Jerry got to come to Durango with us for a few days this year. He's had to miss a lot of years because Scouts has taken all his vacation days. So, we were glad to have him along. First off I wanted to hike up to Spud Lake. One of my favorite trails and one that we always ran up in high school cross country. I wanted to run up the road to it again, but there were clouds in the sky and I could run in the rain, but hiking in the rain with kids isn't fun, so I decided to hike first and then run down it. We had to park down the road and hike a little extra because our van, as awesome as it is, isn't quite a 4 wheel drive.
We made it to the beaver ponds right at the trail head. They actually looked really pretty. They had quite a bit of water in them, and the lily pads all had beautiful yellow flowers. Very pretty! Kate thought so too.
We hiked on up to the lake and had a few rain sprinkles, but really just enough to keep us cool. Love these two girls!
Jerry had fun showing off his rock skipping skills and everyone had to try.
Yea for fun hikes in the summer!
Always being silly with dad!
And sometimes we're together! After hiking back, I ran up to the top of Lime Creek Road and then ran down and met them. Holy altitude, Batman! It was so fun to run it again!
Back at my parent's house, Abby continued in her animal loving state of mind. Jackson was very patient with her. She would follow him around the yard and grab at him. She'd even put her face right in his mouth wanting him to lick her. He was very nice!
We talked my dad into taking a day off of farm work and go to the lake with us. It was so much fun! The kids all said that was their favorite day. They had fun and Kate, especially, was very adventurous
I rode the tube with each of the kids. After Grandpa almost tipped Matt and Kate, we decided to take a break and try some other things. Actually, Grandpa decided that, the kids wanted more, more, more!
Kate tried this trainer ski and did really well on it. She's strong and very determined! Matt also tried some beginning skis that are actual skis, but didn't get up right away and instead got a faceful of water. We all know how that feels. The day was so great even Jay, Jerry and I skied or boarded. So fun!
Jerry brought his mountain bike along and found a section of the Colorado Trail that he wanted to ride. He started at the top of Kennebec pass. I haven't been up here since I had my fantastically awesome jeep. Oh, how I miss those days! I'd forgotten how beautiful it was up there.
6 hours without kids and enjoying the Colorado mountains. Heaven!!
Such a high elevation, and such a pretty view.
More of the surrounding views.
Another angle. This is a picture of what we call "the notch". Once we drove up there and hiked through it and with binoculars, we could see my parent's house. It was really cool. Soon after we did that, my Grandpa Carter passed away and I remember at his funeral, my dad talking about this notch and how we looked back at home and how Grandpa Carter was now looking back at us from heaven. This notch will always remind me of my Grandpa!
After admiring the views and naming all the peaks, Jerry took off. I drove down to Junction Creek to pick him up.
While waiting, I went for a run up Junction Creek. I loved running up here and used to do it all the time. It was fun to do it again. It made me want to get back into trail running! It was such a nice day filled with things I love to do. And it was a nice break from the constant chatter of kiddos! Yay for filling my soul!
To say that Kate and Sara loved jumping on the trampoline would be an understatement. They were out there first thing in the morning and it was the last thing they did before bed. They only stopped in the middle of the afternoon when the tramp was too hot. Until the day Grandpa turned the sprinklers on. They loved it!
After Jerry left we had more low key play. We played in the creek downtown and the kids loved it. Abby loved being able to get in on the action too.
Abby threw a lot of rocks!
This deer jumped out of the bushes and into the creek right behind Kate. I mean she was like 5 feet from it. It scared the bleepers out of her!! It made me laugh. I think it also scared the deer because it took off down the creek right away. Too funny!
We also had great times eating at Serious Texas BBQ and playing mini golf with cousins!
One afternoon in town we stopped in at the train station to watch the train come in. I always have and always will love this train. It was so fun working on it!
Matt got to go on more 4 wheeler rides with Grandpa. He loved it!
On the way back home, we stopped at Arches National Park. I always want to do that, but never take the time, but this time I made myself. And I'm so glad that I did. We had a great time.
First stop, Balanced Rock.
Second stop: Double arch. This was our favorite hike. I've been to Arches once with a group of residential teens. We didn't do many hikes with them. It was fun exploring.
Matt is one of those people up there.
You can see him in this picture better. He's wearing a yellow shirt. Abby was not super cooperative so I couldn't go up there with him. It kind of made me nervous!
I was standing right under one of the arches and the sun was right above it. I thought it was kind of a cool picture.
We also hiked out to view Delicate Arch but saved that hike for a day with Jerry. After that we headed home and our trip in Durango was over. It was so much fun and packed with adventures. I'm glad we were able to do it all.
