After packing up all our bags for a two week vacation out west, we picked up Caleb from a friend's house and began driving to the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago around noon. Tim found a reasonable place to park that had a shuttle to the airport. So we took that over and got our luggage checked in. We watched the airplanes, walked around a bit, and grabbed some cheeseburgers at McD's before it was time to board our plane. The kids were excited since it was their first time flying!
We were all pretty tired from traveling most of the day. So we caught a shuttle to the Budget rental place and picked up our 2016 Ford Explorer (free upgrade - yay!) It was pretty fancy and new compared to our 2003 Dodge Caravan and took us a little bit to figure out all the controls. (For some reason, they had the heated seats on.... in 105 degree weather.... weird). Once we arrived to our beautiful Marriott hotel, we pretty much crashed. Caleb didn't want to sleep next to Sonya so he grabbed some extra couch cushions and slept in the closet. I think we finally hit the hay by 11pm (PST) / 1pm (CST).
DAY 2: Wed., June 21 --
Since it was dark when we first arrived to Phoenix, we didn't see much the night before. Our first glimpse of AZ was the beautiful palm trees and cacti by the hotel just as the sun was coming up.
Once we got back to the house, the kids were entertained by playing on the exercise equipment while we started getting an early dinner ready so we could go swimming afterwards. We were spoiled with Uncle Steve's amazing grilled steak (and later that evening by Aunt Cathy's delicious cherry cheese torte).
The pool felt wonderful in the 100 degree weather. It was kind of strange how the air felt so chilly after getting wet though. I never thought I'd feel that cold after exiting the pool in that heat! This is where the science of really dry air, hot temperatures, and evaporation come in -- kind of how sweat cools you off.
After swimming, we stayed up chatting for a little bit while the kids watched Full House and cartoons. (This is also when we enjoyed the cherry cheese torte). With the 2 hr time difference, we were thankful to be in bed by 8:30pm (MT) that night. Sonya took the top bunk and Caleb slept on the couch.
DAY 3: Thurs., June 22 --
We all got up pretty early the next day, at least compared to the native Arizonans that hadn't just jumped two time zones over. After packing up our clothes, LOTS of water, and a cooler filled with sandwiches and more smooothies, we said our goodbyes and began making our way toward the Grand Canyon.
We drove along the Mingus Mountain Scenic Road and stopped for a short bit in Jerome, a neat little town built along the side of the mountain. It was sooo hot out that we only took a quick stroll and then jumped back into the comfort of A/C.
The red rocks of Sedona were amazing! At the time, I thought I needed to capture every moment of beauty on camera, but there was so much breathtaking scenery, that I eventually just let my eyes soak it all in.
Around noon-ish, we reached Slide Rock State Park and enjoyed a picnic lunch before changing into our swimsuits and heading over to the water. Oak Creek was cool and refreshing. Tim and the kids slid down the natural water slide a few times (it was much longer than Slippery Rock up in Wisconsin) while I waded and took pictures. There was also an area where people were cliff jumping into the creek. So Tim and Caleb did that a few times. (It was maybe a 15 ft drop). As we headed back to our vehicle, Tim might've convinced a boy that there was a shark in the creek. He whispered to Caleb to play along and then said loudly, "That was fun. I still can't believe there was that shark though!" And Caleb responded, "I know! That was crazy." Then we overheard a concerned boy saying, "Sharks??" hahaha
On our way out of the park, we stopped by the Oak Creek Vista and checked out the Native American arts and crafts stands.
The first national park of our trip was Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. We hiked near the volcano along the Lava Flow Trail where we saw lots of cooled lava and cinders from the last eruption. The trail wasn't very long, but we stopped often and drank a lot of water. The temperatures were still close to 100 degrees.
We took the Scenic Loop Road out and drove through the Wupatki National Monument. Sonya fell asleep so I (Michelle) stayed in the car with her while the boys explored a pueblo.
Once out of the park systems, we made our way north to Cameron where we ate dinner at the Trading Post. Tim and I both enjoyed meals with Indian fry bread -- so delicious! Then we perused the souvenirs for a bit and left with some prickly pear licorice.
After dinner, we headed west toward the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park. There was a quick stop near more Native American craft stands. Sonya looked at the jewelry, but decided not to buy anything. We took a short hike to check out the view and saw a rabbit and lots of prickly pears and banana yuccas. We also stopped at the Desert View Watchtower, near the east entrance, where we got our first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. The sun was just starting to set and we were all in awe of the beauty that God has created. The view was only a slice of what was yet to come.
As we continued through the park, it was getting quite dark. The short gnarly branches of the bushes along the road made interesting shadows. And then, Tim and I both saw a huge bull elk on our right. He was just keeping to himself while munching on some leaves. We almost missed him because his antlers blended right in with the bush branches. (So glad he didn't run out in the road!)
Finally, we made it to Red Feather Lodge in Tusayan where we crashed for the night. It was just a few minutes south of Grand Canyon Village, so a perfect spot for the night. Caleb still didn't want to sleep next to Sonya so he took the floor while Sonya enjoyed a queen bed all to herself for two nights.
DAY 4: Fri., June 23 --
The next morning, we ate some bagels slathered in peanut butter or nutella and then went straight to the Grand Canyon where we hopped on a shuttle bus. We took the blue shuttle to the Bright Angel Trailhead and did a little hiking. The trail technically went all the way down to the bottom of the canyon (or pretty close) and then took you over to the North Rim, but we didn't go that far. Sonya was terrified of being that close to the edge of the canyon so we only made it a little past the first tunnel before turning around. Again, it was in the upper 90's so we drank lots of water and kept reapplying sunscreen.
Our next adventure was walking along the Rim Trail to the Trailview Overlook. Along the way, there was a spot with a ledge where you could appear to be falling over the cliff. So I took a few photos of Caleb doing that. Sonya was hot and tired already so she didn't want to cooperate much for photos (and she didn't want to get anywhere close to the edge of the cliffs, even where there were guardrails). The views were spectacular!
We caught the red shuttle at Trailview Overlook and got out to see Maricopa Point, ate sandwiches at Monument Creek Vista, and ended at Hermits Rest. At Hermits Rest, we bought some huge chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches and rested for a bit before taking the shuttles back to the parking lot.
Back at the hotel, we enjoyed the air conditioning and rested for a bit before Tim took the kids swimming while I (Michelle) read a book and relaxed. It was nice to have some peace and quiet. :-) When they all returned and got out of their wet swimsuits, we had a quick dinner at Wendy's and returned to the canyon.
This time, we took the orange shuttle to Mather Point, a pretty popular lookout area where we snapped a few more pictures. We might've had a whiny kid that wanted the camera, but refused to be in any photos. Crying and baby talk commenced, so I took off on the Rim Trail a little ways and left Tim with the kids. Shortly after, Caleb came following me. I had no idea that he didn't tell Tim that he was with me so Tim might've panicked a little. Luckily, I had taken my phone off airplane mode and I actually had a bit of reception so he was able to get a hold of me. Whew! We headed back to them and found a relatively happier Sonya.
Next, we hopped back on the shuttle and went to the Yavapai Point and Geology Museum. Sonya LOVES museums. She wanted to read everything on every sign there. We had to stop her after a while though because it was getting close to sunset and we still wanted to do one more short hike since the weather was starting to cool off. We took the shuttle to the South Kaibab Trailhead and managed to hike a little further down this trail before Sonya's fear of heights forced us back up to the top of the canyon again. The sunset was stunning with lights and shadows highlighting the beautiful orange and red rocks in the Grand Canyon. Our God is SO good!
DAY 5: Sat., June 24 --
We packed up the rental and enjoyed a quick breakfast at McDonalds. Since we had gotten to the Desert View Watchtower so late the other night, the tower was closed and we all wanted to go up in it. So we made a few stops along the way to take pictures -- several pullouts, Grandview Point, and Navajo Point. We also checked out the Tusayan Museum and Ruin. It was a small museum, but the ruins were cool.
Apparently, the Desert View Visitor Center is much more popular when it first opens in the morning. So there were a lot more people buzzing around the grounds. We climbed to the top of the tower and took pictures, explored a bit, and visited the souvenir shop before getting back on the road.
Occasionally, we'd see some cool rock formations, but otherwise, there was a LOT of desert on this stretch of road. Our next destination was the Four Corners Monument. We mostly just wanted to say that we have been there (even though the monument is technically not in the geographically accurate location). It cost $5 per person to enter -- not really worth it to stand in line for almost an hour just to take a few quick photos. The temperature was hanging right around 100 degrees again and there was no shade unless you went walking around by the Native American vendors. So we took turns going to look at crafts, jewelry, rocks, etc. Finally, it was our turn to be in four places at once -- Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. Yay!
At some point, we pulled over to eat lunch. It wasn't super exciting because I didn't write down where we stopped. But, I'm pretty sure it was before Four Corners because otherwise I'd be writing about how we were starving. haha!
Anyway, we made it to Silvertip Ranch, the AirBnB where we stayed for two nights. It was a cute little cabin nestled in the mountains of Mancos, CO. (The owner's house was right next door. Would highly recommend this place!) We drove back into town to grab some groceries and had lovely canned ravioli for dinner. At this point, we were really hungry and just wanted something quick. We had also jumped ahead a time zone and were on Mountain Time. So we at dinner and then took a short hike up the dirt road by our cabin. Sonya was pretty wiped out so she and Tim headed back while Caleb and I continued down the road until we could see the snow capped mountain that was near us. It was so beautiful! Then we turned around and returned to the cabin where the kids watched a show and went to bed shortly after.
DAY 6: Sun., June 25 --
Tim and I had discussed the night before that he could maybe pick up tickets for a tour at Mesa Verde early in the morning since he usually gets up really early. Unfortunately, we hadn't realized how far of a drive it actually was from the Visitor's Center to some of the cliff dwellings. So we really had to book it out there to make it in time. Thankfully, I had the kids mostly ready with lunch, sunscreen, and plenty of water packed by the time Tim got back to the cabin.
The road throughout the Mesa Verde National Park was quite windy, with lots of turns and hills. We didn't have time to stop along the way since we were on a time crunch, but ended up arriving to the Cliff Palace tour with 20 minutes to spare. Sonya hadn't gone to the bathroom that morning and refused to use the pit toilets -- you could hear her yelling that the toilets were too dirty and she wasn't going to use them. So she had to hold it until we could get to a toilet with indoor plumbing.
We walked over to where the tour would start. There we could view Cliff Palace, an amazing assortment of pueblo rooms built into the side of the canyon with a cliff overhang to protect it from the elements. There was a bit of a drop-off that made Sonya nervous to even go on this tour, but she did great with squeezing through some tight spaces in the rocks and climbing ladders. Caleb was having a grand old time on this adventure. Cliff Palace itself, housed about 100 occupants, which is one of the larger (probably the largest) cliff dwellings in the area. We loved learning how the pueblos were built and how the Indians got water, farmed, and lived. The tour was great!
Since we weren't able to view the Balcony House, another cliff dwelling, right near the site (without paying for a tour), we headed over to Soda Canyon Overlook Trail. There we could get a good glimpse of the Balcony House and we could see a few other dwellings in the alcoves. By this point, we were hot, sweaty, and tired.... and of course, Sonya really needed to go to the bathroom. So we trekked back to the car and drove to the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum where they had "real" restrooms.
After our bathroom break, we checked out the museum for a bit and then walked down the path to view Spruce Tree House, another dwelling. It was so hot out and we were all hungry so we didn't hike very far at all. We grabbed our sandwiches and other food to have a picnic near the car. Then we drove to another part of the part where we hiked to Step House. They had some pit houses and kivas there. We could walk through most of the site on our own. Sonya was finally feeling brave enough to climb the ladder on her own, but still wanted to hold daddy's hand during most of the hiking. (I don't blame her -- there were some pretty steep drop-offs along many of the paths).
As we made our way out of the park, we stopped by Park Point Overlook, the highest point in Mesa Verde at 8,572 feet in elevation. It had a pretty great view of the surrounding area and also had a fire lookout tower. Our final stop was the Visitor Center where we bought a few souvenirs and Caleb wanted some silly photos of him with a statue.
We went back to our cabin to rest before dinner. We were going to meet my cousin, Carrie, and her husband since they lived nearby, but their poor doggy was having troubles breathing so we didn't get to meet up with them. However, their recommendation of Chavolo's, a Mexican place, was very authentic and delicious!
After dinner, we hit up the park so the kids could just run around and play. I think they were getting tired of being on mom and dad's schedule. So they burned off some energy. Then we got a few groceries again and went back to the cabin to watch some TV and bedtime.
DAY 7: Mon., June 26 --
The day before, Tim bought tickets for him and Caleb to do the Balcony House tour. Sonya wasn't crazy about the heights anyway and she and I both wanted to sleep in a little. So the boys went off to do that before the girls even got up in the morning. The park itself was only about 10 minutes from our cabin, but the Balcony House was about a 45min drive from the park entrance. That meant that Sonya and I had some girl time to watch some cartoons and take a short hike near the cabin. We also packed up some of our stuff and did dishes so that we could be ready to eat lunch quickly and then leave once the boys returned.
Since we weren't able to see Carrie the night before, we were able to arrange a meeting in Cortez at the Dairy Queen. She had a sandwich and we all had ice cream. It was nice to hang out and see her even if it was only for about 25 minutes. We took a quick picture to document it! Then we parted ways.
The drive from Colorado to Moab, UT wasn't terribly exciting - just lots of red rocks here and there and desert. Just outside of Moab, there was an arch called Wilson Arch. It wasn't part of the National Park system, but we took the opportunity for a short break. Caleb climbed up the rocks like a little monkey while I followed. At first, Sonya was just going to stay in the car with Tim, but must've decided that it looked like fun because they climbed up it a little too.
We finally reached our hotel, a Holiday Inn Express, at around 3:30pm. Since Arches National Park was doing some road construction during the night, they were closing the park at 7pm and opening again at 7am. So we really wanted to get in there and see as much as we could that evening. Tim grabbed a meat and cheese platter at the store and we drove into the park. The first stop was the Lower & Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoints. The hike from the lower to the upper was only about a half mile (round trip), but felt like forever because of the heat and we were still about a mile away from the arch itself. I'm so glad we skipped that particular hike since it was still a whopping 103 F at 4:45pm. The only good thing about the heat was that the park wasn't terribly crowded.
We ate our dinner of meat, cheese, and pretzels while we drove to the Sand Dune Arch. There was just a short hike from the parking lot to the arch and the area immediately surrounding it had some shade. The kids loved playing in the sand and enjoyed the slightly cooler temperatures. By the time we left the Sand Dune Arch, we needed to start heading back towards the park entrance so that our vehicle wouldn't get towed. We saw rocks that looked like the 10 Commandments, Noah's Ark, 3 people, a lion/hippo/alligator animal, and much more. It was fun to use our imagination.
On the way back to the hotel, there was Lions Park. We did a quick walk on the bridge over the Colorado River and then went swimming in the pool at the hotel. (At 6:45pm, it was still 103 degrees!) The pool had a little arch in it with water coming of it and flames on the top. The kids and Tim all had a blast swimming and splashing around. I dipped my feet in a little, but mostly watched. Caleb has become quite a little fish in the water and Sonya has been learning how to be braver without a life jacket.
After cooling off in the pool, we all showered and watched The Princess Diaries 2 before falling asleep.
DAY 8: Tues., June 27 --
We packed up our belongings and then headed downstairs for a delicious continental breakfast. Holiday Inn Express had their amazing cinnamon rolls, as always. Then we headed back to Arches National Park to see more of the sights. The wind was a bit stronger and dust/sand from the rocks was flying in the air and into our mouths. It created a bit of a hazy view that morning.
Balanced Rock was the first stop. We hiked all the way around it. I tried to get a good photo of Caleb holding the rock, but he looked really sleepy. Then we journeyed onward to Double Arch. The hike to and from it was about half a mile. Thankfully, the weather was only 85 degrees and hadn't started to heat up too badly yet. The kids loved climbing the rocks and posing on top of them and the double arches were really cool.
We then hiked over to the North Window where we could easily see Turret Arch and just barely see the South Window once we hiked through the arch to the other side. Again, there was lots of climbing. Caleb definitely has no problem with heights. Sonya was even wanting to climb more by this point. I think she was inspired by her brother.
As we were leaving the arches, we spotted Pothole Arch, more of an opening created from the top rather than the sides of the rock. Then we did a quick stop at the Visitor's Center for a bathroom break and to buy a few more souvenirs. The temperature was starting to climb up into the 90's by that point so we were glad to be riding in the A/C during the hottest part of the day.
We traveled along the Colorado River on the Scenic Byway, just along the southeastern corner of Arches National Park, as we headed back towards Colorado to spend time with family. There was a tumble down ghost town, Cisco, on the route and LOTS of desert. The red rock was long behind us and now it was mostly pale yellows and browns. We made our way to Fruita, CO and ate lunch at the Colorado Visitor Center. (Tim remembered stopping there with his Grandpa Nikolai once so that was kind of special).
Finally, we reached Tim's aunt and uncle's house (Eagle, CO) in the mid-afternoon. It was so nice to visit with his Aunt Sue, Uncle Markian, and cousins Marika and Karlina. Karlina
DAY 9: Wed., June 28 --
We were all able to sleep in a little, which was really nice. Then we ate some breakfast and started packing up for our rafting trip on the Colorado River. Uncle Markian was able to move around a few meetings to join us. He and the girls would be kayaking while Aunt Sue was with the rest of us on the raft. We loaded everything up and met up with Markian along the way.
Our 4 hour rafting trip began at Radium, where we put in. Sonya was pretty unsure of going on the water despite wearing a life jacket and Aunt Sue being a pretty experience rafter. We watched as Markian rolled his kayak on purpose and asked Caleb and Sonya to save him if he needed help. Then he'd tap on his kayak as if he was stuck, but my kids knew he was teasing and could get himself back upright on his own. The water was pretty calm as we entered the river and was chilly as it sprayed us when we hit rapids. The first few rapids were small, but then we all got soaked in the front. Brr! At that point, Sonya was cold and was determined not to have fun. We stopped for lunch shortly after that and dried off. The kids managed to get the train to blow its whistle as it chugged along by the river. They were pretty excited about that.
Then we hopped back in the raft and the kayaks again. This time, Sonya only had fun when we hit rapids. (At least that's what she told me). She kept watching for them up ahead and would giggle as we got sprayed with water. Caleb decided to sit in the back of the raft to avoid getting wet. It was probably also a reason to get away from his sister and have some quiet time. We saw several herons and an eagle or two in addition to many geese on the trip. There was also quite a bit of wind during this second leg. It was strong enough that Markian ended up taking over the oars for a little bit so Sue could rest her arms (and avoid hurting her back again). Once the wind died down enough, Markian returned back to his kayak. We hit a few more little rapids and finally reached the State Bridge take out and pulled our boats to shore.
We had an amazing time with lots of sunshine. Everyone was a little wiped out after that. Back at the house, we unloaded everything and put our wet stuff out to dry. Then we had another delicious dinner al fresco along with a campfire and s'mores again.
DAY 10: Thurs., June 29 --
We slept in a little bit again, then ate some breakfast, and packed up the car again. Before leaving, we took a few more photos - some serious and some very silly.
Then we drove to Uncle Paul's cabin in Grand Lake, CO. Driving through the mountains was so beautiful. Tim wouldn't let us stop every time I wanted to capture the beauty so I had to settle for mental pictures after a while. (haha)
Around lunchtime, we arrived to Grand Lake and ate some fruit and sandwiches. Then we took a little walk over by the lake to check it out. Being day #10 of vacation, staying up too late on several occasions, and getting lots of sun, we were all a little weary. So we ended back up at the cabin where the kids had fun exploring and playing/reading quietly while mom and dad dozed off for a bit. It felt so nice to just rest and not be running off to see all the sights for a while.
For dinner, we ate pizza at Grand Pizza. We hadn't had pizza yet on this trip so that made it all the tastier. Sonya had a bit of a headache and didn't eat much. Not sure if she just didn't drink enough water or if she was sleep deprived. With some Tylenol in her system, a little food and drink in her belly, and some time at the local park, she rallied up to do some hiking. We hiked up to Adams Falls, part of the Rocky Mountain National Park, and then went up a little ways on the East Inlet Trail where someone had spotted a cow moose.
A certain little girl might've gotten bent out of shape because her brother was hogging the camera and there might've been a bit of a melt down. So daddy and Caleb went off hiking some more while mommy calmed her down. We watched the moose some more and took photos. All was well when the boys returned.
We hopped back in our car and drove into western part of Rocky Mountain National Park. There were tons of elk, both bulls and cows. They were all just sitting in the meadows eating dinner and minding their own business. We saw a few deer and another moose.
We continued through the park and stopped at Lake Irene where it was 10,660 ft in elevation and a chilling 52 degrees. They had some late snow in May so the kids posed with the snow and Caleb made some snowballs. It was so weird to see snow in the summer like that, but it was nice to not have 100 degree weather. We drove a little higher up the mountain to Milner Pass where the Continental Divide was and saw about 12 bull elk near there.
When we returned to the cabin, it was time for baths and bed. Tim and I stayed up a little longer to watch a Tim Hawkins DVD. So hilarious!
DAY 11: Fri., June 30 --
Before any of us were even up, Tim went out to Adams Falls again and then hiked to Cascade Falls (7 miles round trip). He saw 3 bull moose and 1 cow moose. Meanwhile, the kids got packed up and dressed, ate breakfast, and then starting watching "Stuart Little."
Once Tim came back from hiking, we ventured into the little shops in Grand Lake and let the kids play at the playground for a bit more. Sonya finally built up enough arm strength to go across the monkey bars!!
After the park, we set out to the Rocky Mountain National Park again. We did a hike along the Colorado River trail where we saw a solo cow elk. Normally, the cows move in herds like the ones we had seen the night before in the park. So she had either just had a calf that was somewhere in hiding or was soon to give birth. We hiked further on until we reached a meadow and then turned around again to have a picnic lunch by the car.
We then drove on to the Alpine Visitor's Center and climbed the stairs to get an even better view of the mountains. There was so much snow that had yet to melt and the temperature was still only at about 50 degrees even in the early afternoon. We were just shy of 12,000 ft in elevation.
As we headed down the mountain towards the east entrance of the park, there were more elk and people going off the trails to try and take photos of them. I might've yelled out the window, "You need to stay on the trails!" as we passed by. It's kind of a pet peeve of mine to follow the rules and help maintain the natural environment. (The tundra especially is a fragile biome and has a hard time recovering when people don't stay in the designated areas).
Near the east entrance, we stopped by the Fall River Visitor Center where we would be going horseback riding through the mountains. Since we were a little early, we explored the visitor center for a little bit. Then we headed over to the stables. The kids had never been on a horse before so I was a bit nervous going into this adventure. My horse was named Last Call, Tim's was Player, Caleb had Arizona, and Sonya got to ride Happy. With Sonya's fear of heights, I really wasn't sure what to expect. She managed to look mostly happy once she was on her horse.
Our guide started us on the trail and was telling us about the vegetation and the surrounding mountains. The two kids followed behind him, then me (Michelle), and Tim took up the rear. About five minutes into our two hour ride, a deer ran straight between my horse and Tim's. Player was very surprised by the deer and tried to buck Tim off. Since we had all been admiring the scenery, none of us were prepared for what happened. Tim ended up in the dirt while his horse, Player, took off running back to the stables. Meanwhile, the rest of our horses got spooked and broke off into a run. We didn't get far before they stopped, but it freaked me out and I was terrified that Caleb or Sonya would fall off their horse. Thankfully, the rest of us managed to stay in our saddles.
Once our horses stopped running, I saw the guide looking back all surprised. He asked us all if we were ok. Then I looked back, expecting to find Tim on his horse right behind me. Instead, he was lying on the ground and his horse was nowhere to be seen. Tim's left side of his face was caked in dirt and his hair was all tousled. He was slow in getting up, but there was no blood or broken bones -- just a bruised and sore back. For some reason, he thought it'd be a good idea to continue our ride when the guide asked what he wanted to do. The group that started about five minutes behind us managed to catch Tim's horse and brought it with them.
Just as we were starting out again, the stupid deer came running towards the trail again. Tim's horse started trying to throw him again and my horse especially was getting skittish because of Player's reaction. Thankfully, the guide was able to scare the deer away so that we could get back on our two hour ride. For me, it was hard to appreciate the beauty as much as I would've before the fall and I kept worrying about Sonya. She kept looking back at me with such a sad little face. I could tell that she was really not enjoying riding so close to the river and the steep edges along the trail. Caleb, on the other hand, had a lot of fun horseback riding. Overall though, we did see some really beautiful parts of the Rocky Mountains.
By the time we got back to the stables, Sonya and I were ready to be done. We were all a bit sore and hungry. The stable had Tim fill out an accident report. He was starting to hurt a little bit more from the fall and also from being in the saddle for so long. Praise God for his protection and for ibuprofen! (Now we good story to tell... haha).
We ate dinner at the Trailhead Restaurant, took a few silly photos with statues, and then drove to Aunt Julie's in Estes Park, CO. It was only about a 10 minute drive. Julie's dog, Tivoli, was super excited to have guests. The kids loved playing with her once she stopped jumping around and licking everyone. We all talked for a while and had Klondike bars. I think this is when we heard the story about Tim's dad babysitting the neighbor boys. Somehow, he thought it was a good idea to go sniper shooting with the kids on the roof. (Oh my goodness!!! haha). He might've been fired from babysitting there again. As it started getting late, we brushed our teeth, hopped into pjs, and settled into bed for the night.
DAY 12: Sat., July 1 --
In the morning, we all went to the Estes Park Museum. Julie was a wealth of knowledge about the town history and different events that had happened in the past 20 years or so. The kids were highly entertained by taking photos of themselves with the fake fire in one of the exhibits. We also did a self guided tour of the little cabin that was just outside the museum.
After that, we drove around town a bit while Julie pointed out certain sights. We ended up at the ruins of the Albert Birch house, built in 1904 and burned down in 1907. The view out of the main picture window, now no longer filled with glass, was spectacular. We enjoyed exploring the ruins and imagining how the house would've looked before the fire.
We took a few family photos along the trail to the Birch house and then headed back to Julie's for lunch before taking a hike up to Copeland Falls. After all the hiking we had down on the trip thus far, Sonya was feeling a bit tired of walking in the heat. Caleb was a pretty good trooper though. The falls were peaceful with the soothing sound of moving water. On the walk back to our car, we took some shadow pictures which was both entertaining and a good distraction for Sonya.
Back at the house, we had an amazing dinner and ate outside on the patio. We all helped clean up and then Tim and I took a walk into town to look at the shops. It was nice to have some time alone without the kids. Meanwhile, Caleb and Sonya played Yahtzee with Aunt Julie and had just started watching "The Wizard of Oz" when we returned. We had a fire in the chiminea and made more s'mores. The kids loved having s'mores so often on this trip.
DAY 13: Sun., July 2 --
Julie had to work so she was up and gone before the girls. Tim had taken Tivoli for a walk that morning and Caleb was up early as well. We packed up the car and had breakfast so that we could make it to the 9:30am service at Rocky Mountain Church. The service was great - the worship music was very similar to Open Door's and the message was pretty solid.
After church, we headed to Uncle Paul and Aunt Paula's in Brighton, CO. We arrived right around lunch time. Tim's cousins Emily, Danielle, and Amanda were there. Sarah was out of town working at a camp. Emily walked the kids over to Cold Stone to get ice cream since it was a pretty warm day again. On their way back, a cop stopped them and gave them tickets for free Slurpees at the Seven Eleven. Score!
When the kids returned, they had a blast jumping on the trampoline and playing games on there. They even put on their swimsuits and set up the sprinkler under the trampoline. It was so funny to watch them - the twins and our kids were all wearing Emily's soccer knee-high socks with their swimsuits. Supposedly, they helped with sliding better on the wet trampoline. haha!
Paula's aunt Ruth Ann was also at the house visiting so we saw her for a little bit. There were a lot of Nikolais running around so she often retreated to the quiet of her room. Paula and I took the dog for a walk and were able to escape to chat for a bit while the rest of the clan was in charge of getting dinner ready.
We had a late dinner and another campfire with s'mores. It was funny catching up.
DAY 14: Mon., July 3 --
The kids all went to the park while Paul and Paula were getting ready to head to their cabin for a few days with the twins and Aunt Ruth Ann. So they packed up for that, took a few family photos, and they gave us some alligator jerky and sausage before they left.
We worked on getting laundry done and packed up our stuff as well. Emily had to work so she stuck around for a few hours. It was a pretty lazy day. We watched "Free Willy" before Emily left. Then we locked up the house and went to the 7/11 to grab the free Slurpees for the kids and candy bars for mom and dad. We hit up Walmart for a few items and bought some Subway sandwiches so we could eat dinner at the airport.
The rental car was due back at Budget by 6pm so we didn't have much time to spare after dropping that off. We took the shuttle over to the airport and tried to check our bags right away. Apparently, it's possible to check one's bags too early. Our flight wasn't going to leave until midnight and they don't check bags until four hours prior to that. So we worked on our puzzle books, took turns taking walks around the airport, and ate our dinner. Finally, we were able to check our bags and head through security with our carry-ons. They stopped Caleb's backpack in the security line so we waited for that to get cleared. (We're still not sure exactly why it was suspicious, but Caleb was really concerned about his bag being taken away from him and didn't understand why they had to write down his flight information). It all turned out fine though.
By the time we got to our gate, it was around 9pm (MST) with only a few more hours before boarding our plane. The kids took turns playing games and reading on the Kindle. We did a few walks, bathroom breaks, and Tim bought me an iced coffee. I almost never drink caffeine, but it sounded good at the time. Unfortunately, that made it really hard to sleep on our midnight flight to Miami where we then had a two hour layover. Caleb and I stayed up to watch most of "Boss Baby" during the four hour flight and then tried to rest while Tim and Sonya appeared to crash pretty early on in the flight.
DAY 15: Tues., July 4 --
Happy Fourth of July! We arrived to Miami and had some Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. Caleb passed out for a bit while we waited to board our last plane to Chicago. The kids slept for most of the last flight while Tim and I dozed on and off. Finally, we reached Chicago!!! We landed at 11:20am and then had to get our luggage and find the shuttle back to our parking lot.
The drive home was pretty uneventful. We stopped once for lunch at KFC near Kenosha. Tim and the kids slept in the van and we got home at 2:30pm.
Stats from our trip:
- visited 4 major National Parks, 2 minor ones
- 6,448 traveling miles (van- 200, rental vehicle- 1,672, & airplane- 4,576)
- temps ranging from 37 F in the mountains up to 105 F in the desert
- Many different modes of transportation = van, shuttles (van, bus, & train), airplane, skyline, escalators, moving sidewalks, elevator, raft, horse, rental vehicle, Markian & Sue's truck, our legs (walking/hiking/swimming)
- over 1200 photos (from 2 phones and 2 cameras)
Here are the links to view more of our photo albums:
- Arizona - Slide Rock, Volcano, & Grand Canyon
- Colorado - Mancos & Mesa Verde
- Utah - Arches National Park
- Colorado - Family & Rocky Mtn National Park
