Hello everyone!
My name is Erin, and first I’d love to take the time to thank Abbey for featuring some of my photos on her blog! I am from Iowa (holla back, Iowans!!), but I have been living in Colorado for the past two years. I would gladly show you tons of pictures of Iowa, but in general, I’ve found that more people tend to think Colorado is more interesting. Beats me.
So, back to Colorado. To sum it up in one grammatically challenged sentence, Colorado is really, really ridiculously good looking. There’s not a day I drive home that I don’t marvel at how beautiful the mountains are and how fun it is to watch them shift before your eyes as you drive. I love being able to pick out canyons and random landmarks across town. I love how I’m 10 minutes from really excellent hiking trails, but I’m also an hour away from a big city. This is me contributing to an interactive art piece outside the Denver Museum of Modern Art. People are supposed to finish this sentence: “Before I die, I want to…”
What would you write?
I also kind of really like the granola people. They’re quirky, really interesting looking and they care about things. (yay things!) Also, if you haven’t heard of Chacos, get some. You’re feet will smile for the rest of your life.
There are a lot of pretty places in the world. However, Colorado has the ability to touch a sense of majesty within myself that I’ve never known before. Here are some photos of some of my hikes around town.
Wildlife is a fun thing to see. Big horn sheep are native to most of Colorado. I stumbled upon this after I crested a hill on a hike, only to find this herd just mad doggin’ me.
Also, I spotted this itty bitty elk in Rocky Mountain National Park. Isn’t he cute?
Speaking of, look at this view in Rocky Mountain National Park. The winding creek is stunning.
This is a mountain goat spotted on top of a fourteener! He’s so woolly! Also, sometimes I feel like I’m channeling my inner mountain goat when hiking a fourteener.
Now, that gets me on another topic. Fourteeners! Fourteenrs are mountains that are reach above 14,000 feet (trees stop growing around 11,000 ft!) and there are a little over 50 (I think 53) in Colorado. Some super intense people have climbed them all. I have only done 5 to date, but they’re always really beautiful and fun. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
After hiking a Fourteener, it has been my tradition to visit this place that is so obviously blessed by the Lord Himself. Praise Him!
One interesting fact is that I moved to Colorado the summer of the Waldo Canyon Fire, about which you may or may not have heard. At the time, it was the most destructive fire in Colorado. It was kind of a scary time for me because I had never even thought about wildfires before I moved to Colorado! Also, a lot of my belongings were trapped in a place that was literally encircled by the fire. Gives a new meaning to the simile “spreading like wildfire”. Anyhow, just in case you’re curious, here are some pictures taken during and after the fire.
The last super cool place I want show you is The Great Sand Dunes National Park. This is in southern Colorado and it is SOOOOO cool. The dunes seemingly pop up out of nowhere. Lots of families will go in the spring and pretend it’s the beach. Also, you can “sandboard” down the huge dunes. Sadly, most of my photos from the dunes are on my instagram account (@evmccool if you’re interested in them and other Colorado pics). These two pictures do not do justice, but it does give you a little taste.
Well, that’s all I have for you today! Thank you to Abbey again for featuring me on her blog! It has been an absolute pleasure to share with you all. Thanks for reading!
(abbey now!!)
wow. what do i even say? first of all Erin i laughed so much because you are hilarious and i can hear you saying all of this! Colorado is beautiful and so different from anything i've seen! i can't say i'm adding it to the list of places to visit because its been at the top of the list since Erin moved there. i loved this summer land but the overwhelming emotion it made me feel was missing my good friend. Erin is one of the most beautiful souls and someone i could always feel 100% at ease with. if you are ever in the same state, or have a chance to meet her i recommend it like i recommend wawa coffee. which is to say all the time and a lot. thank you so much ms mccool for this lovely tour of your home!