Colorado Road Trip Pics

Ok, since I have been back from Iraq, I have been a busy girl. Last weekend was the FIRST weekend I have been home since I came back. I have been just having fun, travelling around Colorado catching up with friends. So here are some pictures. First weekend back I went to visit Kristine in Denver. Went out and had some fun downtown. Since I was not used to cute (yet uncomfortable shoes) and Kris hadn't gone out in a while we decided to take our shoes off while walking the streets of Denver -- YUCK you say, but oh so much better then being in pain every step of the way.

The next day , I went to go visit Chuck in Colorado Springs. That was fun! I also saw Elizabeth down there so we went and sang Karaoke at a local bar. While I was there, Chuck also took me to a parking lot car show! That was super cool since I love old classic cars! Hmmm, I was content with that!

Also, went for a drive in the mountains which is always nice! We went to Woodland Hills and came back. We didn't have much time to hike, but of course I snapped some pictures.

The following weekend I went to Melissa's graduation party from her Master's class so she can be a teacher! It was at this real cool house in Fort Collins. That night, Melissa and I went through about three bottles of wine ALONE! I ended up sleeping IN THE FLOOR of her sorority house that night until I realized in the middle of the night I was passed out and still dressed...so I changed and slept on the living room couch! We had a good breakfast the next morning with Melissa's friend Ted from out of town! Kristine and I left Greeley and she took me back to my car in Fort Collins.

I then headed to Boulder to meet up with Lynn who was down there for a Wellness seminar. (stress management). That was fun! What a beautiful city! We went to Pearl street and then a little bike ride. I also learned about relaxing (i know can you believe it) from the information Lynn shared with me. So, that night, we picked up a bottle of wine and tried a meditation exercise. I thought that was very relaxing--I should attempt that more often! (the meditation part) The next day, I sat outside in the hotel's courtyard and had some breakfast while she finished up her seminar. That was a pretty relaxing time!

My third weekend home, was the fun adventure I had with Melissa. She is getting a job teaching at a high school in Aspen--I know how sweet is that!! This actually started on Wednesday and since it was Memorial weekend, we came home on Monday. It started with me packing up my stuff and headed to Windsor to meet Melissa at here parents. After a great dinner her parent's made, we packed up and headed out. The roads were a bit scary and we were a bit concerned due the snow. We stayed in Silverthorne he first night where her friend's parents lived to make the drive to Aspen shorter. The next morning it was gorgeous out. Before we headed to Aspen, I took some pics from their porch--what a view! It was still nice when we got to Aspen. While there, we checked out the high school she will be working at in August--sweet! What a great school and there are chair lifts next to the school so all the kids will know how to ski when they graduate. We saw the studio she would be renting in the basement of the super nice couples house. She has cross country paths in her backyard!! Sweet. We walked through the town--expensive of course, but we ate well. We decided to walk up this neighborhood which was very hilly! There was a ski-lift right there. I climbed up a bit and saw a great view of Aspen. It was getting a bit chilly, so we then headed back down. With the traveling and little bit of sleep, we went back to our room and crashed. The next day, we headed to Glenwood Springs where we went on a 30 mile bike ride along the river. There was so many beautiful things there, we kept stopping to take pictures, being the camera whores that we already are anyhow. We saw a camp site on the bike path that we decided would be a good place to sleep that night, since we were running a little low on funds after the gas and Aspen. So we got a cute little cabin, with just the basics, right near the river--exactly what we wanted-glorified camping!we got a cute little cabin for that night, right near the river. After the bike ride, we were starving, so we went and ate a a Mexican restaurant! A little cheaper than Aspen-but good! Then, we decided to hit the infamous hot springs--which is a huge pool filled with water coming from the natural hot springs..pretty cool but expensive! Even the Wal-mart-isk flimsy towels were $2.50 to RENT--yeah- we KEPT our towels for that price and used them at the campsite to shower..but, the springs were neat and a great place to people watch! We headed back to our campsite and our cute little cabin. Of course, we picked up some wine on the way (we love our wine). We met the neighbors and sat around a fire that night before heading to bed.

The next day, we took the scenic route (literally) to Colorado Springs where we spent Saturday and Sunday night. We saw Mt. Elbert, the tallest mountain in Colorado, continued on the road and eventually stopped in Buena Vista for breakfast. We then pressed on, went through Woodland Hills to Colorado Springs. We stayed at Chuck's and relaxed the first night (and yes drank more wine). THAT was a fun night!! The next day, we relaxed and got ready to go to my friend Michelle's house. So Chuck brought a TON of food and we hung out there for a few hours catching up. Then, sadly, Monday our trip ended and it was time to go home, so we headed back to Windsor where I got my car and drove home! WHEW!!

I also went to Denver the next weekend to hang out with my friend of over 20 years who just moved to Denver from Chicago. We went to the People's Fair, had a blast and I stayed there before coming home! Lots of miles on my car, but lots of adventures as well!! I LOVE THIS STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!