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Hi, I’m Katie!

I ❤ spending time with my family exploring the mountains, tending to my garden, and traveling (back when that was still a thing).

A day at the lake from sunrise to sunset. It was good to be back. #untilnexttime❤️ A week ago I was back in Illinois, celebrating Kara and Colin’s marriage. They planned a stunningly beautiful wedding ceremony and reception to mark the occasion with a gathering of immediate family and two close friends. The rain held off and they wed hand-in-hand on the dock, and we ate, danced, and sang into the evening celebrating the union of these two amazing people under the stars. 
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Cheers to you, @kschaff9 and Colin - you survived the weekend 😂 and there are more adventures ahead. Make the most of it together and enjoy the journey, ups and downs alike. ❤️
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 We slipped away last night and headed up Sunshine Canyon to Bald Mountain Scenic area. We arrived just as the sun dropped below the Western peaks and bathed the hillside path and wildflowers in its pink-orange glow. We took the quick way around and up to the top to find the rising full moon hanging low over South Boulder. My iPhone pics don’t do it a shard of justice, but I couldn’t help but try. 🌼🌄🌕 Just a double 🌈 for your Friday 😊 I guess I forgot the paddle board pics, lol. Kids wanted to splash in the lake more than they wanted to hike, so we took the paddle board and another inflatable raft over and paddled around a bit. The water was chilly but crystal clear, and the views were hard to beat. Back in April I booked a couple of nights at a campsite at Brainard Lake on a whim when I saw it was available. This week I took off to go set up camp and check out the area for the first time, and it did not disappoint. The stars (and the meteor shower) were amazing, and so were the daytime views. We took the paddle board out on the lake for a bit, and hiked a few trails and then spent the evenings sitting by the fire, watching the sky. 💫 I didn’t make it to Lake Isabelle for reasons out of my control, but now I have a reason to book a timed entry permit and head back. I’m glad this gem is less than an hour from home. I’ll be back soon for sure! 🥾🏔#lovewhereyoulive #colorado #optoutside Fairplay Trip Day 3 - we wanted to get Deuce out for a hike to wear him out a bit. We planned on hiking the Hoosier Pass loop since it was supposed to have good views without too much effort and wasn’t too long. We made a quick stop at the Java Moose for breakfast (mmmmmm burritos) and then drove the 10-ish minutes through Alma and up to the pass where we looked at no signage or maps and promptly set out in the complete wrong direction. 😂 Turns out the loop is on the other side of the road. No big deal though, we weren’t really tied to the original plans and weren’t really in it for a long hike so we took off walking on a Jeep road instead, which turned out just fine. Less than 1/2 mile and a little uphill revealed some great views of Mt. Lincoln. We attempted (and I’m using that term loosely, lol) some family pics since we never take any. While we were trying to take pics it started thundering so we decided that was our signal to head back to the car. We didn’t do much actual hiking, but we were all pretty tired so I’d say it worked out just fine. Boulder and Longmont both called off their normal fireworks shows this year, but the neighborhood fireworks were more than enough for us. 😁🎆 Day 2 - We took a short drive over Hoosier Pass to Breck, and headed up to Peak 8 on the free gondola. This was a first for all of us. Once we were at the top we spent the day riding the alpine slide and the mountain coaster, playing putt-putt (very speedily b/c it was closing time) and the kids jumped on the trampolines too. Last week we slipped away to a cabin the mountains for some family time. I ended up fighting off some kind of bug for much of the week, so we didn’t do as much as we planned (and I spent a lot of time sleeping). Now that I’m on the mend I wanted to share pics before they are lost to the depths of my photo library. 
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. Just playing with the GoPro on a short walk at a great spot. #getoutside #colorado Another day, another adventure. We planned on a short easy walk at Anne U. White since we did a pretty good ride on Thursday, but the lot was full up when we arrived. We left with no destination in mind and drove until we spotted a trail off the side of Lefthand Canyon. We decided to take a chance in it and I’m glad we did. The first mile and a half climbed close to 1,000ft in elevation but it was mostly an easy downhill walk from there. Some great views and hardly any traffic (bikes or hikers) made for an unexpectedly amazing morning. #getoutside #colorado #hikemoreworryless

quick thoughts.

“And it’s gonna get easier and easier, and more and more convenient, and more and more pleasurable, to be alone with images on a screen, given to us by people who do not love us but want our money.” – David Foster Wallace speaking with David Lipsky. 1996. (AOCYEUBY pg. 86)

The fire-red sunsets have been beautiful the past few days. I just wish they weren’t the result of the mountains actually being on fire. 😞 #colorado #wildfiresunsets #smokyskies

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” J.R.R. Tolkien

“Wherever I am and whatever is occurring in my life, I am responsible for being there and I am responsible for changing it if it isn’t satisfactory.” – John C. Lilly, The Deep Self

blog posts.

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