Trip Out West - COLORADO!!

We decided to do something crazy this year and take the big kids out west on their 1st flights. Denver was the cheapest so we flew there and chose to see things we missed on our 40th bday trips.

1st stop...Great Sand Dunes National Park. We had to wait 45 minutes to get into the park because it was Memorial weekend.

The walk to the top is at least an hour but I wasn't even going to attempt to make it to 9000 ft on my 1st day. See them circled!

We LOVED the snow capped mountain scenery. Our last trip to Colorado was in August with no snow.

Josh and the kids made it about half way up the dunes then came back down. Our walk back to the car.

View from the road. I should've taken a picture of our rental car, a white Prius. Took some getting used to. Josh only left it running once. Ha! So quiet we didn't notice.

On our way to Durango we saw lots of elk, deer and this awesome mountain goat that ran out in front of our car while driving through the San Juan National Forest.

After a night in Durango, our next stop was Mesa Verde National Park. However, our visit was delayed a day due to sold out tickets. We headed to Utah(next post) a day early and returned the next day.

I'm so glad we made the trip back to see this unique place. This was our guide. To see the cliff dwelling a ticket and guide were required.

Family selfie!!

This was the largest of the dwellings called Cliff Palace.

Jackson walked ahead of us. He was anxious to explore.

The view from the other side.

Getting to and from the dwellings was part of the fun. Up and down steep places.

Clearly the people who lived here were much smaller than Josh. Jk!

This was the entrance of the 2nd cliff dwelling we toured.

It was called Balcony House.

Notice the amazing view of the canyon off the edge.

To exit we had to crawl through this 12" tunnel. The guy in front of us actually got stuck!

We stayed 1 night in Glenwood Springs and made sure to visit their top attraction, Iron Mountain Hot Springs with one amazing view of the Colorado River.

Culvers for dinner afterwards. Check out that view!

The next morning we took the shuttle bus, after advance purchase tickets, to the hike to Hanging Lake. The beginning of the trail was glorious. Notice the Colorado River on the right.

I was nervous about this strenuous trail, straight up a rocky path, by description.

But it wasn't too tough. There was even a nice stream and endless waterfalls as we climbed higher up.

Almost to the top at 7000ft! No breathing issues at all. YAY!

The gorgeous view without our interruption.

Oh wow, the infamous Hanging Lake with turquoise colored water due to some mineral. Complete with waterfalls flowing into the lake. Wow!

I LOVE this picture. Jackson sat down to have a snack, only to be greeted by this very friendly chipmunk. He got up right after this picture.

Then we have Addy, the chipmunk charmer, thinking she's in heaven asking if she can take one home as a pet.

Two at a time. They eventually sat on her lap.

Family picture that seems so incomplete without our sweet littles.

A bit further up the trail was this HUGE, and very heavy flowing, waterfall that fed the falls over the lake. The hike was about 3m round trip. We finished in 2hrs and took an earlier shuttle back. Nice work people!

Next stop, lunch at an amazing BBQ place called Smoke in downtown Glenwood Springs before heading to Aspen.

After checking in to our hotel, we decided we were ready for one last hike. To Maroon Bells, the most photographed spot in Colorado.

A view of the lake from the other side which I thought was even prettier.

We continued up the trail through a grove of ASPEN trees.

The trail continued another mile up to Crater Lake, the most popular hike in the area.

We heard it had just opened days before after avalanches and snow. I figured we'd just turn around once we hit snow but turns out it was the best part!

Especially Addy as you can see. It was strange to be in snow and feel warm.

3 feet of snow! And some people tried to fall in on purpose.

Josh's epic pose. In his element. The scenery was even more beautiful snow covered.

It felt like we were all alone in the wilderness. Then I thought I heard a GROWL just as we were getting to the snow covered 2nd lake. We booked it back down. Phew! It ended up being one of the kids favorite hikes of the trip.

On our last day in Colorado we stopped by to see my dad and Sandy at their home near Denver.

They fed us a delicious lunch then took us to their favorite local ice cream shop. Thanks guys!!