Colorado Adventures for Four

 Hello loved ones,

We just returned from a successful trip to Colorado! I'm tickled that it was such a success. The original draw to Colorado was for a meet-up with my family in Glenwood Springs. The kids wanted to tag-on a trip to Denver to eat at The Jerusalem Cafe. This was an old college favorite of mine that I introduced to the family several years ago. So, I booked a few nights in a basement VRBO. I wasn't sure how this would work out, the basement VRBO or the city driving. I'm a small-town Alaska girl at heart and city driving hasn't really been in my skill set. Doug, the Chicago area native, always did the city driving for us. But we did it, I did it! Hooray and yay me. I wasn't too bad actually. It's not Chicago, L.A, or New York, but a good step up for me. But honestly, I attribute our success to the grace of God. I had prayer warriors lifting up our trip and I had our priest bless the car. 

Last Friday we drove down in one shot. Nutmeg, Mace, and I hit up the Trader Joes right away for some groceries. That, in itself, was a treat for us. 

Saturday morning we drove south to Colorado Springs to visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. I had some other ideas too that I didn't fully expect to fit in, but we did. We also did a short hike at Garden of the Gods (I would love to go back) and a visit to Manitou Cliff Dwellings (a replica, I'd love to visit the real ones in southern Colorado sometime).  After that we zipped back into Denver to meet up with our dear friends from Wisconsin at the Jerusalem Cafe. Honestly, it is a bit of a hole in the wall. They serve amazing food, but in all the years they've done that, they still haven't upgraded the building. Jeff works for Camp Wojtyla up in the mountains. Jeff and the whole family had been up at camp for June and they were just coming off the mountain to bring Reba and two of the kids back to the airport to head home to Wisconsin. So, it worked out perfectly to meet for dinner in Denver and then they crashed with us in our basement. 

Sunday morning, we went to Mass together and then our family took Reba and two of the kids to the airport, so Jeff and the oldest kiddo could head back up to camp. And actually, I was airport chauffeur on Sunday. We dropped off Reba and kids, only to pick up my sister, Donna and her son. Swapperoo! Sunday night Donna and her kiddo stayed with us. Our VRBO had a revolving door. Our hosts were awesome. New Catholics, actually. Felt like family. They live in the heart of Denver but had a large yard that was relaxing to chill in for meals. We loved their dog, Mochi. He was a like a big version of Rusty. Anywho, after picking up Donna at the airport, we ate some lunch in Washington Park. After lunch, we checked out the Denver Art Museum and Sweet Action ice cream. 

Monday we all headed out of town for the mountains. We stopped for a picnic lunch and hike along the way. Donna probably knows the name of it. Not long after that we stopped for a diversion at Betty Ford's Alpine Gardens. That was fabulous. If you are driving in the Colorado mountains and could use a hiatus, I highly recommend the place. Great for all ages! Anywho, we planned to check in at Glenwood Springs and then cook with dinner with the family. That didn't happen. SOMEONE, who shall be left unnamed here, forgot their wallet back in Vail (at the gardens). So we had to turn around (right in the middle of a road construction hold-up), to drive the 45 minutes back to Vail. It all worked out. My family made dinner for us and all ended up fine.

Tuesday we enjoyed the Glenwood Hot Springs. It was an all-day affair.  In the evening, we walked across the bridge in town to the grill pub and stopped at the farmer's market for a bit of perusing. Ask Nutmeg about the ring she bought there. She's all excited about it. 

Wednesday most of the family headed out early for a hike at the Hanging Lake. Gorgeous! I loved that. Wednesday afternoon we went to Glenwood Caverns for a gondola ride and a cave tour. 

Thursday we all went our separate ways. Our family took the trip back in two days. The way back was longer and I have to be extra cautious because I have issues with blood clots. I've had some problems with them lately and don't like to take my chances. We booked a cheap motel in Wyoming. I was a bit concerned that it might be sketchy, but it turned out alright, We slept well and had a leisurely four hour drive on Friday. 

The AirBnB house that our family rented (split four ways) was so wonderful. Beautiful, large log home. Very tasteful, scenic home on a ranch out in the country. I wish I had a picture to share with you. Speaking of home, our home back in Montana was well-cared for. I had a teenager come to feed Mira every day, water everything, and check for any issues. That worked out very well, it gave me much peace of mind. Rusty had a wonderful vacation too. He spent the week out in the country with our friends who have a couple acres and four young children. He played sidekick to their dog, Rocco, and was so happy. Success all around. 

Now, back to life. I have some car situations to figure out. I need to get the front brakes fixed on the van and sell it. I also need to muster up the courage to purchase a vehicle for Sage. Nutmeg still needs to finish her history curriculum and will begin an ACT bootcamp on Tuesday. Sage will start his new job a little later than expected because evidently they didn't receive the paperwork he submitted before vacation. Bleh. Mace will do some summer soccer training with local homeschool soccer team this summer. He's going to just train with them this summer and fall, but play for the rec team in the fall. Perhaps next year he'll join the Knights soccer team. Baby steps for all.  We are missing our Doug/Dad every single day, but are doing our best to keep living and thriving, in the hopeful expectation of seeing him again someday.  

Enjoy the pictures. We love you! 

The basement came with a massage chair! 

Mace was soaked with water by the fake rhino as he came around the corner!

I forgot to mention that in all of the driving around on Sunday, we went to two churches. Sage went to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, while we went to the Catholic Cathedral Basilica. 

Bonus pictures I received via text: