Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day- I love it! My awesome little sister was born on February 14th. It has always been a fun day for me! Do you remember decorating a shoebox and exchanging Valentine's in school? I miss that! :) Now I enjoy Valentine's Day with my sweet husband who likes to make me delicious dinners and spoil me with chocolate and wine....not bad either! :)

Last year I spent February 14th at a car dealership....not really by choice. Our Jeep Cherokee did not survive the road trip from Florida to Colorado. I had to have a car and we decided we had enough car problems to last a lifetime, so a new, reliable one would be best. My alien green Kia Soul was the perfect choice! I call her Kermie....after the frog. :)

February 14, 2012 at the Kia Dealership

I love this little car! It is cute, fun to drive, and has AWESOME gas mileage! Gas prices are ridiculously high these days...if it wasn't for this car we may not have been able to afford to travel around as much as we did this past year! Kermie has been all over Colorado taking us on many of our hiking adventures in the mountains! I am extremely grateful for that!

So Happy Birthday to Kermie- thank you for the past year of adventures and I hope to have many more with you!

I hope everyone had a sweet Valentine's Day!

5 Reasons I Love to Hike

1. The fresh air- it does wonders for me! I feel so much more relaxed when I am playing outside...especially after being cooped up all week at work. I love the smell of the pine trees- so refreshing. I like taking in deep breaths while I hike. Jim and I also learned something about Ponderosa Pine trees from a park ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park this past summer- the bark smells like vanilla or butterscotch. Next time you are hiking on a warm, sunny day find a Ponderosa Pine tree, sniff the sap between cracks in the bark and see for yourself! :)

Ponderosa Pines

2. The wildlife encounters- you never know what you are going to see and that is always exciting.

The chipmunks at Rocky Mountain National Park are not shy at all!

We were lucky enough to stumble upon a mother mule deer and her fawn last summer...a very special experience!

So many beautiful butterflies! I am hoping this year to be able to identify the different species.

A rattlesnake that my brother-in-law and I encountered on our way back to the trailhead one day. Luckily we made it past him without any trouble.

3. Identifying plants and wildflowers-  It has never been enough for me to spot a flower and say "gee whiz that is a pretty flower." I need to know what it is. I have always loved botany and was lucky enough to take some pretty great courses in college. It is nice being able to apply the skills I learned in the field. My sister and brother-in-law bought me a Colorado Wildflower field guide for my birthday last year which I have put to great use! http://www.amazon.com/Rocky-Mountain-Wildflowers-Colorado-Guide/dp/1937052036 I also purchased the Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflower app for my phone that describes and shows photographs of over 500 wildflowers, ferns, shrubs, and trees. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emountainworks.android.coloradofieldguide&hl=en

I am getting pretty good at identifying flowers now on the trails.

Dalmation Toadflax

Tufted Fleabane

Columbian Monkshood

Wild Plum Flower

4. The journey- Ralph Waldo Emerson said "life is a journey, not a destination." When you slow down to a walking pace you see the world with different eyes. Things become more clear. Your senses are heightened- you notice the texture of the bark, the color of the leaves, the smell of the trees, the songs of the birds. Everything is refreshingly beautiful. I love that.

5. The feeling of accomplishment- Some of the hikes I have done are strenuous so just making it to the end is a challenge! That feeling you get when you reach the summit is so rewarding. After a day of hiking I always feel great physically, mentally, and spiritually. I can't think of a better way to spend a beautiful day!

Green Mountain Summit- 8,144 ft

What are your favorite things about hiking? 

Just Keep Treading On

Today I did a 2 mile uphill hike.....on a treadmill. DEFINITELY not as fun as hiking in the mountains, but it is important to stay in shape, especially during the winter months when the weather doesn't always allow for the best hiking conditions. Although there are certainly hikes you can do here in the winter, I am a beginner so I don't own a lot of the essential gear needed for the cold weather or snow....yet anyway. :) 

One thing I learned from my first year hiking in Colorado though is that it doesn't hurt to be in shape! I moved here from Tampa, FL where the elevation is 48 feet above sea level to the Boulder area where the elevation is about 5,430 feet. That is a HUGE difference! The air is thinner and it is a lot easier to get winded. The terrain on many of the trails I have encountered is steep and boy those inclines will get your heart racing fast! I often have to stop for mini breaks just to catch my breath. So spending time in the gym (as much as it can be a pain sometimes) has really helped to prepare my body for the mountains. I like to do my cardio on the treadmill using an incline to maximize my work out and to mimic the kind of exercise I get on the trails. I do find it funny that pretty much the entire time I am on the treadmill I am thinking about food... what I am eating for dinner that night, what I can possibly have for dessert? Anybody else do this? :)

Besides thinking about food while I was on the treadmill today, I observed the crowd in the fitness center. There is no doubt that Colorado is a health conscious state. There were so many people in the gym and all age groups were represented and I mean ALL! I was so happy to see an older couple (probably in their late 60s or early 70s) working out together. The man was lifting weights and was in amazing shape while his wife cycled on the bike. When the man was done lifting he went around the corner to retrieve his wife's wheel chair so that he could assist her off the bike. They were so sweet together and their physical fitness abilities were nothing short of admirable. I hope I am in that good of shape when I am that age!


I am getting so pumped for the spring and summer! I know that as much as I despise that treadmill sometimes I will be happy that I had many dates with it when I am climbing those beautiful mountains! :)

Finding My Place

A year ago today my husband Jim and I arrived in Colorado after an epic cross country road trip from Florida. We felt like little hippies as we basically sold most of our belongings, packed up what we needed, and headed west. As Jim put it "we were just two unemployed love birds on our way to Colorado." It was both scary and exciting! We came here for a healthier and happier lifestyle and that is exactly what we got. I have always loved the outdoors and this is the perfect state to live in for anyone who does! There is so much beauty here. Today I spent the afternoon reminiscing about our first year in Colorado and looking at our photos from some of our amazing hikes and adventures. I realized that I finally found "my place." I decided that since springtime is approaching, which means lots of outdoor time for me, I would like to blog about my hiking experiences and the things I love in life that make me feel relaxed and stress-free! Peace. Love. Hike.

Enjoy.