Easter 2015

On Easter we had plenty of daffodils...

...and tulips and chocolate.

While I made an Easter cake Ben and our friend Lotus went on a new hike up the back of Flagstaff Mountain.  They came back raving about it.  Lotus stayed for lunch (more grilled lobster and fresh mushrooms from the farmer's market) and afterwards posed for Ben with the tulips.   Doesn't she look great? 

Once I was done with the cake I went on a hike with Paula and that handsome dog Gus up in Chautauqua, and later we went up to Paula and Ray's for dinner.  Ben had ordered a "bread bunny" from Great Harvest and we put a pot of dip in its tail and surrounded it with veggies, which made a fun appetizer.  Paula's mother, Pat, and her nephew, Nathan, were at dinner also and we enjoyed seeing them again.

Ray made a Chinese stir-fry lamb dish while Paula made Bok Choy.  In the midst of cooking  they kindly posed for the camera.

Paul was very excited about the cake!  The green Peeps were Paula's addition, and they looked mighty cute.

Why don't we have chocolate cake more often, Mom?  

Ben was so excited about the new hike he'd done with Lotus he was eager to do it with me.  So yesterday we hiked it together.  It was something to get excited about, being a five mile round trip hike that starts with a gradual 7% climb up an old road built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corp to connect Boulder Canyon to Flagstaff Mountain.  The hike, called the Chapman Drive Trail, has been closed for some time due to right-away issues and also severe damage to the road from the September 2013 floods.  You can see the deep rutting the water caused on the right side of this photo.

We loved walking through the peaceful pine trees and seeing very few other hikers and mountain bikers on the trail.

Once at the high point you take a path that loops down the mountain side to rejoin the road further down.  The views of the Indian Peaks from the path were quite scenic. 

Ben pointed out this pretty wildflower which was growing along the path.  Once you started to notice them, we spotted many more.   I don't know the name, but they are lovely, aren't they?