Neither of us had been to Breckenridge before but we both just loved it. We will be back and hopefully soon. :) Kyle and Clay sort of considered this a company retreat. They did such a good job planning everything. They really made sure our time spent there (a short 3 nights) was filled with awesomeness.
We had a bit of a delay when leaving DFW (like almost 3 hours and 2 of that was on the plane) but the flight was quick and because we were delayed we didn't have to deal with the rental car stuff ;)
After we arrived in Denver, we had a delicious lunch at Steuben's. Everything was yummy, although I thought the infamous Steubie snacks (how colorado is that?) were just okay. Then we headed west to Breckenridge.
I 70 west is such a pretty drive!
We did a little exploring and shopping on the main street and just enjoyed our kid-free hands and conversations. Holy high elevation though. Didn't realize I wouldn't be able to climb a small set of stairs without breathing like I ran 3 miles.
My handsome bearded man.
We tried Fattys for dinner that night. Yummy pizza!
The next morning (Friday) Clay and Kyle woke up early to go fly fishing.
While Rachel and I slowly made our way to a spa appointment the guys had set up. The boys went all out and set up an awesome package for us. What a treat!
Afterward we met up with the guys for a quick bite to eat then headed to our afternoon jeep tour.
The man, Wolf, who runs this particular tour is hands-down one of the most amazing people I have ever met. seriously. If you ever get the chance to meet him and take one of his tours DO IT. You will not be disappointed. He has an incredible life story (ask me about him!) and is filled with knowledge. He is an environmentalist, naturalist, and herbalist. He also just loves life so much and has this joy to him that is incredibly contagious. He told me he starts each day as soon as his feet hit the floor saying thank you. Thank. You. Thank. You. Thank. You. With each step he takes. Oh and the best part....he YODLES! :)
For our tour, Wolf took us up West Lake Trail, an old mining trail in the White River National Forest.
Wolf knew so much about the plants and animals. Here he was pointing out what berries are edible and what are not.
Somehow Wolf spotted some rare mushrooms growing along the side of the trail. He was so excited and told us this would be his dinner that night. I cannot remember the type of mushroom it was but he did mention that those mushrooms could retail alot of $.
Bear claw marks.
At the end of the trail was an awesome little stream and if you looked up into the mountain you could see the old mining shaft.
If you look on the mountain, above and to the left of Wolf's head there is a black hole, that is the mine. It is amazing to me that men were able mine areas like this so long ago.
Wolf showing us how a birch tree can be used as sunscreen or to help prevent hypothermia.
We finished off Friday night with a nice dinner and crashed.
Early Saturday morning we headed off to Buena Vista for some white water rafting. None of us had been rafting before. Clay, Kyle and I were pumped and Rachel was such a great sport. She went along with us, even though she wasn't thrilled about the idea.
Kyle arranged for us to raft Browns Canyon, a class III-IV. The water level was a little low but the trip did not disappoint!
In fact we got a little more than bargained for. We had a couple of instances where our boat got high-sided and stuck. I thought we were all going to be tossed out and onto rocks. Like, our boat was turned sideways and up in the air at about a 70 degree angle. The side not in the air was submerged into the rushing water. Somehow Clay was able to grab Kyle and completely pull him up out of the river. We all scrambled up to my side of the boat and get this...WE BOUNCED. Yes, our guide had us bounce up and down on the edge of the boat, to try to get us a unstuck. Now I'm all for helping anyway I can but here I was feet into the air, stuck on a rock above a rushing river, with a huge boulder just feet from me. Bounce?? Are you crazy? But bounce we did. Unfortunately nothing we did could get us unstuck. Luckily, we had an expert guide and some of the other guides in the boats helped us out of the very hairy situation by pulling us off the rock by rope. (Clay and I decided we would definitley go rafting again. But I'm am almost positive Rachel will never set foot in another raft boat :)
You can't see me or Rachel here. We are right behind Clay and Kyle, in the middle row.
After that fun adventure we headed back to Breckenridge and wondered around the town, took the gondola up to Peak 8 (a neat area with some fun family activities) and headed to a nice, relaxing dinner.
Sunday morning we wanted fit in one more thing before our late evening flights. So we headed into the mountains and hiked up the gorgeous McCullough Gulch trail. This trail followed a stream up to a glacial lake at almost 12,000 ft. Along the trail were stunning waterfalls and gorgeous views. Just breath-taking, how good our God is to create such beautiful land for us to enjoy.
We had such a wonderful time. It was such a refreshing and energizing trip. I am so thankful we were able to go, so thankful for my parents for watching the girls, and so thankful for the big hugs and kisses when we woke Riley and Reese up on Monday morning. :)
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