Three Sweet Years

On May 13th, we celebrated three sweet years of marriage and were blessed to get away for a couple of nights to the beautiful mountain town of Steamboat Springs!  When we purchased our home last summer, our realtor gave us 2 free nights in her condo as a gift at our closing, and we decided this would be the perfect time to use them.

 The view from our condo

 

We "unplugged" during our stay and enjoyed time to relax without a schedule.  As snow fell outside our window, we stayed cozy inside and played games by the fire, read in bed, slept late, and made a delicious brunch.

One of the highlights of our time in Steamboat Springs was our visit to the Strawberry Park Hot Springs.  They are natural hot springs tucked into the mountains, surrounded by evergreen trees and mountain views, and are the perfect spot for hours of peaceful relaxation.  It is a sometimes treacherous 15 minute drive up a steep mountainside to arrive at the springs, but totally and completely worth it.  (Before May 1, you must have chains or 4 wheel drive plus snow tires to drive up, but you can also catch a shuttle from town.)  If you ever find yourself in the Steamboat Springs area, you must experience the Strawberry Park Hot Springs.  Fabulous.

The pools are fed by the hot springs and soaking in the rock pools is like natural hot tub bliss.  The water cools as it moves through the tiered pools, and the bottom pools are cooled further by river water that is added into the pool.

Is this not the face of pure contentment?

We experienced the insanely unpredictable spring mountain weather first hand while we soaked in the hot springs.  It was sunny when we arrived.  Then it rained.  Sleet came next, then hail.  The hail hurt a little pelting our bare skin!  After the hail, snow began to fall, covering the whole area with a fresh white blanket.  Within minutes, the sun came back out, and it cycled through every one again.  We didn't mind as we were nice and warm & relaxed, floating in the hot springs.  By the time we were ready to head back, it was snowing hard!

We made homemade pizza together for dinner, listened to jazz, watch the snow fall outside our window, and reflected on this past year of marriage and our hopes for the coming year. 

We had brunch beside a creek on the patio of a cute local cafe, before wandering around the shops of the little downtown.  It was a beautiful morning, sunny and warm, with no hint of the inches of snow that fell overnight just hours before. 

I had to capture this sign on the door of one of the shops... 

Only in the mountain towns do you have a "powder clause" in your hours of operation!

After a pleasant short-sleeves afternoon in downtown Steamboat Springs, we headed back to Denver.  Believe it or not, on May 13th, we drove through a crazy snowstorm with visibility so bad we could barely see 10 feet in front of our car!  I was praying like crazy the whole drive home!

After a sigh of relief when we arrived home safely, we kept our annual tradition of watching our wedding DVD on our anniversary.  We feasted on fruit & baked brie, remembered the joy and love of our wedding day, and were reminded of the vows we made to each other 3 years ago. This is a sweet tradition that we began on our first anniversary and that we plan to keep for years and years to come.

I baked us a delicious chocolate chocolate replica of the top tier of our wedding cake, which was a sweet ending to a fun anniversary getaway.  We were so thankful to have the opportunity to enjoy a few days of R&R as we celebrated our life together!