Walking and Biking on Local Trails

We talked about the fact that we live very close to bike trails in our blog post on how to not feel as cooped up inside (check it out here!) and we have been making daily use of them. We can walk or ride down to the trails - which are paved bike and running trails - and have our pick of which direction to head. One way heads toward a brewery (major bonus that they are still open for to-go beers!), the other heads toward downtown Denver. If we really wanted to, we could easily get a 40+ mile bike ride in on the same trail.

Watching National Park Documentaries

Hello, Disney+! If you have been on the fence on subscribing, let us be the first to tell you that the National Geographic Documentaries they have are 1,000% worth cost of the subscription! Our favorite is the 8 episode series “America’s National Parks”. Each episode highlights a National Park and the wildlife that lives in the park. Basically, it’s trip planning material for us! Leave us a comment below on what you think of the series if you have watched it!

Working on Puzzles of National & State Parks

We were puzzle people prior to the lock down, but now we are constantly working to put puzzles together. Since we can’t enjoy the outdoors as much as normal, we decided to bring the outdoors to us with a couple of our puzzles. We have put together one of all Colorado activities and places, and are currently working on putting together a Yosemite National Park puzzle. Both have been fun and ways for us to think about places we want to go or book trips to when the lock down is lifted.

Reading and Working While Sitting Outside

Prior to the lock down, we would enjoy our deck on weekend nights, and once in a while through out the work weeks, but not as often as we are now. These days, we are spending as much time as possible out there. We both work from laptops, and our wifi reaches to the deck, so as long as we don’t have video conference calls and the weather is nice, we are setting up shop outside. Post work, it’s nice to relax with a book and beverage on the deck before making dinner.

Times right now are crazy, to say the least. We have never seen anything like this - all restaurants, bars, gyms, and so many stores are closed for business - either by choice or by the local governments ordering them to be closed.

If you are like us, we have been asked to “social distance” ourselves from everyone. We have been asked to work from home for the foreseeable future. What that means is that we are stuck inside all. day. long. No gym, no in person human interaction other than ourselves, no happy hours, no meet ups.

Because of all of that, we’ve put together a list of ways we are trying to beat the “cooped-up” feeling.

1. Take Walk Breaks

We are all outdoors people right? We here at Team Be Outdoors are not under a city-mandated lock down, and really are hoping it does not get to that point. Our day jobs have asked us to work from home to support the “social distancing” act, so we told ourselves that we will get outdoors at least once a day, twice if the weather is nice. We take a walk on our lunch break and then eat as we work when we get back. It helps break up the day and it gives us some fresh air!

2. Eat Lunch and Dinner Outdoors

If you have a deck or patio, now is the best time to use it! We don’t have a full deck furniture set up - read, no deck table appropriate for meals outdoors - but we have eaten lunches and dinners outdoors multiple times over the past week. We are comfortable holding our plates in our laps and eating with no table in front of us, so it works for us! Also, on one of our many walks this week, we’ve seen couples sitting in the park having a makeshift picnic. We LOVED seeing this and loved the idea if you don’t have a deck or patio.

3. Hit the Local Trails

We live about 30 minutes away from some really cool trails in the foothills of Colorado and an hour from nice mountain trails. There are so many trail choices, that we feel confident that if we hit a trail, that we will not be endangering ourselves or others by getting into too close of a proximity of others. If you have trails nearby, we highly recommend getting out and getting some exercise in the fresh air!

4. Sit Near an Open Window

This sounds so simple, and it is. Opening up the shades and blinds of your windows and getting some natural light into your house or apartment is game changing on your overall mental state. We typically leave our blinds closed all day, but with having to be cooped up, we’ve been opening them up to let in natural light. Instant mood booster!

5. Go for a Drive

Not into hiking or walking or physical activity outdoors, but still feel like you need out of the house? Fill up your gas tank (gas is cheap right now!), pack a lunch and some snacks, and hit the road! Now is the time to check out areas you’ve never been to before but have always wanted to. Yes, the restaurants, bars, and shops might be closed in the area you head to, but you will still get a good sense of what the town or city is like. Then you can plan a return trip with more knowledge of the area once the “social distancing” limitations are lifted.

Stay safe and healthy out there!

Additional posts you might enjoy:

Beginner’s Guide to Snowshoeing

Beginner’s Guide to Hiking

Our Top 5 Quarantine Activities