I try to take advantage of my summer break time when I can. Don’t get me wrong – there’s plenty I could be doing during this time, (home projects, prepping for the next semester, cleaning all the things, etc.) but then I would be resentful and grumpy when the school year started up again. I started budgeting my breaks with a balance of items to get me prepared, items to get caught up and items that leave me feeling fulfilled. Right after school is out, while my brain is still in classroom mode, I try to prepare for the next year. I evaluate my curriculum to take out or add in projects, I clean out my computer folders and I roll over my digital classrooms in preparation for the next batch of students.

Then I settle in on the things I’ve been putting off at home. Cleaning out the garage, catching up on laundry, rearranging furniture, deep cleaning tasks and whatnot. It feels good to get the nagging items checked off my mental list. When I’ve made some progress on one (or a few) of the projects, I like to reward myself by doing something fun. For me, something fun usually entails going on a mini-adventure with my camera in tow.

I managed to check off a few big things off my to-do list so I decided to head out to a trail near Boulder that I had seen a few years before. I checked the weather forecast before I planned my little escape and I picked a day that was going to be much cooler than the others. (It’s not as fun for me to go adventuring in 90 degree weather…) There was a chance of rain in the afternoon, but I was going in the morning, so I thought I would be good.

Luckily, the drizzle only lasted during my short drive to the parking area. The trail I was following coursed alongside what they call Boulder Creek, but between you and me – it’s really more like a river….

Between the frequent rain showers and the snow melt, the “creek” was raging. The sound of the water flowing was deafening and easily drown out the noise of the cars on the road nearby. I was curious how the water might look using a longer exposure, so I switched my camera into Shutter Priority mode, braced my camera on a rock (since I didn’t bring my tripod) and snapped a few shots. I couldn’t go too slow because the day was bright, but at about 1/15 sec I was able to get that smooth flowing texture of the water.

Along the trail there were a variety of different wild flowers blooming (some people might call a few of them weeds, but whatever…) The pops of color amongst the greens of the early summer were very appealing to me. I took me MUCH longer to go the 2 miles up the trail than it would usually because I kept stopping every few minutes to snap more photos.

The path was busy with people jogging, biking and walking in both directions. I was happy to see so many people getting out and enjoying the cooler temperatures. With the trail being so well used, I had to be conscious of when and where I was stopping to take pictures. At one point, (taking the picture below) I checked the path both ways, but still ended up having to step back into the brush to avoid being in the way of a bike that came speeding around the corner.

As I was wandering further up the trail I noticed warning signs for falling rocks. It’s something that’s common in Colorado as the snow melts and changes in temperature cause the rocks to crack and separate. Yet another reminder of the power of Mother Nature.

At about the two mile marker, I was forced to turn around – the trail was closed in a section for maintenance. I was bummed because I felt like I wanted to keep going, but then I looked at my watch and realized I’d been gone for longer than I thought and my phone didn’t have cell service. Following solo-hiker protocol, I had let my husband know where I was going and about how long I was planning to be gone. I was reaching that limit and I couldn’t text him, so I turned back to start my trek to the parking area. Sticking to your time budget is always harder when you’re having fun…

Trying to leave time for adventure – Angie