On top of the world.....well almost

Mount Evans

Since we are the newest mountain-loving, tree-hugging...well okay I won’t go that far...but we are now Denver enthusiasts. Anyways, with our new found love of Denver we took advantage of Stephen's day off and had some fun. We may or may not have had the ulterior motive of finding some awesome things to do to use as bait to solicit visitors.

Incentive # 1 A view of the beautiful Chicago lakes

We kicked of the day by going zip-lining. For those of you who know me this was a semi-big deal as I am kind of afraid of heights. But don’t worry I prevailed and had a blast! Never mind that for the first two zips I was so focused on my technique that I didn’t look around and enjoy the sights, but stared down my destination. What made this gig even better was its price, which only included tips since Stephen is working for the company before his “real” job begins.

After the survival of our first stop we ventured over to Mount Evans. Seriously, this place was awesome! We drove on North America’s tallest auto road which is an obvious check off of everyone’s bucket list. But really, how many people can say they have been at the elevation of 14,130 feet without walking. To put this in perspective Mt. Everest’s base camp is at 17,700 feet. We walked the strenuous 130 feet to the top despite the elevation sickness warnings. 

It may be the HIGHEST auto road but they didn't say safest or well-kept.

We decided to drive straight to the top but inevitably took a few detours because the sights were too breathtaking to pass up. Stop #1 provided this lovely view. 

And we just happened to meet our first yellow-bellied Marmot. No big deal, I didn't even know these creatures existed until yesterday. The look like a bad theater prop to me.

Here is a picture of one a little closer up.

And then of course on the way to the top we saw your everyday Bighorn Sheep. Looks like the Bighorn is on the Slim-Jim diet to me. 

Of course they thought it was a good idea to cross the road.

  

And finally...we made it to the top. It was 41 degrees! 

Being on top of the world does have it's downside. Unfortunately we were surrounded by clouds and couldn't enjoy the view. Maybe next time.

Here Stephen is being adventurous and making me nervous. He was climbing a crevice with a steep drop off.

What I haven't mentioned yet is the MANY, yes multiply X100 DROPS OF DEATH that we encountered on this little excursion. Below is drop one at the top of Mount Evans.

Here is your average drop of death on the road. Can you see that van?

Another scary view.

Needless to say we made it home safe and sound. And even with all the emotional drama stemming from eminent danger, the trip to Mount Evans was well worth it and quite a sight to behold. Want to come next time?

--Danielle