Colo-rad-bro!

Sorry for the delay, everyone! We had a loooong (but good) day yesterday.

Sunday night, we arrived in Erie, CO, where our buddy Doug lives. We didn't plan our day super well, so we left Orem, UT at around 11:00 a.m. hoping to get to Doug's before too late. The drive ended up taking us around 11+ hours, with stops for gas, food, and stretching in between. The night before we looked up the drive on Google maps, and either had the faster options of going back up through UT, through Wyoming, then down to Colorado, or taking the pretty, scenic route straight through to Denver.

Of course, we chose the pretty route. And it was a great decision! The scenery started off looking a lot like Utah--big canyons, pretty red rock, the occasional brown river. The highway then started gaining elevation. Green trees starting popping up. Huge hills with ski lifts appeared. Then, we realized, we had chosen the route which takes you by some of the country's most famous ski resorts: Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge, etc. Unfortunately, I didn't snap any pics, but these resorts were huge! And still beautiful even without the snow.

Eventually, we made it down, past Denver, and on to Doug's place in Erie, which is barely outside of Boulder. We decided that it was a good idea to wake up at six (even though we got there around 11:30 or so), so that we could climb the First Flatiron and beat the heat. We (planned on) climbing the direct face route, but Doug apparently went off route and took up up through this little slot about 300 feet shy of the top.  If he hadn't told us, we would have assumed it was right, but he was pretty bummed that we missed

it. Overall, it wasn't a bust, and we had a blast.

After the climbing and hiking, Doug took us in to downtown Boulder to look around. After hanging out there for a day, I've decided Boulder is a combination of Portland and Eugene... There are hipsters who claim to be hippies, loads of outdoor enthusiasts, funny shops, a big university, and strange one-way streets. To be honest, it's the most at home I have felt since my last visit to Eugene. I'm seriously considering moving there someday...

After walking around for a bit, we met Doug's brother Codey and his son Michael (the funniest four-year-old ever) at Beau Jo's. The pizza was amazing! Apparently, the crust is meant to be eaten with honey once you've finished your pizza, so it's like getting dinner and dessert all in one. This crust probably rivals American Dream's in Corvallis, and I hope I won't lose my Oregonian status by saying that... After dinner, we grabbed some beer, went back to the house, had a little bonfire in the backyard, and just chilled out for the night.

Thoughts on
Boulder, CO:
Food: Great.
Coffee: Great (lots of hipster coffee shops).
Beer: Mediocre (but I mean, really... Who can beat Oregon?).
Scenery: Top notch.
Outdoor activities: Surprisingly accessible, beautiful, and abundant.
Weather: Well, it rained yesterday. And I love rain. But apparently it's not usually like that. But I'll give it a thumbs up.
Location: Cool. Close to Denver, near a bunch of smaller cities. Lots to do.
Possibility of living here someday: High.

Now, we're hanging out in 2914 Coffee (serves Kaladi Coffee Roasters beans),  a little shop off the I-25 in Denver. I give it the stamp of approval. Reminds me a lot of the clean hipsters coffee shops in Portland. Today, we're diving south and hoping to find somewhere in northern Texas to stay. Tomorrow, we're planning on driving to San Angelo to visit Jeremiah Bridges while he's still at the Air Force base. We should be in Austin by Thursday!

Thanks for reading. Wish us luck!

-Emily (and Keith)