day seven - old school/new school

I'm back on the East Coast!

Instead of wasting the day away in bed, I enjoyed a delightful brunch with two of my favorite people at one of my favorite restaurants. Headed home, unpacked, cleaned up a bit, and wrapped my head around the fact that tomorrow means work work work.

My friend Sarah and I had made plans a few weeks ago to meet up today to catch up. As we both had to mosey over to our respective parents' homes, we met up at our old stomping grounds. However, these sacred grounds aren't what they used to be; our old high school was demolished two years ago and replaced with a fancy new palace. Seriously, everything is bigger, brighter and better than what we graduated from 8 years ago.

We circled the new track several times, her (almost!) nine month little man in tow and her husband running circles around us.

The weather was faultless, and catching up/reminiscing with an old friend was just what I needed.

I wandered the rest of the new grounds by myself, trying to pump myself up for tomorrow as I'm heading back to school myself. I'm definitely nervous, a tad lazy, a bit more excited, and considerably determined.

Here goes nothin'.

day six - flowers & flights

Dale Chihuly, the man recognized as the studio glass movement revolutionary, had an astounding collection on exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens, so of course I wanted to visit. It is absolutely amazing what the man can do with glass.

And the Gardens did a wonderful job integrating the works with the plant life. The colors aren't nearly as bright and beautiful as they are in person... even on a cloudy day. 

The Gardens even grow their own produce, which has been a part of a CSA since 2010. It's so cool to see how many different working parts of the city of Denver come together to help the whole. 

In preparation for my flight, my cousin decided we needed an ice cream flight. Finally - sugar has caught up with booze. Some of the flavors even had alcohol mixed in. *Insert heart-eye emoji*

And now I'm sitting in Denver's airport waiting to board. Fingers crossed that my flight will depart on time and even arrive a little early. I've missed me some Salty Balty. 

day five - barley and hops and yeast, oh my!

Taking the New Belgium Brewery tour in Fort Collins has been on my to-do list for quite some time. I was able to check that off today.

Dave was our tour guide, and he was fantastic. I learned quite a bit about the process of brewing (to keep in mind when Dad & I begin our own brew) and the background of the ridiculously awesome company. It seriously had me thinking about reconsidering my current job... 

Neat things about NB: after each "co-workers'" 1 year anniversary, they are given a fat tire bike (above) and are encouraged to ride it to work each day. The company also practices sustainability (reducing their carbon footprint, diverting 99% of their waste, etc) and helps their local community. Also, after working there for 5 years -- ALL EXPENSE PAID TRIP TO BELGIUM. 

Note to self: check out the job listings for the new brewery in Asheville :)

Today was just a taste; I can't wait to return and discover more of what FoCo has to offer next May. 

Back to Maryland tomorrow. Leaving Denver is always bittersweet, but I'm actually really looking forward to returning to the East Coast. 

day four - saddle up

Today was downright lovely, despite the rain.

After waking up at 8 am (aka 10 am at home - I may actually avoid jet lag!), we decided we'd take today easy. Got some coffee, made an egg scramble, did some cleaning and quickly realized sitting still wasn't going to happen. I suggested horseback riding, and just like that, we had a plan!

Sombrero Ranches is located in the wonderful town of Estes Park, CO (also the location of The Shining's famously haunted Stanley Hotel). Two hours seemed like just enough time to occupy us. We threw on some pants, grabbed our backpacks and sped towards the Rockies.

Meet Chestnut --

She's speedy, sassy and knows what she wants when she wants it. Long story short: we got along swimmingly.

The terrain was fairly challenging, the silence was golden, and the views from the mountain overlooking Estes Park were beautiful even in the haze. Rain was avoided and I regained my love for horseback riding.

Tomorrow might need to be a chill day after all.

day three - the great divide

I had every intention of having some sort of symmetry with my post titles, but I quickly decided to throw that out the window. My blog, my rules, right?

This morning I found myself overlooking Gunnison, CO including the campus of Western State Colorado University, and my nostalgia hit a peak as high as the mountain I was on. I always find myself missing college immensely this time of year, and I almost cried thinking back on the four (mostly) wonderful years I spent as a Terp. INSTEAD of said tears, I took a deep breath and sent some warm wishes and happy vibes down to the students below. Go Mountaineers!

Post-morning hike, we began our voyage back to the glorious city of Denver. One of our pit stops along the way was Monarch Pass, also known as the Continental Divide.

I very much wanted to take the aerial tram up to see the sights, but I was disappointingly outvoted. However, the views were still pretty stellar from the ground. It is also pretty neat to be able to say I stood at The Great Divide. 

Keeping it short today because I have some serious facetime scheduled with my pillow. 

Only two more days left in the Centennial State and I intend to use them well. 

day two - cascades & brews

Waking up with the sun has become increasingly easier since I've been out here. After quickly downing a cup of dark roast, we made our way to Cascade Falls. I literally scaled a mountain this morning, though this photo does NOT make it look nearly as intense as it was:

The trail that followed led us around the cliff overlooking all of Ouray. It was a beautiful sight to behold. I can only imagine how gorgeous the town that calls itself "The Switzerland of America" is in the snowy winter.

We ate some breakfast, drank some AWESOME snickerdoodle coffee, sent some postcards and reloaded the car. Let me tell you - I've developed QUITE the relationship with the back seat of that Subaru.

My wish for today's leg of the trip was to visit Crested Butte; man, did I pick well. I'm more in love with that town than I was with Ouray. It boasts stunning views, gorgeous homes, a quaint downtown area, skiing, and has been designated the wildflower capital of Colorado. We unfortunately only caught the tail end of the wildflower season, but I was still dumbfounded by the picturesque landscape.

While we watched as Bud Light set up for the #whateverUSA takeover this weekend (including the blue dyeing on Elk Street!), I ordered another local beer and came to a decision (with the help of a clever friend): Tuesday will now be New Brewsday. I will have a beer I have never had before on the least exciting day of each week, and I will even try to snap a more exciting picture than this boring shot of my Kannah Creek Lands End Amber: 

Tomorrow takes us back to Denver, and I am so looking forward to returning to the city I hold so dear. I'm also way too excited to sleep until at least 8 am on Thursday :)

day one - cliffs & waterfalls

And so begins the journey... in the middle of another journey. On Saturday, I flew into Denver to begin a roadtrip with two of my cousins. We did a LOT of driving (I know, I know... "roadtrip") on Saturday and ended in Moab, UT. I admired the beautiful little town, ordered a local beer, had a delicious meal, and passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

Yesterday, we got up with the sun and trekked through Arches National Park. The views were not only breathtaking, but made me feel immensely small amidst the endless mesas. WE headed out, had a picnic lunch in the Canyonlands and headed toward one cousin's bucket list item: Four Corners. 

For all of 1.5 minutes, my butt was literally sitting in four different states. The site itself wasn't overly impressive, but I did get caught up in the touristy hype; it was pretty neat to "visit" four states at once. 

After we got our "welcome to [insert one of four states here]" signs, we journeyed to Cortez, CO. Since there was no local beer (excluding Coors Light) at the lovely little Mexican restaurant at which we dined, I grabbed a new brew over at the liquor store next to the hotel. I barely downed the blonde before I again passed out before 10:30 pm. 

This morning (September 1! Day 1!) led us to Mesa Verde, filled with its over 600 fascinating cliff dwellings and more. It is also the largest archeological preserve in the United States. 

Above is the Cliff Palace, the largest dwelling in the park. It has around 150 rooms, plus 75 open area. A mere 25 rooms have residential features, and at least 21 of the rooms are kivas. It is thought that the large dwelling was more for social and ceremonial gatherings, and perhaps served as an administrative site. Unfortunately, this picture doesn't do the palace justice; the place needs to be seen in person. 

After driving and stopping and viewing and driving and stopping and viewing, we departed in the direction of Durango. A small, college town with a cool vibe, we did some window shopping and scarfed down a fabulous lunch. 

Back to the car! We hit drove through mountain after beautiful mountain, and I truly began to understand "purple mountain majesties."And red and green and gold. The colors throughout these mountains cannot even be explained with such simple words. But I digress... 

Silverton, a small mining town was next and led us to our current locale: Ouray. After throwing our personal effects into the adorably quaint hotel room, we marched up to the Box Canyon Falls. The sights were just added to my ever-growing list of spectacular views, including the below. 

On our way down, we came across a lost oldman dog named Cody who nearly broke my heart. Although he had a collar on, he was struggling with his steps and looked mildly emaciated. Luckily, we found a helpful resident who took him in, fed him and attempted to locate his owner. (after we left him several voicemails). We would have done the same, but had nothing but granola bars and pretzels in our pet-free hotel room. 

The walk was quickly followed by an exceptional dinner (and another local beer!) and a stop at a nearby sweets shop. 

And so for the third night in a row, I'm again fighting to keep my eyelids open, but I did just realize something: I know I'll be leaving a piece of my heart in this little town.