Colorado

In the middle of July, I received a text from my friend Paige, inviting me to a girls weekend in Colorado at the end of September. She knew it was a long shot, and I wrote it off almost immediately as impossible. Then, I stopped. I prayed. I considered it. What if I went? After a week or so, I really felt like it was something I needed to do, and I bought a ticket from Nice to Paris to Denver. What the heck?!!! Is this really happening?

Here I am traveling alone, one of my favorite things to do! I love my husband and my kids, and I also love traveling without them. Haha.

Leaving Nice is always so beautiful.

Fluffy white cotton candy.

Landing in Paris for my layover.

So, here’s where I was supposed to be sitting on this plane. We were in the plane for almost 2 hours, but there was apparently a problem with closing the door. We all unloaded the plane, waited a couple hours and reloaded another plane. Thankfully, we were all in the exact same spots, so it made boarding much faster.

And thank you Air France for my 11 euros to spend on lunch in the airport before boarding round 2.

Top Gun Maverick and airplane food. I’m in my happy place!

Landing in Denver.

I always get this giddy feeling when I land in America.

Thank you Mister Mayor.

You know you’re in America in the fall, when pumpkins overflow.

Back together again : me, Paige, Tiffany and Mia. We all worked together in 2006-2007 in Montana at a Bible school. It’s so crazy to pick back up after 15 years like it was yesterday.

Lunch with a few.

The weekend of our visit was the weekend all the “leef peepers” were out in full force. The trees turned yellow. It was spectacular.

Here’s our cabin in Fairplay.

We have a little friend.

That yellow. I mean. Wow!

Cabin in the background.

There were tiny little Christmas trees everywhere. So cute.

This is what 10,00 feet altitude does to a chip bag bought at the bottom of the mountain.

Since I wasn’t sleeping much with jet lag, my friend Mia and I decided to go on an early morning walk.

Can you see our friend down the road?

Golden morning.

These street names are classic.

I liked the green.

Walk was definitely worth it.

Here we are, sleepy and happy.

The photo doesn’t do this scene justice. It was magnificent.

It was quite a spectacle.

The sun woke up the trees.

These logs and sticks are covered in frost. It was chilly.

Our shadows.

This was a picture Tiffany took from her bedroom in the cabin. It was a truly spectacular morning.

Paige reads about the cabin. Mia makes us a fire.

Tiffany happily cleans the kitchen.

Puzzle beginnings.

A few more pieces found.

Hike day.

All of this beauty filled my soul to overflowing. God, thank you for your amazing creation!

We had so much fun together.

And Paige was such a trooper in her 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

This was my attempt to set up my phone to take a picture. Haha. We present the rock pile.

A bit better framing.

We drove into the town of Fairplay. Can you see the fly fishermen? Colorado is gorgeous. I see why so many people move there.

And here is Fairplay.

Super fun boutique.

Fairplay store.

Another store. As you can see, the skies are brewing a storm for us.

This is Old Town Fairplay. It was closed off, but we could take a picture from the fence.

Cheers to friends who have also walked through trials and come out on the other end praising God still for His unchanging goodness.

It’s hard to tell, but the night storm covered the surrounding mountains with snow. So beautiful!

Bedroom. Check out those views, just forest… insert peaceful sigh.

We finished it!

Classic photo on the stairs.

Mia and Tiffany win the cute and cheesy award. Hehe.

We went for a walk after our “family photos.”

A tiny little lake.

Fall forest road.

The wind kicked up, as you can see with the leaves flying in this photo.

It got super cold really fast.

It turned this little lake into a wave pool.

Brrrrrrr….. I can almost still feel the elements.

Getting wet and cold on our walk home. And yes, Paige is in short-sleeves.

Back home, warming up with tea, Mexican train and French madeleines.

I grew up playing Mexican train in Big Bear every 4th of July. It was fun to re-learn how to play, since it had been so long.

Making dinner. Fire going. Cozy.

On the drive to the airport, the girls made a special stop to get me some old fashioned donuts. It’s one of two things I miss living in France. Mexican food and legit donuts.

Paige dropped us off at the airport, our last picture together. Paige then drove back to Oklahoma. Mia flew to California. Tiffany flew to South Dakota, and you all know where I flew back to. Such a great time together.

Mia and Tiffany wanted to document me enjoying my donut. So good. Nothing like an old fashioned glazed donut.

And, we were able to see our friend Jessica, who lives in Denver. Such an incredible reunion.

In between that last picture and this one, I boarded my plane from Denver to Paris and had 4 seats all to myself. So, after dinner, I put in my ear plugs, put on my eye mask, grabbed my travel pillow, covered myself in a super static-filled airplane blanket and slept for almost 5 hours! That, in itself, is pretty miraculous. The last time I remember being able to sleep on a plane was my trip to Liberia in 2005. Crazy. Landed in Paris. Then I boarded my plane to Nice. This picture is taken just before landing in Nice. Such a gorgeous coastline.

I’m so very thankful for this trip. I’m thankful God has given me such precious friends. I’m thankful Paige invited me, knowing it was a long shot. I’m thankful Mia and Tiffany set aside the time to come too. My cup overflows. Thank you Lord for your goodness and grace.

Love Linz