Two Rivers 2015

July is here again, which in addition to the 4th of July, means it is time for our annual trip to Two Rivers State Park.  As has become tradition, we stayed in caboose #5 (sorry no picture!). 

 

Also, a tradition is a visit from Grandpa Joe and Grandma Betty.  We were extra thankful they came because this year we forgot a lot of necessities.  Driving out we realized we forgot matches and the girls' toothbrushes.  When it was time to cook dinner, we also discovered we forgot the hotdogs and charcoal.  Grandpa Joe put his Boy Scout skills to good use and they managed to make fire!  And, Grandpa and Grandma shared their hotdogs with us.

 

 

 

 

The bike ride through the grass was not as easy for Liz, who had her scooter.  I asked if she was having a hard time walking her scooter.  To which she replied, "Mom, you don't walk a scooter; you walk a dog.  I'm pulling my scooter!" 

 

 

After dinner we played a rousing game of UNO. 

 

 

Saturday morning we went for a walk before heading to the water. Liz and Michael managed a faster pace than Kate and I.

 

 

Kate was not feeling the walk and a meltdown ensued.   

I have to be honest, our time at Two Rivers involved a fair amount of rough moments.  There is lots of screaming and dramatic reactions to bugs.  Invariably the suggestion that we eat anything other than candy and chips causes great debate.  And, any moment we are not at or in the water, the girls are bored.

 

 

Thankfully, another set of visitors joined us on Saturday. 

Grandma Terri and Grandpa Phil spent the morning and lunch with us.  We waded in the water and ate a picnic lunch on the beach.

 

 

Saturday afternoon was spent playing in the sand and water. 

Per usual, we all waded out to the sand bars too!  (No pictures of that; it is safer to leave the camera on shore.)

 

 

A favorite this year was being buried in the sand.

 

 

 

 

Before leaving Sunday morning, we visited a couple camping with their horses.  I believe this was Tuffy.  Tuffy and his owners were very gracious to let us hang around and ask questions.

 

 

Thank you for another year of memories, Two Rivers.  We will see you in 2016!

The 4th of July

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colorado Springs-Part III

On the second day we headed out of Colorado Springs to Royal Gorge.  The price of admission included unlimited rides across the gorge in a gondola.

The views were amazing!

The three pictures above were taken from the gondola.  It seemed too beautiful to be real.  I often found myself thinking, "How did God come up with this?  It is just so overwhelmingly beautiful!"

The girls and I crossed the bridge without Michael.  He lost his glasses and decided to retrace his steps, so rode the gondola back to the other side. The girls and I kept on going.  In my opinion he missed out big time.

Again, AMAZING!

Here are our favorites from the trip. Kate's favorite part was purchasing an overpriced rock from the Royal Gorge gift shop.  Liz's favorite was swimming in the hotel pool.  Michael's favorite part was not shaving for four days!  I think he was channelIing his inner mountain man.  

I have so many favorites.  Maybe it was the 16 times Liz asked if we were there yet before we were even on I-80.  Or, when Kate had a meltdown because we bought Liz a pair of flip flops and not her.  (I'm still hearing about that).  I really, really liked that the hotel room actually was two rooms and each had its own TV!  This meant Michael and I slept separately from the girls and when they got up in the morning, they could just watch TV.  Yes, staying at Embassy Suites was definitely a game changer.  If we travel again, there must be two rooms separated by a door and each must have its own TV!!  Anyway, I digress... I really enjoyed Garden of the Gods and could have spent the whole day hiking different paths.  I also enjoyed the frigid temperature of the pool at the hotel.  Royal Gorge was stunning and I was pleasantly surprised by how unaware the girls were of being 1,000 feet in the air with just a cable bridge under our feet.  This just goes to show that the lure of soft serve ice cream and the gift shop was all consuming.  I also thought Michael did a great job of navigating (see yesterday's post about Mount Baldy.  Also, did I mention that Michael likes to look at the phone GPS while driving on the interstate?  It is one of his best travel qualities.  And, he often stops in the middle of roads, to be sure we are headed in the right direction.  Oh don't worry, he puts on his flashers.) Pike's Peak was amazing as well.  Even though the altitude made it hard to breathe and our ears were popping, I'd do it again and hope to make it all the way to the top.  And, did I mention Kate was car sick on the ride home. I guess, what all this rambling is saying, is that I LOVED it all!  Travelling is hard.  Travelling with Michael is even harder.  Travelling with Michael and Kate and Liz is the hardest.  BUT, it was worth it.  Thank you Michael for planning this trip!

Colorado Springs-Part II

After Garden of the Gods, we drove up Pike's Peak. The drive up is 19 miles, however, we were only allowed up to mile 16.  After that point  the snow and fog/clouds were too dense.

I am not sure what the elevation was at mile 16, but both Michael and I commented that we were breathing harder than normal.  Even though the temperature was around 45 degrees, it didn't feel cold.  The Park Ranger told us that the UV rays were extremely strong and said he applied sunscreen often.

Only Michael and I got out of the car at mile 16.  Liz was sleeping soundly. Kate appeared to be in a trance due to the lack of oxygen at the high altitude.  Her eyes were open and she responded to our questions in one word answers.  She would occasionally blink and sometimes nod.  Strange!

The variation in the environment as we descended Pike's Peak was fascinating.  Rough, barren and grim at the higher altitudes versus lush and vibrant lower down.

***

Later the same day, we went for a drive.  I call it a drive because in my opinion we were just driving with an unknown goal/destination.  I'll try to explain.  Michael had heard from a co-worker that the view from Mount Baldy was spectacular.  Michael said he did his research and it was only 5 miles from our current location.  So, I agreed that we should go to Mount Baldy.  Michael then told me that to get to Mount Baldy we would be driving off road.  "Oh...." I said.  An hour later after driving up a windy, bumpy and narrow mountain road, I became suspicious and doubtful.  What did Michael know about this co-worker?  Did he dislike Michael? Why weren't there any signs?  Um, haven't we already driven 5 miles?  Occasionally we would be passed by road worthy vehicles, that seemed to know exactly where they were going.  Michael kept checking GPS.  For what, I am not sure.  Every time I looked at GPS I saw an unnamed road winding to no where.

We did come across a lookout point with a great view of Colorado Springs!  Was this Mount Baldy?  I tried to convince Michael.  He was not convinced.  He continued to intently study GPS while scratching his head and rubbing his chin.  Meanwhile the girls and I explored the area.

After the unnamed lookout point, Michael convinced us to drive on.  The road began to be less manageable; we were all bumping up and down and being jostled to and fro.  I finally lost my cool and jokingly suggested that we turn around when we passed some men shooting at targets.  (Apparently that is where the road worthy vehicles were headed; deep into the mountain to shoot off firearms).  I did not find comfort in the fact that we were on an unnamed road, headed to an unnamed lookout point, which was very likely also a makeshift firing range.  Michael graciously turned the truck around and we headed back down the mountain!

This was the view as we drove back down the unnamed road.  

Liz was being dramatic in this picture.  However, it accurately portrays my inner turmoil while looking for Mount Baldy.  I felt like a small, helpless child who wanted to curl into the fetal position and rock myself to sleep.