Devils Backbone

Saturday I went on a hike with a friend of mine and his club at Thompson Valley High School, the Rockhounds. Good times were had by all! It was a beautiful day as it got up to 73* in beautiful Fort Collins/Loveland.

The Rockhounds are a group of autistic children that Tony works with. Tony established this club to give the kids something to do on Saturdays and to have them associate with each other outside of school. They collect rocks as they hike, sight-see etc. Kurt, Tony's son-in-law, who owns the Fort Collins Foxes, the wooden bat club that plays in the summertime while the boys are on summer break from various colleges, donated the "rockhound" shirts. and various other fun items for the kids to use.

We had fun and the kids were great. They are quite the troopers and enjoyed the hike. Erin led the way and often we had to holler for her to stop and give everyone a chance to catch up. Travis kept everyone in stitches as he decided to hike backwards on the way down. Tabitha was really into collecting the rocks. She would find one and brush it off with the brushes Tony gave the kids (to use to clean the dirt off the rocks and show their beauty). She would then bring it to Tony or myself very proud of her new found rock. Nathan wasn't thrilled that the rocks were mostly an "ugly red" as he put it, but he did find a few that were cool. Tony brought his dog Rooney and the kids took turns hiking with him, which they thoroughly loved.

Since it was such a beautiful day everyone was out hiking, mountain biking or riding their horses on the trail. We got a kick out of the kids as they would see a bike or horse coming and they would yell....BIKE! We were to follow and send the message down to the rest of our group, 10 strong. One time I didn't yell bike and Meghan came over to me and said, you are supposed to yell bike, so they know one is coming. I yelled bike and it continued down the group. It was cute, they were very worried about each other and the bikers on the trail.

We enjoyed our hike together and they are ready for the next adventure. Which Tony and I have decided would be Fishing! Tony is going to buy a Barbie fishing pole and I will get some crazy pole myself and we will take the kids fishing and rock hunting in Fort Collins off of Prospect, where they stock the "ponds" with large mouth bass.

I will keep you posted on our adventures as the Rockhounds continue their outings.

This picture is one of my favorites of the Devils Backbone. It is funny how you live so close to something and not even know it is there. I am glad I have joined this group and I will enjoy serving them and getting to know each of them!