Kickin' it in Colorado: Everything is Better in Boulder

We had less than twenty-four hours in Boulder. We decided that the best course of action would be to drop off our things at our Airbnb (highly recommended, by the way) and making a beeline for the Flatirons.

We started our hike at the Chautauqua Trailhead where the views got us so excited, we could barely wait to snap a quick picture before taking off:

It was midday when we began our ascent with temperatures in the mid-eighties with a starting elevation of around 5,700 feet. We were drenched in sweat approximately three seconds in.

I call this the Leaning Vitruvian Woman

Along our hike we came across "fields" of broken-up boulders that we had to traverse to continue:

"Please God, let me get tan."

Five points if you can spot the critter shell.

It took us about an hour and a half to hike the Royal Arch and wind our way to the peak of the 1st/2nd flatiron, where we took a break and enjoyed the marvelous views before heading back down.

Smiling because I achieved something, and also perhaps from oxygen deprivation

It was such a beautiful, different trail to hike - full of tight switchbacks and friendly locals (who didn't seem to be breaking a sweat at all, meanwhile there we were filling buckets with ours!) And definitely a challenging one too - over the course of about five miles, we experienced an altitude change of 1,422 feet. At one point we even saw scramblers slowly making their way up a wall of rock; way too scary without rope for my taste, but cool to see nevertheless. 

In the evening we returned to the Flatirons, but this time in the comfort of our dry, air-conditioned car. 

We picked the summit of Flagstaff mountain to watch the sun set over the city.

We encountered this huuuuge rock that offered amazing views but that required a tricky bit of maneuvering to get on top of.

Ravenous, we found Korean food dinner (typical) on campus and washed it down with local beer at Mountain Sun brewery - a great spot for people watching if you can get a seat outside facing Pearl Street.

Boulder is one of those places where you show up and think to yourself, "Is this place for real?" Everything is sort of perfect. There's a beautiful college campus surrounded by young, smart people. There is Pearl Street with all of its art and restaurants and street performers. There's a babbling creek that gurgles pleasantly through the city. There are little breweries and dispensaries. There's the Flatirons range looming in the distance. There are bikers and runners and climbers all along the unbroken mountainous trails. There are dreamy old houses on tree-lined streets. There's a requirement that you must have a six pack to be a resident. It is a wonderful, curated, privileged bubble. 95% of me is completely smitten with it, and the remaining 5% of me is like, "what the actual fuck."

For all the reasons above, Boulder is also where we picked to have our wedding next summer. We're beyond excited for our guests from all over the world to come and see what this cool place has to offer - and we're hoping a few of them might fall for it as hard as we have and move to Colorado with us and live the rest of our days outfitted in head-to-toe Patagonia, driving Subarus and swapping stories of our latest backcountry expeditions.

Kickin' it in Colorado: Golden Days

We spent a few days of our trip putzing around Golden, Colorado, a city that lies west of Denver. There one evening, we got our first taste of the Rockies at Lookout Mountain where we watched yet another glorious Centennial State sunset.

The next day, we set out for a day hike at North Table Mountain.

I was impressed by the assortment of flora we encountered. 

Phallus flower

Dandelion XXL

An enormous wild cabbage

Desert-y flowers and beyond, the city of Golden

The hike itself was rather wonderful. To get to it, you had to drive through a beautiful windy neighborhood on a street which turned into a dirt road that eventually led to the North Table Mountain trailhead. We were so close to the houses and buildings beneath, yet we were also on a legitimate, moderately-difficult hiking trail. Within just fifteen minutes or so of ascending the path, we came across climbers. We also ran into several mountain bikers and many other hikers, all peacefully sharing the path. Everyone was also incredibly friendly - exchanging "Hellos" and "How are yous", and telling you where they'd encountered wildlife further up the trail. Basically, more reasons to fall in love with Colorado and its residents.

The Coors factory in Golden

Started from the bottom now we here

Once we'd reached the table, we ended up accidentally making a wrong turn and doing some of the loop backwards and the long way 'round (lol). But that was okay because we had been having a rather sedentary vacation so far, and also because we were technically supposed to be in week one of marathon training (more lol).

It took about four hours total for us to complete the hike. Satisfied and hungry, we headed back into Golden's quaint downtown area for some well-deserved beer and burgers to refuel.

My future sister-in-law raved about Golden and now, I can absolutely understand why. It's close enough to Denver to easily commute to and from work, but the vibes I got from it were much more family-oriented and laid-back than in the city itself. I also loved that there was climbing and hiking all right there - North Table Mountain was just one of many that surrounded Golden. City-by-city, Colorado was seriously raising the bar.

Next up: Hiking the Flatirons in Boulder!

Isle of Skye

Whenever I get the opportunity, I ask the locals here what they think are the best sights to see in Scotland.

"Skye is beautiful," they say. Then there's always a brief pause. "You just have to get lucky with the weather." 

Story of Scotland's life, everyone.

The Isle of Skye is located in the northwestern edge of Scotland. With a population of just a hair over 10,000 residents, it is the largest of the Inner Hebrides and is about a five and a half hour drive from Glasgow. 

On our way up, we made a stop in Glencoe Village, the site where Clan MacDonald was brutally massacred by Clan Campbell in 1692. Not exactly a beautiful moment in Scottish history, but we enjoyed a lovely (and extremely peaceful) lunch nonetheless.

Lamb sausage and mash

On our way up, we also made a stop at Eilean Donan castle. If the castle looks familiar, it's because Entrapment, shtarring Shcotland's own Sean Connery, was shot there.

We reached Skye at dusk and checked into The Broadford Hotel, the birthplace of Drambuie liqueur. We warmed our bellies with a wee dram of the good stuff (or in this case, the okay stuff) before trekking out in search of a meal.

It became obvious very quickly why so many of my colleagues recommended this island. These were some of the views we got to enjoy on the way to dinner, which was a five minute stroll from the hotel.

Dinner was at Creelers of Skye - a tiny, romantic nook where we dined on local seafood.

Anchovy and goat cheese nibbles on the house

My scallops were fresh and drenched in garlic butter sauce. Heaven on a plate, folks.

The next day, we awoke to ominous skies...

...and ducked into a few shops in the town of Portree.

Trying on hoodies at Skye Batiks 

Harris Tweeded (Twaded?) out

After a session of retail therapy, we pulled on our hiking boots, grabbed our 'waterproofs', and trekked out to pay a visit to the Old Man of Storr, a rocky hill made up of distinct stone pinnacles. Luckily, the rain remained mostly at bay. We were met with only the occasional drizzle.

Me and a sheep butt

The hike took about an hour and left us all ravenous. We made a quick stop to peek over Kilt Rock on the way to lunch.

Lunch was a light meal at an artistic cafe in the first floor of a house. Our waitress informed us that the soup of the day was 'tomato and basil' - only she pronounced it as the British do: 'tomahto and bahsil', and very rapidly at that. This resulted in a lot of mimicking in our best British accents (once she was out of earshot, of course).

The food was yummy and vegan but not as substantial as I'd hoped. Hiking in a drizzle makes the belly crave Guinness and steak pie, not wild onions and cous-cous!

The boy, his mama and I spent our last hours of daylight hiking along the Quiraing, one of the island's most-recommended circuits. We didn't have much time left in the day and the weather was beginning to act up (re: it hailed at one point) so we opted to hike for about an hour instead of doing the complete three-hour circuit.

As I hope the pictures show, we were treated to absolutely mind-blowing views. Dramatic slopes, jagged peaks and steel-grey waters, all shrouded in cloud and fog...I felt like I had been transported to a completely different planet (or at the very least, certain scenes in Game of Thrones and Skyfall).

Most of what I'd seen in this country had certainly been beautiful, but this was the raw, unbridled view of Scotland that really left me speechless.

And of course, it wouldn't be a proper post about the Highlands if I didn't mention the wooly companions we had. Here's some footage I took of some lambs and their momma racing down the hills of the Quiraing.

This trip was my first taste of the Highlands and it certainly set the bar... skye high (ba dam tish). I sometimes daydream of wandering away to write a book or make art for a living in a place that's far away and remote. I think I've found that place in the Isle of Skye.