Colorado Day 6

Since we had car trouble, Brian was able to get in at a Toyota Dealership on Saturday morning.  He ended up being there all morning.  The girls and I hung out, played in the hot tub, did some laundry, played words with friends and enjoyed each other and not having to run somewhere.  It was nice to just hang out and recoop after such an eventful day before.  In the afternoon, when Brian got home he took Emily and Caitlin to Cave of the Winds.  They enjoyed it for the most part but agree that it was something they would've had to do.  Natalie napped and Rachel and I watched the Disney channel. :)  We went to Mass in Woodland, headed home for supper and then off to early bed.  We would have to be at the stables in the morning by 9am for our horseback riding adventure!

Colorado - Day 5

We left around 9:30am for our 3hr car trip to The Great Sand Dunes National Park in Alamosa, Colorado.  We couldn't believe how desolate the area was around Alamosa.  Still haven't figured out what these people do here for a living.  Most things look abandoned, but we weren't quite sure on that.  The day ended up being one of the favorites for our family.  An amazing sight really.  Between two mountain ranges there are HUGE sand dunes.  It almost makes you think you're in another country.  Mind boggling really.  The girls and Brian enjoyed playing in the creek at the base of the dunes.  I enjoyed relaxing and watching them.  We spent the entire day here and the girls got a little sun burnt.  On our way home we had some car trouble and couldn't quite figure out what the problem was.  The good thing is we did get home though.  By the time we got home everyone was exhausted.  After we got the girls in bed, Brian and I enjoyed a beer/margarita in the hot tub alone!  It was great!

Natalie slept almost 2hrs like this!

Colorado - Day 4

Today we slept in til 9am!  It felt so nice!  Brian made us a good breakfast, we packed a lunch and headed to our next excursion, the Molly Kathleen Gold Mine.  I wasn't super excited because we were going underground.  I just don't like the feeling of being that far underground with no signs of daylight.  But, it ended up being super fun and one of my favorite days.  We did go 1000 ft below the surface and our guide showed us amazing things from real gold to the machines the men used to mine the gold.  It was fascinating.  A job most of us would NOT sign up for.  After our tour the girls got a gold nugget to take home with them.

Here we are!

Nice hats huh?  Safety is very important!

Emily and Caitlin thought this sign was funny so we had to take a picture of it.

The car we rode down in.  We had 8 of us on the car.!

Brian and Natalie trying out the mining bicycle

Lovely ladies with lovely hard hats.

We headed into the town of Cripple Creek to find a picnic area for lunch, stretch our legs and get ready for our Steam Engine train ride.

The train ride took us to a Ghost town called "Anaconda".  There were only a few buildings left after a fire swept thru the town.  In a year or two the current gold mine will cover the ghost town with rubble from the mountain its mining.  Sad.  I loved the history of these small towns and wonder what it was like to grow up back in the day.  The girls had a good ride but didn't enjoy the smelly steam coming from the engine.  Ironically we met a family from MN.  Small world.  After our train ride we found another ice cream shop and then headed for home.  I had a chocolate almond espresso cone - it was one of my favorites!

An old mine burnt out and above it the mountain they're currently mining for gold.

The black smith shop in Ananconda

Colorado - Day 3

We had so much fun at Garden of the Gods!  The girls just like to climb rocks and explore and this ended up being a great place to do just that.  We did go on a little walking trail first and saw some cool rock formations and even a few actual rock climbers.  It was a warm day and very breezy and it was hard to keep hydrated.  

Snoopy rock to the right.  Looks like he's laying on his back on his doghouse.

Note the rock climber above the girls.

balanced rock.  Girls thought they'd help hold it from tipping :)

Finding some relief in the shade of the rock

The Climbers

Daring Daddy

Funny planking Daddy (em's impressed as you can see!)

After Garden of the Gods we found a picnic area and once again had sandwiches, chips, string cheese, water and a little chocolate.  The girls didn't complain yet at this point of the trip about eating the same thing everyday for lunch. :)  Our next stop was Pikes Peak.

We decided to take the train to the top of Pikes Peak rather than drive up there.  This way Brian was able to enjoy the views rather than watch the road.  The girls were excited to ride a train too.  Natalie fell asleep half way up the mountain and woke up on our way down.  She missed the whole thing.  The air definitely got thinner and cooler the closer we got to the summit.  At the top it was 39 degrees with a 32 degree windchill. Crazy, considering it was close to 80 degrees at the bottom.

I guess here we're looking at Kansas (on a clear day)

Natalie woke up for just a bit then fell back asleep

Colorado- Day 2

After a restful night's sleep we woke up refreshed and ready to start the day.  Brian made breakfast and coffee which continued thru the week.  It was nice to have someone else do the cooking!  He even cleaned up after too!

Our first stop of the day was Seven Falls.  Since Colorado didn't have a lot of precipitation this spring the falls weren't all that grand, but still it was pretty to see.  Brian had good intentions to do a little hiking/walking trails but the girls were "too tired" and were a bit lazy to walk the 1.5 mile loop.  So instead we walked the .5 mile loop after walking up the 224 steps that led to the trail.  The highlight of this leg of the trip was when we got to the end of the trail there was a little water fall area that one might think they could climb up and follow the creek, but the signs clearly stated "do not climb on rocks".  If you're a Salfer, the sign was for everyone but you.  So away we went up the rocks (we weren't the only ones doing it though :))  Brian was holding on to Natalie when he biffed it.  Protecting Natalie's head, he landed on his elbow and wrist.  Luckily he's a tough guy and didn't show any signs of weakness in front of the girls.  Natalie was shocked and kept saying, "Sorry Daddy, you be alright?"  The sound of the fall sounded worse than it actually was.  He scraped up his arm a bit and that was it.  He did lose his sunglasses somewhere in the midst of all the craziness.  We headed back down the 224 steps, hopped on the elevator to bring us to another viewing area and then walked 185 steps back down again before heading to the car to find a picnic area for lunch.  Oh, I forgot about the rainbow trout.  There was an area where you could buy fish food and feed the trout.  The girls had a good time doing that and then found that the chipmunks like the fish food too.  They'd come right up to you and eat out of your hand.

at the top of the 224 steps

Natalie for some reason wanted to pose everytime we took the camera out.

right before "the fall"

hard to see but there are actually 7 water falls behind the girls.

After a nice quiet picnic lunch at 7 falls we headed to The Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings.  The girls LOVED this place, exploring the actual homes of the Anaszi Indians.  At full adult height they would be right around Caitlin's height.  My kind of people!

Natalie posing again...

After a fun filled day, we ended by going to this cute/quaint little ice cream shop in Old Colorado City.  We headed back to the house had Spaghetti for dinner and played a family game of Pictionary.