We didn’t have high hopes for Independence Day this year. Due to the wildfires, most of Colorado is under a fire ban so there were no fireworks. The problem is, they’re shot right above our house and we shut down our street and have a neighborhood party.
4th of July 2012: Nada.
Though I completely understand the fire ban, what sucked about the situation is we had planned our trip to Canada so we would specifically be here for our 4th of July party, only to have the whole thing be a bust.
So, we made the best of it and you know what? We still had the best time. Every year, we attend our church’s pancake breakfast and patriotic service but this time, we added a new tradition: biking.
With full bellies, we headed across the street to the new skate park.
We didn’t last long there. Something about obstacles being two-stories high.
And so we hit Ralston Creek Trail, one of my favorite areas. We wove around the bike path,
Rode singletrack across meadows.
We hit Ralston Creek for a much-needed cooldown.
And we introduced the kids to a cossetted dirt park hidden in the trees. Jamie challenged Bode on the series of dirt paths, jumps and obstacles. This was his first time off a paved skate park and he was extremely cautious. Turns out, it was for good reason.
In Jamie’s defense, he warned him about The Hole of Death.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwXc5hqLZ3M]
I stopped recording just before it got ugly. If he’d known how to swear, he probably would have.
Stay tuned tomorrow for my own dose of 4th of July ugliness.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 