4th of July!

Some 4th of July fun!

{Colorado Rockies game on July 3rd with the family.}

The weather was perfect and they had the most amazing fireworks display...tragically, my phone died so I have no photos but it was American magical....ballpark and fireworks!

The next morning, I met up with some friends and drove out to Lake Dillon. The weather was perfect and it was fun to explore. I had forgotten how beautiful it is there and it's not that far from Denver!

{Megan and I}

{Christy and Megan}

{A lake full of lily pads!}

In our group of five, there were two Emily's and two Megan's-ha!

{Emily, Megan, Emily, Christy, Megan}

{There were some darling dogs fetching a giant log in the lake. :)}

 

After hiking, we headed down to Lake Dillon to enjoy the afternoon! There were boats dotting the lake, families out BBQ-ing and even a band playing in the amphitheater.

{This is Jasper. One of the girls was dog-sitting for the weekend. He is a Shiba Inu (a Japanese non-barking breed) and he was such a fun companion! Only 3 months old, he had never been hiking or anything...he did such a good job and I got to hang out with him during the afternoon in the shade while the rest of the girls sat on the dock. It was awesome.}

{We bonded-ha.}

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July!!

Aspen Hiking Trip - Part 2

Maroon Bells is one of the most beautiful places I've seen in the USA. It is breathtaking at every turn. About 20 minutes outside of Aspen, you can begin several different hikes at Maroon Lake. 

Last year, after Food & Wine, Brooke and I hiked the Maroon Creek Trail down-valley along the river. Such a relaxing hike with stunning meadows and a trail that hugs the river. Peaceful as can be. 

This year, Becky and I hiked the Crater Lake Trail, up-valley towards those gorgeous, rugged peaks!

{Maroon Lake-the reflection is amazing!}

{my classic jumping picture!}

Some of these are a little blurry for some reason but it was still too beautiful to not share!

{Aspens and light}

 

{I love Colorado mountains!!}

{you can see how the cloud cover was shifting rapidly from picture to picture, making for some pretty shadows!}

{there was neon green moss on the rocks...a perfect complement to the hiking gear!}

{beautiful yellow flowers punctuating the rocks!}

 I highly recommend visiting here if you have the time...the hiking is reasonable, the views are mind-blowing and you'll be glad you came.

Happy summer hiking!

Aspen Hiking Trip-Part 1

This past weekend, I went back up to Aspen! I really love that little town and I had a couple extra days off because of a shift switch at work...what better way to spend it than in my favorite mountain town!

My friend Becky came up with me to do some hiking. Aspen experienced the hottest weather it's ever had, 92 degrees, while we were there but we had the most wonderful time nonetheless!

{riding up the gondola to the top of Aspen Mountain to hike!}

{we hiked separately for half the day-i love being alone in the mountains!}

{11,212 ft-fresh mountain air!}

{absolute splendor}

{there's nothin' like the Rocky Mountains to make you feel small. :)}

{there were hula hoops at the summit-so fun! I picked the hot pink one, of course!}

{it matched my shoelaces and bag!}

{on the way down, we decided to ride the red car...little did we know, it had air conditioning and music playing inside! we just picked it for the color and got a fun surprise!}

After hiking all morning, we rode the gondola back down to town and had lunch at my favorite cafe in Aspen-Peaches! They have organic, free-range, healthy, amazing, delicious food. (let me tell you how I really feel?!)  It's also located at a prime people watching corner and right next to Aspen's only thrift shop. :)

{some shots from around town}

Later that evening we discovered that the Aspen Music Festival had begun the night before. There was a performance going on, so we got a tip from our hotel manager to take a blanket and picnic over to listen. The locals all sit outside the tent (for free!) to enjoy the music...it was packed with families, dogs, picnics...perfection! What a great way to spend the evening outside.

{looking into the music tent from outside}

After the concert, we drove around a few neighborhoods looking at the houses (Becky studied Interior Design too). We came across this...so helpful in case you were lost-ha! Next stop, Istanbul!

{gorgeous sunset}

Belly Up is the hot spot for music in the evenings in Aspen...so we stopped in. Turned out to be a DJ from Australia, Anna Lunoe. Coastin (a Vail DJ team) opened for her.

Part 2 is coming with photos from the Maroon Bells hike we did!