Colorado in August

omg.

I have officially discovered a love for hiking.

I went to visit a friend recently for 4 days, who lives in Denver, CO. Our plan was to mingle some much needed girly bonding time (jane austen/knitting/blankets/alcohol) in the mountains with some challenging hiking.

I flew in to Denver on Friday, and then we headed out to the mountains that night to check in at our lodge. I haven't seen mountains.... since I don't even remember lol. Just being able to drive through them was exhilarating, and I felt like my heart had woken up! Everything was so pretty compared to icky Texas.

Saturday morning we hopped into the car all ready for some hiking, with our little lunches wrapped up and packed in the backpack and our water bottles filled and sparkling. And then we realized after driving and driving and searching and squinting, that trying to find the very few trails secreted away was going to be a more daunting task than anticipated lol. Really, the area that we weere staying in had only a few places and they were more the 12 mile backpacking trails rather than any friendly day hiking. Once we bitterly accepted this truth, we salvaged the day by hanging out in Salida, a nearby little mountain town.

 

{Cafe in Salida, CO}

 

I begged Tyler to let us stop someplace (anyplace!) for coffee, and we had to stop in at a cafe in the end lol. It was a super cute place though and I wish we could have tried some pie! I always want to try pie lol.

 

{I loved this little yarn and fabric shop!!!}

We had a fun time exploring shops and things, and then went back to the lodge and just vegged out and watched movies.

Sunday we headed back to Denver in girly shame lol. Such fools... ah well. We then planned on doing some hiking in Boulder, CO bright and early Monday morning!

Again, we packed out little lunches and headed out to the little college town. There are the Flat Irons about 2 minutes from the downtown area *jealous* so we parked out there, and started our trip!

 

{Flat Irons in Boulder, CO}

 

Even though it was August! the temperature was only about 70 when we started out at 11ish in the morning. It was so perfect for exercise... and to think Dallas would have been in the high 90s at least! Ick.

 

{my Kill Me face}

 

So... this was me, struggling up, and up, and up, and up that trail lol. Not only am I admittedly not in the best physical shape, but I had never hiked up at a constant slope before, with a backpack, at a heightened elevation. It was hard lol.

 

{See that above me? Yea, that was the trail}

 

 

 

 {more rocky trail}

 

 

 

{ok, not the actual trail, but it would have been cool if it were lol}

 

.

 

 

{we finally reached the top! yay!!!}

 

 

 

{this was the Royal Arch we were hiking towards}

 

 

We almost turned back before lunch, but after snacking on our salads and drinks I felt much better and we were able to keep going. Thank goodness too!

 

 

 

{the view}

 

 

 

 

{victory photo lol}

 

 

 

{chillin, on some big rocks} 

 

 Aaaand after about 4 hours of hiking upward, we got to go back down! Yaaaay lol! That part was actually pretty fun! We were basically bouncing down the trail because of the steepness, and although I felt like it only took 20 minutes it really was about 1.5 hours. 

 {finally back in the foothills}

 

 

 

 

 {leaving Boulder forever... *tear*}

 

It was just so amazing and fun. I did this hike in crappy cheap athletic shoes, and definitely felt it. Before I do anything serious again I am absolutely investing in some hiking boots, now that I know I really love hiking. Although I am not sure anywhere near Dallas will be worth the investment...

 

 

 

 

 

Enchanted Rock

So after many many weekend trips to Austin, I finally made it out to Enchanted Rock!

Its about 15-20 minutes north of Fredericksberg, one of my favorite towns in Texas. A great weekend vacation would be spending a Saturday shopping in Fredericksberg and doing some wine tasting and dining in the evening. There are some great antique malls with really great deals, as well as some nicer stores. Then follow that day up with an early morning trip to Enchanted Rock, hiking to the top, and then exploring some of the other trails throughout the day. There is a Moss Lake nearby as well as a cave on the north side of the rock. I didn't get to spend the whole day out there as it was pretty hot for my cold weather bones, but definitely planning on spending a whole day out there in the future!

There are some really nice picnic areas and camp sites as well... Maybe this upcoming fall?

I think the summer has officially breathed its first breath this year. I got sunburned up on that rock lol!

I blame Dad. "Rest in the shade? Psssh."

*shakes fist wrathfully to the sky*

This was at the base of the rock, near the telescopes. The hill country is pretty dry, but there were little pockets of bright greenery and wild flowers randomly throughout.

 

This was like, the last vestige of shade provided, which I took full advantage of lol.

We made it to the top! See, its like a rock desert, with random clumps of green lol.  

This was on the way down looking back toward the telescopes and civilization lol.

I can imagine the view at sunset would be so gorgeous... Def would have to camp out there though. Never climb in the dark lol.

 

I want to go camping now lol!

Austin Trip

This past Labor day I ended up taking a bus down to Austin, and for the first time in 4 months the weather was actually enjoyable!

 Quelle surprise!

It was simply so lovely, Monday morning I ended up waking up early early to wander outside and take some fun snap shots. Viola! The sunrise was fun to shoot over the hill near my parents house.

The craggly dried up landscape of the Hill Country lol.

The house across the street has goats and a donkey hahaha; they must have thought me so silly...

Deer feeding time! This little area of Austin has its own little herd of deer that everyone feels responsible for, and many neighbors leave out water and/or feed for them.

We also actually had several fires this past weekend, the worst being in Bastrop southeast of Austin. There were 14,000 acres burned, and 300 homes destroyed as of yesterday... The smoke could be seen and the smell of burning was impossible to ignore.

Lake Conroe Camping

I have been rather discouraged each time I have researched different camp ground locations here in Texas, mainly because I was so spoiled by the beauty and diversity Washington State has to offer. I was able to enjoy the boating, restaurants, and shopping found at Puget Sound in Seattle on one hand, while having the opportunity to enjoy weekend trips to the coast for explorations of light houses, cliff climbing, and camping. To top all of that off, we had Mt. Rainer on our doorstep for camping and hicking! Can you not see the magnificent beauty?! Le sigh. I so miss real trees.

Anyway, I did find one possible location that is still located in Texas. Lake Conroe and Sam Houston State Park. This location is perfect for meeting up with a certain someone *coughmariacough*, and offers the best views I have found. Kayaking or renting boats is an option, as well as hiking and simply enjoying the view! Once the weather thaws out, I would love to make a few of these trips for the spring time to get some peace and enjoy some camp food cooking, hiking or bike riding, and the company of others.