Denver, CO (Round 2)

Colorado.

Why are you so cool? How did you get this way? With all of your cool sunsets. And your cool mountains. And your cool air. And your cool people…

Colorado has been on our minds since our last visit (last August). So, we returned. We parked in Holly’s driveway. We walked her Henry-pup. We bathed in her shower. We mooched off of her electricity. We laundered our clothes in her machines. We snuggled all together on her couch. We crashed party invites as +1s. We followed her into Rocky Mountain National Park on a hunt to see some horny elk (we saw some). We sampled flights of whiskey together. We dined on sushi and Snarfs. We walked and ran about town. We ‘house sat’ while Holly went out into the mountains to spread her love to some babies in need. And then we sulked. And missed Holly. But luckily Jake and I stumbled upon the Wiener Mobile during a bike ride to downtown Denver- so that cheered us up. And then Holly came back. And it was magical again.

And then Matt and Ricky showed up.

And you bet your butts that Colorado became ‘Coloradical’ (Guys, I didn’t make this word up- it’s a real word).

After an evening of mixed drinks and sushi, we ditched Dyna at Holly’s, and the 6 (Henry included) of us headed to a place that Holly promised was so super magical that it couldn’t be described in words. And she was right.

Avalanche Ranch is the stuff that Colorado dreams are made of. We spent a weekend soaking in natural hot springs, drinking, eating, and laughing with and at each other. We drove up to Maroon Bells and popped into Aspen for a few hours. But mostly, we soaked. We soaked up mineral water. And alcohol. And each other. And it was completely Coloradical.

Seriously- if you ever decide to go to Colorado (or go back to Colorado)- AND YOU SHOULD- book a few nights up at Avalanche Ranch.

After Matt and Ricky flew back home to NY, we spent 8 hours and 27 minutes group crying (ok, that’s a lie. We cried for 8 hours and 15 minutes). But I did spend far too long laughing at this photo (which I will never delete and will randomly subject them both to for the remainder of their lives):

We spent the remainder of our time in Denver loving on Holly.

Oh, also, we bought a new car. 

RedRammer (our previous vehicle – RIP) was a trusty steed; he carried my butt around in the snow and salt for 2 years before I met Jake. He was rear-ended twice while toting me my therapy toys around the city of Rochester. He carried us on many adventures before Dyna. He drove us across the country to meet Dyna. And then let us drag him around behind Dyna for over a year. But it was time. Our lube pump kit (the system we had installed so that we could drag and ‘undraggable’ car behind our RV) decided to wack out on us for the second time (this time the pump itself). And since Jake had already spent many hours re-wiring the entire system, we decided it was time to get a new mobile. A new mobile that didn’t require a lube-pump kit (dear god- don’t even have a lube pump kit installed. Just don’t.)

So now we have ‘GeoDude’ (yes, it is appropriate for adults to name their vehicles). He’s a no frills, Jeep Wrangler Sport. And he can be towed behind Dyna without a lube-pump kit! And he can handle 4WD, high clearance, Utah style roads that lead to the trails we want to hike on. No more hiking 3 miles to the trail head so that we can hike to see cool stuff.

Colorado was good to us. Until next time, Colorado: Keep it real.