Camping Trip, Part I

This weekend was absolutely amazing. There is so much to tell!

Six people went on the trip. Q and J are the married couple. Then there is me, JC, K, and, of course, NF. We headed out Friday around 5 and made it to Denver, Colorado around 1 am. The drive was cool. I rode with NF. One of the coolest parts about the drive was the storm we saw as we drove through western Kansas. The clouds were so dark and there was a lot of lightning and rain. It was amazing. I was just staring out the window in amazement.
We drove to Denver and got there around 1 am. We had reserved a hotel room but there was a mix-up (either on the part of the hotel or expedia) and so we actually didn't have a room. Luckily we got the money refunded and there was another hotel right next door. It was kinda funny trying to figure out where everyone was going to sleep. We finally had to make the married people sleep in separate beds. I don't think it would've worked to make me sleep with one of the guys; that might have been a little awkward. Although I think I could've handled sleeping on the floor a little better, Q liked to roll over to the middle a lot. Oh well.
Then we headed west out of Denver (it was a little difficult I must admit). The mountains were absolutely beautiful. I was pointing out everything to see of course, like Red Rocks, the 7 million dollar home that was used in Charlie's Angels, and Mt. Evans (that would be the mountain I saw everytime I went to church). We got to drive through the Eisenhower Tunnel which is awesome. You look back and it's like "whoa, we just drove through the mountain."

We drove around for a bit just west of Rocky Mountain National Park to find a campsite. We ended up at a very backwoods one. We set up near a nice little creek that wasn't too far from the road. There were only a few other campers we saw. It was very nice and secluded. The only downside? No toilet facilities. It's been a long time since I had to pee in the woods. It's not exactly my favorite thing to have to do. Anyway. . . .we got to build a fire and cook hot dogs and smores. We even made fettucini alfredo.

The first day we went for a little hike. It was interesting. There weren't any trails really set up so it took awhile to figure out where to go. We had to go across the creek (the water was FREEZING) so we had to find a way across without falling in. However, on the way back that didn't end up working so well for poor K. He decided to just sit in the water. So then instead of trying the same way the rest of us looked for another way across and ended just having to wade across. Oh my gosh let me tell you it was horrible. I went first and just rushed as quickly as possible which was hard because of the rocks! Then, of course, everyone else had to do it too (especially the guys) so they wouldn't look like wimps. Hehehe. I got plenty of battle wounds. I have a few cuts on my leg and a huge bruise from climbing over a log and scraping my leg up against a broken off branch. I'm proud of my battle wounds. They remind me I am a tough chick. The nights were pretty cold I must say. We woke up to frost on the tent both mornings. It was wonderful waking up to the fire though. I always waited until it was going before I woke up ;-)

It was just so wonderful being there. Nice and relaxing. . .and absolutely gorgeous. The drive just from Denver to the campsite was remarkable. And it was fun watching NF taking pictures (he let someone else drive for awhile); he hadn't been there before.

I am always just so amazed when I see the mountains. I can't even describe the feeling I get. I am just in awe and can't speak.

I will write more later. There is a very interesting story to come!!!