Hi! My name is Brittany Swanson and I am a third year at Wartburg studying psychology with a Spanish minor.  I am from Madrid, Iowa which is a town of about 2,500 people right in between Des Moines and Ames.  This weekend, we went to Leadville, Colorado, which is the size of my town and is about two hours west of Denver.  We went on a mountain retreat and stayed at Leadville Hostel.  At Leadville Hostel, we ate both breakfast and supper there and slept there on Friday and Saturday nights also.  On Saturday morning, the group took a mountain hike just outside the town.  The trail was a black topped bike trail that went around the town with scenic outlooks of the mountains and former gold and silver mines with informational signs about them.  The summit of the mountain was 10,606 feet above sea level.  The group spent about three hours in the morning hiking 6-7 miles.  Afterward, as a group we went out to eat at an old hotel and also to a national coal mining museum and mining hall of fame.  Later students were able to walk around downtown at the shops that contained antiques, baked goods, and other gifts.  Back at the hostel, the group was able to rest and play board games such as Trivia Pursuit, Jenga, and Cribbage and share in the day’s adventures.  On Sunday the group returned to Denver to start the new week.

Group pictures of our time in Leadville