As safe as I can be

   The last official weekend of the summer of Jenn is off to a killer start!    Jamestown Revival was amazing last night. It was definitely an older, non party crowd. We camped walking distance from the venue. Everyone camping around us went to the show and we thought everyone was pretty cool. We were drinking whiskey and doing normal camping like things when Chester (the name we gave him, not sure of his real name) came out of his tent and told us we had to be quiet. "If it was before 10pm, I'd be partying with you guys but it's after 1am and time for you to be quiet" It was hard to keep a straight face but we apologized and my friend put his guitar away. That's when we noticed it was just barely midnight. Oh Chester...     The full moon and stars over the mountains made it a perfect evening and the company, conversation and laughter was fabulous.      We did breakfast this morning, with lots of coffee and now I almos...

   Today was my last full day in Fort Collins for awhile. Tonight is my last night in the place I've called home for the summer. It's been so amazing I'm grabbing my stuff and coming back to stay! It is glorious waking up with mountains daily, not having traffic and being able to make money here.      I started this journey (the summer of Jenn) because after everything went to shit I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do or where I wanted to be. The last two months have given me everything I've been searching for. I have friends that are like family (that I've known for over 15 years) and new friends that will be like family close by. I am sold!      I worked a little today and like every Tuesday I've ever worked anywhere (except for Freeport, IL for some reason) it was super slow. I came home and gathered the rest of the things going with me for the next leg of my journey and cleaned my spaces. There will be someone else staying here...

    I think I'm finally recovered from all thy camping and hiking I did this week. After Grand Teton I headed to Utah for about 24 hours. I was not a fan of the downtown area. It occurred to me that I don't think I'm a fan of any downtown area. I've become accustomed to no traffic, beautiful views and friendly people. Big cities are not something I want in my life anymore. Should be interesting being home for a few weeks before taking off again.    I went and saw the Great Salt Lake. I only put my feet in so I didn't get the whole float experience, but it was still cool. I also saw the Capital Building and went to the Pioneer museum across the street. There was a lot of cool stuff to see in there and there was no entry fee. Went to the free sculpture park as well. It was small but definitely worth checking out.      After working and being a tourist all day I decided to camp in a quiet spot in...

    Day 2 at Teton was amazing. Weather came in in the early afternoon so we didn't hike as long as we had originally planned to but after yesterday I was okay with it. We went and chased waterfalls and saw a decent amount of wild life. Considering all we saw yesterday were caterpillars and birds it was cool to run into deer, moose, pica and other creatures.      We took the boat across Jenny Lake and hiked to hidden falls. Silly name considering there is a trail leading right to it with signs everywhere. Then we climbed up narrow rocky trails to see more of the park. It was absolutely beautiful with a lot of ooooohhhh aaahhhhh moments.     Thankful for my friend from high school whom I haven't seen in almost twenty years for the amazing experience. I'll definitely be back to explore more!      Tomorrow I leave very early in the morning for Utah. May...

    Yesterday was absolutely beautiful. We left Kemmerer pretty early and started the 3 hour drive to Grand Teton National Park. My friend told me he would take it easy on me yesterday since we're hiking today as well but we still went five miles. I suppose it was a warm up because today he wants to go about ten. I'll definitely be feeling it tomorrow.      We're headed to breakfast to load up on carbs and protein before we take on the day. I was told today there would be boats, water and more beautiful views. And rain... all day. Late this afternoon we will head back to his place and early tomorrow morning I am off to Utah. I'm trying to mark every state off my list, I really only have a few more to go and hope to have them all checked off by the end of next year.   Much love ❤️ 

    I drove five hours to Kemmerer, WY today to hang out with a friend from high school. Apparently Kemmerer is the location of the very first JC Penney so we walked over there and saw the man's house. Cute little town. Most everything is closed on Sundays so we had to eat at the only place open, Pizza Hut. Haven't been in a Pizza Hut in I don't even know how long.     Tomorrow he is taking me to Grand Teton which I am super excited about. It's been on my bucket list and having a guide that works for the National Park Service is going to make it even better. I am here until very early Wednesday morning and then I'm headed to Utah and then back to Colorado.  Much love ❤️ 

I drank until I couldn't cry anymore. I climbed a mountain and screamed at the sky. I thought of your kids, your mom, your friends. I thought of the silly love notes you wrote me in 7th grade and the walks home from school. I thought of all the years (32 to be exact) that we've known each other. The trips, the Phish shows, you kicking my ass at pool, you being one of the only people I saw during the pandemic. The epic parties, the apology burrito, 4 minutes away, the chess games, late night conversations, Fridays and Mondays, almost breaking antique furniture, Survivor, Antique Roadshow, writing our own dateline episodes, The Cubbies, me being your optional item (it's a story) hammock cuddles, disc golf, batting cages and little league games. So many great memories and some not so great memories. But we always came back to each other, found each other no matter what. When you reached out a few days ago I thought we'd be cool again. Not the way you wanted, bu...

    Yesterday I woke up at the crack of dawn to meet the girls and head to Chatfield State Park to float on the lake. I was very confused as to why my alarm was going off so early but I'm happy I dragged myself out of bed. It was a wonderful morning.      The views were spectacular and the company was top notch. Currently I am waiting for the sun to come out so the pup and I can explore more of the Poudre Trail. I've slowly been trying to see every part of it and my hiking buddy has been a good sport. Also going to work a little bit today as I've had too much fun this weekend and haven't worked as much as I should.      I found a free ticket to Lotus tonight but I'm not sure I actually want to do anything tonight. I'm tired. I also wanted to have my first Mish experience be with my real good friend at Jamestown revival, but we will see. The day is still early.  Much love ❤️ 

    I spent the afternoon at Rocky Mountain National Park. It was beautiful. Today was a free day for the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act. It was super crowded but still I had a lovely day.      I had a very early dinner at Penelope's Old Time Burger's in Estes Park. Google told me it was the best burger in Estes Park. It was okay in my opinion. I like my burgers a little thicker (insert dirty joke here).     I ended up not going to the Rockies game the other day. Kris Bryant is on the IL and it was rainy most of the day. I realized yesterday that other than for one day, it has rained every single day since I've been here. My friends have told me that because of that, it's all lush and green when normally it would be brown and dead by this time. I guess I picked a good summer to be out here! I decided to go see the Rockies (and hopefully Kris Bryant!) play when the White Sox are in town. I will definitely be rooting for The R...