lack of blog posts has been due to the fact that I've been real busy-and having a great time!! Here is a photo-blog of the past few weeks:


July 16, 2010
Chamber Orchestra Concert with Julia Fischer, violin
Khachaturian Violin Concerto
Brahms 4



July 17, 2010
Komen 5k Race for the Cure



July 17, 2010
Music on the Mountain
Trombone Octet & Quartet Concert



July 20, 2010
American Lake


The next few photos are from our hike to Electric Pass on July 22. Russ and I started hiking at 6am. We summitted around 9am, but not before we ran into cold wind and rain, severe enough to make us both consider turning around early. But we persevered and made it to the top of the pass. I was so happy we did!








At the top!


Russ and I


And then Bill arrived! Even though he was acclimating, he let me take him hiking every day that he was here!

On Sunday July 25 we went to the Grottos Day Use Area, which had a bunch of trails, rock formations, and a creek throughout. Also, ice caves!



The water was a little cold for feet-dipping, but we did it anyway

On Monday we visited the Maroon Bells, a very popular spot for a nice day hike. We ran into a lot of people there!


On Tuesday we explored Hunter Creek/Smuggler Mountain area. This hike a was more flat than the others and we got to soak in the nice meadows and quiet forest, as it wasn't nearly as heavily-traveled by tourists.


And on his last day here, Bill decided he was up to climbing Mount Aspen! I had already done this one, so I knew what he was in for. It is an ascent of about 3,000 ft in a relatively short trail. He wanted to know what we were all talking about when we mentioned the Ute trail, so we started there:


Bill on top of the Ute


And then we continued all the way to the top! We maintained a steady and practical pace, took water breaks, and wore sunscreen. It was really rewarding to get to the top with Bill. Plus we avoided spending the $48 to ride the gondola up!

From the Top of Aspen Mountain, July 28

Then we rode the gondola down, ate at NY Pizza AND Paradise Bakery, and went home to take a nap! Later that night I played on an Eric Nathan piece at the beginning of an orchestra concert. We went to Little Annie's for dinner with a few low brass kids, and came back to Harris Hall to hear the American Brass Quintet give a concert. I was really glad that we got to hear that concert because it was fantastic!!! Bill really enjoyed it too.

Yesterday we drove to Denver to catch Bill's flight. Since we knew it was going to be a long driving day, we planned a few fun stops in Denver: the Tattered Cover Book Store and the REI flagship store! We both had our respective fun at each place. I LOVED the REI store. I wanted to buy one of everything!

I said goodbye to Bill :( and got back to Aspen around 10:30 last night. Now I have 3 more weeks to climb, play, practice, and run! I'm really excited for Chris Dudley (principal trombone with Baltimore) to get here so I can study with him and play in orchestra with him on the Respighi concert!