The Year in Pictures

From top to bottom:
1) Cherry blossoms in North Carolina, April
2) Santorini, June
3) Donkey in Santorini, June
4) Rocky Mountain National Park, September
5) Great Smoky Mountain, November
6) Bodrum, Turkey, June
7) Ephesus, June
8) The Grand Bazaar, Turkey, June
9) Venice Beach, California, May
10) The Blue Mosque, Turkey, June
11) Tulum, March

Boulder Highlights

Boulder, Colorado holds a place in my husband’s heart. He lived there while attending CU and loved everything about that experience. Our Labor Day weekend two months ago there was special as it was his first time back since graduation. He was also excited about showing me his old stomping grounds.

We hiked (Chautauqua Park), shopped a little at Pearl Street Mall, stayed at a great hotel (Hotel Boulderado), and ate lots of delicious food (Aji for Latin, Brasserie Ten Ten for French, Lucile's for Cajun/Creole, Tee and Cakes for cupcakes, Moe's Bagels for bagels, Mountain Sun for beer and The Sink for pizza). In short, perfect!

Rocky Mountain National Park

The highlight of our recent trip to Colorado: Rocky Mountain National Park.  We spent a day at the park driving Old Fall River Road and Trail Ridge Road, the park's two main attractions.  Both roads offer visitors adventure, inspiring views and wildlife sightings.

First, we drove Old Fall River Road, a narrow and steep one-way 11-mile road that is mainly gravel, punctuated with several switchbacks, and slow-paced (speed limit is 15 miles per hour). It is a journey up to the alpine world.  At the end, it joins with the 48-mile Trail Ridge Road. Eleven miles of this impressive highway is above tree line (elevation of about 12,000 feet) where conditions are similar to the Alaskan Artic. The road offers plenty of marked pullovers to enjoy the beautiful and sweeping views. Simply put, our time at the Rocky Mountain National Park was remarkable.

Here are my favorite photos: