your wild colorado

it seems like a lifetime since the family and i have made the trek to the rocky mountain state so, in a flash, we booked a flight, made a few room reservations and off we went! the second i stepped out of the Denver airport that rocky mountain high hit me like a breath of fresh O2; almost like it was hiding right below the surface of my brain... the crispy thin air, the looming mountain monuments and raging waters of the Arkansas River never skipped a beat. we were ready to hit the road. 

day 1 consisted of the usual arrival and seemingly mile long walk through Denver's maze of baggage claims and underground tram ways, then the car rental pickup (we scored a somewhat sporty chevy malibu but the pig takes, literally 10 seconds to hit 45 miles per..) and a departure South towards Colorado Springs.  we spent the remainder of the day at the Garden of the Gods and Seven Falls, which were both as epic as they sound. and let me tell you, there are mountains EVERYWHERE

base of Pike's Peak in Manitou Springs

snowcapped, evergreen topped and some just plain rocky! at Seven Falls you would have thought my hands were coated in squirrel food because the chipmunks and ground squirrels were friendlier than ever and the falls couldn't have been more radical.  after a 347 stair climb we were all feeling a bit woozy but one look out to the skyline and that calming sensation took over with awesome force. 

gnarly set of stairs leading to the top of seven falls 

incredible view from atop the falls

rumor has it small rodents are likely to carry the plague...these dudes were just too cute for me to care!

when you've lost all hope just remember the sky is endless and the sunset is the only the birth of a new dawn
Leadville, elevation: 10,200ft

friday we set out for Canon City and packed in a full day of ziplining and rafting.  here's a quick edit of our day in the mountain scrub sailing at speeds up to 45mph and lines longer than 1000ft.  twas quite an extreme experience but nothing compared to the afternoon's journey down the Arkansas.  let's just say we didn't stay safe and dry in the raft...helmet cam view of a wicked day in the depth's of Royal Gorge will have to wait till tomorrow.  until then, stay wet, stay wild and remember, out west there are no limits.
-shane