While I’m studying my eyeballs out with EMT training I have been working at Ibotta, an app startup in Denver, where I help out crazy rebate/coupon’ers and hunt down the fraud-sters. What I do isn’t exactly glamorous but it’s exactly what I need in my life right now and the entire Ibotta crew is kind of awesome. Need proof? How about a Thursday night of camping with co-workers, just because?!

That’s exactly what I was doing last Thursday night! I met a few co-workers at the White Ranch upper trailhead and we packed our camping gear + food about a mile into the hiker campsites, set up camp and created our own version of “mountain happy hour” with a bonfire, s’mores and a stormy sunset.

It was perfect. We were far enough away from the city we could ignore the internet/emails yet close enough that we could return to the world of working adults before traffic got stupid the next morning. I had run through these campgrounds before but it never crossed my mind to actually use them! Now that I know they are so easily accessible…there will be MORE weekday camping in my life!

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I apologize for the terrible low-light photos, my borrowed iPhone 4 is getting old and senile…like a grandma trying to use new technology!

After a few hours of enjoying camp life for it’s simplicity [and meeting the Gociety crew just one campsite over] we called it a night and crawled into our tents. Another silver lining to camping – it doesn’t matter if laundry needs to be done, it ain’t happening so there is no guilt when you pass out before 10pm!


Courtney + Keegan taking in the sunrise…getting up before the sun is easier when this is your view!

We kicked off Friday early so we could watch the sunrise over Denver. We watched and heard the city wake up. I had gotten up in the middle of the night for a bio break and was surprised by how silent the night was, even with the bright lights of Denver on the horizon…as the sun rose we could hear the traffic noise picking up, too.


PC: @courtleighallen + her much-better-than-mine phone!

With real life waiting for us we didn’t get to stick around too long – our gear was packed up and we’d hiked the mile back to the trailhead by 6:30am. There was no need for a breakfast break – it’s always Bagel Friday at Ibotta!

This will be happening more often! We already have more night’s reserved! Plus, we were all living proof that it’s entirely possible to go camping and still make it into the office presentable! Heck, our camping crew fared far better than the happy hour crew…

Side Note: These campsites used to be drop-in sights on a first-come/first-serve basis but that changed this year – you now have to go to the JeffCo offices in Golden to get camping permits. At the moment they are still free…just a few extra steps to help cut down on the less-than-responsible groups that used to take over the campsites in the past.


6 Comments

Amanda | Chasing My Sunshine · July 13, 2021 at 10:08 am

My goodness, I need to find some more outdoorsy coworkers! Weekday camping sounds like such a nice getaway. You’re totally right, usually my weekday evenings are full of “Ughhh I should really do about 4 loads of laundry…” and stress. That sunrise looks more than worth it. Thanks for sharing!

    Heidi Nicole · July 13, 2021 at 11:52 am

    Definitely leave the laundry at home and just escape to the wilderness! Clean clothes are overrated!

Beth · July 13, 2021 at 7:29 pm

Wow, what an awesome idea and there are so many great places to camp near Denver/Boulder!

    Heidi Nicole · July 15, 2021 at 5:09 pm

    There are! And White Ranch is so close and easy to get to!

Laura · July 21, 2021 at 5:33 am

Oh, this is awesome! I totally want to go with you sometime. Also, I work in the same building as Ibotta so we should meet up for lunch 🙂

    Heidi Nicole · July 22, 2021 at 10:07 pm

    What?! Seriously? We should probably run into each other!

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