Fresh Colorado mountain air really is all you need sometimes. This time was pure magic and I left feeling totally renewed and grounded. A few months before I got hitched, one of my best friends and I did a little road trip around this piece of Heaven on Earth. We started in an old saloon-style western town, Fairplay, before heading up to the San Juan mountains to camp for a couple nights, and galavanting through Ouray, the most perfect mountain town you've ever seen. A couple days later, in my ripe old age of 33, I pulled my back within 5 minutes of an overly-aggressive rowing move while white water rafting down Browns Canyon on the Arkansas River. Lucky for me, T held down the raft in all her might, and the trip concluded by soaking in the healing powers of the hot springs in Buena Vista of the Sawatch Range. Most of this not pictured, because of fun being had in the moment.

We woke up in dry, red Utah and hours later drove to this thirst-quenching turquoise gem, Hanging Lake, near the top of a mountain.  T was worried we wouldn't make it in time to have a place to park, and she was right.  We ended up having to backtrack on the highway to park at the exit before, and we walked through the Glenwood Canyon for three miles just to get to the trailhead to start the hike.  It was actually more exciting that way; canyons are one of my favorite landscapes so it was so refreshing to walk alongside one for three miles before hiking up.  The lake itself is so magnificent and extremely colorful.  You're not allowed to swim in it in order to maintain the integrity of its rare properties which give it the vibrant color. It was so tempting though, I was salivating looking at it. On the way back in the canyon, we got caught in a crazy thunderstorm and sprinted through the rain and thunder to make it to cover, which wasn't all that close.  It's ok, running through a storm happens to be one of my favorite things to do.  After driving and seeing a full double rainbow, we drove to Loveland pass.  It was so high that the air was a fresh, cold blast, chilling us into believing it was already fall. 

My best friend in the world moved to Colorado a couple of years ago, and I finally made it out to visit her in this wild and beautiful state.  We have been best friends for 13 years, and have gone through so many huge phases and changes together, both difficult and incredible.  We met on a club volleyball team in 2002, where we quickly earned a reputation of being a boisterous and crazy duo, laughing constantly at everyone and everything around us.  With that, our parents gave us the appropriate name "TNT" (Tierney and Tami) because we were like dynamite together.  It's impossible to have a dull moment or conversation, unless we are focused on watching Harry Potter, then there will be no talking. We still talk basically every day, blowing up each other's phones with text rants about our aimless inner dialogues, and often super deep and meaningful, soul-connecting, life-changing thoughts.  

We hold a sacred vault to each other's innermost honest emotions and raw experiences, and it feels amazing knowing how safe and secure those vulnerabilities are with someone who will love you and be there for you no matter what. To have that in a best friend is truly a gift.  Our relationship from day one has been an adventure, molding us closer through all the changes we've gone through together, and all the similar dreams we have. T is a remarkably insightful, smart, selfless, sensitive, and badass woman that I'm proud to know, much less call my best friend. I really don't know where I'd be without her.  Yay T, here's to all the adventures we have ahead of us. Thank you for this amazing road trip through beautiful Colorado that you planned so carefully.  It was amazing.  You are my soul sister. Love, T.