After a wonderful week in Colorado with my family, I switched gears and picked up three of my college roommates for a long-overdue weekend reunion. These women live all over the country and world, and all have families and careers, so to be able to plan and execute a reunion weekend is nothing short of a miracle. It’s so refreshing that with college friends, you can pick up like no time has passed even when you haven’t seen each other in years. It helps that we still share so many similar interests – hiking, great food, music, and genuine conversation. All in all, it was a perfect weekend with friends I’ve had for over 20 years. The weather was sunny and clear, the location was perfect, and the time with friends was unforgettable!

After I dropped off my husband and kids at the Denver airport and picked up my friends, we stopped at a grocery store to pick up some immediate provisions for the house and drove to Boulder to settle into our incredible Airbnb near the Colorado University campus. Unfortunately, I no longer see the home listed on Airbnb, but we stayed in Lower Chautauqua within walking distance to Flagstaff Mountain and the Flatirons, and just a short drive from downtown Boulder. The location was perfect for our weekend.

On Saturday morning after breakfast, we put on our hiking clothes and walked to the Chautauqua Trailhead for a hike in the Flatirons. We chose to do the Royal Arch Trail, which is 3.5 miles round-trip and moderate to difficult. The hike is essentially a climb up and a climb down, so much harder on the way up. We are all fit, but I think coming to a city at higher elevation and then doing a steep climb was a challenge for all of us! It was a good challenge though, and we left feeling very accomplished and ready for a fun afternoon and evening.

We ate lunch at Southern Sun, the second and larger location of Mountain Sun Brewery. The beloved Boulder brewpub has burgers, pizza, and beer on the menu. It has a large patio which is perfect on a sunny Colorado day. One of my favorite aspects of the brewpubs are they don’t have TVs and instead have books and board games available. Cash only.

After lunch, we returned to the Airbnb to rest and shower for the evening. We arrived in downtown Boulder and did some shopping on Pearl Street. We browsed through Liberty Puzzle (beautiful wooden puzzles), Rocket Fizz (an old-fashioned soda pop and candy store), Free People, Cotopaxi, and Peppercorn (a gift shop with something for everyone). It was a treat to shop with no pressure to be done by a certain time or to find anything in particular.

At that point, we were ready for happy hour at Salt. We ordered cocktails and apps in the basement of this unique restaurant that focuses on sustainability and local ingredients.

We wanted something casual and different for dinner so we settled on Sherpa’s, a restaurant run by people from the Mount Everest region. The restaurant features authentic Nepalese, Indian, and Tibetan cuisine, served in a beautiful downtown home decorated by sherpa pictures and history. You can even book a trip to Mount Everest through their staff! It is a very special restaurant, where I truly felt like I was transported to Nepal.

On Saturday, we drove an hour to Rocky Mountain National Park, where we did the full 3.6-mile round-trip Bear Lake hike through snow and forest to several alpine lakes. The spur trail to Lake Haiyaha (adds 0.6 miles) was blocked by snow, but we were able to see Nymph Lake (0.5 miles), Dream Lake (1.1 miles), and Emerald Lake (0.6 miles). We packed a picnic lunch to share and enjoyed it at a VIP spot overlooking Dream Lake.

As mentioned in my previous post, the Bear Lake hike is very scenic and is one of the most popular in the national park. If you’re visiting in the summer, you’ll likely need to reserve a timed entry and utilize the shuttle system as described in that post.

On our way out of the park, we stopped in Moraine Park because we saw a “wildlife jam.” Several tourists were observing a mother and baby moose drinking water in a small creek. It was such a neat sight and the cherry on top of a beautiful day in Rocky Mountain National Park.

We grabbed a snack of chips, guac, salsa, and margaritas at Mojo Taqueria in Lyons a little over halfway back to Boulder. We didn’t have time to explore, but Lyons looks like a nice place to stay a little closer to the national park. The food at Mojo was fresh and authentic and hit the spot! Once we got home, we rested and changed for our last dinner of the trip.

We started our evening with happy hour drinks ($9 cocktails from 5-7 daily) at The Bitter Bar. This bar has a lengthy menu of simple yet delicious cocktails and is a true neighborhood hotspot. We sipped our drinks and enjoyed each other’s company on the patio before heading to dinner.

One of my friend’s nieces had recommended that we have our “fancy night” dinner at Corrida and we are so glad we took her recommendation. We had a superb dining experience, enjoying a variety of shared tapas and tableside gin cocktails with a view over the Flatirons. The service was unparalleled and I’d recommend Corrida to anyone visiting Boulder wanting an upscale dining experience. Reservations required.

Sadly, our trip came to an end on Sunday. After packing up, we picked up breakfast burritos and coffee at CU favorite Santo. Santo serves New Mexican cuisine using local ingredients. Then we got some exercise with a walk around the beautiful CU campus. It was hard to say goodbye to both my friends and Colorado, but we left with full hearts, already planning our next reunion!