red rocks and denver

 I am so blessed to have this friend.  Elizabeth and I have been friends since Nathan was a baby (so, for like 150 years) and I ALWAYS enjoy being around her.  She's my creative, hippie friend that I can talk to about homeopathics and flower essences and Jesus and being gluten/dairy free.  She and her husband Micah had an extra ticked to a show at Red Rocks and asked me if I would like to come on a spontaneous trip to Denver.

OKAY.

Micah's business has a second warehouse location in Denver, and he keeps an apartment there.  So not only did I have a free concert pass and a free place to stay, they also used their airline points for my ticket.

I LOVE MY LIFE.

The first day, we took a long walk around the neighborhood (it's a new neighborhood, built on the land that was the old airport).  Later that afternoon, we took the train into Denver and puttered around Union Station and all the shops, eventually landing at a rooftop bar.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and we had nowhere else to be.  So we ate our fill of chips and three varieties of guacamole, and soaked in the sunshine.

 Speaking of food.  Near Micah's apartment is a small cafe and juice bar called Etai's, and it is a good thing such a place does not exist within walking distance from my own apartment.  I would be FAT.  This was breakfast on day three before heading home:  rice bowl with two runny eggs, steamed kale, caramelized onions, topped with crumbled Feta and diced avocado, with a side of green chili sauce.

SO GOOD.

Back to day two:

Red Rocks.

 We loaded up their small RV (which I came to love, as it was my "home" for the weekend) with picnic food and chairs, made the drive to Red Rocks, and set up camp for the day.

We came early enough to get some good hiking in.  Well....those of us who claimed to be hikers.  Elizabeth and their friend Ben cut out early, and Micah and I each took a section of trail and carried on.

 You can see that Ben does not taking hiking seriously.

haha

 There are so many beautiful vistas that I can't decide which photo is my favorite.  None of them actually do it justice.  It's entirely different to be under the open sky, breathing mile-high air on a warm, sunny Colorado day.

I mean...I look happy, don't I?  I am.  I'm pretty happy here.

 (Mom.....the deer!  There was another one just behind it.)

After the hike, which was about three miles, I called it good and went back for the picnic fare.  Soon after, it was time to hike up into the amphitheater.

We saw Phil Lesh (guitar player for The Grateful Dead) and one of my favorite bluegrass bands, Leftover Salmon.  (pictured)  It was an incredible show.  I was blown away by the musicianship of these guys.

After breakfast the following morning, we cleaned out the RV, packed up, and called it a wrap.  It was a great spontaneous trip, and I am so thankful for my generous friends!  I think I'm the luckiest girl ever.  We go to another Red Rocks show in July to see another favorite band of mine.  I'll have to tackle a different trail.

river rats

Each year, my friend Kara and I look forward to our annual canoe trip down the Duck River.  She's my original hiking and outdoor adventure partner.  We live about 40 minutes apart now, and we try to see each other every couple of months, but we have 8 kids between the two of us, and one of hers is a baby.

But today, we made it!  And it was a day perfectly designed for two mommas that needed rest and refreshment in the form of sunshine, water, and cool breezes.  (In August!  Go figure.)

We canoed a five-mile stretch of the Duck River like we did in times past, but this time we intentionally took lots of time, exploring the banks and turning off onto Caney Creek that feeds into it.  The river was fuller than usual, so we did more "letting the river take us gently downstream" than actual paddling.  There were only a few times when we had to navigate rougher waters.

Turning off into Caney Creek was the BEST DECISION EVER.  We walked the rock bed of the creek for a good half hour, then Kara finally found a good place to "soak in the hot tub."

 I did join her but the "hot tub" was a little too cold for me to put my back into it!  Still, it was super refreshing to sit in the water and chill.  Altogether, we were there for about an hour without the company of any other canoe-ers.

Ultimate tranquility.

I never fail to realize how blessed I am to be able to have these adventures.  The more I have, the more I want, and then the more I want to bring other people along next time.  I'm always thinking about the next adventure!

besties

It was only a few years ago that I was praying with the kids, that they would have more friends.  The first year we moved into the apartment, it was so quiet.  There were no kids their age living beside us, and they were still getting to know people at school.

But now.....

Now it's rare to go a day without at least one neighbor kid showing up at our door.  And surprisingly, I really like that.

So I thought I would post a few photos of some "regulars:"

 Abby is a grade younger than Alli.  She lives in our apartment complex on the other side of the pool.  In fact, that's how they met last summer - at the pool.

 Abby's dad is divorced, and it's just the two of them.  So we help each other out sometimes by taking care of each other's kid while the other runs errands.

This past Saturday, I took them to an Easter workshop at Home Depot, where they made these bunny planters.  Alli's will look very familiar to Mom.  :)

 Ben's friend Christian is an ideal match for him.  He likes science and Legos, is kind and does the right thing.  He also has a super positive attitude, which is something Ben needs.  They met when Christian moved here two years ago, and they shared the same class.  They only live a couple of miles away from us, and spend the night at each others' house often.

 This is a creek near Christian's house.  They made some weapons there this past weekend.


 And last but not least, Paul.

I'll have to post an actual photo of his face sometime.  haha  Paul's mom Micky is a friend of mine and she moved in next to us after her divorce over a year ago.  Paul is close to Ben's age and his brother is close to Nathan's.  We see Paul almost every night that he stays with his mom, because he's an extrovert and a people person, and gets bored without a crowd!   He's a great kid.  Very smart and talkative, like Alli.

So, you see, God fully answered our prayers.  I haven't even covered Nathan's recent neighbor friendships.  I love seeing my kids form relationships and I enjoy the fact that we are often the "hub."  With so many kids and pets around, there's certainly no chance of me being lonely!  We are very blessed indeed.  I'm sure they are making life memories without even knowing it.

the friend zone

We spent some time last year praying for friends.  I mean, I have friends coming out of my ears, but Nathan, Alli, and Ben all felt like even though they have cousins that are friends, they wanted more friends at school.  

The Lord heard our prayers!  This past year has been a good one.

First, there's Alli.  I mean, she doesn't know a stranger anyway, but she and Taylor are on their second year of friendship and they're going strong.  They even fight like sisters.

Taylor's family will often take Alli along on their getaways and adventures.  Here they're hot-tubbing in an adventure resort near Gatlinburg.  That's Taylor's little brother Weston.  Alli probably likes him more than Taylor does.

This was make-your-own-pizza night at our place.

Girl's night.

At the park.  That kid.

 Celebrating a lost tooth.

 And their latest adventure, a return from Weston's dirt bike weekend competitions.  They're so tired in this photo, they're giggle-silly.

Then there's Ben.  His best friend is Christian.  He's in his class at school.  The first time asking a new friend over is always a little nerve-wracking for me.  Meeting the parents.  Wondering if they're psycho.  Do they watch horror movies? Have a moonshine distillery in the basement?  Freak if I bring their kid home dirty or feed him frozen egg rolls?

Well, it turns out they're pretty much like us.  Weird.

This is science party day.
Christian has invited Ben over just as much, and they've been working on laying down some dubstep tracks.  (i.e. writing songs together)  Christian's dad is a musician so I guess he's got some cool stuff. And Christian has two younger brothers.  That's it.  Just boys.  As in "ain't no drama queen there".

Besides Christian, Ben also likes (and I mean LIKES) to be with the young lady standing beside him.  Natasha.  The girl from England with the accent.  Apparently they sit really really close together.  And MJ in the blue, she's fun and crazy and a lot like Alli.

Lastly, Nathan, who has really enjoyed the friendships he's made in Classical Conversations.  Sarah Kate, in the blue shorts, is the one HE likes.  I mean, he's made awesome guy friends in school too, but his mom can't get her act together and get a picture of them.

Well....Dylan (far left) and Benny (yellow) are in this one, but it's so blurry.  However, Sarah Kate is front and center and perfectly clear, and that's all that matters anyway. (grin)

So there you have it.  God must like to answer prayers for friends, because we sure got 'em.

hiking (a very small portion of) the appalachian trail

I've never been to North Carolina.  Before I go on, let me admit that the photo above was taken after I had driven less than 100 yards past the sign, decided that yes, I really DID need a picture by the state sign, turned around in someone's driveway and did things right.

My long-time friend Kara turns 40 this month.  Being a NC native, her bucket list wish was to backpack a 40-mile stretch of the Appalachian trail for her birthday.  As life would have it, she went and got herself pregnant with baby number four, so the 40-mile thing,....well.......

But there is still hiking.  And a cabin in the woods.  So we tweaked things a bit here and there and the trip was more eating restaurant food and soaking in hot springs than gnawing on trail jerky.  But more on that in a bit.

We reached our cabin Friday afternoon with a couple hours of daylight left.  We tossed our suitcases into the "Goldfinch," inhaled the mountain air, grabbed a couple water bottles, and went half a mile farther into the itty bitty center of Hot Springs, NC.

We hit the trail right away, following the painted white dashes.  (look behind Kara's head.)  We knew the forecast for Saturday was rain, so we didn't want to waste a single second of this:

The AT literally runs through the town for a couple blocks, right on the sidewalk.

After you walk through town (it's only a couple of blocks) and over the bridge, the trail leads you down to the French Broad River.

The trail was pretty clear.  Sometimes it was steep, sometimes we had to maneuver over rocks, but for the most part, we took our time taking in the scenery and stopping every 30 steps to take another picture.


I mean........

I look at this and it's my happy place all over again.

Unfortunately, by the time we were done hiking and back in town finishing our man-sized burgers, Kara realized that she had sprained her ankle pretty badly.  Back at the cabin, we got some ice on it, propped it up, and waited for two other girls driving in to join us for the weekend.  

With the rain in the forecast and Kara's sprained ankle, hiking wasn't looking good for Saturday.  

But this was:

A mile and a half underground, there are 100-degree hot springs full of minerals good for your skin and muscles, and since the 1800's, this town has been capitalizing on them.  We scheduled a mid-morning hour-long soak and said "who cares" to the trail and the rain.

Kara couldn't get in since she's pregnant, but by golly, she could get that ankle to soak!
The two girls that joined us are Kara's friends Joanna and Debbie.  They were young and fun and great to have on the trip.

Here's a picture of how the bath houses are set up.  They're private except for the side that faces the woods and the river.  They pipe fresh hot water into the tubs before each session and drain it when you're done.  It was the perfect temperature and it did make my skin feel good.

What's left of the original bath house is on the property.
(The history of the hot springs is really interesting, but long, so if you want to read more about it, click on this link.)

We spent some of the afternoon browsing the town's few shops: an outfitter, a local artisan/coffee shop, and a jewelry/antique shop.

The rain let up during our shopping so we decided to do some more hiking.  (Kara had to stay and sit by the river.)  

 It misted and sprinkled but we pressed on in our ponchos.  The views were still something to behold.

Back in town later that evening, we had ribeyes and grilled local trout at the Iron Horse and shared a very rich, very dreamy chocolate almond torte between the four of us.  

We finished the night with a movie and I was off early Sunday morning to make it back in time for my friend Mia's wedding.  The drive home was stunning, but it sure is difficult watching the mountains disappear in my rear view mirror.  

Kara and I have been friends for almost 15 years now, and we're a steadfast, patient duo.  We share an equal love for the trail, and our little weekend trek just whet our appetite for more.  We have our eyes fixed on the anticipation of getting back to the AT in a few years and doing a backpacking stretch. Only thing is, we're not getting any younger, so if we're going to match the miles to the years.....

Well, keep calm and trail on.