I booked a last minute flight to Vail, Colorado a few weeks ago. Or has it been a month already? Free place to stay, get to spend time with my fam, the Rockies in the summer… I have no clue why it took me so long to decide to book it. Anyways, the air, altitude, quietness, good company and a hefty dose of mother nature was pure bliss.
Not sure how many people know this, but I grew up in Colorado. Yup. Salt water is in my veins, but climbing a mountain, picking wildflowers, mountain biking and singing John Denver songs in my head are all pretty much a welcome home to my memory bank.
There was something special about sharing this all with Levi too. It’s hard to explain, but it was some sort of combo of seeing him let loose in nature and totally soak it up, getting glimpses of what I might’ve been like at this age too. (If only I had his hair), and just seeing my little guy in big wide open spaces. Especially throwing rocks in a river. Damn that was cute.
If you’re looking for a Vail travel guide, sorry I’m not much help. Most meals were last minute, or at the hotel bar, I got coffee at our hotel room, and I really just wanted pizza the whole time, but never got a slice.
Activities = hiking up Berry Picker trail, biking around, taking the gondola to the top of the mountain to hike around with Levi (who has outgrown his ergo, so everything was a great arm workout too), soaking up the mountain air, picking wildflowers, and hanging out by Gore Creek. And catching up on some sleep. Yum.
Which, sounds like a pretty amazing trip to me. So yeah, I highly recommend that type of itinerary.
I did see a company called Take a Llama to Lunch. Apparently, you go hiking with a Llama and eat lunch together. It was booked solid. Might need to try that next time.
A definite highlight was the last morning before we headed to the airport – It was a cool rainy morning and I went for a quick run at the base of the mountain. There was no one out and it was just kind of foggy, rainy and misty morning. I had to borrow my dad’s rain jacket so it looked like I was a crazy lady running in lululemon shorts and a hooded dress. Pich me. I live for stuff like that.
I also went hiking/trail running up Berry Picker Trail with my older brother, who is a freak of nature when it comes to cardio. So I was reminded no matter how great of shape I feel that I am in, he will always kick my butt. Always.
It was a great trip. Maybe next time we go back, some snow and snowboarding might have to be involved.
Oh yeah.
So a lesson to myself is this: next time the opportunity to go to the Mountains with my family arrives, I jump all over it, instead of waiting until the last minute when airfare is off the charts. Regardless, it’s worth every cent of the airfare.
Travel always is.
That palm tree cardigan is by 27 Miles Malibu. I know someone somewhere reading this wanted to know that.