2 Miles Up

Yesterday began at 7:30am. We got up and almost immediately set out for Rocky Mountain National Park. As if the view of the mountains from our campsite wasn't amazing enough, we began to climb higher and higher via hairpin turns with no guardrail. SCARY! Especially when you aren't a 10-foot car anymore. Everytime we rounded a corner, the view was more and more breathtaking.We finally reached about 2 miles above sea level, and before we knew it, the snow was all around us. The sun is shining, it's probably 70 degrees, we're all in tanks and shorts, and still snow. Constant snowball fight!! Finally made it to the top and headed back down. We told the ranger we wanted to see animals, and he pretty much told us we wouldn't see anything but elk.Oh yeah, Ranger Rick? You think you know everything, but you DON'T. Guess who saw a pack of lady-moose? Yeah. WE DID. JEALOUS?! Okay we felt pretty good about that one. The next pull-off, we go to get on the trail and the lady-ranger gives us a firm smack on the hand for destroying the delicate tundra. Of course that just makes us want to destroy it even more. We begin this mile-long straight uphill hike, and probably halfway, we feel like we are at fat camp. I would understand if it was just me, maybe I'm just really out of shape. But then Audrey, Allison, and Mom decided we couldn't go much further. I'm blaming it on the lack of oxygen up there. More snowball fights and then back in the RV. Now we are in No Name, Colorado.I lost my phone all day yesterday, well actually, somewhere between the top of the mountain and the moose sighting. Then, last night while exploring the campground, idiot me trips on a rock and falls. Then, we get back to the RV and I try to upload photos, but my computer mysteriously shut down, wiped out everything..pictures, music, word documents, you name it, it's gone. I don't know what happened, but I have some suspicions. Now, I'm not making any accusations, but I did see Smokey Bear lingering around the RV before our hike. Just saying. -Emily

rv fun

it is so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
now i'm bord.
now i have to watch the office .
-allison

The post you've all been waiting for..

Sure my mother puts together a nice rant about Estes Park, but it really wasnt that bad, it just wasnt what we were expecting.

We were leaving Spruce Valley Park as soon as possible this morning to find some real Colorado beauty so I had to get my run in early. I took a different route than yesterday, up the mountain this time. The first two miles went up a winding road lined by red cliffs and scattered log cabins. At the top there was a beautiful little lake, Mary's Lake. I wish I would have taken my camera because it was truly a beautiful sight. The air was thin and crisp and the sun was just above the tree line but very hot. The lake bordered by tall pine trees was ice cold as it was collecting the melting snow from the towering mountains in the distance. It was such a peaceful sight, I could have stayed there all day but I had to get back so we could hit the road. Believe it or not the run back down the mountain was significantly easier. Before I got back though I found a dirt road and took a nice detour. About half a mile in I was looking at the ground and then I heard a frightful noise. I jerked my head up and 10 feet in front of me stood a huge beast. An elk was right there staring me down. I must have been looking pretty huge (Im talkin football player huge)with my shirt off cause this elk was very defensive and was ready to run away in terror. Actually that last sentence was somewhat of a lie. As soon as I saw that thing I did a 180 as soon as I could to get away. Im surprised I didnt twist an ankle when I turned, but then I bolted back to the campsite and hid in the safety of my mothers arms. That elk was very majestic, but I almost had to change my pants after that encounter. -paulson

*The one I saw was bigger..

Disillusion

When you ask people around this area what the good places to visit, everyone says "Oh you have to go to Estes Park" "Make sure you go to Estes Park" Even my own mother advised me to go to Estes Park. So I am psyched to go to Estes Park. You know, a little hiking, sight seeing, spy on wild animals- all things naturelike. And, you can catch a shuttle from the campground to go right into Estes Park. Well, too bad for me, because there are no wild animals in Estes Park. Allison did count 23 dogs though. And no hiking trails, but there are lovely boardwalks that wind through TOURIST SHOPS and restaurants. Why didn't someone mention "If, you like to shop, you will like Estes Park" There is a nice river flowing behind Estes Park. Everyone else put their feet in the freezing cold water to play chicken for who would pull out first. Paulson won of course. But then he couldn't walk for a hour until the numbness wore off. Is it a prerequisite when you write a blog to say where you have lunch? Ok , if you must know, we had lunch at Poppies which was pretty good, but expensive. We saved money by ordering only water with lemon to drink -----and then we made lemonade. Then we trudged up and down the sidewalks wandering in and out of the tourist traps and were exhausted. Then we made a pact: we have now done the shopping thing and will not have to torture ourselves again this vacation. We passed all the ice cream stores and then decided to come all this way to go to Dairy Queen well the line was too long so we went to the next one that Emily chose because she liked the sign for it and spent fifteen flippin dollars for lousy ice cream. The shuttle was the best part of the trip because we got to drive all over the place to the other stops and no one else got on and it was a nice drive through the park like areas around Estes Park. ---- Bev

Is that bad?? do do dooo doo!

From the Driver's Seat and Under the Sink

When it comes right down to it, the success of a trip can be measured most effectively by the quality of the continental breakfast...and more specifically- Froot Loops. So thus far things are going really well.

So, have you ever driven on of these?(Says the RV guy). The truth is that a typical vacation for us has been taken in a Datsun and a Ford Escort- not exactly tour buses. So after a quickie lesson on how it's all "supposed" to work, we were out on the road...destination SuperTarget (see prior posts). Almost got stuck in the parking lot. Then the generator smelled funny and quit. No problem...let's hit the open road!

Driving the beast is a blast! I used to sit in the front seat on the schoolbus to watch the driver shift and steer....vroom!

But eventually you have to park the thing and get stuff hooked up. Oh wait, why is water pouring out of the bottom? Why doesn't the water get hot? Why is water coming out the side? Who didn't put that plug in the water heater? Honey, we need to do something about the leaky toilet! All the joys of home only in Denver(and at higher cost).

However and this is a big however...it is so beautiful here. If everything runs according to plan, we will be heading out early tomorrow. Hope the wipers don't fall off. -Paul

The Whale

Before traveling to Denver, we stopped in Colorado Springs to grab some sleep. We stayed at Comfort Suites for one night. It wasn't very exciting. So, we spent our time in the pool and hot tub. And Emily wants me to mention the fun, indoor water slide. Then, we hit up Chick-fil-a for dinner.

In the morning, we drove a whole hour to pick up the RV that we haven't actually seen yet. After sitting in the parking lot of "Denver Ride the West" for a few minutes, a huge, gold-ish RV pulls out of the garage. Paulson made us look away so we wouldn't be disappointed with ours. Turns out the rolling turd was ours. I swear it's bigger than a whale....a big whale. Yay! Our trip has actually started now.

First Stop: SUPER TARGET!!!!!!!!!

Yep. Super Target. 32 Check out lines. Deli and Bakery. Unnaturally organized. 2 whole isles for "adult beverages." Free food samples. Clearance has its OWN section. Best bathroom experience ever!!!! So, we had a good day.

-Audrey

In the Beginning...

So after 4 episodes of the Office, 2 hours of the Ipod, 3 hours of sleep,6 hours driving and 4 Chapters of Harry Potter and other assorted activities, we finally made it to Colorado! The van was crammed and frustrating, but the 4 stops to Mickey D's and countless rest stop breaks got us through the overnight journey! Leaving the Burgh was exciting for the first 10 minutes, until we got stuck in traffic. The arch in St. Louis was less than breathtaking, and the plains of Kansas and Missouri were so flat and boring, I wouldn't blame Dorothy for being excited to get out of there. And, if I saw another cow, windmill, junkyard, or tractor, i might have just bought a plane ticket to the beach and stayed there for 3 weeks. Finally though, our sarcastic personalities stopped butting heads so much and the car ride became much more enjoyable. I drove through 2 places called Kansas City within 10 minutes of eachother..hmmm. Right as we begin to see mountains toward the end of the trip, the clouds gather as well. Of course, I am driving straight into a bad storm as we near the mountains in Colorado Springs. Luckily, the hotel comes before the next set of storms! We are all super exhausted and hungry and ready to hit the pool. Obviously you can tell that it is really really easy to focus on the negative things when you are crammed in a van with the whole family for 24 hours straight. Okay I'm out. But here's a lesson of the day: Never trust the McDonald's drive thru. Especially in a town you have never heard of. -Emily

From the Back Seat

when we got in the car, some of us sat in the front and the middle and the back. There were lots of pillows and blankets. There were towels and suitcases in the trunk. It took a long time to get to Denver in the van. Finally we got to Denver the 2nd day. The 1st day in the van Audrey and I colored and showed the pictures to Mom. It was pretty good. -Allison

Months of Planning

Wow! finally going on our dream family vacation- have been planning for at least a year. so the day of- I find myself doing 10 loads of laundry so we have something to pack and emailing Paul to beg him to come home early because I can't be expected to do all the work for the trip After all, we NEED to leave by 2 or 3pm to get on the road. Yeah Paul!! home by 1pm. I have started the packing, stopped the paper, arranged for lawn cutting services, cleaned up etc... then I drive the doggie to g-ma's and go to the Drivers License Bureau. My drivers license is expired by only 6 months now because every time I think about going to the DMV my hair looks dumb. Only too bad for me, because I lost it anyways and now I only have my Sam's Club I.D. with my picture to prove its me. I have all my excuses ready for them; like,"we've been planning for this trip for so long"...... Well they could have given a rat's tail about it---- took my picture, and I was out of there in an hour and a half flat. Yup! Really bad picture. Everything was crammed in the van by the time I got home. So after we had a "discussion" over which way to start out, remember..... we have poured over maps, books, and websites consulted with friends and our friends at the AAA for many months, we left precisely at 5pm. -Bev