Back in Buena Vista, Colorado - with a new friend!

June 14, 2017

A view of Twin Lakes through white-barked aspen trunks, with snow-capped mountains rising beyond a sandy shoreline

I haven't posted anything in AGES and that's mostly because I haven't done anything exciting since last year. That makes me rather sad! lol.

I'm back in Buena Vista Colorado this year until October so I'll be repeating some of the hikes I loved the most from last year and hopefully a few new ones. I just LOVE Colorado. I'm also using my iPhone for more picture taking. I haven't felt like lugging around my Canon. lol.

What else is new? Why, TED! TED stands for Totally Excellent Dog (I love acronyms) and I adopted him on June 18th from the Denver Dumb Friends League in, obviously, Denver Colorado. So get used to seeing him in pictures! If you're not a dog lover... pffffft... who wouldn't love Teddy with his teddy?

Teddy asleep on a bed, cuddled up against a stuffed teddy bear and other plush toys

Teddy is a Heinz 57 mixture but I think there's some hunting cur and terrier in there. Teddy is extremely fearful of people but in time, with lots of patience, I know he'll get much better. He's already walking off leash (when there aren't any other people on the trail) and likes to wake me up with a paw to the face. It's been YEARS since I've had a pet of any kind so Ted and I are slowly getting used to each other.

On a different note, being in Colorado this early in the year means many of the trails I love are still covered in snow. I've tried the Ptarmigan Lake trail 3 times now - only to lose the trail a mile from the lake every time. lol

Teddy standing in the shallow, clear water of Twin Lakes with snow-capped mountains in the background

Here's Teddy in the Twin Lakes. He's not much of a swimmer.

A snow-covered trail winding through pine forest toward a snow-streaked mountain ridge Teddy standing on a deep snowfield beside the Alpine Tunnel Trailhead sign, framed by pine forest

The road up to the Alpine Tunnel trail was still impassable when I tried it a week ago. I'm not sure Teddy ever saw snow before, as he was sent to Denver from Texas, but he sure had a blast running circles around in it.

A view over pine forest down to a wide mountain valley under a clear blue sky, from a rocky overlook A pine and aspen forested valley below layered mountain ridges under a clear sky Teddy standing on a rock beside a rushing waterfall, looking up at the cascading water A tall, multi-tiered waterfall cascading through a narrow, forested rocky canyon

This is a hike I didn't do last year. The Brown's Creek Trail up to the waterfall - a 6 miles round trip on a dusty, but not very busy, trail. You can actually hike an additional 3.5 miles to Browns Lake but I don't have that kind of stamina.

It's a steady climb about 1.7 miles then it levels out through the woods and a beautiful meadow. There's a few creek crossings - all with bridges - and the waterfall is quite spectacular now that the snow is melting.

TED: Totally Excellent Dog

Teddy has some weird genetic hair issues going on. He's gone from short hair to long hair to a full mane to no mane, with plenty of iterations in between—and it doesn't depend on the season!

He's always happy to answer any questions too! You can email us at hillary@mybuzzabout.com but I'll respond for him as he hasn't gotten the knack of typing yet. WOOF!

Teddy the dog looking out a car window Close up of Teddy the dog