Blend Retreat 2012–Hike + Saturday Night

Guess what? Blend Recaps still aren’t over! I hope you’re not sick of them yet! Being that I have a lot going on right now (in so many ways), these recaps have been taking over.

After our amazing breakfast hosted by Xagave, all of us headed out on a hike to the Royal Arch.

Me, Katie, Lee, & Ashley (my roomie!)

Before leaving, we were given Simply Bars, which I think may be my new favorite bar!

As we were walking towards the trail, I snapped this beautiful picture of the flatirons.

There was quite a large group of us.

This hike was serious! When they mentioned that it was “not climbing Mount Everest”, I kind of held my expectations low. I mean, I still should have assumed it would be hard! This 4 mile hike definitely was challenging. I drank every last drop of my water, I was sweating, my booty was burning, and my legs were shaking. The elevation change didn’t help either!

Obviously, I was loving Katie’s booty.

But in all seriousness, Katie and I got to chat a bit and it was so great getting to know her! Props to her and all of her help planning Blend. You rock, girl!

We stopped at one point and I thought it was just the end, but it was just a point of rest.

It actually went down hill for a while before making it to the top.

We also passed a point where I got a preview of what we were about to see.

We continued on our way to the Royal Arch.

Thanks goodness I packed my Salomon shoes – the grips really helped me scale the mountain!

Finally, we reached our destination!

How awesome is that?

We climbed all the way up towards the arch and you could see all of Boulder!

Seriously, I wish this hike was in my backyard so I could do it everyday! Now, I am obsessed with finding somewhere to hike in New Jersey. Any ideas?

Katie, me Janetha, & Lindsay

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After getting back to the lodge, relaxing, snacking, and chatting with blends, we decided to head out on the town.

Alyssa, Tina, Courtney, and I met with Julie and her (trooper!) husband Terry and drove to Avery Brewery. We started off with $1 beers. No, they are not pints. Much smaller!

I ordered a classic cheeseburger and fries. You can’t go wrong there! I was craving some serious food after that hike, and it hit the spot!

We also split sweet potato tots. YUM!

It was awesome getting to chat with everyone at dinner. Oh, and instagram & tweet to each other, right next to each other. You know how that goes!

photo courtesy of Tina

Eventually, we headed to Rio where the rest of our blends were. Cinco de mayo time!

That glass is a lot bigger than it looks! And what’s inside of it is a lot stronger than it looks!

We ended the night scouring the town for fro-yo. Seriously, we were on a mission. A few places were closed, others were just not good enough (“only 4 flavors?” “it’s not self serve?”), and so we eventually settled on the next best thing, gelato.

After testing multiple flavors, I ended up with vanilla and mocha. Boring, I know. I was in a plain kind of mood, surprisingly. Well, only because they didn’t have sprinkles!

Then, this happened.

I have no words….

To be continued…….

Tagged as: avery brewery, blend retreat 2012, hiking, royal arches boulder colorado