Cody and I took a day trip to Colorado Springs last weekend to check out Garden of the Gods and Red Rock Canyon Open Space. Garden of the Gods is pretty well-known, but Red Rock Canyon is about 10 minutes from Garden of the Gods and has some excellent hiking trails! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The landscape was really different here, just 1.5 hours south of Boulder. There were big red rocks sticking up out of the ground and the area felt more desert-like. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It was a great day trip! 
Hiking outfits! What do you like to wear while hiking? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ My two must-have pieces of hiking clothing: a comfy sports bra and and my mid-top hiking shoes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ My Other favorite hiking clothes (depending on the weather) include leggings, loose comfy shorts, wool socks, lightweight wool pullover, beanie, sun hat, and a lightweight puffy jacket ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Reminder though: You don’t have to have fancy expensive gear to go hiking though. My favorite sports bra top is literally from Amazon. You can probably go on a hike wearing whatever is in your closet right now. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Now tell me: what is one article of clothing in that you love to wear while hiking?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Photo by @markhamadventures on the Shanahan Ridge Trail 
Boulder, Colorado is known for "The Flatirons", these big, striking, slanted sandstone rock formations jutting out of the mountains. The big chunk of rock sticking up in the middle of this photo is one of the flatirons. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I actually got up to do this hike at sunrise with a friend I met on Instagram (looking at you @maddekunkel). 
One type of photography that I really love is outdoor adventure/lifestyle photography. Photos that show people engaged in some kind of outdoor recreation-hiking, camping, kayaking, SUP, biking, etc. I've done quite a bit of this type of photography, but I don't usually share it on here unless the photos is of me. So I'm going to try to change that and show more of my outdoor lifestyle photography work. This photo is from a SUP shoot in Lewes, Delaware for @destateparks and @quest_adventures • • • • • #delaware #outdoorliving #outdoorlifestylephotographer #optoutside #delmarva #sup #paddleboarding #supadventure #paddling #outdoorrecreation #delawarephotographer #coloradophotographer #lewesdelaware #commercialphotography #neverstopexploring #adventurephotography #adventurephotographer 
"Bad" weather does not mean bad photos! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It's actually the opposite. "Bad" weather can make for really cool photos. Storms, rain, clouds, snow, and other varying weather conditions can make landscapes look really dramatic and change the whole vibe of the scene. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ On this day in Sedona, it was about 40 degrees and sleeting on and off all day. But the stormy clouds made the desert look really beautiful. 
Trail recommendations for Boulder/Denver, Colorado! And GO!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The more I learn about Colorado the more it seems that a lot of people are connected to the state in some what. Either they live here, know someone who lives here, or have visited. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I've done a few trails so far in the Boulder/Denver area, but there are SO MANY. So if you've been here, drop your trail recommendations below!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here are mine so far: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • Betasso Preserve⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • Sanitas Peak + Lions Lair Loop⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • Red Rocks Trail⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • Meadowlark Trail⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • Chautauqua Park Photo by @markhamadventures 
See the bison? This is Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge right outside of Denver, Colorado. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Rocky Mountain Arsenal used to be a chemical weapons manufacturing center. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "In the early 1980s, the Army began an extensive environmental cleanup. Soon after, a roost of bald eagles was discovered prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to become involved in managing wildlife at the site."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In 1992, Congress designated the site as a national wildlife refuge.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Cool right? 
You know when you're scrolling through Instagram and see those epic photos of people hiking in these unbelievably beautiful places and then you get serious FOMO and feel that those places are out of your reach? Because same. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Yet here I am posting a hiking photo that could fall into that category of "unattainable hiking photos". So if you start to feel FOMO when you're scrolling through the 'gram, here are some things to remember. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • The hike in the photo might not actually be that hard! This trail was only about 1.1 miles total. Easy walk up to some really cool rocks. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • Everyone starts somewhere! Short local hikes are great. If you're new to hiking, start with short trails near where you live and work your way up to bigger mileage. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • You don't need fancy gear. You just need comfortable clothing and shoes that you can walk a bit in. Don't let gear intimidate you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • There are cool outdoor places to visit wherever you live. Yes Colorado is beautiful, but so are a lot of other places. I've spent time living in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, and Delaware and I really believe you can find adventure wherever you live. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This photo was taken on the Red Rocks Trail in Boulder, Colorado. Photo credit @markhamadventures. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you could share one tip for hiking, what would it be? Comment below!