Rocky Mountain High: COLORADO

 Scott and I just returned from 6 days and 6 nights in beautiful Colorado!  Thanks to our good friends the Morgans, we're lucky enough to stay in their fabulous 5-bedroom home in Frisco each time we visit.  We've made several winter and summer visits and were excited to be there for our first fall.  To say the least, it was incredible.  We hope to return again next fall.

 One of our favorite things about the Morgan's home is the HUGE 2nd floor balcony.  Scott and I enjoyed grilling, dining, and reading (mostly Scott on the reading part) out here.

Day 1: We hit up the local Walmart and Safeway to stock up on food for the week.  We're not big on wasting money dining out, so we ate the majority of our meals at home.

Day 2: We had a lovely breakfast at the Log Cabin Cafe in downtown Frisco and then went for an adventurous "intermediate" hike just south of Breckenridge.  Intermediate my ass. 

By the time we saw this sign, we were at Wheeler Trail Junction.  We could have sworn that we were nearly to Mohawk Lakes.  Boy were we wrong!

 

 Just past Wheeler Trail, we saw this beautiful lake.  We could see dams and I was determined to see a beaver or two...no such luck.  P.S. They don't respond to "Beavers, where are you?  Come here beavers, we want to meet you."  I tried relentlessly.  Scott was not impressed with my efforts.

 Along the way, there were SO many photo opportunities.  This may have contributed to the reason we were NEVER going to make it to the top.

 Crap.  There's more?  So, you're saying we're NOT at the top yet?

 The last 3/4 of a mile to the top felt like a constant Stair Master.  Did I mention I LOATHE Stair Masters?  No?  Well, just did.  I was trying to play it cool until I realized that Scott also breathing loudly and needed breaks here and there.  Whew!

 We made it!  We made it!  No?  Still not Mohawk Lakes?  GOOD. LORD. HAVE. MERCY.  Does anyone have a snack right now?  I could really go for a snack...Scott mentions that he has Sour Patch Kids in his pocket--praise God!  HALLELUJAH!  Then he mentions that it's the Halloween treat size...damn.

 Yes, this is ACTUALLY the top...we made it to Mohawk Lakes.  It was gorgeous...OR maybe I was hallucinating.  All I know is that we were sitting on a rock.  And that rock was my friend.  I didn't want to leave that rock...unless, of course, a food truck were to drive by...

 Don't let the smile fool you, I was STARVING.  Scott actually threw one of our precious Sour Patch Kids to a fish.  The fish didn't even care.  NOW how were we supposed to survive?!?

 Nearly 4 hours and 7 miles later, we were back at the car.  I ate Crunch Berries as if I'd never eaten before.  Life was good again.  By the way, you'll be impressed to know that I didn't complain during the trek...well, at least not out loud.  I was attempting to be super tough and out-doorsy like.  I don't know if I fooled Scott.  You'll have to ask him.

 Day 3: I give you...Denver Oktoberfest!  YES we were the first ones there at 11am and the Sam Adams was flowing before noon.

 This is one of my favorite pictures.

 Okay, this one's pretty great too.

 Stein hoisting time!  The guy on the right was out first...had to be the failed grip.  The guy in the authentic German garb was the winner.  Naturally, outfits help you win.

 Meet my new best friend!  Well, mainly I just liked what he was wearing, so we took a pic together.  Like the hat?  I just had to fill out a GMC form to get it...now I'm anticipating the backlash of junk mail to follow...WORTH IT.

 We don't know exactly what was going on here but it looked like part of a fabulous pub crawl.  The people had to pedal to make it go.  I'm adding this to my bucket-list for sure.

 Next, we headed northwest to Boulder to visit the Avery Tap Room.

There were SO many varieties that we don't have here in Texas and several that were "tap room only".  My favorite was the Freckles, White Rascal, and Out of Sight (coffee greatness).  Oh, oh, wait...and the Kaiser (Oktoberfest).

 Getting photo-fancy.  Scott kept sticking his hand in my picture.  Not cool, sir.

 That's right, we were the ONLY ones that signed up for the 4:00 tour.  Apparently, this is pretty rare.  PRIVATE TOUR, BABY!  No complaints.

 All of Avery's beer goes through these two mash tons (sp?).  Kinda crazy.

 This is where all of the beer gets bottled.  I'm sure Scott would do a MUCH better job explaining the beer tour than I...sigh.

 Day 4: We headed west to Vail!  We walked through the farmers' market and enjoyed the beautiful architecture and views.

 Couldn't resist this tree.  HAD to take a picture.  No make-up and all.

 Day 5: Scott wanted to go on a hike.  I (surprisingly) did not.  He went out on his own for an hour or two and took some gorgeous pics.  I stayed home and Pinterested (pretty sure this is an official verb now).

 When he returned, he wanted more Aspen.  SO, we drove south of Breckenridge to the Boreas Trail.  Here are a few of the gorgeous trees we saw on the drive.  You don't get this in Texas!

 Day 6: We lazied around, packed up, took the bikes for a ride and enjoyed our last bits of crisp, cool air.  Our perfect vacation had come to an end.  Where will we journey to next???