full day of fun...Thursday and onto the last full day...Friday!

Thursday began with another scenic drive this time with the hopes of heading to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Well we got as far as the Curecanti (similar from what I've seen) and very close to BC of the G. We got our scenic views and pictures and had an enjoyable morning. If you ever get to the Curecanti by Gunnison take the Morrow Point Boat Tour (they have quite a few stairs to get in your daily cardio there too) (we did this tour three years ago) and then head up to Pioneer Point (google it). A Ranger later at our visitor center stop (should have gone there first) told us had we continued with the trails instead of visiting just the overlooks there, it would have taken us down in the canyon. He said the first stretch to the first footbridge is easier and no big deal. Had the sun not been beating down so much maybe the trails would have looked more inviting, especially had I known where they went though half of it is not knowing and seeing where it leads. Anyway it was a beautiful spot.

Then came the afternoon of adventure in the Gunnison River once again. Only this rafting trip was more relaxing and less work as the guy in the middle, Brian's brother Rusty, had the oars and there were no other paddles...so we were along for the ride. It was 7 of us, with Rusty, Rachel, our niece Kailyn and our family of four. We enjoyed the scenery, got a little wet, and even got stuck once on a rock. With a little shifting around and some manpower we were back in business within a minute or two and no one got wet in the process. We saw mergansers, a marmot, and a mule deer (brought to you by the letter "m")... Our whole week spent in Gunnison was sun filled and perfect we couldn't have asked for better. We got to know our nieces so much better and had lots of fun. It was nice visiting with Rusty and Rachel. Good times.

Brian touched on our adventurous day in Glenwood Springs. Having visited as a teen I hoped to go back and wasn't disappointed. It's surrounded by beautiful red rocks and the tram view up Iron Mountain of the scenery and the Springs was fantastic. They were having unseasonably hot weather which was ok as the caverns were cool and the motel had a pool (well two) ;-). If you ever go the chain motels here are $$ but I was happy with our stay at a mom and pop place, the Cedar Lodge Motel. Great landscaping, awesome view, a nice clean room (micro., fridge, two pools one in one out, a sauna, hot tub and smaller scale continental breakfast) so really it wasn't lacking anything just substitute an old fashioned key entry room to the cookie cutter card sliding modern variety.

We had a wonderful stay in Colorado and enjoyed many new sights and places along the way. It wouldn't have been possible without the help of family and friends thanks for all you did to help make this happen for us to be able to get away and enjoy this vacation and family visit. We had an unforgettable time.

The end of the road

We are winding down to the last hours of our trip. Tomorrow (saturday) is entirely a travel day. Last night, my brother Russ made and incredible dinner for us including 1lb ribeye steaks. This morning, we left Gunnison at 8am. We drove up through Crested Butte and onto the Kebler Pass. It's only open during the summer, but it's a definite shortcut even through it's not paved. You see a lot of scenery and terrain in Colorado driving just about anywhere, but you'll see a lot more by taking the lesser travelled road. But always find out from the locals of what is a good idea or not first.


When we arrived in Glenwood Springs, we went stright to the Glenwood Adventureland and Caverns. It sounds cheesy, but it was interesting. You begin by taking a tram ride to the top of Iron Mountain. At the top is an alpine coaster, a rock climbing wall, and a myriad of other attractions. The main attraction is the caves, which are grander than anything in the midwest.

Not sure if we'll update this blog after today, but if so, it surely will be after we get home. Thanks for listening.

off to Crested Butt...I mean Crested Butte!~

After our Taylor excursion yesterday morning we attempted a dip in the local community pool. No such luck as one child made a lovely deposit in the pool shutting it down and sending us back up the road to try again another day. On our short walk "home" we witnessed the prairie dogs and their home by the stoplights. It's one thing seeing them in the zoo...and another seeing them in the wild.

Next in our adventures was our trip to Crested Butte. This time we

took a "real" road and what smooth sailing that was compared to yesterdays "off road" adventures. The scenery was gorgeous and we enjoyed the mountain setting of this town. Each mountain town has its own charm. From a quick ride up a couple miles on Kebler Pass, to exploring the scenic and funky historic area of town, to the business town nestled in by Mt. Crested Butte. It was a feast for the eyes. Being so close I'm glad we made the trip here. We took all the scenic pictures we could playing our part as tourist. Mountain Bike Magazine rated Crested Butte as their number one location for mountain biking anywhere (in the country I'm assuming).

After lunch we made the repeat trip to the pool where there was no "pool pooper" to spoil our fun and so the boys and their cousins enjoyed a couple hours of raw fun in the pools and on the waterslides, this was followed by more lovely meals cooked for us (feeling spoiled) and then a dessert treat at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Those that dislike chocolate are not welcome, you can get a sugar high just walking in this place. We opted for cold ice cream and a couple chocolate treats to go. Great way to end a great day. We're enjoying exceptional weather here in Gunnison and we're not missing the humidity, and damaging storms back at home.

Monday - Tuesday

Monday we enjoyed family time--the girls at the park and the guys doing a repeat visit to the Pioneer Museum in town that had the train. It was relaxing and we've been enjoying a so far sunny week here in Gunnison. We have mountain views out our window, free homecooked food and lots of fun spent with our nieces. On into Tuesday it was the first of our day trips here around Gunnison. Thirty minutes of scenic driving away we reached our destination, Taylor Reservoir. We played the part of a good tourist snapping photos everywhere along the way and of course getting lost in the mountains with a GPS no less. It was a beautiful place to get lost and we saw wildlife, a marmot perched on a rock.
-Anne


Yesterday we went on a day trip. As of 10 minutes before we left, we didn't have a plan. Russ suggested that we take a run up to the Taylor Reservoir and that there were a lot of Texans in that neck of the woods we could meet. Since I am all for meeting a Texan or two, we left promptly. It was a 40 minute drive to get to the reservoir and most of the drive was in the Taylor river canyon. We stopped and took photos of the landscape, and took obligatory photos of our kids. We stopped at a place called Taylor Park, which is an outpost for 4-wheeling tourists (from Texas). Anne wanted to head to Crested Butte from there. My GPS said it would be a 40 minute drive along a nice paved highway to the north. My GPS could not have been more innaccurate. The "road" was a nicely unpaved path. After 3 miles, this path took us through some of the most beautiful terrain I have ever been on. Unfortunately, this road pretty much dissappeared and turned into rough granite cobble and 12" deep potholes. When we got 6 miles out, there were cattle standing on the path. The cattle won, we turned around and gave up getting to Crested Butte via Taylor Reservoir. When we got back to the house, I looked at the maps and realized we weren't too far from Aspen. I heard there aren't many Texans in Aspen.
-Brian

Over the Pass (Monarch)....to Gunnison we go....

We saw a huge mule deer making our way up Monarch Pass. Thankfully the horn scared it away, it wasn't your average white tail deer and nobody wants to hit those either. We survived the pass with a working car (and driver) and no more wildlife sightings in that precarious location. Shortly after we arrived in Gunnison...Prior to that we finished up in the Springs by checking out the Garden of the Gods once again. We saw a some spots we missed the last time then made our way to Florrisant Home of the Fossil Beds Monument to briefly check that out before making our way to Gunnison. Now we're happily enjoying some fun times spent with family!~

Blah...blah...blah...blog...blog...blog

I'm going back in time to summarize the past few days and fill in the gaps. First up, Seven Falls where the theme of the morning was stairs galore. They don't need the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs...substitute instead 224 grueling stairs and you've got yourself quite a workout especially if you repeat it. I hear people have been up them in the winter. Not for the clumsy of foot! Some attractions take your picture at just the right moment. The facial expressions and body stance at the top of the 224th stair would be memorable...or not. The kids highlights here were seeing a neat bird called the Stellar Jay. The local chipmunks are out in force and you have to watch where you step sometimes, as they shoot right by your feet. The kids had as much fun watching these as seeing the spectacular scenery. You can even come back at night and see the falls lit up in a rainbow of colors but we chose to see it in its natural state. The trout feeding pond was fun and a resident mama duck with two chicks in tow hung nearby and one duckling was more daring flirting with the edge of a mini falls and dining there.

The zoo was fun as always you see a new animal...for us it was the atipi and coatmundi. Petting a giraffe was awesome as well as the location nestled in along the mountainside. Just after arriving Clay commented, "this stinks"....you'd think it was his first visit to a zoo and that he didn't recall animal smells.

I think we could easily have spent a week or close to it in the Springs as there's always so much to see and do here...we missed many of the indoor locations such as: The Money Museum, Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame, Western Museum of Mining, Olympic Training Center...just to name a few!

Lastly Colorado Springs is not complete without experiencing their famous Chuckwagon Dinner, an out West must do. This place, The Flying W Ranch has been in operation now for 58 years. Like cattle massive amounts of people are sent through a line and over 1,000 people are promptly fed a platter of western staples: beans, beef, biscuit, spicecake, lemonade/coffee, chunky fresh applesauce. The venue is located outdoors in a beautiful location with huge rocks framing in the background. Thankfully the weather proved wonderful the whole evening through and we didn't have to relocate 1,000 people indoors. Judging by their efficiency though and impending rain I'm sure it would have been a fast move. It was quite nice to sit outdoors. On my first visit as a teen we were driven inside by the rain. You sit at picnic tables with others assigned with you. We sat with a family from MN who were self proclaimed rednecks (didn't look like it) but as we talked we found out they hunt everything and the wife got a 300 lb. bear a few years back that made the news in MN. Following the dinner the music and cowboy comedy followed. The kids thought it all was great. If we come back I know they'll want to come here again as they left singing songs afterward...especially "The Opposum Dies Tonight (the Opposum fries tonight) instead of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

Shrine of the Sun

I thought at first, this was some type of cultish shrine devoted to somebody long since dead. It is actually a cultish shrine devoted to somebody long since dead. After the death of Will Rogers in 1935, philantropist Spencer Penrose (former owner of most of Colorado Springs) named the project after the humorist during construction of the tower. The tower is actually the tomb that holds the ashes of Spencer Penrose, his wife, and two friends. There is a lot of fabulous historical mural work covering all of the interior walls. The elevation of the observation deck is 8,136 feet ASL. Admission to the shrine is free with paid zoo admission.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

We had a great time at this zoo. It was about $30 for the 4 of us to enjoy, and I thought it was well worth it. It is a well laid out and carefully maintained attraction.

1. I can do without three things that the zoo had today: 1) the baby albino kangaroo; 2) The zookeeper holding it; 3) The other zookeeper next to her. When Saul went up to pet the animal, he went to stroke between it's ears, as you would expect an animal to like. Apparently, baby albino kangaroos only have 1.5 square inches of safe petable area. If you pet outside of that, Brunhilda the zookeeper will sufficiently scold you not to. Her sidekick next to her will join in as well, saying "how would you like it if 10,000 kids came through and petted you in the head???" Gee, lady, it's a pouched equivalent of a rodent. They sure make great burger though, I've tried it.

Seven Falls and one stumble.

We started out the second day of our Colorado trip at Seven Falls, which is located in the South Cheyenne Canyon, just outside of Colorado Springs. The drive into the canyon is wonderful with sheer walls of Pikes Peak granite looming 600 feet above you. There is a 224 step stairway along the falls to climb 181 feet of elevation getting you to the top of the falls. Another scenic spot is the crows nest set atop a granite ledge. You can reach this platform either by stairs, or a convenient elevator that is tunneled vertically through the granite. For about $30 total, this was worth the visit for a family.

Air Force Academy

When I was in high school, I wanted to get accepted to the Air Force Academy. I never applied, and things changed at the last minute for the ROTC road anyway (all for the better). It was nice to finally tour around the campus. There was a wedding rehearsal going on while we were at the chapel, but we still went inside. There's one heck of a gift shop at the visitor's center if you happen to collect shot glasses, silver spoons, or T-shirts. -B

More on Day one

Saul is itching for more pool time so I'll summarize his journal entries for the day. The theme of the day is look alikes....first it was Uncle Rusty (I mean his look alike) exiting the Frontier plane before our flight out to CO. The second sighting at the Budget car rental was none other than Barack Obama, at least his look alike version. I (Anne) noticed and two minutes later Saul commented my exact thoughts. The theme of the night is relax, pool time, eat lots of free motel food, mixing sodas (the kids specialty), and did I mention pool time. Saul's highlights--airplane ride and pooltime. Clay's favorite was the pool time. It's one of those inside/outside pools that provides much entertainment ducking below the wall that ends at the surface of the water and exits to the other side. As for my highlights seeing the rainbow colored hot air balloon early this morning in Hudson on the way to the airport, landing safely, enjoying the sights of CO, the motel and that Cracker Barrel and Famous Daves are right out our motel window (two favorites of mine). The Air Force Academy is situated in a beautiful area nestled among the foothills/mountains of Colorado Springs...gorgeous when rainy with lightning striking behind them and as the clouds give way to the sun! Sorry no pictures...long day, more tomorrow. I'd tell you what we're doing tomorrow but that would spoil the excitement.

Getting where we need to be...

Nothing exciting in this part of the trip. This is the second time we've flown on Frontier airlines, because after all, when plane tickets are all the same price, why not go with the airline that has cute wildlife on the tail? After we arrived in Denver, we headed to pick up our rental car. Although I got a GREAT web price on a Ford Fusion, they didn't have any available, and only had two door Impalas (as a free upgrade). I don't think so. He said that the class I reserved was 2 OR 4 door, but I couldn't believe they didn't have a 4 door available on the lot. He said he could rent me any SUV I wanted for only $15 more per day, or take the free upgrade to the 2 door Impala. So, we're driving around a Hummer H3 for the week. I think it will handle much better in the mountains. -Brian

Before the trip

We don't get out much. We don't have tons of money waiting to be spent. SO, travelling is usually kept local or at most regional. In July, we will be travelling to Colorado once again. It's been 3 years since our last trip there, although it feels like it was last year. Check out our blog from last time, really, it's linked here somewhere. We go to Colorado because it is cold, there is snow blanketing most of the state during July, and the town of South Park exists there.

So, now that you are reading this, I wonder, would you feel uncomfortable coming to our house and putting up with me showing you all of our old travel photo albums? Why is it that when we are one notch removed from each other (via the internets) that I enjoy spilling out our family happenings and you are actually seeking out this blog to read about them? I can't even offer you a cup of coffee while you torture yourself. Go figure. The internet has been an amazing tool to allow every misfit like myself to be a little more open, a little less private, maybe a little more humorous, with the ability to get over oneself and just become a writer for the moment.

I have created this blog for all of our friends and family to be with us in spirit while we travel. Please check back during July for many action packed stories and adventures such as: "Where we ate lunch", "Roadkill looks different here", and "Ok, whoever did that needs to roll their window down".

See you back here in a few weeks.
-Brian