Friday, June 12, 2009

Rocky Mountain Road Trip '09!

The Whole Posse
(including the 3 month old strapped to her mama, drinking a bottle)



You are HERE!

Aidan's First Horseback Ride!


Creede, CO



Palo Duro Canyon, TX


Headwaters of the Rio Grande South Fork, CO

We got a jump-start on summer with a camping trip to New Mexico and Colorado last month. It was a little slow-going because we were pulling our camper, but we had a wonderful time! We spent the first night in Palo Duro Canyon just south of Amarillo, and it was cool and beautiful there. It didn't even feel like Texas! Aidan was a champ in the car (of course Mom's "bag of tricks" helped...) and surprisingly, even napped well as we were driving.

The next day we got up early and drove to Alamosa, Colorado where we met our good friends the Knights, switched cars so that the girls and guys could visit, and then drove on to Creede, Co, one of the most beautiful places I've EVER been to. It did rain every day, but not all day, and we were able to do everything we planned and more. The little lodge where we stayed is owned by a sweet Christian family, and we felt like family too! We parked our camper by a mountain stream, and the kids enjoyed riding bikes, playing on the playground and romping with the resident dog, while the grown-ups visited by the fire. It was chilly! (but we from south TX welcomed that..). We also explored the surrounding area -which is all national forest- on hikes, a trailride, and fishing in the headwaters of the Rio Grande River. We didn't catch a thing, but it was beautiful just being there and being with friends we love so much!


Evenings were spent making s'mores by the campfire. We also visited the little town of Creede a few times, and loved it too. The restaurants were great, and the shops very cute. The people were friendly, and most have lived there their whole lives. It's the perfect little mountain town. One day there was a little street festival, complete with face-painting, ice cream, cotton candy, and local artisans. Aidan was shocked by the stilt-walker at first, but then he was mesmerized and wouldn't walk on until the guy on the stilts showed him where his legs were!

We headed home through Ruidoso, NM where we dropped our trailer for Mimi and Pop's vacation this month. They'll bring it home this weekend! We enjoyed our trip, but it was good to get home. 2400 miles in a week (w/a 3 year old) is a long haul!