Fun in my first major snowfall in Colorado

On Friday I had the day off, and planned to go hang out with Jen. She suggested we do some snowshoeing around her neighborhood and then bake cookies. Sounded like a great day to me! Jen also invited Clare, her rock climbing buddy, who is a lot of fun and full of spunk. We hit it off right away.

We hiked around for about 2 hours through ankle and thigh deep snow. I fell down twice (ha!). We saw a small pack of coyotes in the distance. We burned off enough calories to justify eating as many cookies as we wanted.

We decided after snowshoeing that we just wanted to keep hanging out, so all the hubbies joined us and we had dinner, beer, and basketball. I got to hang out with my little buddy, Soren. He cracks me up all the time, and I just had to share this video with you - he loves olives, and he always puts them on his fingers to eat them. Silly boy!

Yesterday (Sunday) Bill had to work, so I planned a fun-filled day with myself! I drove to Boulder to register for the BolderBoulder 10K - woo hoo! Then I hopped over to Chautauqua Park to hike another trail. We just had a decent amount of snow last week, so I wasn't sure how far I would be able to go, but the adventurer in me took over and I determined to hike all the way up to the Royal Arch. This is a 4 mile (round-trip) hike with a 1,200 ft elevation gain.

It was slushy. I had no crampons or hiking poles. I slipped and slid my way all the way to the top, and then all the way back down again! It was great fun.

When I finally got to the top, there was a beautiful view of Boulder and eastern Colorado. I met a lovely couple with a little baby and an adventurous dog. I really wanted to take some pictures of the arch, but it was so enormous that I couldn't find a place to take a picture of it and do any justice. Sorry!

I made a little friend while resting at the summit - He had no fear whatsoever. He climbed all over my shoes and my pack looking for any little bit of granola or nuts.

When I finally reached the trail head, my shoes and socks were soaked through and I was squishing my way to the car. But I was happy and filled with a feeling of accomplishment and adventure. I did it! All by myself! With no helpful gear or someone to encourage me on the way! I'm awesome.

Then I got back to the Tahoe and realized that I had left my lights on and the battery was dead. Back to reality!