colorado, you're our fave.

while in colorado, we saw some of the most unbelievable landscapes.  from ah-mazing sunrises, to snow capped mountains, to endless canyons and gorgeous red rocks.  then to top it ll off, we spent tons of time with family & friends, making this state our all-time fave during our road trip.

things began in boulder where we met up with a college friend.  we met up for drinks and before we called it a night, liz invited a. & i to tackle a sunrise hike.  not ones to say no to such an awesome opportunity, we quickly agreed and made plans to meet at 5:45 am in starbucks.

with hot coffee & tea and time against us, we began the dark trek up mount sanitas.  as we hiked, the skies brightened with fantastic colors and unreal views.  along the way, we stopped for a few primo photo opportunities and continued the climb uphill.

once to the top, we took more photos (of course) and ate a few muffins we picked up at starbucks.  it started to get cold so we hiked down, passing a few people just beginning their day, and made our way to a nice warm breakfast thanks to liz's awesome momma.

after saying goodbye, we ditched our car and trailer on the denver airforce base and drove out to grand junction to visit with my aunt & uncle.  they had a yummy dinner of potato soup and pizza waiting for us & we talked until our eyes wouldn't stay open.

the next day, we drove out to the colorado national monument for the most unreal scenery i've ever seen.  we were completely mesmerized by these rocks and stopped often in the vain hope we could capture this majesty with the camera.  once we arrived back to their house, dave, a hunter introduced a. to elk sausage as geri and i looked through her awesome scrapbook albums and talked genealogy, something i've recently become uber interested with.

unfortunately, we had to leave after lunch to make our way to colorado springs.  here, we stayed with our neighbors from our alabama home.  as is true with true friendships, it felt as though no time passed & we were back in alabama around her kitchen table.  only, it'd been seven years.

a. & i caught up with debbie and her boys, bouncing on the trampoline, making dinner & talking late into the night.  the next day, we ventured out to the garden of the gods, a awesome rock formation that pops up out of nowhere and a mecca for beginning and advanced rock climbers alike.

 true to form, we took some photos here as well- and they are definitely some of my fave.

i know i've been inundating you with road trip pictures & while it's been almost a week and a half since we arrived to california, i still have a few more days i'd like to share.  hopefully you're enjoying this recap as much as i have.