Category: colorado

Family Travel: Visiting Vail in the Summer with Kids #Colorado

visitvailinthesummer

 

Colorado in the summer is perfection. Crisp, cool air, mountain vistas, playing outside without sweating… what’s not to love? We visited Vail, Colorado, with our family when the Bear was just a toddler and today I’m sharing our favorite things to do in the area with kids. Vail is famous for winter ski slopes and luxury vacations. We managed to have a frugal vacation in the area during the summer and it was awesome. Here are our favorite things about visiting Vail in the summer with kids.

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Family Travel: Hiking the Continental Divide at Cottonwood Pass

I am in love with Colorado in the summer.

Hiking is one of my favorite things in life.  Walking around in beautiful places makes my heart so happy.

We were so blessed to travel for 2 months this past year and experience so much beauty.  While we were staying and working at Trail West in Buena Vista, Colorado, we hiked Cottonwood Pass three times with our whole camp group.  It is a super easy hike for families.

We hiked with babies and kids of all ages as well as adults with all kinds of health problems and an 84 year old grandmother.  She loved it.

The hike doesn’t take long but you get a fantastic payout at the top.  There is a 360 degree view of the Collegiate Peaks and Taylor Reservoir.  The pass is open in the summer, and you can find more about closings and see tons of pictures and videos here.  The trailhead is about 19 miles west of Buena Vista and the pass is used as a route from BV to Crested Butte.  The pass was used in the USA Procycling Challenge, so Jed felt like Andy Schleck when he rode his bike down the mountain.

   For kids under 3 I would highly recommend hiking with an Ergobaby carrier or some other type of backpack type carrier.  Bear was obviously too little to do it on his own, and we saw many a preschool get a bit tired and whiny on the way up.  It’s just how they roll.  The hike is quick and easy, but you do climb to 12,600 feet so you will feel it.

No matter how warm it is at the bottom of the mountain, bring lots of layers for yourself and your kiddos.  We learned that lesson the hard way on another hike with the Bear.  I did not win Mom of the Year in 2012, and I blame that hike among many, many other things.  You can read more about our adventures hiking with a toddler here.

Have you taken your whole family hiking?  Share any tips or what holds you back in the comments section below.
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Summer Flashback: On the Road from Buena Vista to Vail

As a hazy shade of winter makes me sleepy and cold temperatures keep us indoors, I think wistfully back to our summer adventure. Here are a few instagram pics from one leg of the trip.

As
Sweet sleeping baby
A bike race through the pass
Not the Tour de France, but fun to watch all the same.
Downtown Leadville, Colorado
A lovely alpine lake

Our next adventure will be adding a new member to the family.
What is your next adventure?

Double Rainbows in Colorado

We took an amazing road trip through the western United States this summer with our toddler on board.  You can read more posts about our travels here, and more about Colorado here.  Everything about Colorado has this magical quality, even the weather. Storms move through fast and are unpredictable.  From our view at Trail West we could watch storms roll in over Mt. Princeton almost daily.  

 These rainbows appeared one afternoon and alternately faded and glowed as the storm took its course.

 You can see some of the collegiate peaks in the background, and the base of Princeton is just to the right.
Below you can see the storm over the top of Mt. Princeton.  Princeton is over 14,000 feet high, a true Colorado fourteener.  The summit is completely covered by the storm.

Family Travel: Visiting an Old West Ghost Town

Ghost towns dot the map of the United States, and extremely prevalent in the former wild west states.  As a card carrying history nerd married to another history nerd and world geography teacher, historic sites are a big part of our normal travel itinerary.  Ghost towns in particular have long fascinated me, so much so that I did my senior history thesis on Cadron Settlement, a long lost Arkansas ghost town.    

 One of the activities at Trail West Lodge is a 4×4 Jeep tour up to St. Elmo, a real Old West ghost town.  We jumped on board.  St. Elmo used to be famous for mining, now it is famous for chipmunks.  Oh, how time changes us all.  🙂

Let me just recommend Jeep tours to anyone with a kid who needs a good nap.  We did a lot of off road driving in Colorado and New Mexico, and it was the Bear’s kryptonite.  He couldn’t fight it.  Out like a light every time.

The most popular thing to do in St. Elmo is feed the chipmunks.  I freely admit that I enjoyed this more than anyone else, maybe ever.  I had a Disney princess moment, y’all.  

 The Bear, on the other hand, was a bit suspicious of the little critters.  He really liked them, laughed and pointed, but wanted no part of them touching him.  It was probably better that way.

 Jed even fed the little buggers.  This is a huge deal for a non animal lover.

 The second most popular thing about St. Elmo is the scenery.  It is serene and so beautiful.  A lovely mountain stream flows through the middle of town, and mountains surround you on all sides.

 Even the one room schoolhouse has an alpine view.  How did teachers educate a room full of kids of all ages?  This mystifies and amazes me.  My grandmother taught in a schoolhouse much like this in El Paso, Arkansas.

 The pioneer cemetary is on your way in to town, if you come up the jeep route.  The graves reside among lovely trees in an aspen grove, and date back to the mid 1800s.

 This is a replica of what the inside of the courthouse and jail looked like around the time of the town’s boom (late 1800s).

 The original Miners’ Exchange building is now home to the St. Elmo General Store.  There you can buy a snack for you or for the chipmunks, books about the town and Colorado history, postcards, and lots of souvenirs.

 There are so many of the original buildings still standing.  We really got a glimpse into mining life during the gold rush.  As we walked the dirt streets we pictured miners and their families grinding out an existence high atop a mountain in rugged Colorado.

 On our second trip up to St. Elmo, my parents joined us.  I inherited my history nerd gene from both of them, so they thought it was awesome.  My dad was a big fan of the cable series Deadwood, and we could picture that kind of action happening on the main street.  It was a great little outing for the whole family.

Do you or your family enjoy historical travel? 
What’s your favorite history travel outing?

Family Travel: Hiking with a Toddler

Hiking is one of my favorite activities in the world.  Jed and I have loved hiking together since we first started dating.  Many of our first dates included exploring the mountains of western North Carolina together.  We were excited to take The Bear hiking for the first time during our trip out west.  He LOVES being outside, so we thought he would really enjoy it.  We were so right.  We took many hikes with him this summer and while we did some things right, we made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot about hiking with toddlers.

Our Top 5 Hiking with Toddlers Tips
1. Bring a comfortable carrier – comfy for you AND your wee one.    
2. Be prepared to go slow and stop a lot to play.  
3. Bring snacks and drinks – for all of you.
4. Layer clothes and sun protection.
5. Know exactly where you are going.

I’ll explain a little more about each tip.  Some might seem like common sense, but believe me when I tell you we had to learn some things the hard way.  
1. Bring a comfortable carrier – comfy for you AND your wee one. We love our Ergobaby carrier.  I won it off a blog giveaway and it is by far the most comfortable one we’ve tried for big babies.  With a toddler, a carrier with a back carry option is going to be your best bet.  Front carry will kill your back after a few hours.  We were able to hike comfortably with the Bear (27 lbs) for 3-4 hours wearing the Ergo.  We loved the Moby Wrap when the Bear was teeny, but he weighs a lot more now and we need more structure.  We also used our Bob stroller (handed down from Sam and Michelle) for flatter trails.  It was awesome.  To push a hiking/jogging stroller up or down any kind of incline you need serious strength, so be prepared for that.  Always use the safety strap.     
2. Be prepared to go slow and stop a lot to play.  If you are used to hiking pre-baby, the pace is going to be completely different.  The Bear can go for 3-4 hours happily if he gets to get out and play every 30 minutes or so.  We hold his hands and let him walk for a bit, throw rocks in creeks, throw sticks, explore, etc.  This makes a HUGE difference in his attitude.  
3. Bring snacks and drinks – for all of you.  On one hike we packed plenty of snacks for the Bear, but not enough for us.  We were starving and cranky by the time it was over.  Not fun.  Bear loved hiking with his snack trap full of cheerios, and a few chipmunks may have been fed during the process.  Water is so important for the whole family, especially at high altitude.  Bring more than you think you need.  
4. Layer clothes and sun protection.  When you change elevation, the temperature can change quickly and drastically.  We knew this but sort of forgot during one hike, and the poor Bear got so cold.  I felt like such a rookie.  The sun is also more powerful at higher elevations.  We used sunscreen and hats for ourselves and the Bear.  We love Babylegs legwarmers for layering.  We use a pair that is breathable and SPF 50, as well as the regular cotton pairs.  They also have ones with bug protection now, but we don’t have those yet.  They are great because they make on the trail diaper changes super easy, and are easily removed and stored if the temp rises.  

5. Know exactly where you are going.  Ah yes, our biggest mistake.  We got lost.  For a long time.  With a one year old.  Not good.  We had a map but forgot it, and decided to keep on going.  This was not a wise decision.  Thankfully we finally ran into a family on four wheelers that pointed us back to civilization, but it could have gotten ugly.  From here on out we will always have a map or a well marked trail to follow.  Even if you are an experienced hiker, don’t take it for granted that you won’t get lost.  It happens all the time.  We’ve been hiking for years and it happened to us and was pretty scary.

Have you ventured onto a trail with your kids?
What hiking tips do you have to share? 

Family Travel: Baby’s First Rodeo

When you’re traveling with wee ones, entertainment that satisfies the whole family can be hard to come by.  While we were at Trail West this summer, the assigned team decided to take all the work crew and summer staff and assigned team families to the local Buena Vista rodeo.  Big fun.  It was awesome.  The Bear loved it, and so did the whole group, which consisted of all ages from 0-65.  We had tons of little kids, 30 high schoolers, 20 college students, and a bunch of adults with us, and everyone had a blast.  

 This is the Bear’s “I’m trying to figure out what the heck is going on face.”  He was enthralled by everything from the mutton bustin’ (little kids riding sheep) to the serious cowboys riding buckin’ broncos.

 The one downfall of the rodeo arena was that the fence was not exactly toddler proof.  Look how far apart the slats are – perfect for a 1 year old to climb through.

 He was loving it.  One great thing about a rodeo is that it moves fairly quickly because they are trying to cram in tons of events.  Jed and I couldn’t believe how much the dude on the left in the brown cowboy hat looked like Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall.

I tried to get a better picture of homeboy with out being too creepy.  Look at the pic below from Legends of the Fall and tell me they aren’t twinsies.  He’s just above Bear’s head to the left with the long hair.  
Anyway, I digress.  

 It was a constant flow of entertainment for all.  Calf roping, rodeo queens, barrel racing, and bronco riding kept us cheering for several hours.  Sadly, just before the bull riding, a HUGE storm rolled in and we had to abandon ship and head back to camp.  I’m pretty sure several of the work crew and summer staff (high school and college folks) still haven’t forgiven me for making them leave.

 Calves after calf roping
 Rodeo Queens on parade
Buckin’ Broncos
We all loved the rodeo, and I’m hoping to take the Bear to another one this year closer to home.  Mesquite, Ft. Worth, and Houston all have big ones, and the Texas State Fair is coming up soon.  
Have you ever taken your family to a local rodeo?
Do you check out local festivals when traveling?

A Toddler + Mini Horse = Cuteness Overload

 The Bear went on his first pony ride last week here at Trail West
It was a great success, and possibly the cutest thing ever.  
Toddler + Mini Horse = Cuteness Overload
 Mack, the mini horse, looks a little nervous.  
 If you look in the background of this pic, 
you can see the baby mini horse.  Cutest thing ever.  
 Destined to be a cowboy? 
I think yes.  
 Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
But do let them ride mini horses.  

Playing at the Arkansas River in Buena Vista, Colorado

Growing up in Little Rock, the Arkansas River was very much a part of my life.  It is huge and wide and powerful and full of barges and riverboats and crossed by massive bridges.  Not so a thousand miles away.    

 The lovely little town of Buena Vista in Colorado has a river park on the Arkansas where kayakers and swimmers can play and enjoy the rushing water.  We watched the playboaters and waded around one afternoon.

 The Bear thought it was pretty awesome and we agreed.  The views from the bridge above were breathtaking, all rushing river and rugged mountains.  Several hiking trails pass through the park and we plan to check those out later.  Jed plans to try his luck fishing there later on this month.

 The sounds of a river running over rocks is one of my favorites in the whole world.  It is therapy for my soul.

Where are you playing this summer? 

Settling in to the Mountains

We are one week in to our adventure and it has been an amazing trip so far. The pics above were taken from our porch with my phone. Ridiculous. We are so blessed. The altitude has been a bit of an adjustment for all of us. We are trying to stay hydrated and breathe deep as we climb up and down the hills around camp. I’ll get some better pictures posted soon. Week 1 of a camp assignment is always crazy as we try to figure out our jobs and adjust to community living. Bear is loving all the big kids here and trying his best to keep up with them. We are praying for the wildfires around Colorado and New Mexico to extinguish, and for slow, gentle, soaking rain. The drought here is pretty epic right now and creates dangerous conditions. We are fine and camp isn’t threatened, but lots of other folks are in danger.