Weekend Getaway

Dan and I were married 4 years ago on August 10th, 2007. The past year has proven especially difficult with Dan being on an evening shift at work. Our time together has been limited and we've found ourselves losing touch with each other and the love that we share. So, this anniversary we decided to take a camping trip to help re-ignite that dwindling, fiery passion.

One of our first few dates that Dan and I went on was a four-wheeling day trip up in the mountains. We packed a lunch and with the top and doors off headed up Shrine Pass and had a great time (even though we got caught in a rain storm on the way home). In an effort to re-create that wonderful day, Dan planned to take us on the exact same trail we went on 5 years ago. This time however, we would camp at the summit of the mountain to make it a two day trip.

Once on the trail, I think Caliber may have been the most excited. I’m still not sure how he managed to keep his balance through it all.

(The road to get to the trailhead)

The trail we were about to take was considered moderate difficulty. What we were unaware of however, was that with the constant rainstorms Colorado has been blessed with, the trail was washed away to nothing but boulders, and the trail had in fact become a river run-off. It was, I admit, a bit intimidating for me. Dan took it like a champ, dropped it into 4wd and carried on without batting an eye.

This is when we realized exactly what lie ahead.

(River crossing 1 of 13,472)

We crawled up the trail and through the river crossings, narrowly missing huge boulders on each side hoping that we wouldn't get high-centered. But with Dan’s mad four-wheeling skills, we made it no problem. We even stopped to refill our water bottles with our amazing water purifier and steriPEN so we wouldn't catch anything creepy.

In typical Brooke and Dan fashion, we had left later in the afternoon; no need to rush things, right? Our goal was to make it to the summit and be able to watch the sunset together. The view was gorgeous! It was a true 360 degree view of absolute awe-inspiring serenity. Dan convinced me to sleep with our rain cover off so that we could see the view through the netting of the tent. Here is a video Dan took after waking up early to watch the sun rise while I was still sleeping:

Here are more photos to enjoy (sidenote: we realized after we left that the battery in our camera was dead, so these pics are from our phones).

(Caliber enjoying his breakfast)

(Sunrise)

On day 2 we took a short detour and went up a little higher on our way out. Here is the view from the top; obviously it was a bit too rocky to camp here.

The trip was perfect. Dan and I both had a great time and Caliber was pooped! 4 years have gone by in the blink of an eye. So here's to my favorite boys, I love you!

Much Love,