Steamboat Springs Adventures

Late last week, with a long weekend looming I was feeling a bit desperate to get out of dodge. With all of the kitchen renovations and other daily stresses of life, I decided to surprise Chris with a night away somewhere. There were all of our favorite places to consider, but in the end I decided to take us somewhere new. We love a good explore of a new town so I knew Chris would love the choice just as much as I did.  

We set off early Saturday morning, coffee in hand, for a three hour journey to Steamboat Springs. We only spent one night there, but I have already declared it my new favorite place in Colorado. It is a STUNNING place.

The Power of Fresh Air Makes for A Lovely Weekend

This past weekend -- simple as it was -- really filled my bucket, as my niece would say. It started with a spontaneous call from Chris on my way home from work on Friday, asking if I fancied happy hour at local, authentic little British pub.  There was no arm twisting needed here, so we met up and sat in the pub garden in the sunshine, grateful for the consistent, cool breeze.

Weekend Stress-Reliever

After a very stressful week at work, I retreated to the mountains for some stress-relieving hiking therapy, not one but two days straight!  And it was just what the doctor ordered.  

Saturday, I set off early to meet a friend up in a super cute mountain town called Evergreen, only to sit in traffic for an hour and a half longer than necessary due to an accident.  But I plugged on, and was so glad that I did.  We picked a random trail and ended up climbing to the top of a mountain.  For real.

Sunday, Chris and I headed up for an afternoon in the mountains, enjoying this beautiful mountain road, when we turned the corner to see a motorcycle wipe out in the gravel on the side of the road.  Chris hopped out, along with a few others that were driving past, and lifted the motorcycle off of the couple who were still trapped underneath it.  Luckily they were both okay, though the same cannot be said for the bike, but still scary to see.  

We eventually carried on towards our destination: Mount Evans.  Just as we reached the entrance to Mount Evans road, we realized we were super low on gas and would probably not make it up the mountain and have enough gas to get us back down to the nearest gas station (though we did seriously consider coasting!). So we parked up and went for a hike around Echo Lake, figuring we would catch Mount Evans views another time.  We spent some time around Echo Lake this past winter, cross country skiing, but it was our first time up there in the summer and it was equally as beautiful in the summer sun as it was covered in three feet of snow.

Here it is in the winter...

And this past weekend...

We discovered a really cool trail, with beautiful views all along the way.  And I have to say, there really is nothing like the camaraderie and friendliness found on hiking trails.  It puts a little spring in your step.

(side note: all photos taken on Sunday are courtesy of hubs. I forgot my phone.  :)

Oh, and Saturday night we enjoyed a sunset dinner at the lake.  Stunning.  So grateful that we live so close to this beauty.

What did you do this weekend?  What is your cure for stressful weeks?

Weekend Fun - Irish Style!

A few weeks ago, Chris and I managed to catch a local Irish festival, which filled our Irish-music-loving souls to the brim.  It made us a bit nostalgic for the famous Galway Ramblers, that we feel so lucky to call family, and their West Coast tour that we got to be a part of a few years ago.  But we loved it all the same.

Obligatory Guinness shirt.

These two were sisters from Canada, and boy did they knock our socks off!  Amazing voices, fiddle-playin', and traditional Irish dancing!  Need I say more?

We almost stayed for the big act at the end of the day, but the storm clouds weren't looking so good so we booked it to the car just in time for the worst rain storm I have ever experienced!  Those poor people still at the festival... We did not regret our decision to leave at that point.  Though we were laughing so hard from the hurricane force rain that we couldn't exactly drive.  Or was it the hurricane force rain that was preventing us from driving?  Either way, we had a great time!

It also reminded us that we are due a visit back to Ireland.  We can't wait to see everyone there and catch up soon!

Happy Friday!