Yes, a very exciting moment the shed's life. We have shelves now.

So, it was time to head back to Texas. Pike's Peak was en route (albeit circuitous) and we do have that rain check. Packing up camp Midway up Pike's Peak. The weather was slightly better than it had been a couple of days ago... ...However the top was still obscured Check out that view! An obligatory power pole photo It was still nice further down on the mountain And here's what Pike's Peak looks looks like with minimal cloud cover   The caldera of extinct volcano in New Mexico we stopped by for a few minutes on the way back. Crossing the state line into Texas. Only 500 miles to go.

We had some difficulty finding the trail head so we got off to a little later start then intended It looks nice and sunny back this way. Too bad we're going in the opposite direction toward the grayer, more ominous looking clouds. It was not long before the rain jackets came out. The classic British weather phenomenon of sun and showers where it's bucketing down rain one minute and you're slather on sunscreen the next. The sun soon bowed out for good I think there's a bright spot The headwaters of Brown's Creek

After we got from the fourteeners yesterday it rained through the afternoon and most of the night. This morning it was cold and clear. Drying out our gear Refilling the our water supplies We opted for a car tour today. Our first stop was the site of ancient redwood forest. The prehistoric climate of Colorado must have been much wetter to support the redwoods. Behind me are the petrified remains of a massive tree stump. Our next stop was Pike's Peak. Driving the 20 miles(~4000' elevation gain) from the park entrance to the top the weather quickly turned on us. Not the most fun driving conditions Check out that view! They kicked us off the summit after about 20 minutes due to the inclement weather. We hung around half way down the mountain for a while to see if the weather would clear. It didn't but Jean managed to wrangle a rain check from an ornery park ranger. It's good for one year.

"Fourteener" is mountaineering speak for a mountain with a peak higher than 14,000 feet. There are 96 fourteeners in the United States, over half of which (53) are in Colorado. I wanted to climb at least one on our trip and Jean and Cassandra were willing to indulge me. The key to hiking in Colorado is getting started early when the sky looks like this. Jean found a hike near our campsite that if we felt so inclined would take us to possibly four fourteener peaks. Here's Jean getting her wardrobe situated near the trail head. The trail head was few hundred yards on but I thought I'd put our Honda fit through enough semi-off roading already. Kite Lake and campground. The rubble strewn slog On the Summit of Mount Cameron On the summit of Mount Lincoln Some fauna lower down on the mountain And some flora Jean and Cassandra coming down from Mount Democrat In the end Jean and Cassandra summited on fo