Once the festivities in Norman had come to an end, it was time for Sam and I to go our separate ways for a few days – marking the first time that we had been apart from each other in almost a year! My dad and I were driving the trailer back to Denver and stopping in Raton, New Mexico as a halfway point while Sam was flying off to Scottsdale for her bachelorette party!
The trip to Raton took us west along I-40 through western Oklahoma before diverting to the northwest onto small state highways for the rest of the journey as we made our way across the Texas Panhandle and into New Mexico. The scenery along our drive wasn’t the most intriguing, but that being said, it was definitely better than driving through Kansas to get to Denver (sorry Kansans, your state just isn’t much to look at). However, we did encounter a little bit of excitement while driving through the Texas Panhandle. As we came over a hill, we discovered that the road ahead was being blocked by a sheriff’s cruiser. It took us a few seconds to figure out what was going on, but quickly realized that we were experiencing the most “Texas” of all roadblocks – a cattle drive! (See banner image) After about 5 minutes, the cowboys had successfully driven the herd from one side of the road to the other and we were allowed to proceed onto our destination.
We pulled into Raton just as the sun was beginning to drop behind the mountains, allowing us to check into the local KOA and get set up with a little bit of natural light before darkness (and light snow showers) descended upon us. Although the area was nothing to write home about, and the campground wasn’t the greatest, it was still a KOA, making it more than serviceable for a single night stopover.
OK, now that the boring stuff is out of the way, we can get to the fun. I’m talking about the bach party, babyyy! Woooo woooo! For this one, we’re going to make a bit of Putz’n Around history as I’m going to turn the keyboard over to Sam for her very first bit of blogging experience – take it away girlie!
Hello from sunny Arizona! We spent the weekend in the most beautiful Boho inspired Airbnb near Old Town Scottsdale. This house had everything – a heated pool, selfie walls, its own Instagram account, shoot it even had laundry... FREE LAUNDY (after several months in the trailer, laundry is a highly valued amenity). And if that wasn’t enough, my besties brought awesome decorations (balloons, streamers, Clay sprinkles, etc.) to make it our own. The house was amazing, but what made it even more special was having all my girlies together under one roof. We spent the night catching up over tacos and margaritas.
On Friday we got adventurous and took our Bride Tribe shirts to Camelback Mountain. This heavily trafficked out and back is 2.5 miles, but don’t let the distance fool you… this hike was intense! It was a climb, 1,322 ft in elevation gain to be exact, and there were multiple times throughout the hike that we wished we wore hiking shoes, a backpack, gloves, etc. Needless to say we were a little under-prepared. Someone even puked, I won’t name names, but she knows who she is 😊! Despite all that, we made it to the top and the views were amazing! I couldn’t be more proud of us!
Thanks to my sisters’ brilliant planning, we had a chef waiting for us back at the Airbnb. She made omelets and gluten free crepes that were to die for. With tired legs and full bellies, we took to the backyard for an epic pool party, complete with cabana boys (shout out to Aunt Susie). We played games, shared drinks, made it rain, and had a lot of laughs. Miranda & Jessica even coordinated a surprise video appearance from Clay. He answered questions about our relationship, which we turned into a fun game that made me fall even more in love with him. It was truly one of my favorite days!
We could not get enough of the pool or the hot AZ sunshine so we spent Saturday morning taking full advantage of the beautiful backyard. The games continued into the evening as we pregamed our big night out on the town. We had cocktails at a fun sushi bar, a delicious dinner at Farm and Craft Scottsdale, followed by a night of dancing! We even made some friends and got invited into their VIP booth!
Sunday morning came way too soon, but it was time to see Clay! Plus, my body desperately needed a break from drinking ha. I came home a sleepy, but VERY happy girl. I am so lucky to have such great friends in my life. I appreciate and love you all xoxo!