Hi blogging friends! A few weeks ago Curtis and I got back from a four-day trip out west to Colorado for a family wedding and added on mini getaway. During our time we explored Longmont, Boulder, Estes Park and around Colorado Springs.

Long story short? I LOVE COLORADO!!!! I think after walking you visually through our four-day journey you will see why.

We traveled ALL DAY Thursday (long story) so our first full day was Friday. The wedding was Friday evening and took place at a lovely outdoor venue right along a babbling brook weaving through the scenic Boulder mountains. We had plenty of time to explore the grounds and it truly felt like a fall paradise.

It was wonderful to catch up with extended family and celebrate in the crisp Boulder air all night long.

Exploring Boulder the next day was really neat. We went for a creekside hike, ventured around downtown Boulder and then met up with the family again for a cookout. Even a casual stroll along the mountain trails offered epic views and such refreshment. I was surprised to see people swimming in the mountain creeks even during late September! If it was summer, I would be all about that. After “hiking” a bit we spent a few hours on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder and got a taste of the town life. There was a really great rooftop view where we got to see the horizon and enjoy yummy coffee.

Estes park area is STUNNING. We weren’t able to officially enter the park due to time restraints, but the next day we drove up the mountain to the general area and it was epic. We got so many opportunities to pull aside on the drive to take scenic photos. We happened to be there during peak Aspen leaf-changing season, so my favorite part was seeing all the golden leaves shimmer like petals in the breeze. The pictures absolutely do not do this scenery justice.

My favorite part of exploring around Estes Park was taking The Estes Park Aerial Tram Ride up the mountain. This ride took you in a small tram with a group and let you spend as much time up top exploring as you wanted before picking another tram ride back down. There was a gift shop and cafe and plenty of trails to walk around and get great pictures of the view. We probably spent a good hour and a half up there roaming around the trails, sipping delicious coffee and watching the local chipmunks snack on peanuts. You can see in the picture below that we really got a terrific view of the skyline in all of it’s mountainous glory.

This trip involved a lot of hopping around and visiting different friends who lived out in the area. The last two days of our trip were filled with exploring more towards Colorado Springs general area. We stayed with my godparents in Monument and had a lovely time catching up with them. The last full day we had featured non other than the iconic Pike’s Peak Cog Railway ride up to the top of Pike’s Peak mountain (approximately 14,000 feet elevation.) The pictures below speak for themselves on how absolutely breathtaking the journey up the mountain was. The terrain honestly reminded me of the centerpiece displays at Bass Pro Shop or Cabela’s and I loved it so much. We even saw three moose crossing the tracks on our way up!

Below is the view from the top of Pike’s Peak. It was literally snowing up there and felt like the dead of winter, whereas it was around 75 degrees and sunny at the bottom where we boarded the train. This activity was probably the most special part of the trip for me. I really felt like I got to experience the glory of Colorado in a memorable way and it was special to share it with Curtis and my godmother.

I hope you enjoyed this diary-style blog roundup from our whirlwind Colorado trip! For those of you reading, have you ever been to Colorado in the fall? Did you or are you planning on taking any autumnal getaways this season? I would love to know in the comments below!