A Very Necessary Trip to the Mountains of Colorado, September 2016

The past three years, my husband and I have ventured to Denver to see our favorite band (STS9) play at Red Rocks Amphitheater.  They usually play 2 nights, so we fly out on Friday and return on Sunday, which is just a tease of a trip.  This year, we decided to make a week out of it, and spent 5 glorious days in Fort Collins and Denver.

We started our vacation in Fort Collins where one of my dear friends, Katie, resides.   She lives with her wonderful boyfriend in an adorable house with a spare bedroom that we were able to stay in.  Katie was my neighbor in college and we spent just about every other day with each other.  It had been a long two years since our last hang out, so spending three whole nights together was much overdue.  They were incredible hosts and took us hiking in the Hewlett Gultch.  It was breathtaking!   Views from the mountains paired by crisscrossing back and forth over a river were just what I had dreamed of.  After a long day of hiking, we poured some cocktails, lit the grill and bonfire, and after the boys went to bed, Katie and I relived our childhood fantasies by watching “The Little Mermaid.”  Amazing.

The next day, we ventured into town and hit up a hidden gem for lunch, Avogadro’s.  This place has everything; a great breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu, a bar with a daily $2.50 tap, a stage where outdoor music plays every evening, and a tree house.  I can’t wait to go back here, the inside is painted like a wizard palace, a highly recommend checking it out.  We liked it to much, we went back one more time before we left town.

After several days in Fort Collins, we jumped in our rental and headed back to Denver to join up with the rest of our Red Rocks crew.  We decided to a day hike that was within 30 minutes of Denver at the Waterton Canyon.  It looked beautiful, and as we entered, we saw informational signs about the animals we would encounter and were very excited to hopefully spot some Big Horn Rams and maybe a bear.  Unfortunately, all we found was a large dirt road that most people were biking down.  To hike all the way into the canyon would have taken us a majority of the entire day, and we only had several hours.  Unless you have a ton of time, I would not suggest this hike.  The views we saw were still very beautiful, and either way, I am grateful for the opportunity to hang out in nature.

Colorado is pretty darn amazing, and I’m so glad we finally made it out there for more than a couple days.  It was my first vacation without my computer in about three years and I can’t wait to go back again next year!