8 posts tagged “colorado”

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More from Colorado -- Rocky Mountain National Park

On our second full day, our entire group drove up into the Rocky Mountain National Park. The road leading up there is by far the scariest road I've ever been on. It has hairpin turns, sharp drops, crumbling construction, and few guardrails. At one point, the road goes down to one muddy lane. But it's worth it to get to the lookout point toward the top -- a set of stairs lead way up onto the mountain. Completely ignoring the "do not ascend with lightning threatens" sign, we climbed to the top, the low clouds rolling around us while we heard thunder in the distance. The highest point is at 12,005 feet -- 2.3 miles up. The views are staggering, and the place affords many photo opportunities, as you can see.
 
Matt and Lexi: Mountain People.
Matt and Lexi: Mountain People.
Gorillas in the Mist
Gorillas in the Mist

 

The hills are alive, with the sound of music.
The hills are alive, with the sound of music.

 

Living Water's Youth Group
Living Water's Youth Group

1 comment Tags: colorado, altitude, rockies, group photo, youth trip

Our hike to Bible Point

On our first full day, a group of us hiked up to Bible Point. It's not a tough hike (I did it two years ago), but it is at 9,000 feet, so there is quite a bit less air than there is here in Sacramento at sea level. My legs were fine during the hike, but I kept stopping to catch my breath. And wheeze. And curse the heavens. Once at the top, however, it's totally amazing. You can see the entire YMCA and the valley on the other side of the mountain. There's also a mailbox with a spiral notebook for you to sign proving you've been up there, plus there's a wooden cross. It's very peaceful, except when there are eleven people jumping around, taking photos, and pretending Aron is falling off the side of the mountain.
 
Instead of taking the trail down the mountain, we decided to run down the side. It's much faster (again, did it two years ago), but it's really slick with pine cones and there are a lot of poky bushes. I totally ate it twice. We reached a resting point and were talking about the hike when Aron jumped out from behind a tree and scared the absolute snot out of me. I screamed so loud it echoed, and I fell into the brush, laughing and crying and trying to catch my breath. I was the first person Amazon Aron scared on the trip, but I wouldn't be the last.
 
5 comments Tags: colorado, hike, cross, mailbox, bible point

The YMCA of the Rockies

Every other year, we stay at the YMCA of the Rockies (every other other year, we go to Orange County, CA). Located just outside Estes Park, CO, it's basically the nicest YMCA I've ever seen. There are dormitories, a few cafeterias, a restaurant, a mini-golf course, a pool, an arts and crafts building, an archery range, and breathtaking views of the Rockies in all directions. Every day, we had quiet time with God, where we could read our Bibles and pray without the distractions that normally consume us. My roommates this year were the fabulous Jo, Marissa, Jenna, and Ariana. We had a lot of good times in our room, and spent many late nights giggling when we should have been sleeping. I made a fort in my bunk because the morning light was so bright. I'm 26, and I made a fort.
 
Here are some photos from around the camp. Enjoy!
 
1 comment Tags: harry potter, colorado, goofy, altitude, oxygen

On the Road Again

Andrew & Me
Andrew & Me
6 comments
This was my first trip where I was officially "a driver." Last year I was old enough to drive (25), but I was pretty much usurped by the other moms leaders who wanted to be in constant contol of everything drive. This year, however, my co-pilot Andrew and I shared the driving responsibilities. And with 2,500 miles to drive, it's a good thing! Our 23 students and leaders piled into three rented Toyota Sequoias, and hit the road. Too bad we spent a lot of time crawling in traffic. If anyone can tell my why half of the Western US has one lane closed off by giant orange construction cones for no apparent reason, I'd love to know.
 
Most of the car trips were spent either talking or sleeping (for the kids, at least). We hit a massive rainstorm on the way back through Wyoming. I could barely see the car in front of me, and it made the rest stop we took there a hilarious soaking mess (see the photo below). We also "went on a picnic," where the kids took: an Artichoke, a Banana, a Carrot, a Dog, Eggnog, Fritos, a Gorilla, a Historectomy (uh), Iceland, something starting with a J that I can't remember, a Kangaroo, a Loser, a Mochachinofrappelatte, a Nokia, an Octopus, a Punjabi, a Quaker, a Rotisserie grilled chicken, Salmon, Tognotti (Ryan -- the guy in the fanny pack below -- made up a word), Underpants, Velcro, Wingardium Leviosa, Xena Warrior Princess, a Yo-Yo, and Zelda. We also sang silly Swen and Dean (see a future post for more info about these guys) songs and listened to a few chapters of Harry Potter on CD. It also got a little goofy when we listened to Thriller.
 
3 comments Tags: thriller, rain, construction, driving, cars, colorado, cones, a quaker …

I'm a woman with a plan. Kinda.

I am still terrified to go through reading all your past posts due to Harry Potter (which I am 2/3 done with, and still spoiler-free!), but that doesn't mean I can't post myself! So now I present some of the posts I've been composing in my email. Each one will chronicle a part of my fantabulous trip to Colorado. Once I finish HP (tomorrow, I hope), I'll get ready to sift through the past posts of everyone from the last week and a half. I've missed you all!

And I'm sorry for totally flooding your neighborhood reader with my posts! But I think it's easier to write little snippets than one enormous post that Vox will definitely delete and then I'll have to crawl under my desk and eat a whole pie due to loss-of-blog depression.

6 comments Tags: harry potter, colorado, posting, plan

I'm off to Colorado!

Vacation! Sort of.

In about an hour, I'll be off to Colorado, wrangling youth who are hyped up on Mountain Dew and Monster energy drinks for a week-long church conference (my fourth trip to this particular conference). We'll do a lot of singing, learning, praying, bonding, and, of course, eating. Oh, and we're driving there. From Sacramento to Salt Lake City tonight (I'll say "hi" for you, Erin), and then Salt Lake City to Fort Collins tomorrow, and the Fort Collins to Estes Park on Monday. Basically the directions are: Get on I-80 and drive for a thousand miles. Go south a bit. Stop.

I sent Siobhan to get my copy of Harry Potter from WalMart last night, but I'm not sure she was successful. She's still asleep, so I guess we'll find out when she gets up soon. If she wasn't able to get it, let's hope some random truck stop in Nevada has it. Or I'll have to wait a whole week to get it, since we aren't leaving the YMCA campus we're staying on all week. *horrors*

I'll be sans Internet all week, although I might be able to get cell reception up in the mountains. If so...I'll be mobloggin'! Because I know what you all want is a gobzillion pictures of me and my youth wearing matching shirts. You are all so lucky.

I'll be back on Sunday! Enjoy your week, everyone!


4 comments Tags: vacation, harry potter, driving, colorado, mobloggin', wal-mart, youth trip …

My Harry Potter Dilemma

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)

On July 21, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out.

I didn't start reading the HP series until last year, right before book six came out. I've enjoyed the series thus far, and I'm looking forward to book seven. I wouldn't consider myself a dress-as-Hermione-and-wait-in-line-at-midnight sort of fan, but I would like to get my hands on the book as soon as possible for one reason and one reason alone:

I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO SPOIL THE ENDING. Not my friends, or my YG kids, or the media, or the Internet or anything.

Here's where my dilemma lies: I am leaving for a youth group trip to Colorado at 8:00 am on July 21. That means that I somehow have to get my hands on a copy of the book before then, in the eight hours between midnight, when it's released, and 8:00, when I leave. But I haven't pre-ordered it at Borders, so I can only get a copy if there are enough left in the middle of the night (the clerk said perhaps 2:30 am). I'm wondering if WalMart will have them before 8:00 am. I know that some of the YG kids will have their copies (from their midnight line-standing) on the trip and I really really really don't want to overhear them talking about it. Ugh! Maybe I can find it in a gas station in Reno or something.

Any ideas?

17 comments Tags: harry potter, trip, colorado, dilemma, youth group, deathly hallows

Yurck. Oh, and a good haircut.

So I've come down with some sort of undesirable stomach virus. Not that there is such thing as a desirable stomach virus. I felt pretty craptastic at work yesterday, and today is even worse. Can I get a big, fat UGH?

My weekend, therefore, has been pretty low-key thus far. Hung out with my roommate, my roommate's bf Robert, and my bro last night. We watched the first three episodes of Firefly, the best Chinese Space Western ever created. I know you'll all agree.

This morning I went out to my parents' house to elicit pity from them. It worked! They love me. I love them. Mom made me soup and we watched some HGTV, where one deluded designer changed this ugly bathroom into something equally as ugly. Impressive. I was able to drag myself off the couch for an hour to get my hair cut. Lulu, the hairdresser who works wonders, cut quite a bit off, but I really like it. Oh, and Friday night I colored it. So, it's a new look!

P6270020Newhair

Tonight I've been working on some freelance stuff (because I am *that* cool to be working on a Saturday night) and trying unsuccessfully not to be sick. I've been catching up on MI-5. I've watched more TV in the last 24 hours than I've seen in a very long time. But sometimes you just need a rest, you know? Especially if your stomach is turning itself inside out.

Tomorrow is church (we're going through the Psalms. Very cool.), then I have the pleasure of stuffing myself in a tiny, hot fireworks booth for three hours. But we're raising money for the youth group trip to Colorado at the end of July. I love youth trips, especially the one to Colorado because it was during a summer Colorado trip I became a Christian. And Estes Park is probably one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Just a few weeks! I can't wait!
4 comments Tags: firefly, sick, hair, christian, church, colorado, hgtv, freelance …