Colorado Getaway

Back in September, Jon sent me an email with the subject line "Wanna Get Away?" that included a whole list of cities with airfare deals, asking me to choose one.

So, get away we did-- to Colorado for a fun long weekend!

A state I've never been to, with incredible scenery and gorgeous weather, with the man I'm head over heels for?  Don't have to ask me twice!

We left on Saturday afternoon when Jon finished class and came home late Tuesday night- just long enough to feel like a vacation before we had to return to our jobs, school for him, and the rest of our normal lives.

I probably drove Jon crazy with the number of times I said something along the lines of, "Look at the mountains! I love the mountains! The mountains are so pretty! Why don't we have those in Dallas?" The beach has always been my happy place, but I sure did enjoy visiting the mountains.

My favorite part of the trip, without a doubt, was hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.  We hiked past three lakes, stopping at many points along the way to enjoy the gorgeous views (and also maybe because I'm out of shape and needed to catch my breath- I'll blame the thinner air!).

As we sat on a large boulder overlooking the expanse of forest, the clouds brushing over the tops of the mountains, the sky that stretched on forever, I breathed in that cool, fresh air and tried to soak up exactly what I was feeling at that moment.  Sitting there with someone I love, so content, being reminded of the beauty and grandeur of this world that God created- it was overwhelming and yet so peaceful at the same time.

While we were in Estes Park, we toured The Stanley Hotel, the inspiration behind Stephen King's The Shining.  I'm a fan of historical sites and also scary stories (a fun fact), so touring it was right up my alley.  Being the weekend before Halloween, there were quite a few Stephen King enthusiasts and some... interesting... hotel guests, but I enjoyed hearing the history behind the hotel's founders, the Stanley's (as in, Stanley Steamer), and checking out the supposedly "haunted" spaces- all in good fun, of course. 

   

We took a day trip to Vail, where we saw SNOW.  In October!! Jon has heard "remember when we saw snow?!" at least a dozen times already since then.  The drive from Broomfield, where we stayed, to Vail was just a couple hours and incredibly scenic. 

Side note: We stayed at the Omni Interlocken and had a great experience- we definitely recommend it.

Another side note: Waking up every morning and opening my curtains to views of the mountains was awesome.  My morning commute was seriously lacking in scenery the rest of the week!

We started seeing snow flurries as we got closer to Vail, and by the time we arrived, it was 26 degrees and we were thankful for the jackets and hats we'd packed! Since it was Vail's off-season we were among just a few tourists, and it was nice to wander through the almost deserted streets (which reminded me of somewhere in Europe) through the snow flurries, exploring the shops and enjoying a cozy lunch. 

On our last day, we checked out Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater.  It would be so cool to see a concert there! While walking through the visitor center, we listened to a sweet old lady who told us to check out the trail loop that was short and "barely up and down hill" and that she could totally handle it at her age. It turned out to be a lot of up and down and hotter than we'd expected, and we weren't dressed for it in our nice shoes and sweaters! Jon kept saying, "We're almost there babe, just around the corner," and at some point I stopped believing him! 72-year-old lady, consider yourself in better shape than we are. ; ) 

Thanks for a wonderful getaway, Jon! Now, where are we going next?!