We’ve arrived!! And as much as I’m wishing for a great road trip story to share…I’ve got nothing. Our trip was long and uninteresting. And I got a little stir-crazy when we were on our last leg through Nebraska. So after a fabulous suggestion from Diane, and as a tribute to our CO Challenge trip with the youth group, Ryan and I did some synchronized driving to liven up our ride. Simple pleasures. But we knew we were on the home stretch when mountains came in view. Beautiful!
On the home stretch!
We arrived in Denver at the perfect time – rush hour. A great reminder of the busy roads we thought we left in Chicago. But we were so happy to be near our final destination after more than 17 hours on the road that little delay couldn’t dampen our excitement. Even though it was dark when we arrived at our townhouse in Golden and we couldn’t see much of the town at night, Ryan already told me I did a great job in choosing our new home. I am quite proud of myself as well.
We needed to grab a few essential items from our POD before calling it a night (namely, a mattress and covers), so we hesitantly opened the lock and expecting the worst, lifted the door and shone the flashlight inside.
Pristine condition. Because we are the world’s smartest, most efficient packers, there was absolutely nothing out of place or damaged. We are amazing. Sign up for the Hartgerink Pack-and-Move classes now and your application fee will be waived. Oh, and we’ll never go another route with storage and shipping – PODS is the way to go.
Anyway, after a good night’s sleep, we woke up on Saturday to bright sunshine, 58-degree weather (the snow is deceiving!) and panoramic mountain views.
The morning view from our bedroom window.
A great start to our first day in Golden! Once we were done unloading and the Veenstras left to go shopping, Ryan and I took the motorcycle for a ride downtown to check out the area a little.
Ryan's first time downtown Golden.
Love the sign, love the building artwork, love the proximity to the foothills.
I know these carriage rides are also available downtown Chicago, but somehow, this setting seems more fitting.
We decided that since it was such a beautiful day, we should continue our tour of the area and also take a drive up Lookout Mountain before it was too cold to ride the bike. What a great drive!
A gorgeous viewpoint on the way up Lookout Mountain.
A standard Hartgerink shot of ourselves and a beautiful backdrop.
Finally sporting my new leather jacket from Europe!
This is a killer view for several reasons.
Note the little red circle in right-center – that's where we live!
Not snow-capped peaks, but still magnificent. (check out the lovebirds enjoying the view)
The fun ride down.
For dinner, we went to Woody’s Wood-Fired Pizza and despite being spoiled by living in the pizza capital of the U.S., we could all agree it was fantastic. And it just so happened our server was from good old Grand Rapids – small world! He had lots of tips to share with us about the area and outdoor activities.
Mm, mm good.
After dinner, we drove up Lookout Mountain again (this time in the car) with Laura and Jared to overlook the city lights. Did I mention we can also see stars here?? And to end our night, Ryan and I watched the movie, Tombstone, a most appropriate choice about Wyatt Earp and the wild west.
Okay, if you need to take a little breather before continuing on, I would recommend doing so now. But just a little more to go – and mostly just photos. What can I say, it was a fun-filled weekend!
On Sunday, we decided to get some unpacking done before the work-week since our place was littered with boxes and was driving us crazy. However, after a couple of hours, we decided it was too nice of a day to waste inside unpacking so we took a break. But rather than relax and unwind a bit, we headed north 2.5 hours to Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park via the Peak to Peak scenic byway to see some elk bugling in action (to find out what that is, check out this site). For those of you who may be shaking your head at our lack of church attendance, this trip was just as good, if not better, than a traditional worship service. In my opinion, being surrounded by God’s beauty in nature is one of the most spiritual experiences. But don’t worry, we’ll get to church next week, haha.
Here are some of the sights we saw along the way:
Heading to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Sadie's first experience of the Rockies!
This is a CO drive-by shooting.
A picturesque church along the way.
Gotta love mountain lakes.
It was a little chillier in the higher altitude, so I was soaking up the sun.
We stopped in the city of Estes Park en route before heading on toward the National Park.
After driving on a little farther and just before entering the park, we decided that since it was getting late and we would still have to pay the fee to enter the park, we would come back when we had more time. But lucky for us, right as we turned around I spotted a group of elk. And guess what? They were bugling! So we got out to hear them in action and of course starting shooting…with our cameras, that is.
Before even entering the park, we saw a group of elk by the visitor's center.
Of course these are only a few of the photos we took this weekend. Which means our time here in CO will most likely produce more photos than any of our previous albums combined. Scary, I know. Terabytes are our friends. Oh, and photos of our place are coming soon – still trying to get everything in order!
Until next weekend,
Laura