I went to Colorado

The second I returned home from this trip out to Colorado I wanted to share every single moment, every single photo, and grab my loved ones and return to show them.

But in just 5 short days I saw so much beauty I was blown away.

When I got home I kept thinking, how will I ever summarize this trip into words?
Every time I close my eyes now I feel the perfect mountain breeze, I see the most bright white sunlight and hundreds of vibrant gold aspen tree leaves raining down on me.

 

Time, to me, seems to be accelerating with each passing day, week, month....does anyone else feel that?
It's October. I'm exactly 2 short months away from bidding 26 farewell and welcoming my 27th year of life.

Whoa.

Our trip to Colorado, like most, was very spontaneous and not really planned. We started in Denver, drove West to Breckenridge then South to Crestone where we spent majority of our time.

We took these Aspen Tree photos on Boreas Pass in Breckenridge. What an adorable little ski town... I would love to spend a Summer there!

I mean, they paint their trees Blue ...what's cooler than that?
;)


So after doing the cliche Colorado touristy things: visiting a marijuana store and stopping in South Park (yes the cartoon is based off a real town in Colorado) we made our way to Crestone where we would stay the rest of the trip.

in the middle. of. nowhere.

Every time we told friends or strangers that we were staying in Crestone they gave us a confused look and said:
Where?!

 

How we found this place I will never know. Actually, we didn't find it.
It found us.

I was searching Air Bnb a week before we left trying to find a place to stay in Colorado.
I kept circling back to This Rental and kept receiving signs that that's where I needed to go.

So, off we went!

Ahh here it is. The entire space was ours.
This is actually a holistic healing retreat called Haelan Lifestream Center owned and operated by a trauma surgeon turned holistic physician named Dr. John Day.

Extremely smart guy who makes you feel very welcomed as soon as you arrive. He fed me fresh snap peas and cherry tomatoes from his greenhouse and answered some questions I had about my Hashimotos Thyroid disease.
Guess who can no longer eat gluten.

The retreat was out of this world. It was so still and quiet that I could hear a bunny hopping through a big tumbleweed bush. The sound of a blue jay echoed. Getting up with the sun, bundled in cozy sweaters, watching the first peeks of sunlight come up over these mountains is something that will live with me forever.

The property has a few meditation stations where you can sit in peace and stare at the mountains. To add more to the experience, you can bang on some meditation gongs which were the coolest ever.

Crestone is a very spiritual, health and eco conscious tiny community. A place where every single item at the only grocery in town is organic and most bakery items come gluten free. We spoke to a local one morning at the cafe over breakfast and he said while they are trying to grow the community they enjoy how small and tight knit it is, everyone loves and supports each other. Right in their downtown they have a 'Give & Take' box where people exchange clothing or housing items in return for something else they need.

There may not be much in this tiny run down town, but it sure is full of love.

Crestone has a history of being a hot spot for aliens. They even have a UFO Watch Tower...it was so fun to hear stories from the locals. There was even a college class there on a field trip. They were taking a class geared towards thinking outside the box...
(omg- get with the program SNHU)

 

But our favorite part was an hour South of Crestone.....
The Great Sand Dunes National Park.

I sware you guys.
Just last month....well, wait. August. So 2 months ago
(See! time...)

I was sitting on Hunting Island with happy tears in my eyes because I got to capture on film my first tornado/water spout. After the storm I sat in a hammock under two palm trees thinking,
There's no way it get's better than this. I will never see anything this cool again, at least not for a long time!!


Then September 24th came around.

 I felt like I was on a different planet while playing on these massive sand dunes.
A planet where nothing mattered anymore. I didn't have to pay bills, I didn't have to worry about what my future looked like or what other humans thought of me.
It was only joy and love.
and SO MUCH FUN!

A group of middle aged tourists arrived shortly after us and they were running and giggling and sliding down the dunes...it was so adorable and, refreshing. To see that no matter what physical age you are, you can always let your guard down and be a 'free spirit' again ;)

Don't let the world make you hard.

 The National Park Service has said that walking on these dunes in the full moon light is similar to walking on the moon. I can totally see that, because as the sun sets and the quiet darkness begins to  creep in... it turns into another world.

You're hundreds of miles from any major metro area. It's so dark, and so quiet.
So still...

We wrapped up this short trip with a visit to Garden of the Gods then made our way back to Denver to fly out.

This trip changed me.
I was just starting to feel like OK, I want to buy a house and settle down into a routine life.
But now I feel like... no way. I want to live in an RV and live in each state for a week!
There's so much out there to see!!!

But then again, owning a house with a yard where I can run around with chickens and cats and dogs while growing my own food & flowers sounds pretty darn enticing.

Back and Forth
Hot and Cold.

Story of every 20-somethings life?
lol

All I know is it's raining, and I've got a cup of tea waiting for me in the kitchen.
Time to kick my feet up and pretend like I'm sitting here:

Ahh travel.
It truly is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer.


Sending you lots of love friends.