Colorado

Jamie and I got back from our road trip to Colorado a little before midnight last night, having driven from Salt Lake City that morning.  I was excited to sleep in our bed, in our apartment, but now that excitement has worn off and I want to be at it some more.  I'm sure we tried to do too much in those twelve days, but it was a great way to begin this summer.

We stayed with Jamie's friend Alan in Fort Collins, where we spent the fourth of July with few fireworks due to thunderstorms and rain (the best way to spend that day, anyway).  Next we went up into the mountains for an other-worldly experience at the Shambhala Buddhist Center, with the largest Stupa in North America.

We spent two nights camping near Long's Peak, "the Mt. Rainier of Colorado" according to Jamie.  With an elevation of 14,000 feet.  The hike into the site wasn't bad, but the day hike to Lake Chasm (over 10 miles, which we initially added incorrectly, due to lack of oxygen) was probably the worst idea of the trip.  We got back to camp and slept like the dead for several hours.  Really, worst idea for two sea-levelers.

We spent the day in Boulder, this mystical city about which I have heard so much.  Everyone who has lived there or even visited raves about it, and I can understand why.  The mountains so close, the sun (except when we were there, as we had apparently brought Seattle with us on the trip). 

From there we headed to Denver for a whirlwind tour of people and sites.  We went on an urban adventure from my friend Bronwen's house (just off the notorious Colfax Avenue) to downtown, experienced the insanely repetitive and touristy 16th Street Mall, walked by the river, and caught the bus back to her house (an adventure unto itself).  Later that day, we went to Jamie's friends' rehearsal dinner in Littleton (yes, Columbine High School), which was followed immediately by dinner with a first cousin I had never met, Natasha, and her family--with much entertainment provided by her daughter, Nina.

Then the wedding!  The event that brought us to Colorado!  I finally met Jamie's friends from college, proof that he says who he says he is.

We drove to Salt Lake City the next day--I hesitated at the turn-off toward Moab, tempted.  Maybe the ghost of Edward Abbey was calling me....?  There are so many other things I wanted to do in the Southwest but Seattle was calling us.  Next time!

Then the thirteen-plus drive back to Seattle (only four states as opposed to six on the way to Colorado).  This entry has taken me hours to write.  I'm still exhausted from the trip.  I'm not sure what I just wrote.