Colorado

We survived vacation #2. We went to Steamboat Springs, CO for an adventurous vacation. I say adventurous because there were plans to kayak, mountain bike, hike, fish etc. However, the girls and I used the trip more or less to just get out of the house and be somewhere cooler. Due to Uncle Brad's connections we were able to stay at the Giant View Lodge, which made for wonderful accommodations. We went on the trip with G-ma and G-pa F, Grandma Great, Brad and Erin, Erin's sister Maria and her friend Jake. It was a lot of people, but there was plenty of room.

Here is a picture of what the girls called Uncle Brad's house...

One of our many views...

As soon as everyone was up Sunday morning the plans were made...while everyone over the age of eighteen and who was in shape went to kayak, the girls, myself and the grandma's went to the park. Our intention was to play at the park and eat lunch while we watched for everyone to come down river in their kayaks. After much time had passed we noticed Dan walking toward us on a bike path...not in the river on the kayak! Come to find out, what they thought would be their first adventure turned into their first disaster. With the river twice as high and four times faster than usual, it was not optimal conditions for 5 beginners. Everyone ended up in the river, three kayaks and numerous paddles were lost and Brad got to be pulled to safety by park patrol and police. We got to meet some very nice Steamboat officers and all but one kayak was retrieved. The girls had a great time at the park and were oblivious to all the drama unfolding.

So we learned lesson number one: take lessons before kayaking for the first time or at least be sure to have skirts on the kayaks when the river is high and raging! Lesson number two didn't come too much later when we forgot where we were and left the garage open. It couldn't have been more than 1-2 hours before Maria came face to face with a brown bear when she went to the garage to get her bike. The bear had gone through three trash bags and left quite a mess. By the time we all ran out to see the bear (smart right?) he was running off so we only got a glimpse of him through the trees, except for Maria of course, whose face was priceless when she came inside to tell us there was a giant bear outside! Lesson number two: they are serious when they say to keep all food stored and trash cans behind closed doors!

What I think was day 2 now, we decided while everyone else went mountain biking we would go hiking. The trail was only a quarter of a mile and the description said "ideal trail for kids". So if kids can do it so can we..right?

We made it down the trail with no problem, and I emphasize the word "down". The waterfall was huge and an amazing sight!

The girls enjoyed throwing rocks into the river even though as soon as you let go of them you lost sight of them due to the raging rapids.

While I wouldn't let the girls sit on the edge by the huge waterfall for a picture I did let them pose in front of this much safer small waterfall on our way back up the trail. As sad as it is this is the closest I could get to them both looking and smiling at the camera.

The trail seemed much steeper on our way back and of course Ava was saying how tired her legs were, Ella wanted to be held and the rest of us needed to take a couple breaks before reaching the top. Lesson three: we could use some exercise! On our way back to the house we got a call that the "adventurous group" had run into another snag while biking. After 2 or 3 flat tires they were out of spares and needed us to run by the house, grab another spare, and bring it to the bottom of the gondola. So we met everyone there and while they were going to go on one more quick trail we were going to kill some time then we could all do lunch. So the girls found one of their favorite things about CO...the bouncy house.

Then after what seemed like quite awhile the girls couldn't wait and we decided to grab lunch. This is where we got another phone call that our "mountain bikers" suffered another flat tire and this time mountain patrol had to be called and come to the rescue with a patch kit for Brad. So, although I didn't meet them I hear the mountain patrol people are very nice too. Lesson number 4: you can never have too many spare tires in Colorado! The next day Dan decided to hang out with the girls and I so we went to the park and then down by the river to throw some more rocks. Throwing rocks became a big part of our daily routine. :)

While at the park there was a group of people gathered near some woman who made enormous bubbles. The girls did their best to pop them, but being the shy timid ones of the group didn't result in much popping for Ava and Ella.

After the park and the river we stopped for lunch, the girls couldn't sit still so Grandma entertained while mom and dad got to eat.

The next day everyone wanted to try "the howler". This was a giant slide that in the winter time may be used for the skeleton sleds, but in the summer time they have small sleds with breaks so anyone can go down. Ava wanted nothing to do with the slide, however Ella was very excited for her turn. Dan went down by himself first to see what it was like. Here is Dan and Jake taking the ride up to the starting point.

Here's Dan racing toward the end of the slide. The operators warn you not to touch the slide and only use the break to slow down, but after going a little too fast Jake's slide went out on the rail so he used his arm to slow down and get back on track. This resulted in Dan winning their little race and a trip to the first aid station for Jake. It wouldn't be a true day out if at least one of us wasn't helped by the authorities/professionals.

It was now Ella's turn and despite the look on her face she was very excited.

Here they are toward the end. She kept that same look on her face till it came to a complete stop, then she smiled.

Ava did not want to try the slide, but she did want to ride the horses! Here she is on her horse named Boogie.

Waving to her fans...

And one more tough cowgirl pose as she rides away...

Over the last two days everyone kinda did their own thing. We continued to visit the parks, bouncy house, and throw rocks in the river. Our last evening in Colorado we all went to dinner and walked around town till sunset. We got one last picture of the girls sitting on "Lighting" the horse outside of one of the local stores.

As far as the actual traveling went the girls did great. We had to fly to Denver and then drive 3.5 hours to Steamboat and for the most part there were no fits, which we were very thankful for. The girls had a great time and we owe a big thank you to everyone who was there and helped out with the girls and made the trip fun. Also a special thank you to Uncle Brad for inviting us to "your house". We've had a busy summer so far and with school starting and the arrival of baby #3 just around the corner I think we'll take it easy for awhile, at least that's my plan?