Adventure: Steamboat Springs

My birthday is June 23, so this is being released a tad bit late.

Jeremiah is a wonderful boyfriend, and this year he took me to Steamboat Springs for my birthday weekend! We took off to Steamboat Springs on Friday, June 22. The drive out to SS is beautiful. You definitely get to see a variety of landscapes on your way out there. The valley between the mountains in which you are driving in for the majority of the way there is filled with open fields, lush greenery, and several cattle and equine ranches. 

It took us a few hours to get to SS, and the first thing we did was check into our hotel room. We stayed at the Fairfield by Marriott. After Jeremy changed into his button up, surprisingly plaid shirt, and I changed into my summer dress, we headed downtown. We shopped the historic main street area, which was filled mostly with tourist shops as one would suspect.

On the way into town we had seen a plethora of yellow signs advertising F.M. Light and Sons, a store. We each ended up getting cowboy/girl hats from there.

We stopped in several other shops. I ended up getting a tank top and a long sleeve hoodie shirt. Jeremy got candy. Ha.

We ended up having dinner at 8th Street Steakhouse. I was disappointed to find that we had to cook our own food if we ordered off of the main menu, and the side dishes were extra. It's over-priced for having to grill your own meat, and the free salad bar was not that great. It's safe to say I was frustrated. The glass of wine I had was yummy, and Jeremy ordered the crab (which he didn't have to make because it was off of the special menu) which was delicious.

We drove over to the Safeway to look for a birthday cake. I ended up getting a variety cheesecake, where all of the varieties included chocolate (yesssss). Jeremy insisted I get the number candles, so he bought me a "2" and a "6". I guess when I turn 62 I can use them again....

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The following day was full of adventures. We started off my birthday with breakfast at the hotel, and when we walked out the doors there was a hot air balloon in the sky! I have never seen one in person, so this was very exciting for my young soul.

We started off our adventures with a hike to Fish Creek Falls. There were two trails to take to the falls, so we started with the paved one. The map made it look a lot longer than it is. The view was beautiful! We went down the unpaved trail, which goes along the creek. I greatly preferred this trail as it took us to the foot of the falls.

After Fish Creek Falls, the plan was to head up to Hahn's Peak. Travel Advisor said you could drive to the top. What it did not tell you was that the drive is all "gravel" (big rocks), and it's scary as hell. We made it about half way to the top of Hahn's Peak, debated on hiking the rest of the way, but decided that if we wanted time to do the other adventures on the list, we better not.

Hahn's Peak is not in Steamboat Springs, it's North of it, so we drove out there. Jeremy was betting on this mountain being Hahn, I wasn't sure if he was correct, but as it turns out, he was.

Jeremy is such a good sport. When we realized how rough of a drive it would be, he kept saying "let's keep going". I was terrified. The road was not wide at all, and I kept wondering what would happen if we came across another driver going the other direction. It happened, twice. Once, a large truck pulled over for us since he had the inside and could pull over into the brush. We had the edge of the mountain on our side. The second time was with a small four-wheeler, and they easily pulled out of the way. It was so scary seeing the edge of the mountain outside of my window. I tried not to look, and I kept being thankful that Jeremy was driving and not me.

We made it to the point where Siri said we were at Hahn's Peak. Another lie. We were only half-way up the mountain. Thankfully, there was an area for us to turn around. Jeremy pulled the nose of the car towards the mountain and backed towards the edge of the cliff. My knuckles were white from holding on to the handle on the door.

We got out of the vehicle and explored a little. This flower reminded me of a Bird of Paradise with the way it fans out. I'm not sure what it actually is.

For the amount of dislike I had towards the "road" we had just driven up, the view was breathtaking.

Look. At. This. "Road". Robert Frost would be so proud.

When we got back to the base of Mount Hahn, there was an Aspen tree grove. I think Aspens are absolutely beautiful, so I asked Jeremy to pull over so that I could go take pictures. Being the perfect gentleman he is, he did without question.

After Hahn's Peak it was time to go to Steamboat Lake State Park.

It's a smaller State Park, with not very many trails to wander on. It's mostly a recreational park for boating and swimming. With the mountains surrounding it, it is a beautiful place to be.

The last place we went to was Pearl Lake State Park, which was very close to Steamboat Lake. This was more nature-based, as no swimming or boating was allowed. There were a lot of people stand-up paddle boarding. I saw my first columbine flower here.

We ended up having lunch in Steamboat Springs and then heading back to Denver. We drove over to Jeremy's parent's house to pick up the puppies, and his parents took me out for birthday dinner! I certainly was not expecting dinner, and I thought it was very sweet of them to take me out for my birthday.

Thank you everyone who wished me happy birthday.

To my family, I miss you.  It is hard living away sometimes, but just know that I love it here in Colorado and hope to see you all soon.

To Jeremy's family, thank you for always including me in. You have become my Colorado family, and I appreciate everything you do for me.

To Jeremy, thank you for making me realize I deserve more, that I can achieve my dreams, and for always supporting me. I love you, and I appreciate you more than I will ever be able to say. Thank you for a wonderful birthday weekend.