Wednesday-7/5
we headed to Colorado, stopped in Grand Junction for the night. We
visited Colorado National Monument, went on a little hike and took
pictures.
Thursday-7/6
We stopped at the Betty Ford Gardens in Vale and played at the
playground too. We drove through the Johnson/Eisenhower tunnel. To
top it off we went on the Georgetown Loop Railroad. Then we found
our way to Estes Park where we stayed for four nights in a cabin on
the Big Thompson River that was over 100 years old. During our stay
Chloe managed to get the stomach flu (we originally thought she got
car sick, but when she kept throwing up in the middle of the night we
thought otherwise). We also set off the smoke detectors while
burning toast in the toaster. And Peter had to run to town twice in
one night to make phone calls to a pediatrician on call to see if
there was anything we could do for Chloe. Also during our stay we
explored several parts of Rocky Mountain National Park, drove Trail
Ridge Rd., saw all kinds of wildlife, including moose, elk, deer and
big horn sheep and decided to leave the top of the mountain when it
started thundering and lightening. We saw a bolt of lightening hit
below where we were driving, it was pretty freaky. We also
frequented a nearby park a few times and played mini golf when it
wasn't raining.
After
our stay in Estes Park, Monday-7/10, we drove to Denver and Connor
enjoyed standing on the mile high step of the State Capitol building.
We also went to the Denver Mint gift shop (we had hoped to go on a
tour, but they were sold out for the day and our kids were all too
young as well-you had to be 8 years old). We also went to the Denver
Botanic Garden where the kids had a blast playing in the children's
stream and we enjoyed seeing all of the flowers. Then we drove south
and stopped in Colorado Springs. We enjoyed Pike's Peak from a
distance and enjoyed singing America the Beautiful in the car. We
decided the road to the summit was too twisty and we didn't want to
test Chloe's stomach. Instead, we visited Garden of the Gods and
enjoyed the beautiful rocks. We turned a corner and saw a deer up
close, about 10 feet away. We went to the Trading Post and bought
Chloe and Connor a bag of dirt. Then we went outside and they went
mining for treasure. They each cleaned a bunch of gems and had quite
the collection to take home. It was probably the highlight of the
trip for them at that point. They both wanted to do it again.
During
our trip we also had a great time entertaining ourselves. The kids
enjoyed listening to music and then singing some new songs. It was
great to chat, sing, and play around with the kids to pass the time
and not have them glued to a movie screen (which was offered at one
point and neither wanted to watch anything).
Tuesday-7/11,
we went to the Great Sand Dunes and had a great time playing in a big
one inch warm stream. All of us got in on the fun and enjoyed
getting wet. During April and May this little stream is deep enough
to go tubing down. In July it is down to one inch and in August it
completely dries out. After our fun here we drove to Durango and
stayed a few nights. We found the Santa Rita playground and spent
several evenings playing and picnicking.
Wednesday-7/12,
Peter woke up feeling ill. We headed off to Mesa Verde National Park
and signed up for a cliff dwelling tour. While waiting for our time
slot, I drove around, the girls and daddy napped and Connor and I got
out and saw several pit houses and other dwellings. When it was time
to go on our tour Peter opted to stay back with the girls while
Connor and I went on the tour. It was really fun. On our way back
down the mountain and back into town Peter tossed his cookies on the
side of the road. I took him back to the hotel and the kids and I
went shopping for dinner and then played at the park until it was
time to go to bed. Back at the hotel Connor showed Chloe how to play
Bananagrams.
Thursday-7/13,
morning Peter felt better and we were off to ride the
Durango/Silverton Railroad. This is a 3.5 hour train trip up, play
in town for 1.5 hours and then 3.5 hours back. There were three
trains that made the trek on the same track and then had to turn
around to go back. Our train arrived first and turned around. The
other two trains arrived and then while one of them was turning
around, the switch on the track was moved and the train derailed
breaking part of the track. Our train was stuck as we were the only
ones that needed to go over the section that broke. So when our
train was set to leave and then didn't, the conductor came and told
us there was a problem with the track and that they were working hard
to fix it and we could get off the train if we wanted to. We were to
stay close to hear the four whistles that signals get back on the
train, it is ready to leave. So after the kids were done playing in
the puddles, we walked down the track and saw what was going on.
They had a front loader lifting track and setting it in place while
several men in overalls hammered the track and rails in place.
Another guy was cutting the track to the perfect size with a torch.
It was pretty awesome to watch and probably the highlight for the
kids. After a 2.5 hour delay, the track was fixed and they slowly
walked our train over the mended area and then we were on our way
back down the mountain.
Friday-7/14,
we went to a fish hatchery and fed trout and then drove to Ouray and
looked at and hiked to several waterfalls. We drove along the famous
San Juan Skyway. In town we had lunch at a Thai place and stuffed
ourselves silly, then went to our hotel. Dinner came and Peter and I
were still full, so the kids enjoyed easy mac on the balcony. Then
it was early to bed.
Saturday-7/15,
we went on a jeep tour of the Yankee Boy Basin and the Governor
Basin. The jeep held 9 people in the back and our family had two car
seats and a booster. We had a lot of fun. This was my favorite part
of the trip. We saw waterfalls, rivers, flowers, and drove through
rivers. It started to rain on us and the top was put on just for it
to stop raining about five minutes later. So the top was taken off.
Later towards the end of this 3.5 hour tour it started raining again.
Our guide was not in a place where he could stop, so we endured the
rain and then it started hailing on us. By the time he could stop we
were all pretty wet but having a great time. The top was put on for
the remainder of our trip. I sat on the edge of the middle seat and
each time we turned a corner I got a wave of water that had pooled on
the top that splashed down on me. Everyone else was completely dry
when we got back and I had one leg that was soaked through. Still my
favorite event of the trip! Back in town we got ice cream cones,
shopped for dinner and then headed back to the hotel. We changed
clothes and then went to the pool which was a natural hot spring.
The big pool was 2 feet deep, which everyone loved and was about 95
degrees. We tried a hotter pool but lasted about 10 minutes and then
switched back to the cooler pool. We stayed until almost closing
time and then headed to bed.
Sunday-7/16,
we left Colorado and went to the Four Corners. Yes we were in four
states at once. Connor's highlight was being in the middle. We also
went to the Grand Canyon for a short visit. Connor and Chloe did the
Junior Ranger Badge there (they got one at every national park we
went to and a couple national monuments). It was very beautiful
there. We stopped for the night in Flagstaff and went to bed.
Monday-7/17,
we saw more cliff dwellings at Montezuma Well and Montezuma Castle
and then we finished our road trip home.
After
all we packed into the trip we were glad to be back home! Connor played the license plate game on our trip. This kept him occupied for a long time and of course he enjoyed seeing all of the plates. He didn't see Hawaii or Rhode Island, but found several from Mexico and Canada.
