This years Colorado trip came about because there was not going to be room for us in the beach house on our annual Smith Family Holden Beach vacation. We still wanted to have an adventure, though, so Wesley got to work planning a trip. He booked campsites months in advance and as the dates got closer I did a lot of list making, packing, food planning, and buying.
Two of Wesley's brothers, Lemuel and Gabe joined us on the trip.
We headed out on a Friday evening, Wesley driving his car with the girls, I, and our clothing, and, Lemuel and Gabe in Lemuel's Expedition packed to the brim with all of our camping supplies. I had big plans. I went all out. We brought our market canopy, a folding table, and camp stove so I could set up (well, so the guys could set up for me) a nice kitchen area. We had our tents, our sleeping bags, lots and lots of blankets. Folding chairs for relaxing at camp. The Pack and Play in case Eowyn needed containment at camp. A few weeks prior to the trip I had nabbed two framed hiking carriers from a resale site for really good prices; those things don't collapse for great packing though, they took up a lot of room. I brought my BOB jogging stroller, that thing is huge and doesn't pack very compactly either. You get the picture, I brought a lot, it's a good thing Lemuel's vehicle is spacious.
We drove through the night, stopping several times for Jerusha to go potty, a few times for coffee and snacks, and once to try and nap. We arrived in Estes Park, Colorado at Mary's Lake Campgrounds about 2 MT and set up camp before the guys all crashed and I attempted to entertain the not exhausted girls.
Our first night at camp I heated up taco meat I had made and frozen ahead of time for dinner. I served it with the option of tortilla's or individual bags of fritos for 'Walking Taco's'.
DAY 1, SUNDAY
Sunday morning I fixed Biscuits and Gravy over the fire. Some of the biscuits got a lot well done but we broke off the burnt outsides and the inside was still good, the other two batches I made turned out quite a bit better.
After our breakfast was eaten and the dishes washed we headed out to drive around Rocky Mountain National Park. We chose a one way seasonal road for our adventure and it was beautiful. There were switch backs that were pretty tight, drop offs that you just tried to ignore, and a few spots for stopping to get out and take in the amazing views. We drove up the the Alpine Trail where we got out and hiked to the top. The guys had some trouble with adjusting to the altitude and carrying 25-35 pounds of girls on their backs. I was pleasantly surprised with how well my pregnant self was adjusting and didn't find the air or hike difficult to handle. The views from the top were beautiful and amazing. You're going to find I'll use those two words a lot in this post.
Sunday afternoon Wesley and I took the girls to the Campgrounds pool where they enjoyed swimming.
For dinner Sunday I fixed Sausages, Sauerkraut, and Green Beans on the camp stove. After dinner we drove down to Estes Park and found some public parking so we could walk around and explore. We went to lots of shops and had some Ice Cream.
DAY 2, MONDAY
Monday morning I fixed a skillet full of bacon, eggs, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese all scrambled together. After clean up we drove into the Park to the Alberta Falls and Mill Lake trails. We were trying to acclimate. If I remember correctly it was only about a 4 mile round trip hike. We took it relatively slowly, stopped a few times so I could take Jerusha off into the woods to pee.. stopped for snacks, drinks, and picture taking but made it to Mill Lake in good time. This is a hike we had done before so it was cool to see the few things that had changed and try to remember what was up ahead.
After our hike we drove back to camp and I started dinner. I had premade Salsburry Steaks so I cooked them in a skillet on the camp stove and made a pot of instant potatoes. I also used instant gravy packets. Although the meal had "fake" aspects it is one I am most proud of and enjoyed the most.
DAY 3, TUESDAY
Tuesday morning we left camp at 5 and headed into the Park to get to the Mt. Ida trail head. On our drive in we saw a lot of elk herds and as we began our hike we saw a moose and some mountain sheep. We were pretty bundled up and the girls were pretty sleepy as we started our hike. Wesley carried Jerusha and Lemuel Eowyn while I led the way for the most part. The hike was beautiful. The area was unlike any of the other trails we'd hiked in Colorado. More romantic I'd say. Lots of bright lush green moss, tall thick pines, and a few boulders scattered here and there throughout the woods. The first part of the hike was the toughest for me, I just wanted to make it above the tree line. It was also very steep but there were quite a few sets of stone or log "stairs" which I found to be easy while the stride was harder on the guys with longer legs. We made it above the tree line and to a knoll where we could look out and see forever in most directions. I knew Wesley was wearing out but I really wanted to keep pressing onward. The altitude and additional weight of Jerusha were zapping his energy very quickly. We saw several Deer and lots of Marmots. The mountain was beautiful, astounding, I loved looking ahead and seeing this faint dirt path leading for as far as the eye could see, steadily winding its way around hills and always upwards. It just was so inspiring and fulfilling to me. I know God is in the deepest valley and throughout all His creation but when I am up in the mountains looking ahead at a path it is all so metaphorical and, in some way, closer to God.
We did end up turning around and heading back having made it a little over half way to the summit. It was hard for me to accept defeat as I was actually feeling really well in spite of being lazy all summer and being pregnant but I understood that we needed to. When we did make it back to the trail head and load up I had to drive back as Wesley was feeling very sick. We went into Estes Park for lunch at The Egg and I, trip advisors top rated restaurant, which all but Wesley enjoyed. His sickness continued to worsen and lasted for the rest of the day. He had all the typical signs of altitude sickness so he rested most of the afternoon and gave up the plan he and Lemuel had of leaving the girls, Gabe, and I at camp the following day so they could summit Longs, another fourteener.
Dinner that night was Chili cooked over the camp fire.
DAY 4, WEDNESDAY
Lemuel went ahead by himself to attempt Long's Wednesday morning while the rest of us stayed at camp. When I got up to start pancakes Gabe pointed out some Elk nearby. Wesley and the girls got up to see them and it delayed breakfast by quiet a bit. They wandered throughout the camp grounds and eventually right through our own campsite. They are massive animals but reminded me of cows in demeanor. They just bumbled along, not very graceful or thought out looking.
Finally I got to start the pancakes but by then I had waited entirely too long to eat. Wednesday was my most pregnant feeling day. I was glad we didn't have much planned as I was awfully slow and kept having the stop to rest and snack.
After breakfast I took all of the dirty laundry to the camp store where I hung out for about two hours, spending $12 washing and drying three loads.
Lemuel made it back but hadn't been able to find the trail to the summit but did hike to the lake at the bottom and had some neat pictures to show us.
Eventually we headed into Estes Park for lunch and to do our souvenir shopping. We ate at a pretty snazzy pizza place then wandered around. Wesley got a t-shirt, I got a hat (I have yet to find Maternity souvenir clothing;)). and we got the girls each a t-shirt as well as a stuffed-animal Elk.
I had to go grocery shopping for dinner items and the foods we'd need for the next leg of our trip.
Dinner this night was Rice (which did not cook in a timely fashion as I failed to realize my pot lid wasn't snug enough so all the water was just evaporating instead of soaking in), and Teriyaki marinaded Shish Kabobs. I had premixed the dry and wet ingredients separately so once back to camp I combined them along with the beef cubes, veggies, and canned pineapple I had bought. They turned out really well cooked over the fire.
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| Swinging at camps playground :) |
This day was pretty special for me. On our previous Colorado trip, Leadville, is the closest town to where we had stayed when hiking and summiting Mt. Elbert so it is a tiny little town that will always hold a special place in my heart. Well, it was going to be a bit out of our way but Wesley routed it in so we could revisit it along with the site of our first actual date.
After packing up all of our camp and heading out we drove through a very windy, hilly, section of Colorado and made it to Leadville by lunch time. We did some more souvenir shopping, it was probably goofy of me but I wanted to get matching Leadville t-shirts, just as we had 4 years ago. Wesley also asked me to help him pick out a meaningful piece of jewelry from one of the shops as an anniversary gift. He is the most thoughtful..
We ate lunch at The Golden Burro then followed it up by a stop at a coffee shop we had also visited 4 years prior.
Back on the road we drove through what is probably my favorite area in Colorado. Rolling foothills with boulders, streams, and lush pastures, all over shadowed by inspiring mountains rising to the clouds.
Then we got to the flat boring part arriving at Great Sand Dunes National Park about 5. We set up camp then walked to the dunes. Jerusha really loved them, Eowyn tried to eat them. They were as cool as I remembered. We walked back to camp and had hot dogs and I started a Berry Cobbler. It rained before that had finished but thankfully not enough to put out the coals so it did keep cooking. We sat in the tent with the girls while it rained, reading books by flashlight lantern.
The most amazing part of the sand dunes are the stars but I'm disappointed to report that our night there it was cloudy. The area is so far out it is unadulterated by light pollution and we were really hoping the forecast would change.
DAY 6, FRIDAY
Our plan had been to stay an additional night at the Sand Dunes but as the weather wasn't looking likely to improve, after a breakfast of bacon, eggs, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese scramble along with left over cobbler, we headed back out to the dunes for some last-time fun before starting the drive back towards home.
We drove for nine or ten hours through the most boring destitute part of Colorado I can imagine exists. We made it into Kansas and got KFC before checking into a hotel for the night. With Wesley's job he earns a lot of reward points so we were able to stay for free.
DAY 7, SATURDAY
We enjoyed the continental hotel breakfast before continuing on our way home. We arrived around 7 and managed to get everything unloaded, a few things put away, and visit a tiny bit with family before shutting ourselves in and crashing.
Our trip was amazing, it was nearly everything I'd hoped it would be. I am so blessed to have a husband who always makes taking adventures and creating life long lasting memories a priority; having toddlers hasn't stopped us, expecting a baby didn't stop us, at this point I don't imagine anything can. It is a blessing I cherish as I know it is easy to find reasons to stay at home but trust me, adventures can be taken and memories made on a very reasonable budget and they are oh, so worth the investment.
I hope you enjoyed this trip with us to Colorado as much as I enjoyed reliving it in the compiling of this post!
~Haley
There will be a follow up post with budgeting, detailed meal plan, and reviews of our experiences.
I really enjoyed getting to read the details of your trip. It sounds like you had great vacation. :)
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