Colorado Vacation!

Our family spent the second week of August in beautiful Colorado. Philip has a strong desire for our family to go on a trip together every year, and I'm so glad because we always have such a nice time spending uninterrupted quality time together. It's great to have a break from the regular routine. I wasn't surprised at all when Philip suggested Colorado for this years destination. It had been 4 years since our last trip there and since it's Philip's favorite place to be I had a feeling we were due for another visit to the Rockies.

I was a little nervous about the 11+ hour drive with three little kids, but they surprised me again and the driving portions for the trip were mostly very simple and smooth. We had one hitch on the way there when Joel accidentally unplugged the kill switch under the truck's steering wheel while I was nursing Nate after a stop for gas (we found this out after a hour of trying to make the truck start and buying a new battery). Other wise, the boys did a great job entertaining themselves with movies, go fish and lot of eye spy. We stopped about every 3 hours for either a meal or gas and ended up making the trip in about 13 hours.

The first 2 days of the trip were spent in the small town of Salida. Philip first went there with his church youth group and has loved it ever since. We had a nice time visiting the park along the Arkansas river, the Farmers Market and eating at Amica's (just as good as the last time we were there way back in  2004). Thank goodness for social media, my Aunt Mary happened to see on Instagram that we were in Salida and she and my Uncle Buddy happened to be staying just outside of town in a friend cabin. They treated us to a super yummy breakfast and it was so good to see them and catch up! On our way out of Salida to our next part of the trip we stopped through Monarch and road the historic scenic tram, ate lunch and enjoyed some yummy fudge.

The only evidence of our breakfast...ha! Silly Levi :)

Next stop, Crested Butte! We loaded up in the truck the third day and drove about 3 more hours north to some free camp sites in the Gunnison National Forest just north of Crested Butte. The scenery was gorgeous and we all had a nice time enjoying God's creation. The camp sites we accesible with 4-wheel drive and had rock fire rings but no water or electricity. I was a little worried about 3 days without those necessities, but being "unplugged" with out cell service or modern convinences was actually very refreshing. I don't think the boys even noticed. We spent stayed 3 nights and spent 3 full days hiking, biking, exploring, fishing and relaxing. Being on schedule with the sun makes for earlier nights and mornings and is just good for the soul. I hope the boys remember all the beautiful sights and fun things we did, but I think they may remember digging holes to poop in and peeing on "the peeing tree" more than anything. Ha! When you are camping, even the simple things like using the restroom and making meals become an adventure.

our beautiful campsite! Such a stunning view with TONS of wildflowers!

trail near our campsite

 

Levi can't wait to be a mountain biker like Daddy

Judd Falls, it was a fun hike to this lovely view!

Philip went on a great mountain bike trail ride, It started at 10,700 ft elevation. here's his view of our camp from the ride, I'm the white dot :)

early morning breakfast and fly fishing at Emerald Lake

 

It was cozy quarters in the tent :)

view from camp...love those two explorers :)

sculpture in the park downtown

 

coco by the campfire

adventures in pooping!

Everything went very well and we only had one small mishap the end of the second day. Levi decided to try and balance on the rock fire ring and walk around it while I was nursing Nate and Philip was working on his bike. We were jolted from the quiet to him screaming that he "fell in the fire" the fire had actually been out for over 10 hours (since breakfast) but there were still a few hot coals under all the ash. Thankfully the burns were very small and the blisters only cover about 10% of his hands, but it was so scary for a minute. We washed of his hands with cold water, plunged them in the cooler with ice (ice lasts a long time when it's in the 40s at night and 70s during the day). He cried in my lap for about 20 minutes and cried out sad statements like, "don't just stand there Dad, help me! Mom, do something! I hate Colorado, this is the worst day ever!" He is usually very tough, so I was worried the burns might be worse than we thought. But, after some nursing care with the first aid kit and a nap in the tent he was basically back to normal and the next morning he was riding his bike and acting like his old self.

one of the parks we stopped at for a break, the burns didn't hold Levi back on bit :)

We broke the drive home into two days and stayed at a cheap hotel in a small panhandle town before finishing the drive home the next day. The boys LOVE to stay in any hotel and were super excited to just watch tv on their big bed. It was a wonderful family vacation and one I know we will always remember. Crested Butte is a picturesque town and I could almost see myself moving to live there. It is tucked in a valley surrounded by big beautiful mountains. You are just minutes from both modern conveniences and the complete untouched wilderness. Philip and I agree, it's just easier to feel close to God in the quiet of nature.