Colorado!

Jesse’s family has some cabins in Colorado near Gunnison National Forest, near the tiny mountain town of Pitkin. Steve (Jesse’s dad) took a bunch of us from the Youth Center up to the cabins for a retreat in 2007. It was incredibly fun. 2 years ago, I hadn’t been to Colorado since I was 3. We usually go to the not-as-grand Black Hills (don’t get me wrong- the Black Hills are my favorite vacation spot ever, but let’s face it. There’s a reason they are called “hills”, not mountains.) So 2 years ago, when we set off for the cabi

ns, I was amazed by the Rocky Mountains. They are so majestic. And vast. And they display God’s handiwork like nothing else I’ve ever seen. So going to Colorado in 2007 was special because I had never experienced true mountains like that before, and I had never been to the cabins. It was all new and exciting for me, not to mention I discovered I still had a crush on Jesse Herman. :)

2 years later, it is 2009. I have graduated, as have all of the people who went on that trip in 2007. When I heard that Steve was thinking of taking us back up there, I was thrilled! “Of course I’m going,” I said. This time, there were only 7 people instead of 12. It had a different feel because of that- it was more personal and we did things as a whole group, instead of breaking off into little ones. Steve pointed out something to us, and it definitely applied to this trip. He remarked that “Nothing is ever the same, and you can’t expect it to be; if you do, you will end up disappointed.” I know from experiencing things more than once that this is true, and I am glad, otherwise I may have been disappointed.

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Melo got to come on this trip! She was the only one of us who had never been there before, and the only one who was still in high school. She had a blast chopping wood (for THREE hours!), and being our trail blazer up the mountain.

Here is a picture of Jesse and me on the first trip, in 2007.

This is us on our last trip, in 2009. Have we changed? :)

Making bracelets is always a fun activity- I made both of these.

Us girls at The Point (from left to right): Katie, Amanda, Me, Melody

A hummingbird kept getting into the cabin. I did not realize they chirp (or squeak, rather).

Of course we had to go down the Rock Slide, and my jeans are STILL dirty from it.

We climbed all the way to the top of Green Mountain. It took about 2 ½ hours, but we made it!

All in all, we had a super fun trip and I can't wait to go back again!