rifle, co
any adventure that starts with you waking up at 5am in order to leave town with your friends is bound to be amazing. that's just what we did when we set out for rifle, colorado to check out the ice caves we'd heard about.
the drive there was an adventure in itself. (isn't it always?) eventually we came up to a dirt road that really showed no signs of promise. but we ventured on, soon coming to a couple signs that assured us we were on the right path. charlotte parked tadashi (her vehicle) on the side of the dirt road, & we began walking. walking turned into hiking, hiking turned into climbing, climbing turned back into walking.. until eventually one of us gasped in excitement at the first sight of a giant frozen waterfall. each of our paces quickened, as the lure of what lay behind the wall of ice drew us further. sure enough, we'd found the first ice cave.
it was remarkable. & a tad risky to venture inside, as you can imagine it was super slippery. but being the skilled adventurers we are (ahem ;)) we were careful & took our time.
we stayed there for a little while, meeting a couple of guys & their pup who were also checking out the ice caves, & then we continued to see where the next cave was. on the way, we found a little bridge over a stream that we of course had to walk across & pause for some shenanigans.
it didn't take too long to find the next cave; however, this one was a lot more difficult to enter, as the opening was only accessible if we crouched down & crawled in sideways. BUT! we were victorious.
after the caves we explored the area a little more, which consisted of some climbing up the walls of a less icy cave, all of us walking back to the vehicle a different route than we came, middle of the road photos, & stopping by a beautiful lake.
it was a full day of adventure, laughs, & great memory-making... leaving me feeling yet again so thankful for 2 main things: 1.) i live in a state where things like this are so close & easily accessible, & 2.) i have such great friends with whom to go on adventures. i know i say it a lot, but i truly am a blessed gal.