Heading to the Bells

We are heading up Maroon Canyon to experience the Maroon Bells today with some friends from Philadelphia. Here's the back story:  When Maya was performing as concertmaster of her youth orchestra at the Suzuki Youth Orchestras of the Americas in Minneapolis a couple of months ago she me a sweet girl named Natalie Kim.  They became quick friends and spent nearly all their free time together.  We met Natalie's father David who is an exceedingly nice and very interesting man.  And coincidentally, he is the concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra which is currently in residence at Vail, CO. So...David and Natalie are driving over to spend the day with us in the Aspen area.  Maya can hardly wait!

I have packed up lunches and water so we are ready to walk out the door in 15 minutes.  Will report back later.

This is a shot I took on July 9th when I was checking out logistics.  This is the bus-loading area at Aspen Highlands.  With a few exceptions, private vehicles are no longer allowed to drive up the canyon beyond this point due to the environmental impact of what would otherwise be very heavy traffic.