Five Things to Tell You Vol. 36
hiking, yoga, music and more!
Well, hello there! So happy to see you today!
I made it back from the Colorado adventure on Monday afternoon and WHEW, what a wonderful whirlwind of a trip! The re-entry to reality has been wild as well, with lots of trips to school, meetings, appointments, a movie (more on that next Saturday!), and my nightmare come true: YELLOWJACKETS INSIDE OUR ROOF. But, who needs to focus on the fresh hell of insects that can kill me when I can divert attention to sharing five amazing things about the trip instead??
A quick trip recap before sharing superlatives: The youngest (13) and I drove from Wisconsin to Denver over two days, picked up the 18yo and his girlfriend at the airport, and continued on to my mom and stepdad’s house in Buena Vista. We were there Tuesday pm - Friday am, and then drove back to Denver to meet my SIL, my teen niece and nephew, and my oldest and her girlfriend. We were in Denver Friday night - Sunday morning and managed to pack in SO MUCH! Our herd of 9 was often loud and silly, but always having fun.
Now, just settle on in with your favorite snack while we dive in to some of the best parts about the Colorado trip … and don’t worry - book recs are piling up around here and I have a bunch to share with you on Tuesday and in future weeks!
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THE HIKES
I imagine that we could go to BV and not go hiking, but why oh why would we do that? My mom and stepdad are professional outdoorspeople, spending their entire days hiking and biking, creating and sharing trail reports with professional photography, and exploring the Collegiate Peaks region. We are SO LUCKY to have them as our hosts and guides!
We only had two hiking days this visit, but we made the most of them! On Wednesday we did our favorite low and easy hike to Interlaken and on Thursday we got to summit Mount Arps, a named 12er in the most gorgeous, secluded area.
This was my first time hiking Arps, and I earned my Colorado driving badge (invented by ME) for navigating the 5 miles of extremely rough road that it took us an HOUR to drive. Yes, 5 miles per hour. I also drove up and down Independence Pass for the first time, and for this very scared-of-heights and cautious human, it was a FEAT. I have had my eyes closed every time I’ve been a passenger on the Pass in the past, so having to actually be the driver was a big accomplishment!
THE MOOSE
Lifetime dream UNLOCKED, my friends! We saw TWO MOOSE on our Arps hike, both originally spotted by the 18yo. These are my first moose sightings EVER, and two in one day!
First this cow, who just wandered around for so long in front of us as we were heading up. We stood and watched in glee.
And THIS GUY! Spotted on our way down Arps along the saddle, just lying there in the willows looking up at us. We stood for a long time watching him too, hoping he would stand up and show off his long legs, but nope.
We were all in awe and I’m absolutely thrilled these two decided to make an appearance for us. Nature = magic.
AN EPIC ROCKIES WIN
Please note that I have not been to an MLB game since middle school, despite the rest of my family attending Brewers games fairly regularly. I always tell my husband to take friends who really want to go, and the kids, versus me who might get bored. That’s all to say that when we added this game to our trip because the 18yo and his girlfriend wanted to go, and my SIL said we should all get tickets, I was like cool cool, I’ll people watch.
We devoted ourselves to being the most hard core situational Colorado Rockies fans at the game, and were settling in for a rough night when the Rockies were down 0-9 at the end of the first inning.
BUT OMG, THIS WAS AN ABSOLUTELY EPIC GAME. SERIOUSLY, one of the most exciting events I have ever attended. Click that link! And to top it off, the 18 yo got a ball, and his girlfriend danced her way onto the Jumbotron.
Here’s to trying new things and having a blast!
YOGA ON THE ROCKS
I wasn’t able to make a concert at Red Rocks happen this summer, but we DID get tickets (months ago) for Yoga on the Rocks on Saturday morning and what an amazing, magical experience! I don’t really know how to accurately describe it, but Jamie and I both agreed it was the best yoga venue and best yoga class ever.
If you love yoga and are ever in Denver Friday - Saturday in the summer, don’t miss this experience. Well worth the 5:00 wake up time. Our instructor was Brittany Russell from Rooted Heart Yoga & Wellness and I would 100% attend her classes forever if I was local!
We did a short hike on the Trading Post trail after, and that was a delight as well.
THE LUMINEERS AT EMPOWER FIELD
And finally, the event that we based the entire trip around ~ The Lumineers at Empower Field on Saturday night!!
The last time I saw The Lumineers was at Wrigley Field in 2022, for The Brightside Tour, which was amazing and ended up inspiring an entire ALBUM. This time around was a full level up, with the phenomenal Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats opening. An embarrassment of riches. We just got tickets to see him again in Madison in September - wooohoooo!
Due to not knowing who would all be able to go when I bought tickets last winter, and then having to keep adding tickets, we ended up in smaller groups seated separately, but the groupings worked fine and everyone was enthralled. The weather delay phased us none, and the majority of us could sing along with every. single. song.
Empower Field is where the girls and I attended the Eras Tour as well, so I already knew how to take the train there from Union Station, and walk the river trail back to the hotel* ~ it’s nice having some familiar things!
* I have now stayed at the same hotel four times for various concerts ~ it’s a great location for Coors Field, Empower Field, taking the shuttle to Red Rocks, and taking the train to and from the airport if needed.
That’s all for this week ~ thanks for reading! I personally LOVE reading about travel, but if my trips are less interesting to you than my reading, don’t worry ~ I’ll be staying put for a bit now and have lots of books to share soon!
Please feel free to reply to this email or use the link below to leave a comment to chime in about any of these things, or to share one of your own things ♡
Thanks for stopping by!
This looks like such a fun trip, Katy! You’ve really made the most of summer this year. And the MOOSE! So cool. Despite living n Maine for four years, I’ve still yet to spot a moose.
Ha! I don't love a travel recap, but you've done it so well (because your enthusiasm and joy shines through). I was riveted!
- We bought hats at the Sf Giants game to present as fans.
- Mountain passes are my worst nightmare. I closed my eyes as well while in Colorado last September.
- Colorado really is magic.
Bookmarking this post because I just told my husband this week if we fly frontier out of GB I want to stay at a hotel that is near the train to and from the airport and other train hubs when we inevitably go to Denver again (and taking frontier would allow us to be able to as it’s more affordable than Southwest and I’m very good at packing everything into a personal bag now 😂). I’m glad you had so much fun. I haven’t seen The Lumineers live since their cleopatra tour but that was one of my favorite concerts. I love hiking in Colorado, but my asthma does not like the elevation the first two days. It flares as bad as it does when we have wildfire smoke.
Finding a hotel near Union Station is definitely worth it, Kel! Make that your starting point for sure :-) I often fly Sun Country from Minneapolis which is equivalent to Frontier - budget and backpack only, but it gets me there! As for elevation, it definitely kicks my butt too! Just walking around my mom's neighborhood at about 8,000 feet is rough!
That’s how I feel every time I go to Avon/Beaver Creek. It’s a butt kicker just simply walking. the last time Tyler and I were out there we definitely over exerted ourselves typical fashion but thankfully we know to drink double the water we normally do or else altitude sickness would get us. Thank you for talking about the push for using public transport. It has me rethinking a lot of trips in the future and how to do it using public transport.
It definitely adds an extra layer of adventure, Kel! And of course it's not always possible for all traveling, but I loved being able to take the train in both Denver and Philadelphia :-) In Denver, everyone 19 and under rides for free all the time!