ten ten eleven

Remember this day last year? 10-10-10. It was THE hot day to get married in 2010. Sure enough we were invited to a 10-10-10 wedding. Not only were we invited but I was a bridesmaid. The bash was in the couple’s home state of Colorado so we made a vaca out of it. It was a wonderful week away. We talk about it often. I thought I’d share the recap with ya…

The wedding reception was held at Boulder Theater which boasts tons of fun retro features including a lit up marquee with the newlyweds’ names. The venue is also suitable for a live jazz band and professional dancing which the bride and groom wowed us with. They got skills out west! Happy one year anniversary, Blaine & Erin!

wedding photos

After the wedding in Boulder, we moved onto Estes Park in Rocky Mountain National Park where we went for a hike and took in this scenic view. Those mountains will never get old for me. Love ’em.

Then we hopped in the car for the next leg of our trip. We travelled over those mountains seen above to the other side of the Rockies. We basically drove through a blizzard until we found fall again on the other side. We stayed in this cute little cabin at Avalanche Ranch about an hour outside of Aspen. I loved this part of the trip. There was no internet access or phone service for about 3 days. Sometimes you just need to disconnect.

Plus the ranch offered a private lake where we went fishing, an antiques store, cute farm animals wandering around and an overall rustic charm that you would expect to find in a Colorado cabin.

Down the road we went to a natural hot spring right there in the side of the mountain. That is what you’re looking at below. Who needs a fancy spa treatment when nature offers this for free!

The view from the hot springs.

When it was time to say goodbye to the ranch, we drove southwest and stopped in Telluride for lunch.

It’s amazing how much the terrain and foliage changes from place to place because of the altitude. I love how the Aspen trees change to a bright, golden hue and pop against the dark mountain back drop. Gorge!

Back on the road, headed for our destination of Durango with a stop in Mesa Verde.

Ryan managed to fish this creek on the side of the mountain road. We fit in plenty of time for our favorite hobbies of fishing for Ryan and antiquing for Dana.

Next stop was a tour of Mesa Verde National Park which showed off a new range of fall colors. You can tell we were getting further southwest.

There we are perched on the side of the world. I love this pic.

Look closely at the man-made cliff dwelling below. I’m still amazed by what early civilization could create.

After leaving Mesa Verde, we stayed in Durango for the night and then were off to Sante Fe, New Mexico for the weekend. Here is our humble casita just minutes from bustling downtown Sante Fe. This little home was tucked up a dirt road amongst other houses. We almost couldn’t find it!

We were reunited with technology and people when we made it to the city. We met up with friends and experienced the culture, the food and music. The scenery was much different from the nature part of the trip. I got my fill of aqua architectural elements and charming buildings.