DAY 4+5

Colorado- pt 2

After spending a majority of the afternoon in Denver, Nic and I headed about 60 miles north to Ft. Collins, CO, where my cousin Rich, his wife Dorinna, and their darling son Nate, live. You can see and explore Rich's blog here.

As we were driving up, Rich so thoughtfully called me to ask what my favorite type of beer is (brown ales). I had yet to try drinking in the altitude, and I've heard you get drunk muuuch faster a mile or so up from sea. Essentially, you become a cheap date. Beer aside, I was so excited to visit both Ft. Collins and my family, for I haven't seen Rich and Dorinna in years, and had yet to meet their new son. Their home and hospitality was so wonderful; we had a great dinner of steak (well, Rich and I did), along with grilled veggies and an assortment of salads. Nate and I bonded as I helped him take a bath and read him his favorite bedtime story. Then Dorinna, Nic, and I left the boys to themselves and went out in Ft. Collins for margaritas.

The next morning we had a scrumptious breakfast in town, and then headed out to Horsetooth Mountain to do a 7ish mile hike in the foothills near their house. The hike was a nice introduction to the trips we were soon going to embark on in the Rockies and Utah, not to mention that we were surrounded by pure beauty. Here is a modest selection of what embraced us:

view from the top of Horsetooth.

This is the town we drove through to get to the trail head. Can somebody say utopia land?

Nicole and I left the following morning, and I must say I was pretty sad. I fell in love with Ft. Collins and was so happy to have seen my family. My new cousin Nate is probably the cutest/most well-behaved baby I have ever interacted with, and I am not just saying that because he's family. Although I felt melancholy, I was also excited, for Nic and I had many other places we wanted to see. That, and I know I'll be back.