In one day we visited Garden of the Gods, The Manitou Cliff Dwellings, and The Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs. We missed Seven Falls, but I was to tired to care.
One day was spent in Estes Park, and I was happy to sit the boys in front of the same water fountain that they sat in front of 2 years ago.
Next we drove to Aunt Margaret's house in Cheyenne, Wyoming to celebrate Frontier Days. She and Wally lead us to rodeos, the carnival, a parade, the Indian Village, the pancake breakfast, and the train depot ~ where we met Aunt Margaret's cousins and their children. I got to chat with Jenny a bit, and the boys enjoyed playing with Aiden and Olivia. We drove back to Colorado after having lunch at the Terry Bison Ranch.
First thing back in Colorado, we all stopped at my dad's house to see Uncle James. Tears came sporadically. I could have stayed longer, searching for memories. We enjoyed driving through the mountains a great deal. I always enjoy honking the horn through the tunnels, although it annoys others. We meandered back to Golden and toured the Coors Brewery. Instead of being lead by a human who can answer questions, we were given electronic devices that featured buttons for each station and introductory muzak.
Finally, the reason for our trip came together. We met Aunt Katherine, Uncle Paul and Uncle James at the Buffalo Bill Museum on Lookout Mountain. We used our new wheelchair to take Mom-mom up to Buffalo Bill's grave, and then brought it back down to help Uncle Paul up as well. The museum was enjoyable to all. It was nice to rest and watch a video. The boys liked dressing like cowboys and posing with a lasso on a fake horse.
We followed Aunt Katherine to the location of their choice, past picnic tables, down a path, over a bridge, and up a little ways where we took turns spreading my father's white ashes. It seemed to work best when tossed up, and I wish I would have done that more. Uncle Paul shared several stories about their childhood together. Robert was a really helpful brother, and is missed dearly.
The eleven of us drove to the fabulous Casa Bonita for lunch. The funnest part was walking all around through the caves and under the waterfall. I had forgotten about Black Bart's Cave, which is posted to be possibly too scary for children under 5. Our boys loved going through it 3 times, which makes me consider taking them to a haunted house this October.
Back at his house, I simply took pictures of my and Gina's bicycles that our father kept for over 20 years. With banana seats and handlebar streamers, they were so much smaller that I remembered. I went through the wooden chest he built, where he kept toys and games that we used to play with. Many of which he crafted himself. We shipped a few boxes home.
Concluding our vacation, we drove up Mount Evans which is the highest paved road in the world and pretty scary. The edges crumble over a shear cliff. Rain helped the temperature drop to 46 degrees. I wasn't the only one who felt safer leaning toward the mountain. We rode above patches of snow, but failed to reach the summit. By now Seiler has a healthy pin collection on his jacket.
Returning to safety and warmth, we drove around Red Rock Park, where I would love to experience a concert someday. A wedding was in preparation next to the trading post. Exhausted, I am glad to be back home, eager to get the boys back to their regular bed time.
1 comment:
It looks like you guys had a great trip, you sure did a lot of things. I bet your kids had a blast at frontier days, I still have never been there, maybe someday.
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