To Colorado and Back Again
Our wanderlust won over the intimidating thought of a 20-hour drive. So we packed our bags, loaded up the rental, and headed for beautiful Colorado, M’s brother’s wedding, and Rocky Mountain National Park.
The drive, though long, was actually amazing. We drove straight through, as we didn’t want to take two extra days (one there and one back) off of work or pay the cost of a hotel. Switching off every 3-5 hours worked great. How to pass the time?
- Take in all the fall colors
- Good husband & wife conversations
- History podcasts! (Checkout Hardcore History by Dan Carlin!)
- Music…folk, instrumental, pop, and hymns.
- All the snacks (Trailmix is the best – but not the typical trailmix you find at the store. The key here is to make your own with your favorite snack items. We went for honey roasted peanuts, salted almonds, chocolate Chex, M&M’s, and Cheerios.)
- Um…naps! With your very own cozy pillow and blanket from home.
Rocky Mountain National Park…Take Me Back!
The views were gorgeous! We took over 600 pictures – 1) because everything was so beautiful we couldn’t stop, and 2) because, well…we’re just not that good at it so we need lots of practice.
In the higher elevations, the wind was crazy. We could actually jump up and the wind would carry us about a foot forward. It was pretty funny watching Michael jump like a little kid. Haha.
Hike to Emerald & Dream Lake
The. most. beautiful. hike. ever. Next time…at least 3 days just hiking! Next time.
Red Rocks Amphitheater? Yes Please.
Completely amazing and totally worth the stop.
And a Quick Stop in Denver, Colorado
Some beautiful architecture in Denver! We didn’t spend as much time downtown as we would have liked to. Turns out COVID and Protests can change a lot. Several buildings were fenced off and homeless had lined up their tents along main streets and overtook the park. Not what we were expecting! But we did grab a few shots…
I Wanna Go Back!
7 days was waaaaay too short considering 2 of those days were driving and 2 were the wedding (which was also beautiful). But that’s all the vacation I had (the joys of starting a new job…) so our time in RMNP and exploring surrounding areas was much too short. But hey, that just means we’ve got to go back! And next time, 3 days in RMNP. At least.