I have been thinking about goal setting but not had time to sit down and finally write it up. Last year I did not set official goals, but the process of moving and settling into a new city and state led me to reach multiple goals. Some of my favorite goals I accomplished last year are:
-Auditioned for and joined the Denver Pops Orchestra
-Joined CultureHaus, the Denver Art Museum young professionals group
-Enjoyed art exhibits at the DAM and Museum of Contemporary Art
-Completed a number of different hikes
-Completed solo backpacking trips
-Hiking the Laugavegur Trek in Iceland solo
-Went to meetups to enjoy different activities and events and meet new people
-Started with only the belongings in my car (and shipped books) and fully furnished my apartment with items I love
-Went on solo trips to Steamboat Springs (fall leaves) and Glenwood Springs (ice caves) – and of course enjoyed hot springs at both
-Explored Salida, Buena Vista, Great Sand Dunes, and Painted Mines with my friend Lacey
This year, I want to continue with the cultural activities and enjoy playing violin, enjoying art/arts events, and music. I also want to continue to maximize my time off work and enjoy Colorado like a tourist. I already have some plans I’m excited about:
-I’ve booked tickets to Portugal in April and plan to hike the Fisherman’s Trail along the coast, as well as enjoy Lisbon for a few days
-I’ve booked my first Red Rocks concert to see Brandi Carlile with the Colorado Symphony in September
-Nick and I won tickets to a Denver food and wine festival in September
I like to categorize my goals and think about how my goals reflect my values. Overall, I want to continue to spend time outside of work enjoying the outdoors, art and music, events around the city, and restaurants/coffee shops/bars and breweries. I want to be work on this blog and enjoy creative pursuits like arts and crafts. I also want to continue to challenge myself, particularly in the realm of hiking and backpacking.
My Orangetheory fitness studio had an activity where people anonymously wrote goals on post its and put them on the wall. You would expect people to write about wanting to lose weight or look better, being a gym, but I loved the goals people wrote. Things like “I want to be stronger” and “I want to love myself more” and “I want to be the best version of myself.” It was really cool.
Okay, so I won’t share all of my goals for all my categories, but here are a few.
Reading
For reading, I have my goals on my Goodreads account which I use to track my progress. I want to read 1 audiobook and 1 paper book per month, and try to maximize any waiting times I have reading (taking the bus, waiting for an appointment, etc.). I also want to make use of the digital library via Libby, and attend more public library events which are free and fun.
Hiking
For hiking, I considered various challenges (like the 52 hike challenge), but wanted to make my own goals. Looking at what I hiked last year, I definitely have some goals, which are seasonal:
Winter/Spring (really through May)
Hikes to do again:
-Hike to Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP)
-St. Mary’s Glacier again (and maybe hot springs in Idaho Springs to make a day of it)
-Mount Falcon hikes
-Chautauqua Park hikes
-Genesee Park hikes
-Eldorado Canyon hikes (Rattlesnake Gulch)
New Hikes:
-Snowshoe Brainard Lake or Lake Isabelle or Bear Lake (RMNP)
-Horsetooth Falls and make a day of it in Fort Collins
-Red Rock and Morrison Slide
-Mayflower Gulch
-Ceran St. Vrain (possible snowshoe and summer trail too)
Summer (June/July/August)
Backpacking:
-Possibly backpack Four Pass Loop near Aspen, depending on permit situation and snowfall this year
-Backpack/hike Ice Lake and makes a trip to Telluride/Ouray (possible 4th of July trip)
-For backpacking, I would definitely do Lost Creek Wilderness, Golden Gate State Park, or Mount Zirkel again. Also interested in trying the Colorado trail or Buffalo Peaks Loop
Hikes I want to do again:
-Mills Lake (to Black Lake this time)
-McCullough Gulch Trail
-Herman Gulch (tried in fall but I would love to see the wildflowers in summer)
New hikes I want to try:
-Chasm Lake
-Ute Trail
-Argentine Pass
-Berthoud Pass
-South Arapaho Peak
-Sniktau Mountain
-Blue Lakes Trail
Fall (September/October)
-Maximize fall leaf hunting with another trip to Steamboat, or perhaps another fall leaf peeping location
Try again:
-Booth Falls
New Hikes: Abyss Trail, Aspen Alley, Guanella Pass
I will definitely continue to add more. I get inspired all over the place, but especially from friends’ hikes, AllTrails, my Base Camp Denver hiking book, and even random articles that pop up online.
I happened to be in New Orleans during the Halloween parade in New Orleans, Krewe of Boo, in the French Quarter. I enjoyed experiencing a bit of Mardi Gras-ish festivities, drinking on the street and having beads and other items thrown off of the floats.
I was definitely excited about the food in New Orleans, and I got to try many things. Above is crab cake benedict with cheese grits from Elizabeth’s (photo of me in front of it below).
Beignets from Cafe du Monde were a must on my list. I got those to go after the parade. I wanted to try some French food, and Cafe Degas was just lovely:
Below is the quail. I also got to try softshell crab and a raspberry chambord cake at Cafe Degas.
Another favorite was oysters baked in brie, which was just delicious.
This is a street full of cute shops, cafes, and restaurants. I really enjoyed strolling around and looking at Halloween decorations, random antique shops and record shops (and stationary, my favorite), and trying some more food.
The Sculpture Garden is large and really nice. I felt like I was in Louisiana with the Spanish moss hanging from the trees. There was a large variety in the sculptures and it made for a nice walk.
This was a nice break from walking around and you get to see a lot of beautiful houses (mansions!) along the way. People go all out for Halloween which was fun.
Walking along the bayou is really nice – seeing people set up picnics or just relaxing near the water along the way.
The 
