Wednesday, June 15: Reunited and It Feels So Good!

My best friend moved to Colorado a couple of years ago. She and I grew up together since we were 2 years old. Mary, her sister, and I decided to take a trip out to Colorado to see her.

We flew out Wednesday morning, and Katie picked us up at the airport around lunch time. I was so happy to see her! It had been entirely too long since the last time. She took us to some shops on 16th street and we ate at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria. Of course, I had to buy some souvenirs at the I Heart Denver store. I got a shot glass and some new coasters for my new townhouse!

We made a stop at Target to get some necessities--some of which included the three essential ingredients for s’mores for later that night.



I finally got to meet Winnie and Cooper, Cody and Katie’s two dogs! They were so sweet. Cooper is six months old and Winnie is about a year and a half. They weren’t used to having new people come around, so they got extra excited to see Mary and me. Cooper was so excited that I couldn't get a clear picture of him from moving so much.


Cody met us at Fuzzy’s Taco shop. I ordered a drink called a Shark Tank, not really knowing what to expect other than what alcohol and mixers were in it. To my surprise, it came in a beta fish bowl. The drink and the food were the best I have had in a long time. I wish Fuzzy’s would come to the midwest. I’d definitely stop by for another fajita.



On our way back from dinner, we stopped at the biggest liquor store I’ve ever been to, Total Beverage, to pick up some drinks for the rest of our trip. I picked out the most unique-looking bottle of wine I could find while Mary found some Ace Pineapple. The bottle I got was so tall—20 inches or so. I brought it home with me to see if I can make something out of it.

We spent the rest of the night relaxing and just hanging out watching TV. By the end of the night, we were exhausted from ours busy day.

Thursday, June 16: Pikes Peak & Garden of the Gods

Thursday began in the most delicious way possible: breakfast at Chick-Fil-A!


We drove about an hour and a half to Manitou for a cog ride up to the summit of Pikes Peak. The cog ride took about 90 minutes, but every minute on the way up was worth it.



The altitude made it more difficult to breathe because of the lower oxygen levels. The view was breathtaking—literally.


I was a little lightheaded at the top, but the view was amazing. Photos really don't do it justice.

We were pretty hungry after lots of site seeing, so we stopped at Sonic. It was a my first Sonic experience, and the food and strawberry lemonade were delicious!


Garden of the Gods was absolutely beautiful. At the entrance of the garden, we saw eight—yes, eight!—big-horned sheep. It was jus the first of many wild animal sightings for the trip. Some people got super close to them, but didn’t get out of the car. The only thing separating us and them was a wooden railing, and they could have jumped right over it.



After evading the sheep and entering the garden, we took a walk around. The weather was beautiful, but it was pretty hot in the sun. That’s one thing I loved about Colorado—even on a hot day, if you’re in the shade, you can still feel pretty cool. The humidity was so low compared to Indiana, I could definitely tell a difference.


We saw a couple rock climbers in the garden. I can only imagine what the view looked like from up there, but there’s no way I would have climbed that. It’s straight up!—pretty amazing how nature can create something so beautiful and colorful.

After strolling through the garden, we took a trip to Castle Rock Outlets to do some shopping. I bought a nice North Face jacket, and I can’t wait to wear it this fall!

By the time we finished shopping, we were exhausted, so we drove back to Katie and Cody’s for dinner. They made BLT’s for us, and I forgot how much I loved them until I took a bite.

We settled down and relaxed while watching Cutthroat Kitchen. Who knew cooking shows could be so much fun?! I sure didn’t. Eventually we all made it to bed and got ready for another exciting day tomorrow!

Friday, June 17: Rocky Mountain National Park

Friday started with a sweet treat, a trip to Krispy Kreme! I had never been to an actual Krispy Kreme before, and they’re so much better freshly made than out of the grocery store box.



After breakfast, we did some shopping in Estes Park and I bought a neat Estes Park mug to take home. There were so many things I wanted to buy!



Then, after doing a quite a bit of window shopping, we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park.


We stopped multiple times to get out and do some exploring. At one point, we hiked down to a river and got some great pictures. The water was freezing, but the air was so fresh and crisp.


One our way down to Bear Lake, we saw about ten deer. We didn’t see any bears, but I didn’t really want to. I could have stayed there for hours, it was so peaceful.


On our way back to Katie & Cody’s we stopped at a store called 2nd and Charles, a book/game/record store. Of course, the first thing I found was a Lady Gaga record. The album cover was printed on the vinyl!

Dinner was at a familiar place, Red Robin! Yum! Then, we headed back to the apartment and played trivia while watching TV until we were too tired to keep our eyes open any longer.

Saturday, June 18: Rocky Mountain National Park & Moose!

Saturday was probably my favorite day. First, we made a stop at King Soopers, another new place to me, for doughnuts!

We stopped at Beaver Meadows Visitors Center on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park. The visitors center was designed by Taliesin Associated Architects, and was one of the most significant commissions for that firm in the years immediately following the death of the founder, Frank Lloyd Wright!

We made several stops on our way through Rocky Mountain National Park. We saw at least 50 elk, and an elk calf! They were everywhere it seemed.



We took a hike to Lake Irene, another place with beautiful picturesque landscapes. It looked like it had just snowed not long ago, but it was all melting and running down the mountain.



Walking past Lake Irene, we finally came to an end of the path, where of course we had to take a selfie together.



We noticed multiple cars on the side of the road at one point with people standing and taking pictures, knowing it was a sign of something good. It was a moose! And a baby! Then, Katie turned to me and said, “Do you know who that is?” pointing to a man and his family. I had no idea, but it was the actor who plays Steve on Sex and the City! We had to do a little Googling to confirm, but it was in fact him!



Five minutes later, we saw another moose! It was grazing next to what looked like an old shed.


On our drive back through Rocky Mountain National Park, we made a couple stops at scenic lookouts, then had lunch. We took a picnic with us with all sorts of yummy food, my favorite being the bean salsa.

Overall that day, we saw FIVE moose! Katie hadn’t seen any the whole time she’s lived there, so five in one day was unheard of!


After we got back to Katie & Cody’s we took the dogs to the park and threw the ball around for a while. They were wound up from being inside while we were gone. By the end of the evening, we wore both of them out.

We ended the night with a game of Phase 10 with the TV in the background, then headed to bed to rest up for our last day.

Sunday, June 19: Finding Dory, Red Rocks and Heading Home

Our last day in Colorful Colorado, the Centennial State, or what people used to call the Buffalo Plains State, began with a trip to Panera for breakfast. Then, we decided to have a low-key day and go see Finding Dory. It was so cute! It didn’t seem as funny as Finding Nemo, but I still loved it.



We took a little drive out to see Red Rocks, and we tried to get into the amphitheater, but Bob Dylan was already rehearsing for his concert that night and we couldn’t get past the front gate. It was still neat to see the scale of the rocks and how colorful they are.

We said our “see you laters”—I don’t like goodbyes—then flew back to Indiana around 8:30.

I definitely want to make another trip to Colorado sometime. The scenery was too beautiful to never experience it in person again. Who knows…maybe next time I’ll try skiing!