Bishop's Castle

 This weekend, my friends Stephanie, Liesel and I took a girl's road trip to Rye, Colorado -- about two hours south of Denver. We had planned this trip earlier this month but we were all glad to be able to have time to explore and hangout again. Corona ruined so many things....but not our ability to enjoy each other's company! 

We arrived at the castle around 1 pm and it was already pretty crowded. Just looking at it from the street it was HUGE! All made of stone and iron. We found out later it was built by one man who wanted to make sure the public could enjoy his work for free! The government (no surprise here) tried to force him to sell tickets to the public. Even defamed him. The government doesn't like free....

On a sale of one to ten Stephanie is a nine when it comes to being scared of heights. I would say I am a seven. Liesel is a six. Because of a fire not long ago, the castle is under construction so you do have to be careful walking around. The iron and wood platforms are not sturdy in some places. The top floor had a flyover you could walk on. It used to span the entire building but now it stops about halfway. And...the iron structure shakes a little when walking on it. Thank goodness there was a railing otherwise I would have never walked on it. On top of the tower, there was an overlook spot but this area had NO railing. HECK NO! None of us went up there. I had to keep telling myself not to look down when we were walking around the balcony that was made of see-through iron. 

After eating lunch and checking out the gift shop, we drove down the road to Isabel Lake and hiked around it. Beautiful views of the Fall colors and the lake. Not as beautiful as the NorthEast, but it was perfect weather for a hike. We got turned around a few times trying to get back to the car, but we made it! 

Another Colorado adventure completed! 

The Last Year of my 20s!

 I am so grateful for all the friends that I have made since living in Denver both Deaf and hearing, from states all over the country, different backgrounds and religions. There is really not a lot I can nor should complain about considering we are still in the mist of a pandemic and I still have a roof over my head, a job and money to buy food. While there are things I wish were different, I can still say I am blessed. 

Yesterday, I had a Tacos and Margs themed party and of course, like I always do, I made way too much! I will be eating Mexican food for awhile I think. I'm okay with that though. Those who know me are probably already cracking up as they are reading this. 

Some friends brought paleo cornbread (yummmy even though it's not real cornbread), pigs in a blanket (one of my favorite snacks - Morgan who brought this, didn't even know that), jalapeno corn (OMYLANDS delicious) as well as chips, guac and other taco accessories. We had plenty of food for the 15 or so people who came. 

AND of course, my mom mailed me my cake per tradition. Cinnamon cake!! :) 

Sunday was 100 degrees in the morning but cooled down significantly by 4 or 5 pm so I was happy about that. Unfortunately, the fires in the area have brought on smoke and ash over Denver which we saw towards the end of the party. 

Overall, it was a fun day and I enjoyed chatting with friends I had seen the day before as well as those I hadn't seen since before COVID. 

I feel weird being 29 (young but old) however, most of my friends are older than me so I shouldn't feel this way. 28 was hard but I am hoping 29 is even better! 

Red Rocks Hiking Adventure

 On Saturday, my friend Stephanie and I went hiking to Red Rocks outside of Denver. If you don't know what Red Rocks is, it's basically an area with a few trails you can mountain bike, horseback ride and hike. Honestly, it's a dessert out there, so if it's the middle of summer be sure to wear sunscreen (especially if your skin is prone to turning lobster red) and bring plenty of water and some snacks. There is also an amphitheater that (pre-COVID) had concerts and events throughout the summer. It's huge!!! I'm not sure how many people it sits but it's pretty cool to look at. Many runners will use the stadium as a way of exercise. Crazy, I know. Not only are there stairs leading to the amphitheater but also the stairs within it! 

After debating for awhile on what trail to go on because of the heat/length of the trail, we set off to the Trading Post trail. By accident, we veered off trail and found ourselves near the highway. At one point, I honestly thought this was our last day on earth. Stephanie definitely has more faith than I do. We got to a bend and I was scared to death to walk any further. From my vantage point, it looked like there wouldn't be enough room between us and cars zooming past. Stephanie prayed for the both of us and set off. I was CLOSE behind her praying the entire way. By the time we started to go around the bend, I saw the path was a lot wider than it started out as. THANK GOD! HONESTLY! 

Eventually, we found the trail again and up we went. By this time, there was little shade and the temperature was probably hovering around 90 degrees. With the full force of the sun in addition to the smoke from surrounding fires in Colorado, we had to stop several times to catch our breath and drink water. I mean, guzzle water. I'm so glad we both brought two water bottles. 

Since Stephanie was so out of shape and also had a reaction to medication, we took more stops for her sake. I wasn't in any hurry so it wasn't a big deal to me, plus I got to take more pictures! She was thankful that I was patient but that's what friends are for! 

When we got to the car, we both collapsed! After we rested for a good twenty minutes, we set off for Golden for lunch/dinner. By the time we sat down at the restaurant, it was almost 3 pm! Good food with good friends is always a win in my book! 

4th of July Weekend

This year the holiday came in the midst of protests for Black Lives Matter focusing on the lives of Elijah McClain because he lived and was killed in Aurora, a suburb of Denver. For the last month, protests have occurred every night downtown, as well as marches, and vigils for Elijah, George, and Breonna during the weekends. Because of the uptick of force used by the police and violent protestors, I haven't felt safe to leave my neighborhood on my own at night. Especially since I am a Deaf African American female without a car. I try not to be pessimistic, but I wonder when justice will come. Will our government leaders bravely take the steps needed to ensure than Black Americans are treated the same as White Americans? Will we always have to live in fear to go jogging around our own neighborhoods? I want to believe there is a light at the end of this tunnel.

For the first time, I questioned whether or not I should be celebrating this holiday. Growing up, I don't remember learning about Juneteenth or the fact that my ancestors were still slaves on July 4th. Honestly, since July 4th is the holiday about freedom....only the whites were free. The Native Americans who were living here weren't free either.

Despite all of it, I did manage to have fun this weekend. My friend Josie and I both had the day off on Friday, so we spent the first part of the day hiking near some lakes up north, in Louisville. It was a gorgeous day and thankfully, we didn't feel the hot sun until we were maybe halfway around the looped trail. Afterward, we went to her place for a BBQ. We had burgers and corn on the cob. I made some spiked watermelon lemonade. Yum! It was the first time I hacked open a watermelon. I usually buy it already cut. Wound up using the whole watermelon since we had no idea what to do with the rest of it after I finished making one batch of the lemonade. I left quite a bit at her place haha but we both drank A LOT of it! We chatted for a bit and played with her dog, Autumn. Then as the sun was setting, we decided to walk off what we had eaten that day. We went for a short walk around a lake near her house. On the way to my place, we saw some fireworks. Overall, it was a fun, exhausting day and I'm glad we were able to hang out. We always have fun and I learned some new things about her background. I always enjoy getting to know people, helps me understand them.

The rest of the weekend was low key. I spent most of Saturday recuperating from Friday!! I was so tired, I slept in till 10! Overall, it was a great weekend! Back to work on Monday!