We had the most amazing time snowshoeing, exploring Denver and Boulder, eating Thai food, catching up and just being together after nearly eight months apart.
I’ve known Michaela and Leah since elementary school (Pleasant Hill for my wonderful northwest suburbs of Chicago readers), and we’ve stayed close through college and multiple moves. Michaela moved to Denver last year and I was really anxious to see her in her new hometown.
I arrived in Denver on Friday night right around dinnertime. Since Leah was getting in late, Michaela, her boyfriend, Kyle, and I all hung out at their apartment until her flight arrived.
Michaela made such a delicious pizza for us to share and I cannot wait to recreate it at home.
Michaela is gluten-free for health reasons, and made the pizza on a rice-based gluten-free crust that I absolutely loved. It was chewy and flavorful and when topped with homemade pesto, feta cheese, turkey sausage and red onion, tasted fantastic! It reminded me of something Urban Flats, a tasty flatbread restaurant in Orlando, would serve.
Leah’s flight from Chicago was unfortunately delayed, but she arrived safe and sound and we picked her up at the airport after 11 p.m. and spent the remainder of the night at Michaela’s apartment talking until the early morning hours.
Snowshoeing
The next day, we awoke bright and early for quite an adventure.
We drove about and hour and a half away to a popular state park to snowshoe!
Thanks to Michaela for outfitting me in snow pants and a puffy coat! I definitely don’t have the proper cold-weather clothing anymore.
We rented snowshoes and poles for $15 and headed out to tackle several miles of hiking.
Call me crazy, but I totally pictured walking on tennis racquets when Michaela said we’d be snowshoeing. Fortunately snowshoes have come a long way and were really easy to walk in and did a great job of keeping me atop the thick snow.
Leah and I had a bit of a hard time adjusting to the altitude in the beginning. I swear my heart was pounding so, so fast just walking at a normal pace.
Man down!
It’s absolutely crazy to me what a difference the altitude makes. I always heard that high altitudes can really take your breath away, and I know I’m affected easily by pressure changes (it takes me longer than most to descend when scuba diving because I need to equalize so often), but this was really shocking.
We took it slow and enjoyed the unbelievable views and scenery.
Is that not postcard material, or what? Both Leah and I said walking through the snow-covered trees reminded us of the children’s book The Mitten. So picturesque!
The goal of our hike was to make it to two different lakes that were completely frozen over.
Lake number one:
Lake number two:
We did it!
Once we reached the lakes and turned around, the hike was considerably easier since it was all downhill. We also packed a bottle of wine and snacks and stopped for a break to make a toast and eat a bit before heading back.
Wine, cheese and grapes. We’re classy like that. 
I also ate a ton of nuts (I was craving salty food like mad!) and an apple.
After eating my apple, I made a big mistake. I threw my core to a nearby hungry-looking squirrel. Apparently you’re not supposed to feed wild animals in state parks, and boy did I learn my lesson.
That squirrel was INSANE. Longtime readers may know that I already have major issues with squirrels after quite the incident at UCF and this squirrel only further solidified my fears.
The squirrel had NO fear. It would not leave us alone and ran right up to us, grazing our boots and running IN BETWEEN our legs. It did not relent when we screamed like crazy and tried to scare it away and jumped toward us from tree branches. It was literally fearless and we were flipping out and scrambling to gather our food and wine and get the heck out of there.
I’m pretty sure we would win the $100,000 grand prize on American’s Funniest Home Videos had we caught that little escapade on video.
We hiked the remainder of the way back to the car and laughed about the psychotic squirrel and were on a hiker’s high. Downhill was so much easier and we probably hiked back in half the time it took us to hike to the lakes.
Such an amazing day!
I’ll be back soon with a recap of the rest of our time in Colorado. I miss Michaela, Leah and that beautiful state already!
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That looks like so much fun! I’ve been wanting to try snowshoeing forever and your photos/story only make me want to go even more. Not to mention, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking.
JULIE!
This post is making me miss Boulder so muchhh!
I’ve never tried snowshoeing but I grew up on a snowboard, was it exhausting? Are you tired/sore the day after?
i don’t think it would’ve been nearly as hard if it wasn’t for the altitude. that definitely took my breath away! i wasn’t sore the next day at all though. 🙂
Colorado is a state I’ve always wanted to visit. What an amazing adventure, and I’m sure it was quite the workout too!
What a fun weekend! I’m not use to seeing you in winter gear you Flordian! But you totally rock it, as always. 🙂 Glad you had a wonderful time with your besties.
My family and I just returned from skiing in Breck and visiting Denver (yesterday actually!). We are originally from Texas so I totally feel you on the altitude issue! Skiing was very challenging in such a big change. 🙂 Glad you had a wonderful time- I know we did!
Ahhh that squirrel would have freaked me out!! I keep seeing an albino squirrel near my apartment here in Boston. They are so creeping looking haha. I’m so glad you had a great weekend with your friends! I’m jealous of that gorgeous scenery!
How fun!! Great pics 🙂
Snowshoeing is such a blast! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
And it really is crazy how much the altitude can affect you–whenever I go out to Colorado, I am incapable of sleeping more than three hours a night and get massive massive headaches!
That hike looks absolutely gorgeous!!! I’m seriously considering moving from Chicago to Denver when I graduate law school next year. Does michaela find it’s easier at all to be gluten free in Denver?
It looks so so beautiful there. I hope you enjoyed yourself.
I love colorado! Snow shoeing (Is that the right word?!) looks so fun! What a serious work out too!
That adventure sounds like so much fun, psycho squirrel and all!! It takes me a long time time to discend while scuba diving, too. My buddy always gets annoyed with me- haha 🙂
This looks like so much fun! I’ve never been snowshoeing, but it looks like a great workout & I’m sure it was a lot of fun (minus the squirrel).
Beautiful pictures! Looks like so much fun! Oh, my goodness! I would have been freaking out and screaming like a crazy person because of the squirrel! I hate them!
What beautiful scenery! It looks like you had a blast with your friends! That squirrel story had me laughing.
Awww, I miss Boulder so much! I used to study there for 4 years…and I loved it! Look like you’re having such a fun time over there :)!
Funny I also thought of tennis rackets as shoes when you mentioned showshoeing, glad to see that the modern world has progressed from that.
That sounds like so much fun! I’ve never been snowhoeing but would love to try it out sometime. I definitely pictured big, clunky, tennis racquet-like shoes, too, haha. The scenery looks so beautiful, especially that super blue sky! The squirrel sounds scary, I can’t believe he was running in between your legs!! Sound like a great time (minus the squirrel) and the 3 of you girls are beautiful!
That sounds amazing! And so beautiful – sounds like you had a great time. 🙂
Beautiful pictures! I’ve always wanted to try snowshoeing, but we haven’t had much snow in the Chicago suburbs this year – surprising! Looks like your having a great time!
how beautiful!! i love the contrast of the bright blue skies with the big white mountains and green trees. i live in northern utah where snowshoeing is pretty popular, and i still have yet to try it out! looks like fun!
Great! You muste have had a gorgeous time, and the weather was just perfect! I’ve never tried snowshoeing but I love skiing, you really feel free in such a scenery!
So my family and I go to Estes Park, Colorado every year just to hike at Rocky Mountain National Park. This past christmas we went actually for the first time in the snow and we snowshoed to Emerald Lake also! I don’t know about you but those shoes took alot of getting used to for me, haha. Anyway, I just thought that was interesting!
I have always wanted to try snow shoeing! It looks like a fun workout 🙂
These pictures are BEAUTIFUL, I’m so envious!! Snowshoeing has been on my list of must-dos, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.
And that squirrel would have made me flip out. Running between your legs??
Ahhhhh gorgeous!!! I LOVE CO, so this was awesome for me to see 🙂 And snowshoeing is the best! Glad you had so much fun!
How fun! I actually really wanted to go snowshoeing this past weekend while I was away with girlfriends but there wasn’t enough snow in Massachusetts. Guess I’ll have to wait until next time in Colorado!
P.S. Doesn’t everyone pack wine and snacks when they head out into the great outdoors? 😉
what a fun weekend, I would love to try snowshoeing!! The scenery is beautiful!! I just read your story about the squirrel at UCF and must agree that the squirrels at college campuses are on drugs! The ones at my college were insane and got way to close to you one even ended up hanging out in my library one day!
Yay, Colorado! I live in Boulder, and when I first moved here I couldn’t run one mile without feeling like I was going to die! And forget running up hills. I walked them ALL. Going from sea level to 5,200 is no joke!
Gorgeous pics- would love to dive into that snow!
Wow!! I fell in love with Colorado during a trip last there last summer. We stayed near Pikes Peak, but drove all around visiting Denver, Breckenridge, Colorado Springs….. I can’t wit to go back!
I love that you guys packed wine and a snack! And that squirrel would have made me pee my pants!! Hysterical!
THAT looks like a perfect weekend! I love snowshoeing and doing it w/ a couple of girlfriends would be even better.
Wow, this looks like so much fun! The scenery is lovely – even though I’ve had quite enough snow for one winter, it still looks pretty in your photos! And that squirrel… so cute! Have a great day Julie!
Colorado is so lovely. My sister lives in Colorado Springs, and I’ve been fortunate to have visited her several times over the last few years!
The altitude issue is interesting, isn’t it? On my most recent visit, I wore a heart rate monitor while we hiked the Manitou Incline (an awesome, scary steep hike if you’re ever in Colorado Springs!) and my heart rate was definitely elevated from where it would normally be at home.
I also find that drinking at altitude is an interesting experience… The alcohol hits you about twice as hard!
that looks like so much fun!!
Looks like a beautiful day! I ran a 5K in Denver in the midst of marathon training and I felt soooo out of shape. The altitude was no joke!
Looks like such a fun trip! Especially loving the picture of the wine and snacks in the snow 😉
ugh I remember when my family took a trip to Colorado and our cabin was located up in the mountains. First of all those mountain roads have NO guardrails and I got undeniably sick from the altitude. But it was a fun trip after I got used to it haha =)
How fun!!! I was wondering what you wree doing in my state. I haven’t even gone snowshoeing yet, but I totally want to!!!!! I can’t believe the crazy squirrel!
Please do post the recipe when you recreate the pizza. I am also gluten free for health reasons and love trying different recipes.
i definitely will!
I second this! It looks amazing 😉
ahh I love snowshoeing!! Also its really crazy because I went to Pleasant HIll Elementary too!
that pizza looks great! i may have to make my own for dinner tonight!
also i love weight watchers string cheese! have you ever tried the colby jack… so good.
awww im glad you had such a good time! the squirrel story cracked me up…they really are psychotic creatures!
Oh my goodness this looks like SO much fun! And I think it’s really cool how you’ve stayed close to your childhood friends! I wish I could say the same! Glad you had an amazing time 🙂
Ah! That looks like Washington! Isn’t it beautiful? I think you need to relocate to the Northwest if you ask me! So many outdoor adventures. I totally know what you mean about altitude. Scott and I were staying in a hotel where the altitude was high and I almost had a hard time carrying my dog (mind you, she’s over 40 lbs.) but still! It can really take your breath away! Hope you had a great time and steer clear of squirrels.
Wow it looks SO beautiful! That is pretty crazy that the squirrel went mad…you would think that squirrels in a park like that would be a little more skittish..I could see the NYC ones doing that though!
I’m glad you had such a great time here in the Mile High City! I’ve lived here pretty much my whole life and still haven’t gone snowshoeing, so kudos to you 😛
So fun! I live in CO and am absolutely OBSESSED with snowshoeing! Glad you’re enjoying your trip 🙂
Colorado is so beautiful – glad you had fun! Also, I hope you try to make that pizza. I’d love the recipe for the crust because my Dad has Celiac and it’s hard to find a good gluten free pizza crust!
I’ve never been but everyone always raves about how beautiful CO is. Your pictures prove that! 🙂 Looks like tons of fun!