Summer shenanigans...

So this summer went by incredibly fast, and now Mike and I are both back to school and working everyday. How time flies when you are having fun. It's hard to believe I've been out in Colorado over a year now. But I wanted to give everyone a recap of the fun filled shenanigans that were had out here and on our visit to the East Coast this past summer.

I'll start with my NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) trip. Which took me off into the woods for a month only a few short days after finals were over last semester. Which was utter chaos, mind you. My trip started with my friend Katie who I had met on my trip to Alaska about five years ago. We embarked on our journey west and rummaged around in Seattle for a few days prior to arriving at the NOLS Pacific Northwest headquarters. It is a beautiful place, with the mountains and the sea. Reminded me alot of San Fran. After experiencing a few run-ins with some homeless natives and meeting some cool people at the hostel we were staying at across from Pike's Market, we left for our journey.

As pictured we had 11 people in our group. 9 students, and 2 instructors. Originally there were 10 students, but he got trench foot less than half a week into the trip so he was evac'd. But that's another story in itself. 

It was an amazing experience. Completely secluded in the wilderness, no phones, no other people. Just what we had on our backs, which included 20 pounds of food each, tent gear, cooking utensils (stove, pot, pan, etc.) and our own items of clothing, toothbrush, books if you wanted, etc. It was amazing to see how easy it is to live with so little. You find you don't need anything 90% of the things you use everyday. It was an eye opening experience. Challenging, both physically and mentally. As I did develop achilles tendonitis in both achilles about 2 weeks in, making it a little more difficult than I had planned. 

We did meet up 3 times to get re-rationed with food, which was nice seeing a familiar face (that of Honey Beeman, one of the wonderful people who work at the PNW Headquarters). Our route was throughout the southern part of the Cascades. We did travel through Stehekin, WA and mingled with some people. And trust me, after 24 days at that point, we weren't smelling like roses. All in all we hiked around 90 miles, not too much considering we were post-holing in snow up to our waists at point nearly everyday. BUT we made up for our lack of mileage by gaining over 24,000 ft. in elevation. Talk about thunder thighs.

It was a great experience, and I met great friends. But I was so happy to be back in Colorado with Michael. That was what got me through most of the really challenging days. He had many things to tell me. 

Like how he WON FIRST PLACE, in one of the kayaking competitions he competed in over the month I was gone @ Lyons Outdoor Games. He also competed in Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO and did very well in that as well. 

He also ran some pretty sweet drops on the North Fork of the Poudre with some friends. I was very proud. We both had very entertaining stories to tell.

After that, we hung around in the new house Mike had beautifully prepared for me while I was healing my achilles. Then we got back to business. Kayaking. It was really fun, Mike pushed me like usual, and I was progressing amazingly. We had a great time out on the rivers. A few swims scared me off a time or two, but it is well worth it being on the river with Mike. You can't help but get excited because he is just so passionate about it all.

We then embarked on our journey to the East Coast. Spending a week in Atlanta, visiting the family and friends. 

We did manage to make it on a kayaking trip up to North Carolina and met up with our friends Scott and Kirsten, who just recently moved from Fort Collins to Augusta, GA. They were actually honeymooning while we met up with them but it was well worth the interruption. My friend Lenora and her family were amazing and let us crash at their lake house on Lake Appalachia for a few nights, which was absolutely breathtaking. It was nice seeing the rolling green mountains for a change. 

We then made our way to D.C. to visit Mike and his family.

Mike took me to D.C. one night and we walked around, which was beautiful. I had a much different perspective than I had had when I visited back in 8th grade. We stayed at his mom's house and got to go out and play with his niece Stella a few times! She's gorgeous. We went to Annapolis for a day, found some old gloves and threw some baseballs, and just enjoyed our time there. It was a great section of our visit.

Mike then somehow managed to talk his mom into letting us steal her car for a roadtrip up to Connecticut. (Thanks Mrs. Konschnik!) We then headed up to see my mom for the annual Redding BBQ. We picked my grandparents up @ the Newark Airport on the way up and spent the rest of our time up there sleeping in the tent in mom's backyard and lounging in the hammock. I got to see all my cats and we ate DELICIOUS BBQ from Henrietta (the smoker).
It was a wonderful vacation all around. We even got to stop in NYC on the way back to D.C. and eat with Kristin (Mike's sister). She took us out to lunch on her lunch break. It was quick, but well worth the $25 dollar parking garage.

Since then, we've been back. Enjoying life in the Fort and living day to day. It is absolutely wonderful. Feel free to make your way out to Colorado and give us a call. We would LOVE to see everyone/anyone. Until then... sit back, grab a beer and enjoy life.

Back to school, work and some play!

Ciao!

 ---- Liz