Bierstadt & BBQ

Second 14er: complete!

Along with our friend Stacy, Mike and I made it up another 14er! Mt. Bierstadt is now checked off, and it was absolutely breathtaking (in terms of scenery as well as what it did to our lungs). I didn't like Quandary all that much, mostly because of the hoards of people that accompanied us on our trek, but Bierstadt was a completely different experience.

We started out at 6am, and watching the sun come up over the Sawtooth Ridge was incredible. It didn't just slowly rise over the mountains, but it broke through with full force and drenched us in light. It was wonderful.

There's something about being out on a mountain, experiencing nature in its rawest form -- smelling the evergreens, climbing over boulders, tiptoeing over streams -- it just fills you with an incredible sense of wonder and adventure, but also with a sense of smallness. So often I get so caught up in bills, lists, and timecards that I forget how big God is, and how wonderful a world he made for us to enjoy -- but also to respect and marvel at. Because I don't know about you, but I think that Sawtooth looks intimidating, and I wouldn't want to be caught on it!

We finished up our afternoon with amazing barbeque in Idaho Springs, mostly because Stacy and Mike were craving sweet potato fries and talked about them the entire way up the mountain (in between singing Elton John's "Benny and the Jetts" and "Rocketman"). I have entertaining people in my life :)

Hope everyone has a great week -- remember to smile and to have fun! And if all else fails, try singing "Benny and the Jetts" when the day gets rough.

Peace, love, & Elton John.

Blog Re-Do

Just a side note: I am in the process of re-designing my blog, so if it looks different/ugly/weird....just be patient.

Quandary.

Well, we are officially Coloradoans. Why?

1) Mike has lived here for a year now (and I'm not far behind him!)
2) We conquered our first 14er

After hearing chatter about "peakbagging" and climbing 14ers, we decided we should probably attempt one. We did some research, and read that Quandary Peak, near Breckenridge, was an "easy" one to begin with. So we booked a campsite at Prospector Campground (just so we could use our sweet new tent), bought some trail mix, and went for it.

Dillon Reservoir on our way to the campground. God can make some pretty cool things.

About 8am or so, almost halfway up! I would also like to point out that I started this hike out with my ponytail in the middle of my head. By the time we reached the summit, it was a side pony because of the insane wind.

I was really excited about maybe seeing mountain goats...and we did :) This guy came down the trail like he owned it...which I guess he did, because we all got out of the way.

He really was this close! I wasn't zoomed in at all. 

Summit! 

This one is for you, Mom and Dad! One time, you made it to 12,005 feet at RMNP...now a little part of you has made it to 14,265 feet! (I mean the t-shirt, not the fact that I carry your genes)

So, we bagged one peak! I have to say that I have never been more winded in my life, nor have I ever resented my asthma as much as I did during our nearly 7 mile hike. But, the Walls are on the register at the summit, and that's what counts. I can't say that I fell in love with doing 14ers, but I do like a challenge (see Slacker post) and so I'm sure we'll do more of them in the future. 

Also, I have the best husband ever who agreed not to camp the second night (I don't sleep well in tents), took me out for Mexican/a giant margarita, and then took me to see Harry Potter. 

Peace, love & mountain goats. 

Purple Mountain Majesties.

"Man must feel the earth to know himself and recognize his values...God made life simple. It is man who complicates it." (Charles A. Lindbergh)


Hope you all had a happy 4th of July! Mike and I had every intention of getting downtown to see some fireworks, but we were exhausted by the end of the day, so we just hung out at home. Why were we exhausted? Because we climbed this sucker that day: 

That would be Mount Boreas, hovering mid-atmosphere at 13,082 feet. We are climbing Mount Quandary in two weeks, so it was good preparation! After a brief stop in Breck to pick up our friend Stacy and to catch part of the 4th of July parade, we headed south to Boreas Pass.  It was an amazing hike, a lot of fun, and absolutely breathtaking scenery!

(That's Mount Baldy there on the right, about 600 feet higher than Mount Boreas.)


Most of our posts are about exploring Colorado, which I hope doesn't get too repetitive! We just love the landscape that God created out here, and we love sharing it with all you sea-level people, hoping that you find it as incredible as we do. :) Experiencing nature in such a raw way really does fill me with this intense emotion -- it's virtually indescribable. I think one way I truly learn about God is by being on top of a mountain, or climbing around in sand dunes, or swimming in a freezing cold lake in the middle of Colorado. It's those kinds of experiences that make me aware of God's intricate involvement in our world, and how blessed we are to be able to swim in his lakes, and walk through his forests, and sit in his valleys and marvel at the mountains. Not to mention the fact that I get to do all these fun things with the love of my life, who is also a blessing beyond words! 

Mike and Stacy also found an easy way of getting down the mountain: sliding down the snowfields on their butts. I have video but it won't upload, so I'll try to get it on here later today.

Peace, love, & America. 

Slacker.

I have officially completed one of the goals I established after moving to Denver: run a half marathon in the Mile High City. I guess my ambitions ran away from me (haha, pun kind of intended), and I ended up signing up for the Slacker Half Marathon -- the highest downhill race in the country. It starts at Loveland Ski Area, at a whopping 10,630 feet above sea level, and travels down 8,400 feet to Georgetown. I was super excited to run it, but also really nervous, because it's taken me about half a year to really feel comfortable running at 5,280 feet! But, I did it anyway, and the good news is: I SURVIVED.

Granted, I was hobbling over the finish line, but I did, in fact, survive. The first five miles of the run were breathtaking -- we ran through a forest of densely-packed evergreens, complete with about four or so waterfalls trickling so beautifully down the mountain. Ahh.

The next 8 miles? Not so much. Still beautiful terrain, of course (how could it not be gorgeous in the Rockies?), but that constant downhill really starts wearing on your knees...and your right leg's IT band. Oh, and it got even better when they threw a half mile climb in the middle of the course (read: half mile climb of death in full mountain sunshine). So by the time I made it down the mountain and back into Georgetown, I was pretty beat! I finished in 2:28, which certainly was not what I was aiming for, but I guess running 13 miles down a mountain with hardly any oxygen is something not many people can say they can do! So, I'm proud of myself. But mostly, I'm really glad it's over.

3 half marathons down....zero more to go. I think I'll stick with 5k's and 10k's from now on.

Also: A shout out to hubby Mike Wall, who took care of me as I, er...got sick, the entire car ride home. And who went to the grocery store to get me 2 Gatorades, 1 Vitamin Water (NOT VITAMIN WATER ZERO), and some redwhiteandblue popsicles. (Apparently, I was very specific in my post-run delirium). He has also declared that I am cut off from pursuing any more half marathon endeavors, and I honestly don't blame him.

The rest of our weekend was lazy: lounging at the pool with church friends, hanging out at City Park Jazz with more friends (and family!), and watching Arrested Development until we fell asleep.

Overall, a great weekend. I feel like I end most of my posts that way, which is a good thing I guess :)

Peace, love, & NoMoreHalfMarathons.

Sand, Sand, Everywhere. Literally.

One reason we love Colorado is that there are endless opportunities to explore. And we're the fun-loving, adventurous 23 year-olds who can't get enough of the mountains, so we're pretty much in heaven.

Anyway, this weekend we found ourselves down in the middle of Colorado at Great Sand Dunes National Park!  This unique/weird place has been calling my name since we first moved here last summer, and I am so glad we finally made it! I had no idea how this sand arrived in Colorado until we got there. Since I enjoy a little history/geology (nerd alert), I'll just tell you briefly. A massive pile of sand in the San Luis Valley, situated between the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Mountains, the Sand Dunes were formed when Lake Alamosa dried up and left a huge sand sheet behind. With the mountains on both sides of the valley, the winds are well, kind of insane and really intense, and blow down through mountain passes and then back up towards the mountains, creating this cycle that makes the dunes grow really tall.

So, we decided to hike High Dune, which isn't the highest dune, but it was still really hard! The climb was 1.2 miles up, with 650 feet elevation gain. I know that doesn't sound like much at all, but when you lose half a step for every step you take because you're sliding down the dune, you end up climbing a lot farther than 1.2 miles! Not to mention the fact that the wind is beating sand into your eyeballs, as well as your ears and your mouth, and the sun is beating down on you! Not easy at all! But still fun nonetheless. Our favorite moment was when we reached the peak of High Dune: a grandpa (props to him) and his grandson came up not long behind us, and the grandpa was carrying a sled for his grandson to ride down the dunes on (very common). The guy had the best quote ever: "Well, I schlepped it up here for ya, BY GOD YOU'RE GONNA RIDE IT!" We left the peak laughing pretty hard. :)

Other highlights of our little adventure:

Hiking to Zapata Falls, a little mountain waterfall tucked away behind a big wall of rock
Burning our breakfast burritos to a crisp because we are amateurs at campfire cooking
Camping in Lake Pueblo State Park (beautiful!)
Climbing down a big and extremely unstable ravine to go swimming in the lake
Not being able to sleep because the wind was blowing our tent flap around like crazy
Hiking at Garden of the Gods
Going to the Air Force Academy, but then deciding to leave shortly thereafter because we were too tired to care at the moment

Overall, a great trip and a wonderful time together! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves! 

Peace, love, & burnt burritos. And sand. 

Dispatch Rocks My Face Off

If you've never heard of Dispatch, then you absolutely must check them out (click to hear one of my favorite songs). Falling somewhere between rock, folk, roots, indie, and reggae, they are an incredibly talented band. They actually broke up in 2002, but have done a few reunion tours over the years. Their most recent one landed them in Denver this past weekend for a three-day rockfest. We didn't get to go to all three concerts, but we did have the time of our lives at the Saturday night show!

We headed out to Red Rocks Amphitheater with Jimmy and Amanda, and some other folks, to tailgate and hang out before the show. Not only is Red Rocks beautiful, it's a great place to relax, have a Coors, and enjoy some down time before heading in for the concert. We absolutely loved it....and fell even deeper in love with Colorado. :) 

I don't have too many photos from the concert, and the ones I do have are pretty much just flashes of bright lights and neon glows. Suffice it to say though, that it was one of our top favorite memories so far here in the Mile High City. 

On an entirely different note, a random thing that happened to me today: Our office has had an infestation of moths the past week. Seriously, we have no idea where they're coming from and they're really gross. I've seen like 20 in the building. Anyway, my most recent encounter was today in the bathroom. As soon as I sat down to, er, go, a huge moth FLEW INTO THE STALL and couldn't figure out how to get out. Let me tell you, it is really gross mortifying to have wings flapping in your face while you're trying to do your business, even if it's just a harmless moth.

Peace, love, & Dispatch.