If there's one theme to this post, it's the outdoors. Lately, we've had some incredible opportunities to venture into our mountainous backyard and grow our already large appreciation for God's creation. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking!
First off, here's a few highlights from a trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons we made with Hannah's parents in August.
The Grand Tetons - such sharp, rugged peaks!
Gorgeously clear water in Leigh Lake.
Old Faithful doing what it does best!
Grand Prismatic Spring. It's about 300 feet across, and the colors come from different types of bacteria that thrive in different temperatures - so the temperature gradient results in a rainbow!
Took a far-out tour on this bus from the 70's.
An iconic shot of Lower Yellowstone Falls.
One of the best things about Yellowstone is the wildlife. We saw hundreds of bison, including an experience of them stopping traffic as they wander across the road. This one clearly new he was being photographed!
A black bear and her cubs - just 20 yards from our car! We totally lucked out with wildlife sightings. We also saw a grizzly at dawn about 30 yards from our car, and a different grizzly and some wolves chowing down on a bison carcass in the middle of a field in Lamar Valley.
That trip was everything we hoped it would be and then some! A couple weeks later, over Labor Day weekend, Hannah and I tackled the Decalibron - a hiking trail that covers four 14ers (Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross) in the span of about 7.5 miles. It was as rewarding as it was exhausting!
This annotated photo sums it up pretty well.
At the top of Mount Democrat - 14,154 feet above sea level!
As always, you can't beat the views from the top of a 14er. Unreal.
A couple weeks after that, we went on a nice hike near Brainard Lake with a couple of our friends we met through church. These guys introduced us to 14ers last year when we hiked Huron Peak - possibly still our favorite 14er.
Their daughter is quite the trooper. We have no doubt she'll grow up just as outdoorsy as her parents!
Quick detour from the outdoors to mention a fun, very "Colorado-y" date night Hannah and I had recently. We went to a vegan restaurant for dinner, a kombucha tap room for drinks, and a vegan bakery for dessert! No, don't worry - we're not vegan now. Vegan cooking/baking has definitely surprised and impressed me, but it still doesn't beat the real thing!
Hannah with her kombucha flight. She likes it almost as much as Chai tea, which she likes almost as much as Coke Zero. Yes, it's a very complex hierarchy of beverages; sounds almost like a Matrix Logic problem! #tbt
Kombucha, by the way, is just fermented tea. Usually it's very aromatic, with most flavors coming from fruits and/or flowers.
Then, just last weekend, Hannah and I drove out to Aspen to catch the changing colors. It was one of the most visually stunning trips I've ever been on. We camped a few miles outside of town, which was a lot of fun; we saw soooo many stars at night! And we saw the Maroon Bells - possibly the most photographed peaks in Colorado, and for good reason. They were framed beautifully by all the yellow aspen trees. See below!
So, yeah. We're still loving Colorado.
To end, I wanna give a quick shoutout to Hannah for completing her last week of classes - EVER - yesterday! Just two more 12-week clinicals stand between her and graduation next May. She's learned so much, and now it's time to apply it in the field! Not that the learning will stop, of course :-)
