Friday, June 8, 2018

Springtime Adventures in Steamboat Springs, CO

Last fall my dad invited me to a yoga retreat in Steamboat Springs, CO in May. The cost was ridiculously low and I happen to love Colorado. Plus, a darling little ski town in the middle of nowhere with hot springs, um YES PLEASE! So, I was instantly waving my money in the air yelling "I WANT TO GO!!!" My husband is a super patient man. I RSVP'd immediately and Dad put the deposit in for the four of us.
Steamboat springs, Colorado, hiking
Fast forward to May, I'd been beyond excited about this trip for months. The retreat was run by Erin of Oso and Co Adventures out of Heber City, UT. She did an amazing job with planning and execution of every aspect of it. And the best part of all? She has two sweet doggies to snuggle. Westy was less than 4 months old and I couldn't get enough!
The schedule Erin had laid out for the retreat was packed full of amazingness. Each day began with pranayama (breath work) on the deck in the morning sunshine. That was followed immediately by breakfast, a two hour block of yoga, and lunch. Then there was a gap of time for an activity: biking, hiking, visiting town (more on all of that in a min). Then we came back for another 60-90 minute block of yoga, dinner and a lesson on Shamanism from Soaring Eagle Ed. Two nights even included visit to the hot springs.
Steamboat Springs Colorado, bike
Each yoga practice centered around a chakra. We began at the root chakra working on centering ourselves and finally ended with the crown chakra where we danced and did lots of fun inversions. So, seven practices in four days with completely different themes, movements, and poses. I loved each one. For the throat chakra, she had us scream for several rounds. I thought it was freeing and funny. Mike found it emotional. Lorrie was horrified. So, that was an interesting social experiment. 
aspens, steamboat springs, co, colorado, hike, hiking
The meals worked through the chakras as well. Some were a combination of two adjacent chakras. The food was a bounty of color and flavor, mostly vegetarian with a bit of turkey thrown in here and there. 
The activity for the first day was mountain biking. We rented bikes in town and rode Spring Creek Trail. It's about 4 miles each way with 1200 feet of elevation gain. Yikes. The original plan was to drive to the top and bike down. Most of us opted to bike up and down. I made it most of the way. The trail started around 7000 feet of elevation. If you've never lived at sea level then tried to be awesome over a mile higher, know this: you'll struggle. Mike and I felt like our lungs were raw and shredded by the midpoint. I finally turned around before the final push because why trash my body on day 1? Lorrie and I rode down together and I forgot just how joyous cruising downhill on a mountain bike is. The air smelled amazing, there were trees and sun and greenery everywhere, plus it's fun to ride across streams and bridges. This trail was a win. Even my lungs grudgingly agree.
mountain bike, biking, colorado, spring creek trail, co
Day 2's activity was a little bitty hike to Fish Creek Falls. Again, we pushed the distance. The first and bigger falls is only a quarter mile down a paved trail. Ummmm.... So we went to the second falls which is a crazy beautiful five mile round trip. Have I mentioned I love Colorado? BTW I love this picture of Mike. He's not even posing, he woke up like this. :D
waterfall, colorado, steamboat springs, co, hike, hiking, sexy man

hike, hiking, steamboat springs, co, colorado, yoga, waterfall
I visited the hotsprings both nights. They are up in the mountains with no light pollution, amazing stars, and not too many people. However, after dark, there is no lighting and people go nude. So we saw lots of random naked dudes with the flashlight beam while trying to find somewhere to stash my clothes. Luckily, everyone in my group went in swimsuits. 

I would love to do another retreat like this. We met so many great people. Living communally with tons of activities and someone to cook me awesome food is literally the best thing in the whole world!

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like a wonderful retreat! Glad you had a great time!

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