Dear Colorado

{ Madewell shirt, similar / jeans / riding boots }

I got an advance screening of fall two weeks ago, up at 11000ft, and let me tell you – it’s gonna be a good one.

It was six years ago that I picked up + moved to Colorado, so long now that I can hardly believe it. We had a rocky start (no pun intended), Colorado and I. Certainly, the thought of staying long term was far from my mind. But time has a way of changing most things + now, well, to say I am smitten with this new home of mine would perhaps be understating things. Dear Colorado, I adore thee.

Autumn is my favorite season everywhere if I’m honest, but especially here in Colorado. Yet somehow I find part of myself resisting the change, clinging to the last languishing afternoons of summer but still relishing the crisp mornings of this new season. Life is predictable in its unpredictability, is it not?

While it may not feel like fall quite yet (and my own self is in disagreement about whether I’m in a hurry for it to arrive), I’m learning that things happen at their own pace. Tomorrow comes, quite reliably, and today is gone, just as quickly. Seasons change whether you’re ready for them or not. I blinked over Memorial Day weekend + suddenly it was Labor Day. But those blink-of-an-eye moments over this summer have been so full for me: of fear + grief + uncertainty, but also of thankfulness + steadfastness + overwhelming love. I have felt profound loss + also the most powerful friendship. More than I felt capable of feeling. And Colorado has just wrapped all of this up in the most beautiful packaging.

So, dear Colorado, thank you for being wild. Thank you for showing me my own wildness. Thank you for your mountains + rivers + wide open spaces. Thank you for your winding roads + endless trails. For the amazing people you’ve brought here + held on to for me.

Thank you for six wonderful years, Colorado. Happy Anniversary + Happy Autumn.

Party favors: here are a few of my favorite Colorado posts so far. Fall Aspen Drives / Wilkerson Pass / Denver City Guide Video / New Belgium Brewery / Eleven Mile Camping Trip / Mt. Elbert (Colorado’s highest point)