48 Hours With Family, Part 1

So, as my mobile post yesterday hinted, I'm somewhere in the mountains. Specifically, I'm in Colorado, but only for about 48 hours, so I decided to focus all my time on visiting my brother and his family even though I have several wonderful pals here. I wish I could have seen everyone, but it was just too quick.

I amended my location yesterday, as we were actually in the White River National Forest, not Arapahoe as I originally reported, but it was still gorgeous. There are some photos below. If you missed yesterday's post, my brother and I went snowshoeing in the mountains. Almost as soon as we got on the trail my brother pointed out a Downy Woodpecker which was a thrill as he was right overhead and we could really see him. Sadly, we saw many trees affected by the Bark Beetle, of which problem I was blissfully unaware since I'm on the East Coast. When we got to our destination, we were rewarded by a nice view of a beautiful high peak. It was a particular pleasure to go on this snowy hike with my brother because it is a part of our family legacy to love the outdoors. We spent nearly all of my childhood vacations camping in the woods and I have many memories of my dad showing great reverence for the world and knowing the names of all the plants and animals we would encounter. It felt very right and good to be in the woods with family.

This is me mobile-blogging yesterday's post!

The Downy Woodpecker

A gorgeous landscape shot captured by my bro.

After the snowshoeing and a stop at the fabulous Smashburger for a Colorado Burger, we met up with my sister-in-law and nephews at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. This was really fun with two little guys still in the age of wonder. How I love the sensation of a little one grabbing my hand to pull me excitedly over to see something amazing. This place had some top-notch exhibits that were seriously fun and full of well-done interactive experiences. We topped off the night with an IMAX film and more fast food joy at Chipotle.