On June 12th, we woke up, finished packing, and cleaned the house we were staying at in Colorado Springs. The next house we were staying at was in Lafayette, Colorado, but we were making some stops before getting there later in the day.
First, we wanted to see the Red Rock Amphitheater. It is such a beautiful landmark and you can see it from a distance because the two main rock formations are so tall. It was gorgeous and full of activity. Other tourists like us were there as well as many people who use the space to work out. We had a picnic lunch on a patio area then enjoyed looking around for a bit.
Next we went to Dinosaur Ridge, which is very close to Red Rock Amphitheater. You can pay for a tour and ride a bus to see the fossils or you can walk the trail. We chose to walk. It was hot, but we had water and sunscreen. A little ways in you can see some dinosaur footprints that were left in what used to be a muddy river bank. Further down you can see some fossilized bones in the rock. The bones were a rusty red color and smoother than the surrounding rock. It was a fun hike with the kids and nice to be able to touch history.
After hiking Dinosaur Ridge we were all tired and ready to get to the house in Lafayette. It was not exactly what we expected but would work for a few days. The kitchen was very cluttered so I just moved some items to the closet. The parking was further than we were used to and the house didn't have air conditioning, but the kids were happy and it was a place to stay.
Estes Park, Colorado
On June 13th, we woke up to drive to Estes Park. It was a beautiful day! We were really fortunate to have such nice weather for most of the trip! Once we got there we had to find our way around. We settled on doing a drive to Bear Lake and then a hike around the lake. The drive was gorgeous; shortly after getting into the park we saw some elk grazing. We stopped along the way to enjoy the sites, take pictures and enjoy the amazing smell of all those evergreen trees.
We arrived at the lake and had a picnic. There were some overly friendly chipmunks and squirrels. One of them jumped on the bench we were sitting on and almost stole August's sandwich. He did not even notice as I swatted it away.
The walk around the lake was beautiful and had nice views of the mountains. The kids enjoyed seeing some of the snow that was still left and climbing on rocks of course!
Riley spoke to a park ranger before doing the walk around the lake and was working on filling out a workbook to become a junior park ranger. Keenan and I didn't realize how excited she was about it. She had the entire thing read, filled out and was ready to talk to a park ranger to get her badge. She discussed her answers with the ranger and answered some extra ones. It was about not littering, not feeding wildlife and not picking wildflowers (leaving our surroundings as natural as possible). She answered correctly all on her own and took a pledge to get her junior park ranger badge. I don't like littering but don't try to do it in front of Riley because she will have something to say about it!
After activities at Bear Lake we told the kids to take a nap in the car, which they did happily. We then took a drive down part of Trail Ridge Road. I loved every minute of this day and appreciate Keenan for doing all of the driving. The kids woke up and walked with me to look at an overview of the mountains. A butterfly landed on Riley's finger and she was overjoyed. After this, it was getting late and we drove back to Lafayette.
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| Just caught this moment |
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| Bear Lake |
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| Sitting in front of the snow |
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| Becoming a Junior Park Ranger |
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| The kids fell asleep right away |
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| This is the butterfly on Riley's finger |
Denver, CO: Aquarium
The last day (June 14) we went to the aquarium. This was really expensive but it was a lot of fun to walk through with the kids. They had many different species. I enjoyed the jellyfish and seahorses. It is also fun to walk through the tunnel and see stingrays, it looks more like they are flying. There was a large tank with different types of sharks. There were also 3 tigers in the rain forest exhibit. I am not sure why but they were pretty. The kids enjoyed the stingray touch tank at the end.
That evening we went to another all gluten free restaurant. It is called Reelfish Fish and Chips in Lafayette. The food was amazing; Keenan and I shared some fish and chips and the kids got chicken and chips. Not exactly a healthy meal, but tasty and not something I would make at home.
Leaving Lafayette
June 15th we packed up the car, tidied the house, and drove away from the mountains and back to Iowa. On the way out of town, I saw a drive through coffee place; I got a latte and Keenan got a burrito. Not a bad way to start a long drive! We loved our vacation but we were all excited to get back home. Someday we would love to go back to Colorado.
Thank you to Carmen, our neighbor, for looking after our garden and Punky while we were gone. The garden looks great; I can't wait to harvest some tomatoes and cucumbers!
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