Well, it's officially the 'new year', and I (like a billion other people) am squarely in reflective mode. 2014 was such an incredible year. I married my best friend, was fortunate enough to travel to some breathtaking, incredible places, and moved to Colorado (which I'm completely in love with).

Here's a six-second Vine snapshot of our year! You can see more pics and adventures at www.instagram.com/SweetDivergence

So it's going to be pretty tough to top last year, and make 2015 even better, but I'm sure going to try!

Have you ever made a bucket list...just for travel? My husband and I are making one now. Actually I think it is more likely to turn into two bucket lists, one that can be achieved in 2015, and one that might take us a little longer to complete.

So far we've added:

- River cruise through Europe
- Patagonia, Chile
- Vancouver, Canada
- Iceland
- Road Trip from Seattle to Big Sur (south of San Francisco)
- Overnight train anywhere
- Japan
- Explore more of France (specifically Saint-Emilion, Riquewihr, and Colmar)
- Czec Republic
- Poland
- Croatia
- Austria
- Grand Canyon
- See more of Switzerland (specifically Gruyeres, Montreux, Jungfrau Region, and Interlaken)
- Galapagos Islands
- Bruges, Belgium
- See more of Spain (specifically Ronda, and Seville).
- More of Germany (specifically Berlin, Cochem, and Konstanz)
- I'd like to take my husband to Italy because he's never been (Lake Como, Venice, Rome, Cinque Terra)

- Then there are the national parks here in the United States!

     - Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
     - Redwood National Park, California
     - Yosemite National Park, California
     - Glacier National Park, Montana
     - Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
     - Virgin Islands National Park, US Virgin Islands
     - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
     - Yellowstone National Park, Wymoming

Now we just have to work out what we can fit into this year, and what will have to wait until next year.

Do you have anywhere else you think we should add to our list? I always love hearing other people's travel stories and about places they loved, hated, and were surprised by! Leave me a comment below!

And if you're interested in winning prizes for topping your 2014, check out the contest that LifeProof is running at the moment. Super easy to enter, and there are some cool prizes up for grabs! Details here.

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We moved to Colorado a few months ago, but haven't really done very much exploring yet. To be fair, we've been working long hours, getting settled after the move, and planning a wedding. But now it's time to explore this beautiful state!

Last weekend we drove up to Estes Park, and then on to the Rocky Mountain National Park for an instameet at Bear Lake, as part of the 10th World Wide Instameet.

If you've never been to the Rocky Mountain National Park it's time to add it to your bucket list! Not only is it breathtakingly beautiful, but the air smells fresher than anywhere I've ever been, and it's full of amazing wildlife. I've seen black bears, elk, squirrels, deer, and some very friendly chipmunks.

The Park also has 60 mountain peaks that are over 12,000 feet high, over 350 miles of fantastic hiking trails, glaciers, stunning lakes, and waterfalls!

Just after sunrise, I drove along the first part of Trail Ridge Road, which gets as high as 12,000 feet in places (the highest continuous paved road in America) and crosses the Continental Divide. The road has some pretty amazing lookout spots, here are just a few of the photos I took up there (using my iPhone in a LifeProof case of course).

It's particularly beautiful this time of year because the leaves are changing colors, and the air is crisp. Be sure to rug up though, it can get really windy up on some of the higher peaks!

Mid morning I started the drive to Bear Lake for the instameet. It can be a challenge to keep your eyes on the road when spectacular mountains greet you around every corner. But make sure you're on the lookout for Elk at this time of year. They come down to the areas surrounding Estes Park in early fall, and can often be seen wandering right through town!

Bear Lake is a very easy walk all the way around, and is certainly picturesque. But my new favorite is Nymph Lake, a half mile further up the trail. The hike is fairly steep the whole way, but the path is clear and easy to navigate. 

Nymph Lake is a lot smaller than Bear Lake, but has beautiful clear water, and is full of lily pads. You can also see Hallet Peak and Longs Peak from the north shore.

We stopped here for a quick picnic lunch, and to play with some friendly chipmunks before walking further, to reach the rocky overlook above the lake.

For someone who is not used to high altitudes (and has moderate asthma) the uphill climb left me a little short of breath...or maybe that was just the view?

Check out my short video wrap up of our mini adventure, and stay tuned for more posts as we explore further into the Park!

Equipment I took with me:

- Map of the park (cell phone reception is spotty and Siri doesn't actually know where Bear Lake is)
- Comfortable backpack
- Water bottle
- Picnic lunch
- Sturdy hiking boots (Lowa are my favorite brand)
- Long pants and comfortable long-sleeved shirt (to avoid sunburn and bug bites)
- Waterproof jacket (it's common for storms to roll in later in the day)
- Bug repellent
- Sunscreen
- Small first aid kit (I added Band-Aid friction block to prevent blisters - best invention ever)
- Bear mace (because you just never know)
- Swiss army knife
- Phone and LifeProof case (protection for drops or falling into the lake while trying to get the perfect shot)

My favorite resource for finding hiking trails is AllTrails.com, which comes in desktop or app form. It even lets you search by difficulty or feature. So if you want to find trails with waterfalls, caves, or hot springs you're in luck!

If you'd like to support our beautiful National Parks with a one-time, or regular donation click here. Membership makes a nice gift for the holidays too! And considering it costs $20 per visit to the Rocky Mountain National Park you may as well buy the yearly membership for $40.

I'd love to know if you have a favorite national park, and if so which one!

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Last week I flew into Los Angeles and drove down the coast to San Diego. Along the way I stopped at a few different places, including Santa Monica Pier, Huntington Beach, and Rancho Santa Fe.

I stayed at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe for a few nights before flying out. It's a beautiful spot, the food is great, and it's perfect for a relaxing long weekend! They have a gorgeous little pool with cabanas, a croquet lawn, cottages, and outside fire pits perfect for sipping cocktails next to.

Here's a quick wrap up of my road-trip highlights.

It was so much fun that I think I'll start up at San Francisco next time! So if you have any suggestions for things to see and do along the way, let me know!

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Last weekend my fiancé and I went on a mini adventure to Estes Park in Colorado. It's hard to describe just how beautiful this place is. It's lush and green with all the spring rains we've been having here, but there are parts that are still covered in snow and ice. And those mountains!

Our first stop was The Stanley Hotel, where Stephen King dreamt up The Shining. We had morning tea and looked around. It's a beautiful historic hotel, I definitely recommend a visit. And if you're really lucky you might even see Jack wandering around with his axe! (Seriously).

Next stop on our mini adventure was Bear Lake. I'd only seen it in photos and was dying to check it out for myself.

On the way we saw some elk by a river along the side of the road, so we crept up to take a few photos. (Check out the little video below). You'll certainly see plenty of wildlife in Estes Park, elk, deer, chipmunks, etc.

When we finally got to Bear Lake we were surprised to find it still mostly frozen over! It's a stunningly beautiful place, with the mountains rising in the background. My photos don't do it justice.

You can walk the whole way around the lake, although be warned that there is a lot of banked up snow and ice at this time of year still, and you'll want sturdy hiking boots!

All the snow on the ground didn't bode well for me, I got smacked by several icy snowballs when I was least suspecting. ;)

The chipmunks in Estes Park are a friendly bunch, they kept popping out from between tress and rocks to pose for our photos, and eat peanuts out of our hands!

After Bear Lake we stopped and had a picnic lunch by a gorgeous stream, just as the sun came out from behind the clouds.

Then we drove back to town and rode the Aerial Tram up to the top of Prospect Mountain, which has some of the most spectacular views in the Park. There are more friendly chipmunks up the top, and you can buy peanuts for a dollar to give them a little treat.

Can you spot the chipmunks? They're in almost every photo. ;)

It was one of the most fun days we've had in a long time. Estes Park is a truly beautiful place, and I can't wait to get back up there as soon as possible!

Do you have a favorite mountain getaway?

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On Saturday May 17, 2014 we participated in the ninth Worldwide Instameet. It's where Instagrammers from all over the world get together, meet new people, take photos, and share their love of Instagram.

I organized a little meet-up in Fort Collins, Colorado. There was a threat of rain and thunderstorms, but the group still turned up to climb around on the rocks and appreciate the sunset of Horsetooth Reservoir.

Here's a stream of photos from the crew:

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This year was the first time I've actually made it out to SXSW. If you haven't heard of it before it is a huge interactive, film, and music festival held in Austin, Texas.

My main reason for going was to attend the interactive and digital media sessions, but I stayed on afterwards to help launch a new product (more about that later) and to soak up the general awesomeness that is Austin.

Hands down, the best thing I discovered was the Hope Outdoor Gallery, a huge graffiti / street art project run by SpraTX. Words can't describe how incredibly cool this place is, so check out the video and photos below. It is definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in Austin!

While I was in town, a friend who lives in Houston flew his helicopter in for a visit. We went on a rainy-day adventure along the Colorado River and out to Lake Travis, where we landed on a tiny island in the middle of the lake (yep, having a helicopter is pretty awesome). Here are a couple pics from our excursion.

If you'd like to check out more of my friend's flying antics, check out his Instagram feed: www.instagram.com/theodorerobertwrightiii

And last, but not least, here are a couple of pics from my time in Austin and at SXSW itself. It's a pretty cool city, with a lot of live music, great food, and art. Austin is also making a name for itself as being a hub for start-ups and entrepreneurs, which makes for a very cool vibe.

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I get a lot of questions about how I create all of my time lapse videos. It's really very easy and I do it all on my phone! So today I posted a guest tutorial on the LifeProof blog. Go check it out, or read some of the post here:

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Last weekend I went along to a local Instameet down at Imperial Beach in San Diego and thought I’d test out my new iPhone 5s fre case and get some time lapse video in the wet, sandy conditions.

Here are a few highlights from the video I captured:

And here's another I recently made at the Denver International Airport:

If you’d like to create a time lapse of your own, here’s what you’ll need:

LifeProof Case 

Your LifeProof case will protect your device from drops, bumps, splinters, bruises, or skinned knees if it is knocked over while you are filming. It will also keep out any dirt, sand, mud, water, ice-cream or other mucky stuff, which means you can get creative with your location!

Time lapse Apps

What’s time lapse? It is a series of photos, taken at regular intervals, and then strung together to give you a video that speeds up a period of time when played back. Using time lapse you could fit an entire day into just a few minutes! There are lots of great time lapse apps available for both iOS and Android. My personal favorites are TimeLapse for iOS and Lapse It, which is available for iOS and Android. Each of them lets you play around with the settings to get the effect you want. You can choose the number of photos, the intervals they are taken at, make the video faster or slower, and add your favorite tunes!

Tripod

A good steady surface is essential or the time lapse effect won’t be as effective. I really like the iStabilizer mini tripod which has a mount specifically designed to hold a smartphone. The mount can even be unscrewed and used with a full-size camera tripod. The legs on the iStabilizer tripod are also flexible and grippy, so you can use it just about anywhere!

Location, location, location!

The final thing you need is a location for your time lapse. For the best result try to find a place with some stationary items, such as buildings, trees, mountains etc. and with some movement over time (think clouds, cars, crowds of people, the sun or moon etc).

If you have any questions about making your own LifeProof time lapse leave a comment below! And I'd love to see your time lapse adventures on social media! Tag them #LifeProofTimeLapse on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, or Google+!   Learn more »

It's been a big year, full of adventure and far-away lands. I've travelled to places I've never been before, like Martha's Vineyard and Spain, and back to old favorites...Paris, New York, Chicago and many more.

I've lived abroad in the USA, changed jobs, got engaged, and so many other things along the way!

So here's a 15-second glance back at 2013 before we look forward to the New Year and all the possibility it holds. I hope that your 2014 is truly amazing!

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I've been traveling to Fort Collins in Colorado a lot this year, and I always stay at the same place (often in the same room) at the Hilton.

Unlike Southern California, where I live right now, Colorado really shows off the changing seasons in all their glory. Without intentionally doing so, I've captured the seasons in the view from my hotel room and thought I would put them all together for you to see the progression.

I've visited in 100 degree heat, when half of Colorado was underwater with floods, in fog, rain, and I'll be sure to add more pictures of the snow once it settles in properly for the winter.

I hope you enjoy them!

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