Rocky Mountain Adventure Part Five

We ventured up high into the mountains again today. We drove up to Rollins Pass on what was apparently the road to get here prior to US 40.

We stopped along the way to do some exploring.

When we found a creek the kids had to spend some time throwing rocks in the water.

We also packed another picnic and enjoyed a mountain view for lunch.

At one of the stops, we let Tyler try to take some pictures. Here is the series:

Maybe, we need to work on not putting your finger in front of the lens. ;) Still I think he did better than Ashley. Here are her attempts.

Once we were up at the pass, we found another hiker to take our picture. Tyler decided to hide behind the sign, but it is technically a picture of all four of us.

Up at the pass, there was a beautiful lake.

There were also some spots with snow on the ground, and the kiddies loved playing in it.

Now for a few scenery shots:

Rocky Mountain Adventure Part Four

Today was a low key day. We spent a good part of our day hanging around the condo. We went into downtown Winter Park, and did a little shopping at the Cooper Creek area. Here are the kids on a bench there.

There was a toy store there, and we let the kids each pick out something. Ashley chose a "princess crown."

And Tyler chose a little Hot Wheels car track that mounts to the wall.

After some shopping, we hit the park.

We ended the day with some ice cream...

...and another trip to the arcade.

Tomorrow, we plan to go back out into nature.

Rocky Mountain Adventure Part Three

Yesterday, we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. We packed up a picnic, and enjoyed lunch with an amazing view.

We may have overbought for the picnic, we had: grapes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries (This sort of berry overload is what happens when you leave Tyler alone with his daddy in the produce section, while you take Ashley to the restroom. The boy loves berries!!!), peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches (one without jelly), a turkey sandwich, summer sausage, 4 kinds of cheese, turkey, Ritz crackers, Club crackers, Chicken in a Biscuit, Cheetos, kettle chips, Pringles, chocolate chip cookies, and mint Milanos. Perhaps, too much for four people! After lunch, we explored the park.

We drove the entire Trail Ridge Road, which took us up above the tree line. It even snowed on us, while we were up there.

The kids didn't want to stay out for very long while we were up in the Alpine Tundra, but when we came back down where it was a little warmer, they really enjoyed exploring.

Both Tyler and Ashley loved leaning over and feeling the cold mountain water.

Tyler's favorite activity was throwing rocks and sticks into the stream. He even insisted that daddy help him carry this giant rock to the stream, so he could toss it in.

We did see plenty of wildlife...a ton of chipmunks.

Some elk

And we saw some moose and deer, but I didn't get any pictures. A great day!

Rocky Mountain Adventure Part Two

Most of our day today was spent exploring the area right around our condo and the Village.

The kids played for a bit on a playground here that had a big wooden train.

Brent taught them how to play chess on the giant chess board.

We spent quite a bit of time in the Winter Parcade.

Ashley's favorite thing in the arcade was this horse.

She loved to try to reach over and put the token in herself, while on the horse, which was not exactly easy.  We are lucky to be here while the Colorado Freeride Festival is going on. So, today we got to sit on the deck at our condo building...

...and watch the "Intergalactic Pond Crossing Competition," which basically involved people on bikes crossing a pond on an incredibly narrow "bridge," made of boards and foam floating pieces.

You can barely make it out in this picture, but there is a bike on a narrow bridge in that pond. Most of the bikes fell off into the water, making for some amusement, but a decent number did make it across. The kids did get to try their own hand at some bike riding. (Thankfully, not across any ponds.)

We definitely need to get the kids bikes soon, particularly Tyler. He really enjoyed it. We also rode the Cabriolet lift, which the kids loved, but I didn't get any pictures, and Ashley played a bit at another playground that they have. (Tyler had to go back to the arcade.)

It is funny. It felt like a really relaxing day, but when I put it all down, I guess we really did a lot!