On Friday of last week, I hopped into my very packed car, picked up my sister-in-law, Becky, and headed west....for about 15 hours; many of those hours were spent somewhere in Nebraska wondering how much more of the state could possibly exist, why people would ever choose to live there and why anyone would want to be a Corn Husker (Go BUCKY!!). Eventually, a "Welcome to Colorado" sign appeared, and I was only hours away from my new summer home, Boulder, CO.
Being that the plan is to spend the entirety of the summer in Boulder, I should mention that I also had the girls on board, which made for a very interesting car ride, since neither of them are major car fans and have never been on a long trip (oh, and I'm a total OCD neat freak who wouldn't even allow the windows of her new car to be opened for months after its purchase -- you can imagine how happy I was for cat hair to be floating about my pristine vehicle). While it could have been worse, there were a few near-meltdown moments, ya know, times when I wanted to call Brian, demand he come get me and the cats, buy me a magnificent present and then drive the rest of the way while I sipped on some strong tequila...
The worst of the worst cat-related moments resulted in Rumney sitting on Becky's lap for the last 90 minutes of the ride. Shortly before that, Ripley channeled her inner Mike Tyson and bit Rumney's ear. When I told Brian about this, he was less concerned about Rumney's ear and more impressed that Ripley had chosen to honor Mike Tyson by reenacting the ear bite heard 'round the world on its 17th anniversary - go Ripley.....I guess....
Anyhow, we survived, though we were slightly worse for the ware, and arrived in town around 9pm. A storm had been brewing for the last part of our drive (we spent about an hour watching lightning flash over the mountains), and by the time we got to the condo, the rain began to fall. We quickly unloaded the car, I surveyed my new digs, and, true to form, began unpacking and organizing almost immediately.
From the outset, we have been busy taking in all that Boulder and the surrounding area has to offer -- who really wants to rest after a 15 hour car ride with two cats, unloading a million pounds of personal possessions and Nebraska still fresh in the mind?! While Brian got to tag along the first few days, Beck and I had our own outdoor adventures while he was at work all week - thanks, Beck, for being my hiking/exploration buddy!
Check it out:
Day 1: Boulder Farmer's Market and Mt. Evans; night hike to Mt. Sanitas
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| Mt. Evans |
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| Atop Mt. Sanitas looking toward North Boulder, our new 'home' |
Day 2: RMNP - Mills Lake
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| seen on our hike |
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| three Runnells peeps at Mills Lake |
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| sister hikers |
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| Look, Dad, animals!! |
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| had to take a quick photo on our way out of town - we have the same picture from about a hundred years ago when we first visited the park
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Day 3: Flat Irons (1st and 2nd); night hike to Green Mountain
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| me and Becky hanging out just below the Second Flat Iron
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| view from the summit of Green Mountain - I love night hikes!
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Day 4: RMNP - Dream Lake, Lake Haiyhaha and Emerald Lake
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| Emerald Lake - where I made nice with a cute old man, who once visited Neenah, WI
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That evening, Becky joined Brian and me for a gym visit (we hit up the second of four gyms in Boulder) and then we went to Whole Foods for dinner -- this is worth noting because Whole Foods' Hot Bar is amazeballs, though I think two of the three diners called mulligans on their food choices. Me, I just ate and ate!
Day 5: Royal Arch and Pearl Street Mall
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| Royal Arch
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| quality sister time
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| Buffalo Becky and Amy -- it's no Bucky hat, but it's still pretty cute
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Becky and I certainly had some good finds while out and about on Pearl Street, but when we ventured out again that night, we had some even better ones - who wouldn't love beer with raspeberry sorbet and giant pretzels? Thanks, Bohemian Beer Garden for that one!
Day 6: Mt. Bierstadt and BBQ in Broomfield, CO
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| atop Mt. Bierstadt with an Ale8 in hand - treat
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| signing the ledger - Boulder, CO by way of Oak Creek, WI
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| SUMMIT |
Sadly, I don't have any pictures of the awesome BBQ at Sweatpants' and Mrs. Pants' house that followed our 4ht of July hike to 14,000 feet; it turns out I was too busy hanging out with one of the cutest little humans I've ever met, Connor, and carrying my team while playing bags...
So far, Colorado has been wonderful, and I'm loving it here. It's safe to say that I miss my own home and my peeps, a whole lot, but I've got a spare room and lots of time on my hands, so I'm waiting for visitors -- I will find us plenty of hikes to take and fun to have, I promise!
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