Holy wow. 2018 has been a crazy year of some of the wildest adventures Ed and I have ever experienced. From frolicking in alpine lakes to standing on cliff edges in Moab’s high desert, we’ve done it all. We started this year with the intention to get out and explore all we could of the western half of the country, and we definitely met our goal. We’ve wandered the Rocky Mountains from Colorado through to Canada, chased waterfalls (sorry TLC) and the ocean, and roamed as many deserts as we could. No doubt it’s been a wild ride.
It’s been so crazy to see how a few hundred miles can vastly alter the terrain around us. Drive 4 hours south of Boulder and you’ll find yourself in desert lands with the largest sand dunes this country has to offer. Drive 6 hours west from Denver, and all of a sudden you’re surrounded by Moab’s red dirt and canyons galore. Drive 22 hours northeast from Longmont, and next thing you know, you’re surrounded by aqua blue glacial lakes dotted throughout the Canadian Rockies.
Every twist and turn and dirt road we’ve taken has led us somewhere incredible. Some of these places were only 5 minutes from home (I don’t think I’ll ever get over how gorgeous the Rocky Mountain front range sunsets can be). Others were a day’s drive or more away. All equally incredible and awe-inspiring. The thing is, as adventure elopement and small wedding photographers, we’d be doing our couples a disservice if we didn’t spend all of our free time exploring cool locations for our couples. Sure, we love doing it, but it’s also a crucial part of our work. When we’re out in nature, we’re both scouting for locations and going on vacation. It’s always a little bit of both, and honestly we wouldn’t have it any other way. So scroll on below to see our personal travels and adventures from this past year. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find your perfect mountain elopement spot.
21 states visited (soon to be 22 before the year ends!)
11 National Parks seen (Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Petrified Forest National Park (before the end of 2018!).
Around 35,000 miles traveled (and this isn’t even factoring in plane travel!). Crazy to think we’ve driven so much this year!
Countless memories made: from jumping into alpine lakes to dancing on snowy mountains to watching the sunrise through our car windows.
And then, in the middle of all of our adventures this year, Ed and I eloped at one of our favorite places in Colorado, where the mountains and the desert become one. Huge thanks to our friend and talented photographer Heather Wall for capturing our day!
But the adventures didn’t stop after the elopement! While we didn’t go on a honeymoon (we’re hoping to get out to somewhere awesome like Alaska or Iceland in the next year or so!), we definitely didn’t let that stop us from exploring even more of the country.
P.S. As Colorado elopement and adventure wedding photographers, we pride ourselves on not just documenting your elopement or small mountain wedding, but helping you plan out all the little details as well — like helping you figure out the perfect time of year for your Colorado elopement.
Sure, we pride ourselves in taking killer photos of killer people in killer places, but we’re firm believers that your adventure wedding photographer should be so much more than that. They should be a resource and guide to you during the whole adventure elopement planning process. So if that sounds like your vibe, we’d love to chat with you about your dream adventure elopement.
Check out some of our favorite elopement and adventure wedding planning resources:
Empowering You To Have Your Adventure Elopement, Your Way
Colorado Elopement Photographers + Adventure Wedding Photographers