I've accomplished a lot of things since my last update!! Phew! #lovinlife
#2: Climb a 14er
This was accomplished with some screaming fights at a swarm of mosquitoes, slowly trudging my way past 12,000 feet because my lungs hate the altitude, crying out of appreciation & exhaustion (and possibly a little bit of delusion) after a woman told me I was "doing great!" at about 13,500, and some beautiful photo stops! My companions had all not yet done Mt. Elbert (Brett, Colleen, & Mark) and all of us but Brett can call this our first 14er experience!! We camped out the night before and started at sunrise and we took about 6.5 hours to finish.
#3 Explore Fort Collins:
I've been lucky enough to do this a few times this year, which is awesome, but the best by far was with Brett and Crystal, visiting some breweries, getting some delicious food, and meeting some crazy people while playing cornhole and listening to some live music :) Great town, great people, great day.
Brewery Stops: New Belgium, Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins Brewery
#7 Have a crazy LoDo girls' night:
So in hindsight, this was a silly choice for the list. However, I certainly accomplished such things. I do believe I have had my fill after approximately 3 of these nights! Gals nights are glorious. LoDo is not. so. much. Anywho, here's a goodie from Fourth of July at Coors Field prior to the most debaucherous (yes I am using a non-word) of said evenings...
#8 Hike Hanging Lake:
#10 Backpack to Conundrum Hot Springs:
This backpacking trip was amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in seeing the beauty of Colorado and wants to backpack and camp. The hike was about 8.5 miles and slightly uphill the whole way. We crossed over 12 rivers - one was especially intense because we took our shoes off and it was June so the runoff from the mountains was still snow-cold! It was the most gorgeous hike I have been on in Colorado, for certain (I would say ever- but the Inca Trail kinda has a leg up!). The camp sites were all at treeline and there is a fire ban around the springs because of the sensitivity of the area, so it was a chilly night! There were lots of other folks up at the Springs, so by the end of the evening there were about 24 of us in the larger hot spring pool. I can't say enough about how great it's been to have these ladies to explore with this summer...they're wonderful women. This article was shared with me by one of them and I encourage the read: 8 Reasons Women Need to Go to the Mountains with Other Women
#11 Get a new job:
I cannot even express how excited I am to have landed this job! I am the Site Social Work Director at STRIVE Ruby Hill Elementary with Colorado I Have A Dream Foundation. I work with kindergarteners, first graders, families, teachers, school admin, a wonderful non-profit organization staff who I have been inspired by so so often in the last 3 months, and numerous community organizations trying to accomplish wonderful things in Denver. I cannot wait to see how this position develops and feel so thankful my path has brought me here! www.cihadf.org
#12 Start a garden:
Okay, this was awesome. I was very very nervous as it meant I was going to be exercising for somewhere near 2 hours straight and I am unsure if I have intentionally done that before...besides a hike, of course. I had a feeling the run was going to be the hardest for me because I have always had a mental block when it comes to being a successful runner. I have also always been a natural swimmer and figured I could go as slow as I needed on the bike. Well the swim was rough! I did not expect to feel so out of my element! There were people all around, my goggles fogged immediately, and I started to panic. Once I calmed myself, I made it through the swim, and made the transition onto the bike. The ride was pretty and smooth. The run was a little tough but I had more energy than expected. So glad Colleen and I got to have such a great first sprint triathlon experience in Longmont, CO with the Outdoor Divas Women's Sprint Tri.
#2: Climb a 14er
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| Jumping at the Mt. Elbert summit - 14,439 ft. |
#3 Explore Fort Collins:
I've been lucky enough to do this a few times this year, which is awesome, but the best by far was with Brett and Crystal, visiting some breweries, getting some delicious food, and meeting some crazy people while playing cornhole and listening to some live music :) Great town, great people, great day.
Brewery Stops: New Belgium, Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins Brewery
#7 Have a crazy LoDo girls' night:
So in hindsight, this was a silly choice for the list. However, I certainly accomplished such things. I do believe I have had my fill after approximately 3 of these nights! Gals nights are glorious. LoDo is not. so. much. Anywho, here's a goodie from Fourth of July at Coors Field prior to the most debaucherous (yes I am using a non-word) of said evenings...
#8 Hike Hanging Lake:
I heard so much about this hike before attempting it - how hard it was, how beautiful it was, etc. etc. I think it is one of those hikes where they have to say its 'very difficult' because it's a tourist destination and they don't want families getting an idea that it's a breeze. Don't get me wrong, I was certainly sweating and out of breath at points, but it took our group about 50 mins to get to the top and was not nearly as challenging as I had built it to be in my mind. It was, however, just as beautiful as described! I wish there were less people around and that people hadn't rudely left their trash along the way, but as you can see, a pretty special place!
#10 Backpack to Conundrum Hot Springs:
 | ||
| This place was unreal and so was the beauty of nature along the way. |
This backpacking trip was amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in seeing the beauty of Colorado and wants to backpack and camp. The hike was about 8.5 miles and slightly uphill the whole way. We crossed over 12 rivers - one was especially intense because we took our shoes off and it was June so the runoff from the mountains was still snow-cold! It was the most gorgeous hike I have been on in Colorado, for certain (I would say ever- but the Inca Trail kinda has a leg up!). The camp sites were all at treeline and there is a fire ban around the springs because of the sensitivity of the area, so it was a chilly night! There were lots of other folks up at the Springs, so by the end of the evening there were about 24 of us in the larger hot spring pool. I can't say enough about how great it's been to have these ladies to explore with this summer...they're wonderful women. This article was shared with me by one of them and I encourage the read: 8 Reasons Women Need to Go to the Mountains with Other Women
#11 Get a new job:
#12 Start a garden:
This summer the ladies of the Logan Lodge came together to build and weatherproof some raised beds to start growing our own veggies! It wasn't the most successful production, but it was our first go and we were a very busy trio this summer. So we can blame some of the veggie death on that :| You would think with a mother like mine I would be a natural at this! Dang ;) We did get some great cherry tomatoes and some regular tomatoes, some green peppers, LOTS of zucchini, some late season kale, and a couple mini watermelon that didn't taste so great! Haha. Next year folks, next year.
Okay, this was awesome. I was very very nervous as it meant I was going to be exercising for somewhere near 2 hours straight and I am unsure if I have intentionally done that before...besides a hike, of course. I had a feeling the run was going to be the hardest for me because I have always had a mental block when it comes to being a successful runner. I have also always been a natural swimmer and figured I could go as slow as I needed on the bike. Well the swim was rough! I did not expect to feel so out of my element! There were people all around, my goggles fogged immediately, and I started to panic. Once I calmed myself, I made it through the swim, and made the transition onto the bike. The ride was pretty and smooth. The run was a little tough but I had more energy than expected. So glad Colleen and I got to have such a great first sprint triathlon experience in Longmont, CO with the Outdoor Divas Women's Sprint Tri.
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