In the summer of 2012, my family traveled to Colorado for a week. This trip was particularly difficult for me; a friend of mine was beginning chemotherapy treatment that week and I did not want to be away during that time. However, I overcame my struggles and had a fantastic time with my family in The Centennial State. The memories are a little hazy now, but here are some of my favorite parts about the trip!

Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs is a beautiful town nestled at the edge of the Rocky Mountains. We spent our first few days of the vacation here.

Hiking in the Red Rocks

Now at this point, we had been up since 4 a.m. (which was 2 a.m. Colorado time) and had flown across the country, but despite how tired we were hiking through the red rocks was beautiful.

Olympic Training Center

The Olympic Training Center is located in Colorado due to the high altitude. The lack of oxygen leads athletes to increase their red blood cell volume, and thus their oxygen intake and endurance. The center is absolutely amazing - for example, the pool contains speakers underwater so the synchronized swimmers can still hear the music underwater.

Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak is one of the highest summits in the world, with a peak of 14,115 feet. We took a trolley ride to the top of the peak. I'll admit; I was incredibly nervous!

Breckenridge

Breckenridge is a little ski town located about 80 miles west of Denver. We spent the majority of our week here.

Horseback riding through the mountains

I'd say my dad was the star of this trip. He coined the "epic" pose (above) and his horse tried to throw him off the mountain.

Mountain biking

We took a 14-mile bike ride from the town of Vail back to Breckenridge. Luckily, it was mostly downhill.

White water rafting

To this day, I'm still incredibly impressed that my younger sister Christina (front right) managed to stay on the raft through a difficult patch of rapids. As soon as we were back on smooth water THEN she fell off the raft.

The "epic" pose

As I mentioned earlier, the "epic" pose was coined by my dad while we went horseback riding. We continued to showcase this pose throughout the vacation, especially on a large mound of snow that still hadn't melted in July.

Can't wait to go back someday!