I just returned from an amazing long weekend in Colorado, and hope my travel hangover lasts for weeks.
We have been visiting Boulder, in July, for almost a decade. Bill plays in a golf tournament while I hike, spend time with friends, and enjoy a break from technology. Over the five day visit, we see little of each other yet the energy from tournament activities and daily adventures make up for time apart. It's a bit of a boondoggle!
Wednesday:
We arrive in Denver at noon, gather our luggage, pick up a rental car, and drive about an hour towards Boulder. Bill arrives for his practice round one minute before tee time. Whew! With him dropped off safely, I head to Pearl Street for a lunch/shopping date with a dear friend. It's the day before my birthday so I treat myself on a mini shopping spree...
A few hours later I met Christy for dinner before driving up the canyon to their home.
I'm up, dressed and out the door by 6am. Eager to hike and start the new year surrounded by nature. A thousand foot climb to the top of Mount Sanitas, followed by a three mile run before meeting a new friend for coffee at 9am.
After my coffee date, I join men for lunch. Their tournament starts at 1PM, two rounds of afternoon of golf. Christy and I play in a golf scramble, barefoot... happy to report we finished in third place!
Meanwhile, the guys lost both matches. A rough start. In the evening we attend a safari themed social, play 18 holes of mini putt golf, food, travel stories and dancing.
Friday:
How quickly can we pack and drive an hour to the ranch? Not to quickly when traveling with two sleepy preteens. {HA}
The ranch was established in 1893, located at 9,500 elevation, with almost 400 acres of land and line of sight to the Continental Divide. This isn't my first visit but the younger boy is finally old enough to ride a four-wheeler and can't wait to explore the property. After visiting the lakes, hidden trails and the paintball arena, we drove back to the old horse stable. It's been converted into a simple target range for archery and 'red rider' style guns.
Friday the guys win both rounds of tournament play and drive up to the ranch for a ranch style dinner, two birthday celebrations, and evening filled with laughter, games and stories. Perfection.
For me, vacation is like Christmas morning for children. I'm not an early riser but am excited to be outside, to watch the sunrise, and enjoy a cup of tea. I'm up by 5:30 (Colorado is -2 hours for me so it's not really early).
Round five: 8:15am tee time. Good luck!
First up, I make oatmeal breakfast for everyone before setting off on a three hour hike.
The hike... we climb for about an hour, a 1000 feet of rocky terrain. This gifts us with forest resembling the land of fairies. June 23 is Fairy Day - my friend must have the children create houses to leave in the forest next year!
With an hour walk back to the ranch, we finish our adventure jumping into Big Lake. You know how much I dislike water... I had to record the plunge as proof.
As you imagine, glacier water lakes are chilly.
We returned to the main house with a golf update "lost our last round, enjoy the ranch".
Driving home with Grandpa and the children, we stopped for lunch in Nederland. This route gifted us with a drive through Four Mile Canyon back to the house.
Four Mile Canyon is stunning! Filled with rock climbers, twists and turns.
Sunday:
Our life keeps us moving... Bill is flying to Puerto Rico and I'm flying home. I'm home just in time to walk the dogs, unpack and settle in. Back to reality :)
Books
Have you been to the Boulder Bookstore? This could be my favorite bookstore in America. I bought three books, and added several new titles to my goodreads list. I read two books on the trip, one on each plane ride.
Life is sprinkled with excitement and sadness - I'm thrilled to have collected so many good memories last week. I'm home until September, when I get to travel back to Switzerland for a few weeks. RV trips through state parks, honeymoons, family reunions, local fairs and more are some of the adventures I'm hearing about from friends. I would love to hear your summer plans.
Soon my favorite season will be here... winter.