Greetings!

I hope you've had a wonderful week! We're almost to Friday which means work ethic is on the rapid decline in the office, so it's time for a new blog post!

I'll preface this post by asking this - Have you ever set out to accomplish a goal and fallen short?

As mentioned previously my yogic travels to Colorado were splendid. Although the city provided a great experience, the mountains were calling our name! And by our I mean my husband and I. (You'll hear MUCH more about him in future posts, I'm sure!) And since we don't half-ass anything, we decided to whole-ass the tallest mountain in the state, Mt. Elbert.

GULP

Standing at a cool 14,433', Mt. Elbert is the tallest fourteener in Colorado. From it's summit you can see the peaks of all other measly mountains that surround it (check out the #mtelbert on Instagram to see what I mean).

Armed with almost 300 ounces of water, hats, gloves, boots, wool socks, jackets for every form of precipitation Mother Nature could throw at us, and my rugged trekking pole (AKA, a stick) we arrived at the base of the mountain at 7 am ready to take on the adventure!

The temperature was mid forties with a chilly breeze due to the elevation, but we knew we'd warm up quick as we got moving! As we started up the 2 mile 4-wheel drive gravel road the sun began to rise which was a site to see. Being in the mountains hearing nothing but the breeze and our footsteps really brought a sense of calm and happiness to both of us.

After crossing a wide stream, reaching the actual trail head and hiking a little over 4 miles, we stopped for a brief lunch on a log and made friends with some wildlife. After refueling, we were on our way again.

About 2 miles later, my head hurt, my legs felt like cooked spaghetti noodles, and we could only walk about 15 steps before breaking from the pain in our hips and weakness in our lower bodies. We were approaching the false summit, at around 13,500' and I was refusing to give up, and nothing was going to change my mind... Except for the couple who were on their way back down the mountain from the summit.

Us: How much longer to the top?

Them: About an hour and a half to two hours.

Short on water, energy and morale, we made the decision to call it quits. After taking a moment to survey the scene and appreciate how far we had come, we decided to make our way back down the mountain.

Six miles and five hours in, we didn't achieve what we set out to do, but we definitely gained a lot. Although we couldn't say that we summited the tallest mountain in Colorado, we could say that we set out on a hiking trip in the beautiful Aspen covered mountains, spent 7 hours total bonding and pushing each other to keep going, talking and laughing over tuna salad and crackers, Pringles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and most importantly creating memories doing something we thought we couldn't.

I'll end the post by asking this question - Have you ever thought about what you gained by falling short of a goal?

I'm sure if you think about it, there are tons of things you'll come up with. So in life, love, work, school, or maybe even yoga, consider the bright side of things, you may just find that you accomplished more than you thought.

Namaste.

Traveling and yoga go together like peanut butter and jelly. Like fall and football. Or like Boat Pose followed by a good Upward Facing Dog ;) Yoga is very much about self discovery, and finding one's truth, so much so that they feel completely content. Travel is kind of the same thing, at least when you visit a place that really makes you feel at home. My travels to Colorado were exactly that.

Being from Louisville, KY (prounced Lew-uh-vuhl) I am used to a pretty eclectic scene. Louisville is quite a diverse city in every way - food, shops, cultures, people... It makes it pretty easy to find a place to fit in. Not to mention the fact that being located in the southern U.S., we have a sense of southern hospitality, meaning we're pretty friendly 'round these parts, too. However, there is another Louisville that made me feel the same way, but this one was in Colorado!

Louisville, CO (pronounced Lew-is-ville) is about 10 minutes from Boulder, Colorado. Little did I know before visiting the Mile High State that Boulder has the most yoga studios per capita in the country! **Cha Ching!** This may have been the reason for the multiple yoga apparel and Indian gift shops to load up your puja with statues of your favorite deity! The food scene wasn't too bad either. Whatever your heart desires - Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, a place that serves strictly fish tacos, and tofu or other vegetarian options could be found on every menu. And the people... THE PEOPLE! A Southerner/Northerner combination. Reserved, yet when approached could not have provided a warmer, more genuine smile. Oh yea, and the most important part... NO HUMIDITY. Talk about a week of great hair! With all these things combined, how could I not love it?

To any person, or especially yogi, looking to travel within the states, the Boulder/Louisville area of Colorado would be my first recommendation. Not to mention, mountain scenery driving into and around the city is something worth stopping for. I'll get to that in another post :)

Namaste.