COLORADO.

We needed a vacation. Not from Omaha, or our jobs, or our friends... we needed to go somewhere new and just... be. So when Drew and I found relatively cheap flights to Denver, we booked our trip on a whim. It turned out to be the perfect getaway and exactly what we both needed.  

We flew into Denver early Friday morning and took our time driving through the mountains to Sylvan Lake, where we had rented a yurt for the night. If you're anything like me and have never heard of a yurt before, let me Google that for you.

We were tucked away in the middle of the mountains, thirty minutes from cell service and civilization. Just us, some bears, and a whole lot of beautiful scenery. It's an experience I'll never forget.

After stopping in Eagle for some wine, we took a drive further up into the mountains. I was in a constant state of awe for the majority of our trip. Colorado is so unbelievably beautiful. You don't realize just how small you are until you're surrounded by this sort of landscape.

After our drive, we returned to our yurt just in time to catch the sunset and share some s'mores and wine by the fire. 

We carved our initials into the tree by our yurt. With a wine key.

We woke up at a very early 5:45 on Saturday morning, because our yurt was filled with sunlight. The only disadvantage of that huge skylight in the middle of the ceiling. You should have seen the stars at night through that thing. Just unbelievable.

Off to Edwards it was - we had some whitewater rafting to tackle.

We met up with Drew's cousins Lori and Jey, who were the most gracious hosts. They not only shared their home with us for a night, but they got us a free whitewater rafting trip with some of the best guides in the world. 

We rafted a Grade 4 course down the Eagle River. If you're ever in the area, I highly suggest going. It was the biggest rush I've had in a while. (Next stop: skydiving!)

http://timberlinetours.com/

It was great getting to hang out with Lori and Jey. They had the best stories. Most of which included the line "That was the closest I've ever seen anyone come to dying."

Sunday morning - it was showers (finally) and a drive to Denver in the rain.

After checking into the house we rented through airbnb.com (I'll never stay in a hotel again), we headed toward the west side of downtown for some drinks. 

Rob just relocated to Denver pretty recently, so he joined us for a few drinks. We hit up a hipster dive called Forest Room 5 - which had a beautiful outdoor area. I'm convinced I now need tree trunks for outdoor seating at my house.

Rob attempted to get a photo of Drew and I. This is what I have to deal with...

^^ This one captures our relationship perfectly.

Sunday was my birthday, and since we had been eating out our entire trip, we decided to take advantage of the awesome kitchen in our rental house and cook dinner at home. We grabbed the fixings for a steak dinner and more alcohol than we needed and had a perfect night in. I've had some great birthdays, but I think this one may have topped them all.

We had the majority of Monday to do whatever we pleased. We cruised around Denver, had breakfast (which turned out to be lunch and dinner as well) at Snooze. Drew ordered 1 1/2 entrees like a fat kid and we shared one of their amazing blueberry pancakes. Since Drew ate so much, he was absolutely miserable afterward... so we went to Washington Park to relax with some geese. 

After a bit of a snooze, we went and dipped our feet in the water at Confluence Park in LoDo. 

See the dark figure by the bridge in the photo below? Some man in a cape was doing the strangest things. He'd walk to the middle of the river, sit down, stand up, walk to the edge, lay down, and then repeat. Parents were ushering their children away in a concerned fashion. People were taking photos. Drew and I just watched from a safe distance. He finally got out of the water and walked away, wet cape and all.

I'm so glad we could get away. I feel incredibly blessed for all that I have.

-k.