Hughes' Views & News

Once again, amigos, it’s been a really, really, REALLY long time since I rapped at ya, but this time I’ve got a really good reason for it.

This is Kelley

You see, back in May I started dating someone. And Kelley lives about two and a half hours away from me. With all that traveling back and forth, I haven’t been able to keep up with my grueling once-a-month blog posting schedule. So I’ve had to scale that back to once every four months or so …

At the beginning of September I traveled with Kelley to Colorado for her brother’s wedding in Steamboat Springs. The wedding itself, on the Thunderhead Peak of Mt. Werner, was beautiful, and Kelley and I got to do lots and lots of fun stuff during our week in the state.  We also took lots of pictures. You can see the pictures I shot with my camera here.

This is me and Kelley at her brother's wedding reception.

Here are some of the highlights of our trip:

Wednesday, Sept. 1 — We flew from Charlotte, NC to Denver, where I met Kelley’s parents for the first time.

Thursday, Sept. 2 — We drove from Denver to Steamboat Springs. Kelley and I took a short hike in Steamboat. We had dinner that night in the condo with Kelley’s family.

Friday, Sept. 3 — In the morning, Kelley and I hiked to the summit of Rabbit Ears Peak (this hike was recommended to me by my friend Joe Miller). Absolutely stunning scenery. In the afternoon and evening, we attended the pre-wedding party/rehearsal dinner, which included an afternoon of fun on the Howelsen Hill Alpine Slide. Here’s a YouTube video (posted by someone other than me) that shows what riding that slide is like:

Saturday, Sept. 4 — In the morning Kelley and I took a 20-minute walk/run on the paved trail next to the Yampa River in Steamboat. In the afternoon we rented mountain bikes and went for a ride. That night we went to her brother’s outdoor wedding on Mt. Werner.

Sunday, Sept. 5 — I ran the 10,000 Meters at 10,000 Feet race, which began with a 3-mile climb up the same trail that Kelley and I had hiked earlier. Then we drove from Steamboat back to Denver, stopping at the Keystone Ski Resort to take a few pictures, since I had spent a week there with my family when I was in 5th grade, and Kelley’s family used to own a condo in Keystone. We also did another short hike at Loveland Pass, just outside Keystone.

Monday, Sept. 6 — Kelley and I had brunch in Denver with her friend Deena and my friend Melanie Caston. In the afternoon we drove to Colorado Springs to meet my friends Jana Hyde and Delvin Neugebauer for dinner. We stayed overnight with Jana, Delvin, and Katie the Cocker Spaniel.

Tuesday, Sept. 7 — We took the cog railway to the summit of Pike’s Peak and then rode mountain bikes back to the bottom, where we had lunch at Wines of Colorado in Cascade. We did that trip through Challenge Unlimited, which I highly recommend. That afternoon we drove to Boulder, which is where Kelley grew up.

Wednesday, Sept. 8 — We had breakfast in Boulder with my friend Pam Sinel Moore. Then we went on a hike at Chatauqua Park in Boulder. In the afternoon we drove back to Denver.

We saw this awesome rainbow in Coal Creek Canyon.

Thursday, Sept. 9 — We flew from Denver back to Charlotte.

I’ve left out a lot of details here, simply because I don’t have the time or space to include them all.

In conclusion, I would say this trip left me with one big unanswered question about Colorado:

How soon can I go back?