Easy Riders at Cherry Creek

Cherry Creek State Park is one of our favorite campgrounds in Colorado.  It has something for everyone  interested in outdoor sports.  The 4200 acre park has a lake for fishing or water skiing, 35 miles of trails for hiking/biking, a beach area, a campground and even a shooting center!  No wonder it is packed every weekend during the summer.

My friend from grade school, Helen, and her husband Milo decided to camp here at the park for 2 days, even though they live in Colorado Springs.  As an added bonus, their friends, Sandy and Mel Downs, also came with their camper.  The more the merrier!  

Helen and Milo brought along their pooch, as they affectionately refer to as Joy, the Wonder Dog!

  

Here is our Easy Rider Group!  It was windy, but we were all ready for riding some of the trails within the campground.  I guess it is about time for Don and I to get some helmets, even though we both are "hardheaded"!

Helen, Don and Sandy stopped behind Mel and Milo, providing me a moment to snap a quick pic.

Helen and Mel check the trail map to determine where we all want to head next.  Mel and Milo decided on a longer ride and covered about 15 miles within the campground system.  Below, Helen, Sandy and I ride around the lake area.

Can you tell how windy it was?  The geese decided to hunker down on the beach for a bit.

Helen is pointing out the stick that she wants to to fetch.  I just don't now how excited Joy was at that prospect since the water was a bit cold.  Good thing dogs have all that hair for insulation.  Who knows, maybe they do make doggy wet-suits!  I've seen dogs with sweaters on, so I bet a wet suit for a dog is not too far fetched..

 Wednesday morning, it was bright, sunny and not a bit windy.  Time for Mel to take down the kayak from on top of his camper.  It was easy to move down to the lake on the small , detachable wheels.

Boy, I was excited!  This is my first time at kayaking!  Another thing to check off my bucket list!  This is one thing NOT on Don's bucket list.   A high five for fun on the water...or should I say a high paddle?  Either way, I was grateful to Mel and Sandy for this experience.  On our way across the lake we paddled past groups of geese, ducks and a family of pelicans.

Can you tell that I really enjoyed this experience?!

Mel and Sandy are celebrating 50 years of marriage this year!  Both are adventurers and are always traveling some place, even more so than us.  We now have two more friends in Colorado!

 Okay, Mel seems to be relaxing in the shade while Sandy paddles.  Is this what they refer to as equality among men and women now a days?  Actually, Mel was using the umbrella as a mini-wind sail.

Time to load up the kayak before Sandy and Mel head home.  

The two days were so much fun.  However, the evening was not!  In the late afternoon, we had severe thunderstorms in the area, causing the tornado sirens to go off!  We grabbed our laptops and the camera and I also grabbed my purse (no woman can be without that).  We headed for the closest structure....the bathroom & showers!  That is a lot safer than being in 5th wheel trailer when wind, rain, hail and tornadoes are around.   More of the same is predicted tonight.  : (   Guess even bad weather can be classified as an adventure...