This weekend we had most of our chores all done. We did all we can to the rental that will be vacated at the end of the month (until they move out of course), the small house on 13th Street is scheduled to close this Friday, and our house has been cleaned. So, we got to do a few “fun” things. We went clothes shopping and picked up a few garments. We played in the yard and garden. We took a couple of walks.

Then I thought, let’s go hiking. We need to prepare for our 8 hour hike up a 14er, so we thought we’d get a little practice in by hiking Devil’s Backbone in Loveland (about 20 miles from Greeley). Britton was game, so we headed out. Devil’s Backbone trail is open to horseback riders, hikers, and mountain bikers. It was busy but not too crowded.

Us with Devil’s Backbone in the background

We do a lot of walking around Greeley, but Greeley is really flat, so we were huffing and puffing a little bit as we ascended. After about an hour of hiking, though, our bodies started to cooperate with us and it was really enjoyable and were able to walk for another hour and a half. Here are a few pics from the hike:

Yucca is the main plant you see out there

Beautiful mountain views

There was a part in the “backbone” called the “Keyhole”

Some pretty (and hardy!) wildflowers in the rocks

Some of the trail

We had a great time and got in some much-needed practice. I think we’ll need to do some more incline-hiking and for a longer time before we’re ready to tackle the 14er. Should get us in good shape that’s for sure!

Then after we hiked, we drove back to Greeley where we watched the full solar eclipse! It was spectacular. Where we were sitting, a girl had brought eclipse viewing glasses, so we got to see, and photograph it!

Eclipse through special glasses (click it to enlarge)

This is the same moment with our eyes (when you closed them, you could see the burned image of the eclipse in your eyes though!!) It was pretty eerie to see everything get a little darker when it would have otherwise been super bright out.

Overall, we had a great Sunday and weekend.