Colorado 2010 and everything since...

Yea I'm terrible, a lot has happened and I still haven't even caught up to Colorado yet!

So I'm going to start there and then pick up where I left off last time, hopefully the chronology (or lack of it) isn't too confusing.

Sunday August 8th - Partially already shared this, but once I arrived in Denver Hannah came to pick me up at the airport. We drove to the hotel which was very nice - it was an extended stay hotel so there was a full kitchen and couch and TV etc in it. We watched some Discovery Channel and then I was just too tired so I took a 2 hour nap while Hannah wandered around outside. Once I woke up I also went outside and walked to the park where Hannah was and hung out there for awhile. After that we drove over to Denver University where she gave me the tour. They had an interesting library with weird chairs. They also had bizarre lip sculptures and benches - very strange. Headed back to the hotel to watch more Discovery Channel and played solitaire. It started raining and lightning-ing over Denver and did for the rest of the night. That however did not stop us from driving out to the Red Rocks Amphitheatre around 7pm. It was pretty awesome - especially watching the storm over Denver and the rainbows. I took tons of pictures and we walked up and down lots of stairs until we headed out to drive to Lookout Mountain. Unfortunately we decided to follow the GPS and it led us to some sheriff's office. So then we drove around until we found it. By then it was completely dark and Denver was all lit up and pretty. Drove back to the hotel (GPS got that part right) and packed up some stuff before going to bed.

Ugh this updating thing is hard! You see, I kept a journal with a very basic outline while I was in Colorado but now I have to actually turn it into understandable sentences and it's all seeming like too much work. Oh well, here I go.

Monday - Woke up early, got out of bed less early, packed up and headed out. Unfortunately Hannah forgot her cell phone in the hotel and we had to head back and get it. Luckily we hadn't gotten far. We spent the morning and early afternoon at the Denver Zoo. There were MILLIONS of small children there though on field trips or something like that because a lot of them were wearing matching purple t-shirts. It was crazy and a lot of them were incredibly annoying. Anyway, we saw some freaky birds (it's a really nice zoo) and ate some yummy food and of course got myself a pin before heading out. We went to a gas station that was apparently in the not nicest part of town to get gas and ice for the cooler. We then headed out of Denver towards the mountains on I-70 and drove for about 3 hours to Sylvan Lake State Park. The drive was incredibly scenic going through most of the mountains and our highest elevation was around 11,000 feet. Thats more than 2 miles above sea level! Crazy! Got there (elevation 8,500 ft), managed to successfully set up the tent, and then went on a short hike around the lake. It was on that hike that my camera battery started to (and eventually did) die. So that was sad but we made some contingency plans to get it charged the next day. We wandered back toward the tent and the car and stopped at the office on the way to try to buy firewood. Unfortunately the ranger had left so we were out of luck that night so just ate crackers and peanut butter and planned out the next day. We headed to bed early (with little else to do but fill out my journal outline of course). Slept on the ground in the tent - it's quite chilly once the sun goes down!

Tuesday - Woke up ridiculously early (6am?) and was on the road to Glenwood Springs by 6:30am. I drove there and the mountain scenery continued to amaze me - you'd think it would all look the same but it changes! We got to the whitewater rafting place a bit early and checked in (and of course purchased another pin and a waterproof camera). While we were there I asked them if they could charge my camera battery while we were out on our trip and they agreed! So that made my morning extra happy, knowing I could then take many more pictures afterwards. We then went on the rafting trip with our guide Ben and 6 other people. We took a school bus up to a spot on the river, got in, and rafted our way back to the building we checked in at. It was an amazingly fun trip - we managed to get in the only raft without small children. Our guide was from Chicago and kind of cute. Very scenic (commonly used word in this post) and down the Colorado River. After rafting (and getting my fully charged camera battery) we went down the road to the DQ and got treats. We then went over to the tram and signed up for a cave tour at the top of one of the mountains. Had to wait for awhile to go on the tour so we took a short nap in the grass under a tree. We rode the tram up (fun) and wandered around the top for awhile - got another pin! Then we went on the cave tour with waaay too many people but our tour guide (Sidney) was excellent. The caves were very pretty and somewhat creepy (as caves are). We took the tram back down and drove to Eagle, got gas and groceries, and then went back to the campground. We managed to get firewood this time and also managed to start a fire with the help of Georgia Fatwood courtesy of our friendly Wisconsin neighbor. We made s'mores, blew up the air mattress, and had another early bed but a much more comfortable sleep.

Wednesday - Finally got to sleep in (until ~9am) and when we woke up we slowly packed up the car and tried to organize things. We took down the tent, finished packing, and headed out around 10am. On the way out we saw a little snake of some sort, it was cute. We went to the Sylvan Lake State Park Visitor Center where I (again) purchased a pin. I took the first driving shift and made it all the way to Rocky Mountain National Park. Right after we got into the park we saw a bunch of cars pulled over so we did as well. Everyone was out looking at a moose and her calf. We took a few pictures then carried on. We finally made it to the first set of switchbacks on Trail Ridge Road (up and over mountains!) and Becky (the car) stalled on me! So we turned around and drove back down and parked at a trailhead. We decided to let Becky cool off and went for a short hour long hike on Timber Lake Trail. Got back to the car just as it started to sprinkle rain and headed back up the mountain. Hannah was driving at this point and we managed to make it up and over the mountains - with a lot of stops for picture taking. We were at/above the snow level at some points! We stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center (another pin) as well as the Continental Divide. Saw some elk and some rainbows and some more amazing mountains before finally reaching our destination at Glacier Basin Campground. Got to our site and discovered it was incredibly open (no bushes or trees or any privacy between campsites). Set up the tent and the air mattress, started a fire and ate more s'mores (with gooey marshmallows because our bag of them melted) and also real food. Stayed up later than usual (10pm!) and eventually headed to bed. I was after Hannah and the minute I got into the tent with the door zipped shut the wind picked up and it started to rain. And then the wind was nearly blowing the tent down (it acted as a big sail) so I held it up from the inside while Hannah braved the storm and fixed the poles more firmly and pounded the stakes back in. Was a long harrowing night and once we got out of the tent the next morning the wind immediately blew it down.

Thursday - So we dealt with the tent fiasco by taking all the stuff out and putting it in the car and staking the tent down flat to hopefully dry. Then we drove over to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead where we started our 2.5 mile hike to Mills Lake. It was a gorgeous hike, but again lots of people on the trails. I took so many pictures my camera ran out of memory and I had to keep going back and deleting old ones in order to take new ones. We got there, ate some snacks, enjoyed the lake scenery, and then began the 2.5 miles back to the car. We did take one wrong turn which led us to a pretty waterfall but eventually made it back around noon. We went to Estes Park (town right outside the National Park) and ate lunch at a Taco Bell. We then went to the library there and checked our email and just hung out for awhile. Eventually we headed back to the campground where we started another hike (just 0.7 miles each way) to Sprague Lake. Was a short hike, pretty but nothing special. Got to the lake, took some pictures, then headed back. This is where it gets exciting because all of a sudden Hannah stops and exclaims and I finally see why. There is a huge elk buck standing about 20 feet off the trail in the trees in front of us. We stand there in shock trying to take pictures of him through the trees and then he walks down onto the trail and across it to go drink at the creek on the other side. It was insanely cool and I got some awesome pictures of him. We finally continued down the trail, both giddy with having finally seen wildlife up close and personal, when I spot a doe elk laying down about 30 feet off the trail. I was laughing and incoherent so it took awhile to get Hannah to believe me and then she saw it and the picture taking resumed. We finally managed to get back to the campsite and ate some grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches (and awesome chocolate cake from our neighbors who pitied us). We had earlier decided to not bother with the tent again but just sleep in the car so once it was dry we packed it into the car. We sat outside later than usual in order to stargaze a bit until we had gone through all our firewood and let the fire die. Curled up in the front seats of the car and actually slept fairly well that night.

Friday - Woke up and went on another hike (~5 miles) that started at the campground and went in a big loop. Again it was scenic and pretty and I took a lot of pictures of flowers on that hike. Got back around 11:30 - perfect timing since we needed to be out of there at noon. Ate a quick lunch then said goodbye to the campsite. We drove to Estes Park and did some souvenir shopping for the family (got a tshirt for myself as well) and eventually headed out. We drove to Fort Collins from there to meet up with my met-in-Australia friend Alan (who I posted about a lot in Fall 2008, not so good times but a long time ago). Met up with him at Colorado State University where we got the tour (and got to meet his girlfriend Amy). Went back to his apartment (huge and beautiful) where Hannah and I showered (that was amazing). Then went out, picked up Amy, and went out to eat at a nice pizza place. Good food and good conversation. Then we wandered around "Old Town" for awhile and found an awesome used bookstore (yes I purchased a book - Wolf and Iron by Gordon Dickson). Went back to Alan's where we watched Phantom of the Opera and fell asleep on the couch. Most comfortable night yet.

Saturday - Woke up early again (7am), got dressed, said goodbye to Alan, and headed out for home. We decided to skip the drive through South Dakota and just try to make it to Rochester ASAP. That meant driving through Nebraska. We drove all day, taking about 3-4 hour shifts, and finally made it home around 11pm. Unloaded the car, said goodbye to Hannah, and collapsed into my bed.

Sunday - Woke up late (9am?), got dressed, repacked my stuff, said hi to my babies and played with them, then waited for a ride home. Eventually got one from both my parents and had a lazy Sunday after that. That's about it for Colorado 2010, man that took forever to get through.

I've been talking about all these pictures I've been taking but haven't actually put any up here. Instead I decided I'll just put up the links to the 3 Facebook albums I made and you can enjoy them or ignore them at your leisure:
Album 1
Album 2
Album 3

Now, you've already heard a little about post-Colorado, but I'll pick up where I left off last time. I think I left off at Thursday, which makes sense. I totally forgot to mention about how I went to the eye doctor on Monday and am getting contacts! Hopefully that works out. Not sure if I mentioned this but on Thursday (less than one week after seeing Alan and a mere few hours before meeting up with Kristin) I got mail from Sarah! A little charm for my phone and an awesome bracelet (which I am currently wearing). So I'm not sure if the bracelet is magical or all the happy Australia/vacation feelings just took over my body but something in me snapped (for the better!). Suddenly I realized how stupid I've been. Because, let me just come out and say it, I've been spending part or most of every free minute I have thinking about Tom. Not intentionally, I don't want my mind to wander back to that subject over and over again, wearing it down like a dog wears down a bone, but I just couldn't help it. When I snapped, it was like a light went off in my head and it all made sense. Okay, it didn't make any sense at all, but I could stop thinking about it/him. Not sure if this newfound freedom can possibly last, but I think if I keep staying away from him I'll have a better shot of making it stick. To carry on with the story...

On Friday I went in to work, worked for awhile (most of the day) and then left early to drive down to Perrot State Park in Wisconsin. It's pretty much right across the river from Winona. So my GPS guided me down there, with only a couple of stops for gas and a potty break (at a DQ - yum). Got down there around 5:15 pm and reunited with the lovely Kristin. We hugged and talked and waited for her parents to get back from their journey to buy firewood. Once they returned we started up the fire and they started cooking food (grilled chicken, new potatoes, corn on the cob roasted over the fire, it was delicious). A lot of just hanging out by the fire happened that evening. We also discovered there were nasty millipedes/centipedes in the bathroom, as well as a couple of adorable frogs that could (and did) climb up the walls. Eventually went to bed (~midnight) when I started flipping out at someone via text.

Back story - remember my confession about the mysterious Nathan a few posts ago? About how we're just friends now capable of just hanging out and having fun together and how it was all innocent because he was seeing someone? Yea... well he was seeing someone briefly, and then he was seeing someone else, and then this past weekend actually drove to Fargo to meet up with yet another someone (clarification, he went on a couple of dates with each of these people, so not really "seeing them" just seeing them...). And of course, thanks to my recent snap, I had been spending a lot of my new thinking time thinking about Nathan. About why I ended it (because I wasn't nearly ready to start anything, still being completely obsessed with Tom and all) and trying to figure out what I felt now. And what I discovered is that I wanted to be in a relationship again. Specifically, with Nathan. Which sucks because I'd already dumped the guy, and even encouraged him to go meet new people and start dating others. And now I was sitting in Kristin's camper thinking about how he still hadn't texted me back from going out with his brother and his date and how incredibly jealous I was getting of this person that I encouraged him to go see.

Emotions. Can't live with them, can't live without them.

So I texted Nathan, over and over again, somewhat annoyingly. And he responded eventually and I mentioned we should talk and he got curious but didn't push me and so finally went to bed (once he stopped replying because he was going to bed... curse my obsessiveness).

Saturday! Woke up around 8:30am, ate a delicious lemon poppyseed muffin, continued my talking with Kristin and watched her make another excellent fire. Then her parents and I all headed into the car and drove over to Brady's Bluff Trailhead (I managed to spot the tiny sign from the side of the road) and began our hike. While this hike was pretty short (~0.5 miles), it was so hot, humid, sticky, gross that it really wiped us all out. Not to mention that it was short but quite steep going up the bluff. We finally made it to the top and her parents decided to go down the other side while we went down and got the car and drove to pick them up. Got back to the campsite and grabbed our stuff to go shower (a necessity!). Got back and played a game of cribbage while her parents went to shower (I lost, but only because she got a 20 point hand right near the end!). Her parents got back and started cooking burgers. We played a round with teams (Kristin and I won!) and then ate the burgers and pretzels and fruit (watermelon for me) and then I had to pack up my few belongings and head out.

Drove back to the cities, but this time the GPS told me to go through Rochester so I stopped at home for about a half hour to say hi to the fam (minus Megs) and watch Belle go a little crazy before heading out again. Got home around 6pm, cleaned up, changed clothes, and headed up to Amanda's house for the big birthday BBQ (I, her, Jeremy (her bf), and Amy (her friend) - same people we went bingo-ing with - all had August birthdays to celebrate). Got there with just Jeremy, her parents, and one of her new coworkers there. The night got a bit busier as time went on - a lot of mosquitos outside eating us alive, beer pong (I watched), Apples to Apples (I did not win), and Catch Phrase (my team won!). It was hot, humid, sticky, etc. but there was good food and it was a good time. Julie was in town this weekend though and had earlier attempted to get me to go to the Cardinal for karaoke later that night (post-BBQ madness) but I heard elsewhere that Tom was running the show so respectfully declined. Not to mention the BBQ madness lasted well into the night. I only had one beer right at the beginning and so drove myself home late to leave more couches available for the inebriated sleepovers.

The texting continued with Nathan of course, and I discovered that he went on a second date with the Fargo chick. Through all this texting, he somehow amazingly picked up that I was feeling something or unhappy (go figure) and told me he was going to drive home that night starting at like 1am so we could talk early in the morning face to face. I was shocked and uncontrollably happy. So I went home and went to sleep.

Woke up incredibly early on Sunday and drove over to Nathan's. Where we talked. For a really long time and barely got anything said. I turn shy when I actually have to talk face to face with someone about something important and I'm not very good at sharing my feelings so it took a long time for me to come out and say what I was thinking. And then of course he had to think about it and what he thought and felt and wanted etc.

So we watched movies and played games and thought a lot on Sunday.

Eventually, we decided to try again.

Extreme happiness :)

So we hung out after work on Monday, I made taco ring and then we and his roommate Chris went out to look at furniture (apparently they need a coffee table) and then to DQ/Orange Julius.

Tuesday we had cell injection surgeries at work which is always fun but was kind of weird. The mice weren't going down all the way - they were totally unconcious but very twitchy, like the muscle relaxant wasn't working or something. After work I made myself a plan to clean my room. Instead I watched the first 3 discs (yes that's discs, not episodes) of the last season of Gilmore Girls. Ate Eggos for dinner - yum - and mostly just wasted the night. I did manage to finish folding laundry that I had washed the previous weekend and put clothes away (in closet or hamper depending on their cleanliness), but that's about it as far as cleaning goes. I also played with the babies a bit - and they are getting fat! So I only fed them 2 small pellets of food each instead of medium sized ones. Random information, but of course the more recent it is the more detailed I can get.

So far today (Wednesday the 25th) I haven't done a whole lot. Saw Katie briefly, no sign of Joe, so I've been trying to do my online annual privacy training for the VA but it keeps not registering that I've completed it. It's getting a little frustrating.

I also just ran down to the basement to Tom's cubicle because apparently he found one of my hairbrushes in his car and was too lazy to bring it up to me or just drop it off at my house. Nah it was no big deal, although he did try to toss it to me and of course I failed to catch it.

And my work training finally went through! Hooray!

So this is going to be another exciting weekend coming up - doing a whole bunch of family things (Valleyfair, casino?, etc) for mine and Megan's birthdays so that should be exciting.

I think I'm going to stop it here and hope this exceptionally long post hasn't lost you all! Thanks for reading!