Playing Catch Up...Once Again.

I think this is easily the longest stretch of time I've gone without posting at least a small something. So for that I apologize. Let's catch up to speed so I can write about my most recent adventure.


First there was the ski weekend in February when about 15 of my friends all gathered together for some snow activities and shenanigans in Summit County:

The next weekend my friend from college, who I hadn't seen since we graduated, came to visit. We went to a hockey game (or what was left of it once her delayed flight got in), some wineries & breweries in Boulder the next day, and then breakfast and paint-your-own pottery on Sunday before she left.

The next weekend I celebrated my 26th birthday...

 ...complete with a giant balloon!

And a trip to the Melting Pot for dinner (which was also to celebrate our anniversary and Valentine's Day, since they all fall within exactly a week of each other).

The next weekend my parents came out for a week vacay in the mountains, so I spent some time with them and my brother.

The next week, we rang in Rachel's birthday with a concert in Denver.

On St. Patty's Day my best friend got engaged! 

At the end of April I went home for a wedding (and met Abe Lincoln!).

Over Memorial Day I went backpacking for the first time of the season.

Then I went to Guatemala, which I'll post about soon. But the week after I got back, my parents came out for a week of summer fun in Beaver Creek, CO!

And most recently, I went backpacking last weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park. We saw a bull moose, and I made a friend with a  chipmunk.

So those are the highlights from my past 5-1/2 months. In between, I've been catching some rays at the pool, wandering art festivals, attending Rockies games, playing kickball, and enjoying Denver at it's dry, hot best. :o) How's your summer been so far?!

P.S. Don't forget to check back soon for stories and pictures from Guatemala!

Bucket List Item #1

I recently checked an item off my life bucket list; the first of a few this summer. What was it you ask?

Attend a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater.

I saw the Avett Brothers at Red Rocks on July 9, 2011 with my brother and his girlfriend, Rachel. It was amazing - the music, the talent, the atmosphere, the scenery. Everything about it was bliss. Except the rain that accompanied us on our walk towards the venue. But even that wasn't bad...because who doesn't love playing in rain!?!

{whoever thought it would be a good idea to make this place into an amphitheater was a genius}

{how neat is that with the city lights shining in the background?!}

Again I say, pure bliss!

Why I Live Here

I can't think of a better way to start the new year than at 13,000+ ft on the top of a mountain surrounded by incredible beauty and sunshine. This is why I live here.

Just Me, The Mountains, and My Camera

Exactly one week ago, we had beautiful weather in Colorado. Let me clarify. We almost always have fantastic weather in Colorado, but last Sunday was perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky, it was in the mid-70s, and the air was clear and fresh (mostly, we have been having many forest fires lately).

The guys in my daily life were watching football; the girls were either not in the area or doing school work. So, I decided to head to the mountains with my camera and enjoy the gorgeous day. It has been on my "to-do" list to create a photo project spelling words with photographed objects and/or shapes, and I thought this would be the perfect time to start. Plus, there was the chance I might see some vibrant yellow aspens in the prime of their Fall color change!

So, at the ripe early hour of 12:30pm I headed west on I-70. Along the way, I was pleasantly surprised with numerous patches of yellow aspens tucked among the pines on the side of the mountain. I love how they speckle the mountain side like freckles. And it seemed around every curve there were more fiery orange and yellow trees waiting to make my day brighter (no pun intended). I wanted so bad to photograph them, but as the only person on my joy ride I could not both drive and take pictures.

As my drive wore on and I saw more and more colorful trees, I decided I would drive up to Loveland Pass to see if I could capture a mural of yellow, orange, red and green trees in a panoramic shot. Unfortunately there were not many aspens visible on my way up to Loveland Pass or even once I hiked out to the ridge of the mountain. However, the drive down the south side of the pass was a different story.

Below are pictures of Loveland Pass and the view from the ridge, and then some trees.

{Road to Loveland Pass on the south side}

{View facing west from one of the ridges. If you look closely you can see Breckenridge Ski Area behind Keystone.}

{A-Basin}

{Keystone and Breck}

{The road to Loveland Pass headed up the north side.}


And here are the trees. They speak for themselves.

After coming down from Loveland Pass I decided to go to downtown Breckenridge to look for cute and interesting shapes and building details that might make letters for my photo project. And guess what I happened upon...

{Please note the large beer mug balloons in the far left of the photo.}

Yep; the Breckenridge Oktoberfest. I mean there's food, beer, music, and dancing all happening as a street festival in a picture-perfect mountain town on a picture-perfect day...what more could a girl ask for?! Not much!! Well, actually, cash would have been nice. All the beer was purchased with tickets, which were only available paid by cash. Food vendors were also only accepting cash. So I quickly went in search of an ATM, and by the time I had cash in hand the ticket sales had ended and beer service was ending in 10 minutes. So needless to say I did not sample any beer, but I did enjoy a corn on the cob and a large pretzel (it's Oktoberfest!). I also enjoyed people watching and snapping some photos. Had I had a partner in crime you can bet I would have been out dancing in the streets (sober) with all the other drunk folk.

{Check out some of the outfits!}

{I never knew the chicken dance was a Bavarian tradition, but people loved it!}

After the chicken dance, the festival was quickly winding down so I started back to my car. On the way I snapped this photo, which looked very North Eastern US to me (maybe Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine?).

And then my camera died; remember this was a spur of the moment trip. Feeling very satisfied with how my day turned out, I hopped into my car and headed down I-70...

...only to get stuck in a horrendous traffic jam starting around Georgetown. Not a great way to end the day, but what can you do?

You can take the short cut, that's what. I'll be honest, when I exited the interstate onto that "secret" (but not really) road I felt like I was part of an exclusive society of veteran I-70 travelers. I felt immediately bonded to the people in the other vehicles making the same move I was. It was strange; like we were all in on the secret together, vowing not to tell others what we know so this road doesn't become just as jammed as the interstate on busy days. I felt stealthy and clever, almost as if we were silently gliding by unseen by other motorists. Things were going great and we were making good time, but then we came to a point in the road that was closed. Our entrance back onto the interstate was blocked which forced us to turn around and return to the previous on-ramp. Even then, one of the drivers at the front leading the "club" motioned for the trail of cars behind him to turn around as he drove back past us. It's like we're all looking out for each other, all helping each other to reach our ultimate goal: get home as quickly as possible.

Even though I had to re-enter the traffic jam sooner than anticipated, I was able to get home in decent time. And just in time for dinner. I guess leaving the guys home to watch football all day has its perks!