Colorado Trip 2008

Okay....I know...I know! I've been neglecting to update the blog!! Believe me, I've been wanting to, but we've been quite busy. Since the last post, Mike spent a few days in D.C. at a leadership conference. Then, immediately following his return, we flew to Colorado to visit my brother, Tim and his fiance', Claire. And we had a BLAST!!! It's always so good to see Tim. We miss having him in St. Louis or at least seeing him regularly! :( And it was so WONDERFUL to get to know Claire better and really spend a lot of time together. Tim and Mike always get along great, so they took off on the hikes (ahead of us, of course!) Claire was a fantastic guide and a caring Sister-in-law-to-be. And I can't forget Belle, Claire's beautiful black lab/sharpee mix dog, who was so sweet. (She may have turned Mike into more of a dog-lover!) She'd hike with Tim and Mike and then, run back to check on us girls. Boy was she tired after those hikes (we were too, but that's just obvious)!

Day 3: Mt. Galbraith, where Tim and Claire got engaged

Day 1: Hike in Boulder

Day 2: Idaho Springs.....whisked off my feet!

Day 3: Mt. Galbraith...the engagement hike!

Day 2: near Mt. Evans

Day 2: Don't EVER tell someone they CAN'T do something!

Simply put: OUR TRIP WAS AWESOME!!!!!

We packed so much into 3-1/2 days that it felt like we were there for 5 or 6 days. Tim and Claire were wonderful hosts.

Here's a quick synopsis:

Day 1: Hiked in Boulder...7.6 miles...gorgeous! Ate lunch in downtown Boulder. Drank tea at a cool teahouse. Wonderful Dinner at Denver Chophouse...We all ordered Buffalo Medallions...nice recommendation Claire!

Day 2: Hiked in Idaho Springs near Mt. Evans....stunning! 5 miles at 10, 000 feet. Lunch at the Echo Lake Lodge. BBQ/Chile at friend of Tim and Claire's house (super cool log cabin home in the mountains in Conifer with beautiful views out...WOW!!)

Day 3: Hiked Mt. Galbriath in Golden (5 miles)...the actual hike where Tim and Claire got engaged. It was a fun hike and gorgeous at the top....views of Denver, Golden and the other mountains. That afternoon, we headed to Ft. Collins to check out the New Belgium Brewery, but it was closed. Instead, we ate lunch and bummed around the shops of downtown Ft. Collins. Then, we headed to Claire's parents' home in Platteville where we saw a cow, horse, their cool dome house and ate yummy Brouhard pizza.

Day 4 (1/2 day): Walked around Red Rocks (you know...the natural concert venue...super cool! sometime we're going to a concert there!). Walked around Denver....ate lunch with Tim and Claire one last time :( ...and stopped by The Lawrence Group in Denver....sweet office!

We had such a wonderful trip and were sad to leave! We've got great pictures though. More photos can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dolcevida/