Lexus and Austin took a trip with their two dogs to Steamboat Springs for their first anniversary and wanted to commemorate this time in their lives with photos! Steamboat is known for its hot springs and some skiing, but we were taking advantage of some of the awesome hiking in the area. The wild flowers were absolutely crazy thanks to an uncharacteristic amount of rain Colorado had gotten this summer.

We decided on sunrise to have the best light for the location and because, generally, there’s way fewer people around at sunrise. It was still dark when we all met at the trailhead and began our hike. The dogs were super excited, running around and smelling all the things (please note: both these dogs are professionally trained with excellent recall so it was safe for them to be off leash). As we headed up the trail through meadows of seemingly endless wildflowers the sky began to turn bright pink, the mountains a dusty blue, and we all had to stop and say wow. There were so many wildflowers. Paintbrush, and sunflowers, and Columbines, and purple daisies, and so many others that I don’t even know the name of. This was definitely one of the most incredible spots I had ever been to. The view of the mountains further away combined with the big open fields of wildflowers was absolutely epic- the sunrise colors were the icing on the cake.

Lexus and Austin are high school sweethearts and it was so fun to get to learn more about them and their story as we spent the morning together. Lexus is also a photographer and Austin trains horses and guides hunters during hunting season. They’ve lived all over the state of Colorado which is so cool!

This was definitely one of those mornings that makes you fall in love with summer, sunrise, and mountains all over again. Definitely worth the early wake up!