[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Enjoying the Outdoors” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Finally! This past weekend I was hopeful that spring was arriving in Colorado. I feel like I may be one of the few people living in Colorado that enjoys the spring/summer in Colorado more than winter. The grass is turning green, the trees are starting to bud, spring bulbs have sprung, and maybe one of my favorite things is seeing the snow-capped mountains in the distance against a bright blue sky while I am feeling warm down in Denver. My next thought, I just want to get outside!!! I am writing this to remind all of us, we live in a beautiful place, we are really lucky and let’s take advantage of it.
If I haven’t done it already, this is the time of year when I start to plan my summer activities, not necessarily vacations but fun activities I can only do in the summer close to where I live. They could be major goals or undertakings like training for a marathon or hiking a few 14 ners to just trying a new activity you have never done or maybe hiking in to a camping spot instead of driving to it. I’m just going to share some of my own experiences from last year. Last year my husband and I started with a few goals, 1. Do a new hike at least every month. We look through our hiking book and pick out our favorites to try 2. Hike one fourtneer 3. Walk Red Rocks steps once a month. Just in case you are wondering, we may have come close to one of these goals and pretty much did not complete 2 of them. Completing them wasn’t the whole point, we still had fun trying, and we found some new activities along the way. Last year we ended up taking up Stand Up Paddle Boarding or SUP. Maybe I will even branch out and try a yoga class on a SUP this year. One annual tradition of mine and unique to Denver; signing up for at least 1 Yoga on the Rocks class. It really is amazing but you have to sign up typically in April to get a spot-it does sell out. I even discovered there were remains of a castle; the Walker Ruins built in 1909 which you can reach from Mount Falcon but there are options of where to access if you need an easier hike (want to take kids) you would start at the top compared to a more strenuous hike up.
We always have easy access to a lot of trail systems for running, biking, and there are great options for mountain biking/trail running not too far from the city. If these are new activities for you or you don’t want to do them alone; there are groups for all of them so you can join like minded people or for example take a beginner mountain biking class through REI to feel more confident. Another thought, especially with kids is to take advantage of our area parks which may have a trail you can walk around, areas to set up a volleyball net, horseshoes, or play soccer. Anyway, there are so many things to enjoy and try outside-I haven’t even touched on so many we have access to here. Yours will probably look completely different than mine but I hope I got you thinking. Embrace where we live!
-Amy Bogart, RDN[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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