How about an overdue update?
We’re baaaack!
Leave it to me to promise regular updates on our travels and then disappear for 6 months.
The short story is that we’ve been having too much fun (humble brag), and when we’re not out exploring, we’re watching low-quality, high-entertainment reality TV to ceremoniously close out our evenings.
If I’m being honest, the real slow-down happened in May when we lost our best friend, Kleo. Transparently, it’s been near impossible to write about the last and best few months of her life without wanting to crawl back under my tortilla blanket and hide from the fact that she’s not around to beg for broccoli anymore.
BUT, this post isn’t about her because I won’t make it through the next few sentences if I focus too much on her cute little grinch feet and human-like side-eye stares. She was such a good girl.
Instead, I’ll give you a rundown of what we’ve been up to this July.
First stop:
Salida, Colorado — home of the Monarch Scenic Tramway, a bunch of natural hot springs, and Hallmark Alpaca Ranch — none of which we actually visited.
We did, however, get to celebrate Alexandra & Blake all weekend by:
whitewater rafting with 60+ of their wedding guests,
ringing in the 4th with fireworks over Riverside Park, and
witnessing a beautiful exchange of vows beside the Arkansas River.
Ross absolutely tore up the dance floor, and I have exactly zero pictures to prove it, unfortunately.
Alexandra (Ross’s cousin) and Blake are both very cool, very smart, and very funny. 10/10 would recommend hanging with them.
10/10 would also recommend hanging out with Ross’s nephews. One of five (Ethan) pictured above at Riverside Park post-wedding.
Second stop:
Dad and Jen’s Airbnb — located in the high country of Coal Creek Canyon about 10 minutes from where Ross and I are staying. Their cabin was an additional 1,000ft in elevation above ours which made for some incredible mountain views.
Dad rocking his brand new birthday fish flops and matching shirt. Happy birthday, Daddy!
Third Stop:
Red Rocks Amphitheater — such a stunning venue. The twilight views of the High Plains and gigantic red monoliths almost made me forget that we paid to see Julia Robert’s ex sing about a “pig meat man.”
Not exactly the musical experience we expected, but it was totally worth it.
This was by far the strangest concert any of us have ever been to, but easily the most beautiful.
Fourth stop:
Boulder, CO — where we met Ross’s parents for dinner at Corrida, a Spanish-inspired restaurant chosen more for the view than the menu. The food was tasty, but the sunset over the Flatirons definitely stole the show.
A Wednesday night Buffington - Andrew family mashup.
Fifth stop:
Nederland — Famous for the Carousel of Happiness, this super cool train car cafe, and the original home of an infamous dead guy who is currently suspended in liquid nitrogen in at the Stanley Hotel in Estes, CO.
This carousel is one of our favorite discoveries in Colorado thus far, and we’ll definitely be going back before we leave. Busey Brews Smokehouse was also pretty great (views shown on the bottom right).
Sixth stop:
Downtown Golden — yeehaw! We love it here. It’s a little on the touristy side, but then again, we’ve signed up to be permanent tourists for the foreseeable future, so I can’t hate.
I completely missed the memo that the Coors facility tours are a HOT commodity. Apparently, you have to be prepared to snag tickets 25 days in advance when the registration window opens at 12am MDT. It sounds almost as stressful as registering for college classes or checking into a Southwest flight to get that coveted A1 position.
So, no Coors tour, but we did go to the Golden Mill, which has a pretty sweet view of the factory from the rooftop.
Seventh stop:
Big Horn Stables — This was easily the slowest nose-to-butt ride any of us have ever been on, but getting to be around horses made every minute totally worth it. The stables were also swarming with bunnies. Minus the fact that we weren’t allowed to pick up speed on the ride, I was in heaven.
The horse on the bottom left was named Cleo! I like to think that our Kleo was reincarnated as a big chonker of a horse for a day to hang out with us.
Stay tuned for part 2. :)
Taylor
