Family Road Trip -- Colorado

A few weeks ago, I was on "fall break," Carolyn's school had some sort of teacher work days, and Steve had a work-trip in Denver.  So, off we went on a road trip.  We left around noon on Wednesday and did very little planning ahead of time.  We went wherever we went each day, making sure that Steve was in Denver for his meeting on Friday and that we were back before we had school/work the following Monday.

The first day we made it to Glenwood Springs, Colorado.  We picked a hotel with an indoor pool and slide.  Of course, the girls were happy there and did not want to leave.

On Thursday morning, we woke up and went swimming again, and then did a hike to Hanging Lake.  Carolyn said it was the hardest hike that she has ever done, but also the funnest.  The lake and waterfalls at the top were pretty spectacular.  The  pictures do not do it justice.

Both girls took long naps and rested their bodies after the hike, as we drove on toward Denver.  We stopped in Idaho Falls for some much needed food, and arrived in Denver late that evening. On Friday morning, Steve woke up early and went to his meeting, while the girls and I slept in, watched cartoons in the hotel, and ate some of the best vietnamese food I have ever had. We met steve after lunch and enjoyed the afternoon at the Denver Children's Museum.

Next stop - another new hotel in the Denver area, which was close to one of the best playgrounds we have been to.  Steve and Carolyn made a new friend and created some epic obstacle courses and races around the playground.  They were fiercely athletic, while Elizabeth, on the other hand, was scared of the swings and was her normal self as she very cautiously explored the playground.  A dinner of tapas and movies at the hotel completed our day.

On Saturday, we drove to Steamboat Springs.  After an initial stop at the biggest liquor store we could find (from Utah, you have to stock up on good beers when you are road-tripping to another state) and after we stopped a few times to find the reddest and purple-est leaves we could find, we settled in for a beautiful fall drive through the middle of nowhere.  Our next detour was to see the continental divide.  The road up there was super steep, with no barriers at all.  Kind of unnerving.  I am glad I was not the driver then.  At one point, we turned a corner and went through a little town where there was a wood carver.  I said, "I think the 'little house' needs a carved wooden bear."  (Because everyone that has a cabin out here has a carved wooden bear there - our cabin just happens to be 30 feet out our back door!)  Steve agreed and immediately turned around the car.  Carolyn got to pick out the one that she liked, and when Lizzie woke up and saw him, she named him "Buddy Bear."  It was a fun spontaneous family moment, and now we have a 3" bear on the porch of the little house.  When we arrived in Steamboat, we checked into a big resort, where we enjoyed the outdoor pool and hot tub and then went downtown for some pizza and beer.

On Sunday, we woke up and spent the morning at Strawberry Hot Springs.  Such a cool, unique place.  I did not bring a camera, but found some photos around the internet.  It is a natural hot spring with multiple soaking pools of varying temperatures.  The final pool at the end is fed by the river, so it is ice cold.  We all took turns taking a dip in the cool pool and then going back to the hot pools.

Back into the car.  And, after a few more hours of driving in the middle of nowhere, we arrived at Dinosaur National Monument in Vernal Utah.  This place is totally out of the way, but it was so interesting to see how many dinosaur fossils were there in one place.  I am glad we chose to drive home this way.  Seeing this totally puts life into perspective -- life as we know it today is such a small blip on the radar screen of history!

We finally arrived home late Sunday night, after a few additional stops to see some other sites like the Pinnacles.   I am impressed with how well the girls traveled.  They were excellent in the car and rarely ever crabbed, despite multiple hours in the car each day.  I am also impressed with how well Steve and I did with this trip.  No plans.  We just did and went wherever we chose each day.  And, we got to see some pretty spectacular scenery.  We leave in a beautiful part of the country, and there are so many places to explore with such varied landscape.  We should do these types of roadtrips more often.  Doing it at the height of fall colors made it even more special.