Colorado Love-2014

At the end of October, Yung and I traveled to Colorado to see the mountains and take a break from Texas.  As an extra bonus, we also got to visit with my college roommate, Leta, whom I had not seen since her wedding 4 years ago. (Yes, we did recently see her again from our most recent CO trip). Everyone should go to Colorado at least once. Just do it! Being up in the mountains is good for you.

Here are a few pictures (mostly all taken and edited by Yung) and daily highlights from our trip:

Day 1: October 24, 2014

After an easy 2 hour flight from Dallas, we landed in sunny Denver, Colorado. Our first day consisted of visiting Leta and her husband, spending time with her parents, exploring downtown, sneaking up to the clock tower, and eating dinner at Lime. We also caught a glimpse of the newly renovated Union Station and saw the capitol buildings lit up at night. 

Day 2: October 25, 2014

After a delicious breakfast and pictures at the Woods', Yung and I made the drive up to Estes Park and began our adventure. We stopped at the visitor's center where we got some advice on different places to hike and explore. Our big outing for the day was driving into Rocky Mountain National Park to Trail Ridge Road.  We made many stops on the way to take pictures and admire the amazing views. It got colder and colder as we drove higher in elevation. We ended the night with ice cream in a chocolate sprinkle cone. Ice cream is delicious even in 40 degree weather.

Day 3: October 26, 2014

Today, we hiked around Bear Lake and hiked to Bierstadt Lake. We saw such pretty views and it was so nice to be out in the midst of nature--away from our phones and computers. Our hike today was rocky, but not too much of an elevation climb. Our evening was spent being spooked at the Stanley Hotel (where The Shining was filmed). 

This guy belongs in the mountains!

I really love corn nuts. (Ranch).

 Day 4: October 27, 2014

We woke up today to temperatures in the 20s and knew we needed to buy some beanies or earmuffs or something; otherwise, we would have frozen our ears off. This morning, we went on our toughest hike. We climbed over 1,000 feet in elevation while hiking the Lumpy Ridge Trail to Gem Lake. We almost gave up, but I'm so glad we made it to the top and got to take a breather by the lake.

After a late lunch, we decided to try to be ambitious and go on hike #2. We drove back into The Park and headed back to Bear Lake. On our way up the mountain, we noticed that there was a lot more snow on the mountain tops, and then quickly realized that Bear Lake was completed snowed in! It was gorgeous, but super icy, so unfortunately, we were not able to do any more hiking. We went back and worked out in the hotel gym instead. Don't ask me why. We were high from the mountain air ;)

Day 5: October 28, 2014

Our final hike in Rocky Mountain National Park was in Moraine Park to Cub Lake. My favorite thing about this trip was that each of our hikes was very different.  We also rented bikes and walked around downtown during our last evening in Estes Park.

Day 6: October 29, 2014

Back to Texas with donuts in hand. So sad to leave, but we knew we would be back soon.

All of our hikes took about 3.5-4 hours. We took our time and stopped a bunch to take pictures. We are also inexperienced hikers, so I'm sure we (I) were moving a lot slower than we could have been. What worked well for us was eating a good breakfast, taking snacks out on the trail, and having dinner later. Although there were a few days where we just had a late lunch, and didn't get super hungry for dinner. Although neither one of us experienced true altitude sickness this time, we know it is a very real thing. The best way to prevent that is to stay well hydrated.

Last but not least, if any of ya'll decide to go to Estes Park (and you should!), please don't leave until you have some dessert at the Estes Park Pie Shop. I am still dreaming of the chocolate peanut butter pie. We went twice and took some back home with us. It was THAT good. Truth. Until our next adventure...

Much love always,
Connie 

Forty-Eight Hours in Colorado

2-6-15

3:15 am: Alarm goes off. Yung immediately gets up and starts dancing. He's pumped to be going to Colorado.

4:30 am: Arrive at the airport. Take a selfie.

6:00 am: Waiting to board the airplane.

7:15 am: Arrive in Denver. Adjust to the altitude. Eat breakfast.

11:00 am: Meet Leta. Go hiking in South Valley Park. It was unexpectedly warm, muddy, and a little slushy from left over snow.

11:30 am: All of us either got a tan or got burned. I left with a sweet ankle tan from my leggings. 

11:45 am: Photo op with this guy.

12:00 pm: Head back to the car.

2:00 pm: Meet the rest of our group. Eat lunch at Ted's Montana Grill in downtown Denver.

3:00 pm: Say goodbye to Leta. Now awake for 12 hours on 3 hours of sleep. My eyes were straining to stay open. 

3:30 pm: Stop in Freshcraft while the rest of the party committee ran an important errand.

5:00 pm: Grocery shop for 14 adults.

6:00 pm: Spot a frozen lake and several ice fishermen.

6:10 pm: Arrive at our house in Georgetown, CO.

6:30 pm: The great debate: Can you taste the difference in the different colored Skittles with your eyes closed?

6:45 pm: The great discussion: Hot Cheetos followed by Skittles are the bomb.

7:00 pm: Watch Jonny cook macaroni and cheese with hotdogs.

7:15 pm: And the serving assembly line starts.

9:00 pm: Start getting ready for bed. It was a long day.

2-7-15:

7:00 am: Wake up. Yung immediately starts dancing again. It is hiking day!

8:00 am: Watch the boys make breakfast tacos.

8:30 am: 14 sandwiches for the crew.

10:00 am: Another frozen lake. 

10:30 am: Quick shot before our trek to Silver Dollar Lake.

11:00 am: The snow is up the Griffin's knees. Kevin is trying to swim in the snow. No big deal.

11:10 am: Peace. Love. Snow.

11:30 am: We saw several dogs on our journey to the lake.

12:00 pm: Walkie talkie-ing it up. These were a life saver. FYI: no cell reception in the mountains.

12:15 pm: "Will you please take a picture of me holding some snow?"

1:00 pm: We made it to Silver Dollar Lake. It was cold and windy, but as you can see, worth it.

1:30 pm: Sandwich break.

1:45 pm: Typical. Yung posing nicely, while I'm making a terrible duck face. Thanks for the shot, Ben. 

2:00 pm: "Take another picture of me with the snow!"

3:00 pm: Letting the boots dry out.

4:00 pm: Selfie along the Mount Evans scenic drive.

6:00 pm: Burgers on the grill.

8:00 pm: The puzzle.

9:00 pm: The fire.

10:00 pm: Look at the stars. We found Orion's belt, Jupiter (the PLANET!), big/little dipper, Seven Sisters. Thanks star gazing app.

2-8-15:

3:45 am: Wake up. There was no dancing this morning.

6:00 am: Arrive at the airport, say good bye to Colorado for the time being, fly back to Texas.

10:30 am: Arrive in Texas. Say good bye to our friends.

1:00 pm: Eat our feelings away at Dallas Grilled Cheese Co. (We highly recommend it!) and wondering why Texas is so flat. 

3:00 pm: Take a nap and return back to the real world.

Thankful for the opportunity to travel with new friends. Catch you on the flip side, Colorado.