Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Thanks to a very generous and thoughtful going away gift from Paul's lab, we received a family membership to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. It was one of the first things we checked out once we got settled. It did not disappoint. Here are a few photos from our first trip, and we've already been back a second time. 

From the special exhibit on mythical creatures

The dinosaurs were an especially big hit with Lucia:

Great hands-on stuff for kids in the Discovery Zone, as well as throughout other exhibits as well.

She can't possibly be embarrassed by us already?!

Needless to say, we all had a great time. Lucia also had her first movie theater experience in the IMAX, which she loved. There was no way we could see all the exhibits in one trip, hence the second trip already!

Road trip into our new backyard...the Rocky Mountains.

After my Dad and Julia left we continued to do a lot of unpacking and organizing. It's hard to feel motivated to be settled when you don't know how long you will be living somewhere. 

Paul had a couple of weeks before he started work and so we tried to make the most of our time by getting out and exploring. These are a couple photos from our first trip "up to the mountains." We stopped in Nederland, the first town you get to after going up Boulder Canyon. We found a sandwich shop with good Yelp Reviews and a view of the creek and talked with the person at their local visitor center who gave us a bunch of maps and brochures. Then we loaded back up into the car and hit the highway north towards Estes Park. 

My two favorite people.

Mountain peeking out!

Highway 72 (which turns into Hwy 7) is knows as the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway. It takes you right into the mountains, the continental divide and you really feel like you are driving at the edge of the world. It's really beautiful, but that's an understatement. And of course I like to geek out about the history of the area. I feel like I barely scratched the surface of Chesapeake Bay history when we lived there, and now I am jumping forward 100 years to the pioneers and gold mining. So many interesting stories to learn.

We found our way into Estes Park, which is sort of the gateway into Rocky Mountain National Park. We didn't go into RMNP, but parked and walked around Estes Park, had some ice cream, bought a book on Colorado wildflowers, then took the faster freeway route back to Boulder.

Ice cream break in Estes Park 

Driving through the mountains you see the endless possibilities for exploration and we are so excited to get out there and experience it!

Welcome to Boulder!

We made it! It was almost surreal to wake up in our hotel and know we were just a few short miles from our new home. We were excited and nervous and ready to get on with the unpacking. Thankfully my Dad and Julia had offered to meet us in Boulder and help unpack. I CANNOT imagine doing all of it without them, looking back now.

We arrived at the apartment complex to try and figure out where our unit was and where we could park the truck to unload. Paul left Lucia and I to play on the playground while he went to go sign the lease and get the key.

Pretty cool having a playground right out our door! Lucia approves.

We got the keys, my Dad and Julia arrived, and we got right to work. The apartment is spartan but clean and not as run down as we were preparing ourselves for, so in that regard we felt pleasantly surprised. It has new laminate faux wood floors in the main living/kitchen areas and industrial-grade carpet in the bedrooms.

Living Room w/ built in desk space

The kitchen is not a foodie's dream, but we'll make it work.

Lucia's bedroom. It is nice to have real closets and storage space. 

From Lucia's room looking into the "middle" bedroom which is my office/Lucia's playroom

Overwhelmed!

Unpacking in process

Obviously not a lot of photos from actual move-in day. It was all hands on deck all day long until the truck was empty. In short: it was hot, we had to go up and down stairs, we are at 5,300 elevation and we were exhausted and sweaty.

We spent the following day unpacking, making trips to Home Depot and Target. On day three we decided we all deserved to get out and explore. I mean, the mountains are practically on top of us, how could we not? Dad and Julia had already scoped out the trails at Chautauqua, so that's where we went. There is a huge network of Boulder Open Space trails that start at Chautauqua and take up right up and all around the iconic Flatirons. You start out going uphill through a meadow and the trails eventually take you into the forest. You can wind your way any which direction you choose to make your hike as long or short as you want. We saw lots of trail runners too. And judging from the jam packed parking lot, this is a very popular destination. We did a relatively short loop but you still get the amazing views and thigh workout. We took the Bluebell Road, a nice wide gravel/dirt road up along the meadow and looped back down the McClintock trail.

The City of Boulder preserves and manages 45,000 acres of land and 145 miles of trails. More about Open Space & Mountain Parks here.

The Flatirons!

Thanks for meeting us in Boulder and helping unpack Grandpa Rich & Grandma Julia!