Colorado - Hiking, Shredding and Drinking

Why did I get back on the plane? Why??

Colorado is perfect. It holds all the things that mean the most to me and make me the happiest. Every time I visit I find myself in a place I never want to leave, I explore new things and experience more of what Colorado has to offer.

The first two days there I spent exploring downtown Denver. For all the time that I have been to Colorado I have never actually spent time in Denver. It is such a unique town with its own culture. With so many people moving into the Denver area it still holds onto the things that make it a unique city.

The day I landed I spent time exploring the 6th Street Mall. The "mall" is a street with a ton of shopping and bars. It is walker friendly and offers a ton of things to see. I of course found my way into the Tattered Cover book store and wandered around the books for a while. I continued to explore the downtown for a while before heading to a friends bar for the night.

*Homeless people in Denver are very aggressive. They yell at you or threaten you for glancing in their direction*

Sunday morning we slept in after a late night out and eventually got up for a run. Last time I ran in Colorado was in Keystone where the altitude really had an effect on breathing but at Washington Park in Denver the altitude didn't have as great an effect. The run was so beautiful with the mountains as a perfect backdrop. It is refreshing to run in a city where the outdoors are a way of life. Seeing people out enjoying the perfect weather was a nice change. After the run we walked around for a while, drank some amazing coffee (seriously the most perfect mocha, not too sweet), went to a bakery, explored another book store (I found this great book How To Have Sex in the Woods) and made out way to a few bars. We ended up at this bar Ace which is just full of ping pong tables. Such a fun place! From there I jumped in a shuttle to head up to Breckenridge.

The Mountains!! Ah what is there to say. There is something about the mountains that I just get lost. I lose myself in the beauty and the simple complexity. When you are in the mountains you are at the mercy of the mountains. They are tall and mighty but also gentle. Being in the mountains makes be a better person. It makes me realize the person I am proud of is inside me.

I ended up staying at The Bivvi hostel in Breck and it could not have worked out better. I love the people that you meet in hostels, the shuttle was right out front and they gave us breakfast :) The first day I went to Breck to board. Started off taking the Beaver Run lift up to the top to get some blue runs in to warm up. Every time I snowboard in the mountains I live outside myself. The beauty is beyond breath taking. You find yourself in this place, in the middle of the mountains, lost to everything else.

The world gets quiet, your mind is still and it is you and the mountain. After getting a few good runs in I took Imperial (the highest lift in North America) up to get in a harder run. It was beautiful at the top, freezing but beautiful.

The run was pretty icy, windy and they were blowing off dynamite really close so I stuck to just one run up there. The rest of the day was amazing and I was getting in some really good riding. When the day on the mountain was done I explored the main street of Breck for a while. The beautiful thing about mountains closing at 4 is you get time to see the rest of the area around you. Back at the hostel I met a ton of people from Australia (surprisingly) and just hung out with some great people. After a few hours in the hot tub I called it a night.

The next day I got up and out really early to head to Keystone. The transportation in the mountains is crazy convenient and fantastic! I will say I do not get how there drivers don't slide off the side of the mountain. Anyways got to Keystone and heading straight to the back side of the mountain. Getting to the back quick leads to less crowds and more runs.

Right away I headed to the double black runs. I really like these runs at Keystone because you don't feel like you are going to die and they are manageable. All morning it was snowing which meant some beautiful powder was falling making for great riding. Shortly after switching up runs I'm going down a beautiful blue run and my board catches the snow and I fly through the air...thank god my head was there to catch me....WEAR HELMETS! If it were not for my helmet I would have absolutely had a concussion or worse. I thought I bruised my ribs because I could not breathe, I had to make sure I knew what day it was as my head felt like it was going to explode. Falls like this on mountains are no joke. Snowboarding and skiing are fun but never think that you won't be the one to crash into a tree, get a concussion, break an arm....if you are dumb it could happen. After a bit I got up realized nothing serious and took an easy run down. I checked in with myself and knew I was fine. I took the rest of the day pretty cautiously which is pretty annoying. When you ride cautious it just isn't fun. Everything hurts, you don't want to fall again, going fast makes you nervous and it's just exhausting. Called it a day after a few more hours and went back to Breck. I just hung out at the hostel and spent a while in the hot tub trying to recoup my muscles.

The last day in the mountains I rode at Breck. I got up super early to get on first chair. I decided to start with Peak 10 with a lot of black runs, I knew later in the day I wouldn't be up for it. The runs at Peak 10 are some of my absolute favorite. They are long, not too steep and on this day covered in fresh powder. I spent a few hours hitting all the different runs and exhausting myself of this peak. I started the day strong b

ut as I kept riding my fall from the previous day was hurting more and more and I was just getting exhausted. I still rode all day but glad I got the tougher runs out of my system early. I took the day just to enjoy the whole mountain and the beauty around me. I rode Peak 10 to Peak 6 and explored along the way.

It was a beyond beautiful last day. Clear blue skies, nice and warm, and good powder. I rode until last chair and then rushed back to the hostel to get a shuttle back to Denver.

I was exhausted by the time I got back so we indulged in some Denver legalities and watched a movie.

The next day I borrowed a friends car and drove up to Red Rocks. I love this city! There is amazing, beautiful and convenient outdoor activities to do everywhere. I spent the day hiking.

I was just exploring the trails and enjoying the day. From there I decided to explore what else Denver was known for, breweries. I'm so glad I stumbled upon Blue Moon because it was exacting what I needed. The Mexican Hot Chocolate beer is insane! I never thought it was going to be as good as it was but my gosh go try it.

I found out while enjoying my beers that the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert that night was cancelled due to Anthony being sick. To say I was upset was an understatement. I have waited years and years and years to finally see them and it wasn't going to happen. I drank. My friend met up with me and we went to a few other breweries. There is a brewery Epic that has this insane beer that is aged in red wine barrels. Must try! That night my friend took me line dancing and I will say that was awesome! I had no idea what I was doing and I was so lost but that's the fun I like to have. It was something totally different than a typical night out.

Friday morning the OTHER festivities began! Bachelorette fun :) I met up with the girls bright and early and the drinking began. All day we bar hopped and just drank. At night we celebrated the bachelorette with a party before going to the bars. We ended up at a country bar and danced the night away. Most of the girls disappeared pretty early but a friend met up with me and we danced the bar to close. I'm so glad I found her because we had such a fun night. The next day we all again were up early and had brunch and mimosas. We spent the afternoon kind of wandering around before meeting up at Blue Moon. From Blue Moon we went to a roof top for drinks. We ended up having dinner at a Hibachi restaurant and for this being a celebration they were very unaccommodating. The food was good but the service not so great.

Sunday my last day :( I got up early to get in one last run along the creek. After packing up at the hotel I wandered around downtown Denver for a few hours taking in every last minute. Finally I got myself to the airport where I reluctantly headed back home.

I love Colorado. It draws me in and bring me to a place of pure happiness. Everything that makes Colorado unique the mountains, culture, outdoor lifestyle, and adventure is what I am looking for. Leaving almost didn't happen. I almost didn't go back. There was a moment in my hotel room that I just thought this is everything I want, everything I say I want in life is here, I can get a job easy...so why am I making another excuse? I will be back and I will find my perfect home.