Our Vacation to Colorado

Never before (and possibly never again) have we taken a week long vacation to anywhere other than to visit family. Our trip last week to Colorado was the first. We decided to give it a go despite Brent's very crazy work schedule and my hugely pregnant state. Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

• Saturday, (7-11) We had a very long drive to Colorado Springs which was punctuated with Camden declaring every 15-20 minutes that he wanted to go home. Once we arrived, we were welcomed to a dirty hotel room. However, after moving three times we found our rooms most pleasant. The girls especially loved having their own room complete with a King size bed and kitchen--(Thank heaven for Hilton Reward Points!) We dined in fine style by ordering enough Pizza to last us through both Saturday and Sunday.
• Sunday, (7-12) Despite going to bed very late we were all up bright and early. We have never been up and ready for church by 8:00. We were in for a special treat during sacrament as the fire alarm was set off by a pair of little hands (thankfully not any little hands that belonged to any of my children!) Needless to say, church was cut short for the day--at least for the Lee family!

After church we went "home" and changed and decided to visit the local city park--Garden of the Gods. We stopped by the visitor's center in order to visit the bathroom and get a map. We had to make a quick escape, however, when we realized that Braden was walking around the gift shop telling people that they couldn't buy anything because it was Sunday and that they must know Heavenly Father very well if they were shopping on Sunday. Braden's response as to what he was doing, "I'm being a missionary, Mom!"

Following our hasty retreat we took a short walk through the Garden of the Gods where we were met with spectacular views of rock formations, including Allison's kissing camels, and an incredible amount of whining! You would have thought that we were hiking ten miles in the middle of the desert! Another favorite saying of the day (from Braden Jon of course) "Dad, when are we going to have fun?"

Being the sensitive parents that we are, we chose not to torture our children with any more hikes for the day. What better Sabbath day activity then to visit the mountains and experience the beauty of the earth. So, we set off to tackle Pike's Peak (in our trusty van of course). We should have known that this was a poor choice when we had to pay $30 for this privilege. Who knew that you could own a mountain! The bright side of the trip was that Camden learned the joys of being a boy in the great outdoors with no bathroom in sight. He thought that was great fun and frequently throughout the week was heard to say "I need to go potty on the floor out there." As we ascended the mountain we realized that our van wasn't quite up to the task, and, consequently, we had to take it very slowly and stop often. All of this was fine until we made it about half-way up the mountain. Then the road approached dangerously close to the edge of the mountain and two of the kids were met with quite a disturbing site: a really big drop off. So, the whining and crying commenced once again although in earnest this time. Camden covered his head with a pillow and cried "No Mountain! I go home!" and Braden just shrieked every time the edge came into sight. We did stop and let the kids get out and play at a lake on the way up, but wouldn't you guess--it started to rain on us a bit while we were there so that was short-lived. The closer that we got to the apex the sicker I got. My pregnant belly didn't approve of the thin air. We did finally make it to the top. We jumped out of the van to view the spectacular scenery--the prize at the end of the journey so to speak. Well, it was about 20 degrees cooler at the top, and remember that rain that started falling at the lake, it had turned into a regular lightening show--now Brent and I being the savy parents that we are knew that the top of one of the tallest mountains wasn't the best place to be. So, we drug everyone out into the cold, looked around, overheard that the building we were standing by had been hit by lightning the day before, took a picture by a metal sign that was making some funny electrical sounds and the closer Allison got to it the more her hair stood up on end :) and rushed back to the van. Back in the safety of our van we began our decent much to everyone's relief until the lightening show turned into HAIL! Yes, our kids were traumatized. If you even mention a mountain, fear and terror strike them all!

Trying to end the day on a positive note we decided that we would stop by the Anasazi cliff dwellings on our way home. The girls had studied the Anasazi Indians so it was perfect--plus it didn't involve heights or hiking! The entrance to the cave dwellings leaves little option for changing one's mind. Once you drive through the gates there is only one thing to do, and that is to pay the exhorbitant price that they demand and press on. (We now knew why they didn't advertise their prices!) While the whole thing was interesting, it was definitely one of those "been there, done that" sort of things.

Reflecting back on the day, it was a resounding success!

• Monday (7-13): Another day to try again! We began the day by having a little discussion about how much mom and dad like hiking and that if we are going to have any fun on any vacation that we are EVER going to take that they need to learn to like hiking. So, we set off for our hike for the day up to a view of the Seven Falls. It was one of the most beautiful places ever. It was a pleasant walk for everyone except the pregnant lady who had to huff and puff her way up the hill and stop every 50 yards to catch her breath. Braden once again entertained us all with his humor along the way. "The only part of this hike I like is the juice." Allison was the trail blazer for us, and Savanna changed her attitude from the previous day and decided that she loved to go hiking. So, as long as we kept Camden from falling off the edge, we were good. However, once again we were met with thunder and lightening. We were climbing one side of a canyon and the thunder would roar through the canyon. The thunder and lightening were quickly followed by rain. We found ourselves a nice spruce tree to cluster under and were kept quite dry. The kids while dry were not without their concerns. Braden particularly was heard to squeal multiple times "We're all going to die!" In order to calm him down we had to promise him that if we lived through the experience that we would go and pan for gold which Braden had been longing to do. The storm did pass and we did make it to our overlook of Seven Falls.
  

Following the hike to Seven Falls we drove up North Cheyenne Canyon a little further and came across Helen Hunt Falls. It was beautiful as well, but it wasn't the Ghost Town Museum. So, after a brief stay at the falls we followed through on our promise and took the kids to the Ghost Town Museum to pan for gold. It was a LOSER, and everyone agreed. The only good thing was that it was pouring rain, and we were inside! After a very disappointing hour we exited back through the gift shop. And what sounds greeted our ears--oh yes--whining and crying! I just wouldn't give in and buy the boys a three inch toy pistol for $8! Yep, that was a winner of an outing!

• Tuesday (7-14): This was or leisurely take it easy day. We decided to return to the Garden of the Gods so that Allison could visit the gift shop (she lived for souvenier shops). We also drove around the park and stopped to let the kids play on the balanced rock. It was great fun. Afterwards we drove over to Manitou Springs and found a little pull off where the kids could play in the stream. We had a little picnic, and the kids got soaking wet from head to toe in the very cold water. After their refreshing dip in the cool springs, we decided to split up for a few hours. Allison's one desire was to visit a cave. Now Brent and I had done the whole cave thing at Carlsbad Caverns. We were less than impressed and decided there was no need to torture both of us with another trip to a cave. So, Brent with Savanna in tow (who now adores hiking) decided to strike off and explore a new trail while I took the rest of the kids to the Wind Caves. I thought this was the perfect arrangement. The cave would be like Carlsbad and be easy and not too much walking on me, and Brent would get a good hike in without me holding him up. Well, Brent and Savanna loved their hike and Allison and Braden loved the cave. The Wind Caves tour was about an hour long, and it was frought with narrow passageways, steep stairways, and low passageways. A pregnant woman's nightmare let me tell you! The most entertaining part of the tour was when they took us to a remote part of the cave and turned off the light to show us how dark a cave can be. Well, little did they know that Camden comes equipped with his own light source. His shoes have glow in the dark strips on them that provided quite a nice glow for those of us in the back. It was quite amusing. We reunited with Daddy and Savanna and headed to our way station for the night--Castle Rock, CO just south of Denver.
• Wednesday (7-15): We drove along the highest interstate in the US and through the longest tunell. It was pretty, but once again a little too high for my enjoyment. We visited Dillon Lake and let the kids play at the park and had another picnic. They had a great time. We stayed in an expensive dump that night. The kids had a great time swimming with Daddy. I was too exhausted to do much of anything. We were all glad when that night was over. Thinking that we would remove all thoughts of a painful night with a good breakfast. Boy were we disappointed when we got to breakfast to discover that just about everything had disappeared--the juice, milk, hot water etc. So much for that!
  
• Thursday (7-16): It's our day to meet up with Clint and Erin! We drove from the West side to the East side of Rocky Mountain National Park. We of course had to stop at the Visitor's Center and do a little shopping as well as picking up our Junior Ranger booklets. As soon as we crossed into the park we saw two elk right off the side of the road. The day only got better for animal sightings. We stopped and took a short hike along the Coyote trail, and Savanna spied three Moose. The kids worked very hard on their Junior Ranger badges while we continued to the other side of the park. As we climbed the mountains (yes admist whining and crying) we ate cinnamon rolls and spotted even more elk. At the other end of the park we turned in our Junior Ranger booklets and the kids were awarded their junior Ranger badges, and Clint and Erin and their kids arrived at about the same time! It was so fun to meet up with them. The kids were ecstatic! We joined forces and hiked around Bear Lake. Well, the kids skipped and ran around the lake while the rest of us tried to keep up with them. After that, I kept baby Kate while the rest of the troops hiked up to Abigail Falls. After the double hike everyone was ready for a little rest and rejuvination. So, off to Estes Park to find some food! We ended up at a Pizza shop and after a very long wait we were finally able to eat. You would think that they would serve a table with 8 little kids a little faster since at any moment we could unleash any number of kids! After a very long day, I just couldn't walk back to the van. So, our sweet husbands said that they would run and grab the vans and come and pick us all up. After nearly an hour of waiting they finally returned!!! They had gotten side tracked and done a little shopping on the way. We all liked the presents, but the wait was a little overwhelming!
• Friday (7-17) This is the day the kids had been waiting for all week. It was Waterworld Day in Denver. The kids rode and swam to their heart's content. The downside was that the park closed at 6pm. Way too early in everyone's opinion. That night we checked into our hotel and went out for ice cream. The kids each had a large ice cream cone and to wash it down they had a Root Beer Float. It was a very memorable day, and we were so glad that we got to share the fun with Clint and Erin. It was definitely hard to say goodbye to them that night. The boys were both ready to cry--especially when they realized that it might be a while before they saw their cousins again. It is hard to meet up when one lives near the top of the country and the other near the bottom. Parting was definitely sad.
• Saturday (7-18) Time for the long trip home where the highlight was eating breakfast at McDonald's and sleeping as much as we wanted. The girls, to their horror and dismay, did have to catch up on a little school work that hadn't been completed before we left. The closer we got to home the more concerned Camden became. He finally asked where we were going. When I responded that we were going home, he started to cry and said, "NO! I go to hotel not home!!"
  

If you made it through all of that, I'm impressed! The pictures tell the story better than I ever could. It was a memorable week that is for sure!