mountain revival...

There are two things that Andy and I can always agree on..

1.  We LOVE Colorado

2.  We enjoy any activity that is outdoors

We've been in a funk for many reasons this winter and have noticed ourselves holing up in our house on the weekends where we don't get out of our pajamas and we read entire books.  This doesn't sound all that bad, but after a few weekends in a row (or since October) it starts to get a little depressing.  

Recently, we have come back around to some realizations we already knew and to the things that we both agree on (as mentioned above).  Because, you see, we had forgotten about some of the things that are important to us and why we live where we live.  We let ourselves become hermits and stopped enjoying what we really love.  

For the last two weekends we have gotten back to the true us.  One weekend, a friend invited us to go skiing/boarding with him and his two sons (who we absolutely adore) at Copper Mountain using their buddy passes.  We agreed and woke up bright and early Sunday morning for a day of fun in the mountains.  It was great!  We made it up for the first lift and left in time to beat most of the traffic.  We got in just enough runs to satisfy an itch, ate a fabulous lunch with illegal beers in the cafeteria, and got to enjoy some amazing company.  Thanks Fesslers! 

The day at Copper brought us back to those two things I mentioned above, so we decided we needed a new winter activity for the outdoors since we didn't buy a ski pass this year and Andy still needs  new skis.  We decided to give snowshoeing a try!  So, the following weekend we headed to Nederland to meet our friends Chad and Sarah for another adventure.  

It was perfect from the very beginning.  We took a new route up to the mountain town and found ourselves on roads that we had never been on.  When we arrived in Nederland, we found out that it was their famous festival, Frozen Dead Guy Days (go here for the crazy, yet super interesting story of the reason for the festival).  We had a great breakfast and coffee and headed to the trail.  It was extremely windy while we were trying to get our gear in order, but we were ready for the adventure  no matter what.  

The four of us humans and two canines headed out on the trail and Andy and I instantly fell in love with this new sport.  We were able to catch up with our friends, bask in beautiful scenery, and get a workout!  The boys took us off-trail for a little bit and that was not super fun, but we were troopers and made it to Lost Lake, which was a gorgeous frozen lake surrounded by mountains.  We took a break, had a snack, and found a treasure for the dogs.  The way back to the car was a lot easier and we figured out that we did a total of 4 miles.  We are definitely huge fans of snowshoeing and have made it our new winter hobby!

The little thing from these two recent experiences is that the Groettums are people that feed off of nature and the outdoors.  We live in Colorado for a reason and need to remember to take advantage of what it has to offer.  Getting outside, even for an hour can rejuvenate the deepest funk or depression that has set in and a simple drive in the mountains can bring clarity and peace to almost anyone, especially Team Groettum!