Scaling Flatirons

Last Saturday was the first Saturday I had off from work, so my brother and I decided to have a little sibling bonding time. We did what everyone in Colorado does on their free time...climb mountains.

We drove up to Boulder, which is only about 45 minutes north of Denver. We went to Boulder's notorious Flatirons and did some hiking. I was surprised by the number of people at the trailhead. There were so many college students...being active. I know Lawrence is an active town, but KU students didn't exactly wake up on the weekends and exercise for fun. We were usually nursing a hangover from the night before by eating at Milton's or grabbing some Juice Stop. Occasionally, we'd walk it off along Mass Street or stand for two hours in line waiting for an early basketball game. I suppose KU students don't have the luxury of a mountain playground in their backyard either.

I had to represent in CU territory - Go Jayhawks! (They were all probably wondering why a "flatlander" was on the trail. Little did they know that I'm BA...kinda)

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Anyway, we decided to conquer Flatiron #2 and followed the trail until Nathan decided to lead us another way. Part of the trail led to an area for rock climbers to practice on the boulders, and boy were there a lot of hippies...I mean rock climbers...practicing. We kept walking past them until it was clear that there was no path, only boulders...to climb. My legs were definitely shaking at that point and wondering why we didn't take a walk around the neighborhood that day instead. But being the trooper that I am, I kept scaling the boulders with Nate to the top of the flatiron.

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Although it's winter, the view was still pretty awesome above the treeline. We were at the halfway point here.

Taking a little break so my knees don't buckle while climbing the boulders. Have I mentioned how the altitude still kicks my ass? (In my defense, Boulder is higher up than Denver and these flatirons are pretty darn high with steep trails.)

Enjoying the view

Finally!

THE view we were climbing for -- The Rocky Mountain Range with all their snowy peaks

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There's the town of Boulder...looked so tiny from up there.

After our afternoon hike, we went to Boulder's downtown on Pearl Street. I absolutely LOVED the area with all the shops and restaurants. I wasn't really in the mood to walk more, but I really enjoyed our little stroll. As you can see...

Apparently, I have plenty of energy after a long hike up a flatiron or maybe I can't resist a ride on a pig when I have the chance.

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I had lots of fun in Boulder and hope to have many more trips back to the great college town.

Don't worry, Lawrence, you will always have a bigger place in my heart.