Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

We left the Grand Canyon and headed to Grants, New Mexico to see the ice caves and lava rock. We stopped along the way at the Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert. It is best known for its vast deposits of petrified wood. It is rumored that a Spanish explorer is rumored to have named the area El Desierto Pintado(the Painted Desert) because the hills looked like they were painted with the colors of the sunset. It was really very beautiful and an interesting park. They have a Junior Ranger Program where kids can earn a badge and a patch if they complete the activity booklet. My girls were excited to become Junior Rangers and get their badges.

The Grand Canyon

We headed to see the Grand Canyon and I was really excited because I have always wanted to go there. We got to the first observation place and got out to look and it was simply breathtaking. It is so big and vast and beautiful. I took several pictures because it was just so beautiful. My aunt and husband wanted to hike down into the canyon. I was not so thrilled with this, but I did not want to be a stick in the mud so I opted to go for it and hike a little ways down. It was not to bad going down, but I imagined that it would be much harder coming back up the canyon. After about 1/2 mile my feet slipped out from under me and I fell down on my rear end. It scared me a little, but I got up and brushed my self off and kept going. I was determined to hang in there with everyone else. We went about 1 1/4 miles down and so we had to come 1 1/4 miles back up the canyon. So I guess 2 1/2 miles is not to bad for my first time. My husband wants us to come back next year and hike to the bottom and spend the night and hike back out the next day. I am not sure that I am up for that or not. I will have a lot of work over the next year to get in shape. I forgot to mention that it was about 98 degrees and in the hot sun on the way back up and it was much harder going up than coming down. I was totally drained when we made it back to the RV. I think that I was the first one to sleep that night. It was a great experience and well worth the effort. I really enjoyed everything about the trip down the canyon.

Four Corners

We left Mesa Verde, Colorado and headed to Arizona. We stopped at the four corners monument on the way. It is the coolest thing to be able to stand in one spot and be in four states at the same time. Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. We had our picture made while we were standing on the four corners spot. They had booths set up with all kinds of things for sell. I just had to look around and I bought the girls a silver bracelet. We left there and headed towards the Grand Canyon.

Mesa Verde National Park

We got up early and my Aunt cooked us a big breakfast before we headed to Mesa Verde National Park which is one of the premier archaeological parks administered by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. It was established on June 29, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt as a National Park to "preserve the works of man", the first national park of its kind. Mesa Verde preserves the largest cliff dwellings in North America. We opted to take 2 guided tours which cost $3.00 per tour. We toured the Cliff Palace and the Balcony House. I must mention that I do not like heights. The Cliff Palace tour went pretty smooth. It is a one hour tour that involves descending uneven stone steps and climbing five ladders for a 100 ft vertical climb. The total walking distance is 1/4 mile round trip. Well when the Ranger gave his speech about what to expect on the Balcony Hour Tour I started getting cold feet. My husband seemed a little frustrated at me so I talked to the Park Ranger and told him my fears. He was very nice and said I could go a little ways and if I got scared I could turn back. I decided to face my fears head on and it felt really good. The Park Ranger let me go first through the tunnel and was very sweet and helpful. This tour involved climbing a 32ft ladder and crawling through a 12ft long tunnel(which I thought I would not make it through ) that you have to crawl through, and climbing up a 60ft open cliff face with stone steps and two 10ft ladders to exit the site. I made it and I was so proud of myself. I have done so many things on this trip that I thought I would never be able to do. The Ranger gave me a Junior Ranger badge for giving it a try!!! It was very interesting and well worth the climb!!!!

Cherry Tree

When we were at the Mesa Verde RV Park my daughter told me that they had a cherry tree. I have never seen a cherry tree so I had to go take a look. Sure enough it was a cherry tree. My uncle tasted it and said it was really good and tangy. I picked some to bring home for the seeds to see if I could grow a cherry tree. I doubt it will bear any fruit because it will not get cold enough where I live. It was neat to see!!!!!

Elk

On the way to Mesa Verde My husband saw Elk standing in a field and he had to stop and look at them. I guess it is just a guy thing, but he loves to look at Elk. He goes to Colorado Elk hunting about every other year.

Pagosa Springs

We left Alamosa and was heading to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. On the way we stopped at an overlook site in the San Juan Mountains. The view was simply breathtaking. We also hiked about 1/2 mile to see a waterfall and it was beautiful. I really enjoy looking at waterfalls because they are just so pretty. We finally arrived in Pagosa Springs and decided to check out the town. We were not going to stay in Pagosa just wanted to visit for a little while. Let me give you a little history about Pagosa Springs. It has been called the largest and hottest natural mineral outflow in the world, the spring is often coveted for its healing and restorative qualities. It got its name from the Ute Indian tribe and is known as "Pag-Osah" meaning a place of peace and healing. It has a Resort there that hot tubs and pools that has temperatures ranging from 90 to 110 degrees. The main spring is 144 degrees and is to hot for bathing but its water heats the Springs Resort. It also heats many downtown buildings by a geothermal well. I thought it was a really neat little town and I would love to come stay in the Resort and soak in the pools. My husband and three girls decided to tube the San Juan River why we were there, so my aunt and I went shopping at all the little shops along the streets. I bought a cross cookie cutter and would have loved to have had more time to shop. My husband had a blast tubing, but my girls did not have as much fun. So we loaded up and headed to Mesa Verde where the cliff dwellings were and found us an Rv Park to spend the night so that we could go to Mesa Verde the next day.

Sand Dunes Swimming Pool

The Sand Dunes RV park that we stayed at had a Natural Hot Artesian Pool. The water came from a spring in the ground and was about 130 degrees. They keep the pool between 98-100 degrees and they had a 25 person therapy pool that they keep between 105 and 107 degrees. The water is amazingly clear with no odors and no added chlorine. It felt so good and it helped heal my sore legs from the sand dunes climb. I ate a hamburger at the little concession stand at the pool and it was wonderful. We had a really great evening at the pool. The park is located near the small town of Hooper, Colorado, nestled in the scenic desert surroundings of the San Luis Valley in Southern Colorado.

Giant Cinammon Roll in Alamosa

We left the Great Sand Dunes pool and Rv Park and was headed to Mesa Verde. I will blog about the Artisan hot springs pool later that was at the Sand Dunes RV Park. We went through a town called Alamosa on our way. We stopped at Wal-mart to get some more things and I asked the cashier where was a good place to eat there and she said the Campus Cafe. She said they had the best cinnamon rolls ever, so I new that was the place to go. We drove around until we found it and went in to eat. It was packed at 10:30, so I felt pretty sure the food was going to be good. I was right the food was delicious. The cinnamon role was huge and was wonderful. It cost $3.00 , but it was worth every penny. I was hoping to loose a little weight on this trip since I would be doing a lot of walking. I doubt that will happen if I keep eating giant cinnamon rolls!!!

Zapata Falls!!

We left the sand dunes and headed to the falls. We had a 1/2 mile hike to get to the falls. I was so tired from the sand dunes, but I didn't want to be left behind. I was beautiful when we got there. The girls immediately ran to the water when we got there, but it was freezing cold. You had to walk in the water along the rocks for a little ways to see the water fall. I did not go at first, but I could not resist the chance to see a beautiful water fall. The water was freezing and after a minute you could not feel your feet. It was well worth the effort because it was absolutely beautiful. We found a squirrel sitting close by and fed him some sunflower seeds. He was very tame and the girls just loved watching him eat the seeds. On the way back down I saw a cactus with beautiful blooms and had to take a picture.

The Great Sand Dunes!!

We left Buena Vista this morning heading to the Great Sand Dunes. We stopped at a quaint little cafe in Hooper, Colorado and had a great breakfast. We headed to the Dunes about 11:00 and started hiking up them about 11:30. When I say Sand Dunes I mean really big mountains of sand. Everybody thought that I would wimp out early, so I was determined to prove them wrong. about 1/4 of the way to the top I thought I that I had made a bad decision to attempt to climb these massive sand dunes. My husband said he would give me 100.00 if I made it to the top. I had to keep going with a prize of 100.00 waiting at he top. The air was really thin and I had trouble breathing, but I was determined to keep going. I got almost to the top and I got really sick and all I could think about was the fact that I had to go back down. I sat down and just wanted to stop, but my sweet husband came down and helped me make it to the top. When I got there a sand storm came and it was blowing so hard I could not see. The sand felt like tiny knives on my legs. My husband tried to shelter me and my oldest daughter from the sand. My aunt and one of my twins were a little away from us and I could hear her crying. I was really scared and my daughter started praying and the sand stopped blowing so we immediately headed down the dunes. It was quite and experience to say the least. I am so proud that I did it now and I am going to enjoy spending my hundred dollars. I don't think that I will ever want to climb the Great Sand Dunes again.

Our Trip To Aspen!!

Well we left heading to Aspen, Colorado this morning around 9:oo after eating a big breakfast that my Aunt cooked for us to eat. A really nice man gave us some information about a place to go see here in Buena Vista. He had a cat on a leash and I don't think that I have ever seen a cat being walked on a leash. He was a really pretty black cat. The girls just thought it was so neat. People are very friendly in the RV parks. We found the road that he was talking about and checked it out. It was a winding road into the mountains and we got out and hiked a little. It was a beautiful site when we got to the top of the mountain. We left there and headed to Independence Pass, which is on the way to Aspen. The roads are very curvy and scary, but it was an awesome view. It was cold and windy there, but some of us hiked a little while some just watched and stayed cold. Aspen is a neat place that I would love to live one day. It has a neat little town with sidewalk cafe's and the most beautiful flowers. I would have loved to stay longer, but at least I got to experience the ambiance of the town. I told my husband that we were coming back to stay there soon. It was a wonderful day filled with beauty and some wonderful learning experiences for all of us.

Royal Gorge in Canon City Colorado

We were headed to Buena Vista last night, but we were tired so we decided to find an Rv park and spend the night. We stayed in Canon City, Colorado which was about 7o miles from Buena Vista. We got up this morning and decided to go see the Royal gorge before we left Canon City. I was really glad we went because it was a really neat thing to see. They had a bridge that you could either walk or drive over to go across the gorge(a huge hole). It was an interesting place to say the least. We left there and headed to Buena Vista to stay for a few days. We are now at the Snowy Peaks RV Park in Buena Vista. It is really nice and the lady that checked us in was super nice. The girls are riding their bikes and meeting people everywhere. We are having so much fun. It is so nice here because it is about 70 degrees and the wind is blowing. It should be in the 4os tonight which is a whole lot better than the 100 degree days we have in Alabama. We are going to venture out tomorrow and find some fun things to keep us busy.

Our trip to Colorado!!

We left out from the house at about 5:30 Saturday morning which is great for me because I am not a morning person. My husband always fuses because we never get to leave early when we travel, so he was so proud of me. I think it has a little bit to do with my aunt because she helped me get the girls packed, which is a job in itself. I am so looking forward to this vacation!!!! It is always nice to get away from all the stresses of everyday life. We drove all day stopping at rest areas a long the way. We stopped at a rest area in Texas and my aunt cooked hamburgers. It was really nice. My husband and I are following behind the motor home in our car and it has been so nice to spend some quality time together just getting to talk without any interuptions. We spent the night in Witchita Falls, Texas and we rolled out at about 7: 00 this morning. We are stopped at a rest area in Donley, Texas now eating some breakfast. Rest areas are so cool now because they have Wi-fi- access.

Wow What an Adventure!!!!

We are headed to Colorado for two weeks with our three girls and our aunt and uncle in their motor home. We are going to stay in Buena Vista, Colorado and venture out to other places. I plan to try to blog about our trip along the way, so come along and enjoy the trip with us as we hopefully have some great adventures.

Rain Rain Please Don't Go Away!!!!!

I was so happy to see the rain, but it went away to fast. I am really enjoying gardening this year and my poor veggies are dying from the heat and no rain. I was so excited when I heard the rain Monday morning. I new when we got so much rain in May and we were wishing it would stop, there would come a time when we would be begging for rain. I have 2 garden spots and the one in my yard I have been watering by hand every morning and the one across the road I have been watering about 1 time a week. I pray for more rain because the one across the road from where I live is burning up and dying. So please rain rain come again!!!!

4th Of July

I had a wonderful 4th of July with my family and friends. It is always nice to spend time with family and friends. My dad(stepfather--the best dad I could ask for) cooked the most awesome ribs(he is a fantastic cook)for our meal. All of the ladies brought a dish to share with everyone. It was also a special occasion for my younger sister. She was born on the 4th of July, so we celebrated her birthday with cake and ice cream. She always thought that people were shooting fireworks for her birthday when she was little. It was a really great evening that we ended with shooting some fireworks. I feel really blessed to be living in the USA where we still have our freedom.