This post might be a little long, so I understand if you skip it! There's lots of pictures, too! Here's the breakdown of our trip:
On Friday (October 1st), we packed up the "swagger wagon" (it's how we affectionately refer to the van) with all our supplies, clothes, Daisy, and Jack and drove to Dallas. We spent the night at Shannon & Kevin's (Matthew's sister and brother-in-law) house and dropped off Jack for a week at Kamp Klucsarits. Then we got up early Saturday morning and started our drive to Colorado. We made several stops along the way because I was having leg cramps (Matthew was so patient!!), but we finally made it to Amarillo for lunch. Matthew had seen this burger joint on the Food Network (Man v. Food) that had a "Burger From Hell" that he just had to try. I was a little anxious but the food was fantastic!! We had burgers and the most delicious cheese fries with a chile verde salsa on them...Too bad not many of you will be anywhere near Amarillo because I'd highly recommend it!
The great plains of West Texas
We finished our never-ending drive through Texas and finally made it to Trinidad, Colorado and the Trinidad Lake State Park where we were going to set up our tent and camp for the night. The park was absolutely beautiful!! The campsites were situated on a bluff overlooking the lake and the mountains. Our adventure started when we were putting on the tent...Matthew and I are what you'd call "amateur campers". We FINALLY got the tent set up and secure and we were exhausted. We had a meal of sandwiches and then we were ready for bed. We all piled into the tent (Daisy included!) to sleep. About 30 minutes later, the thunder and lightning started and Daisy began panting and moving around and stepping all over me. Matthew and I decided to give up and we took down the tent and moved the party to the van. We "slept" in the van for the rest of the night...actually Daisy slept (and snored up a storm!) and Matthew slept some, and I slept very little! Needless to say, I was glad when the night was over!
Our view from the campsite at Trinidad Lake State Park
Matthew, Daisy, & I in the tent we set up
Where we were SUPPOSED to spend the night
Where we ACTUALLY spent the night
The next day, we woke up and drove to Colorado Springs. We went to church in the morning and then drove around town for a few minutes, checking out houses, locals, and the Broadmoor. Then we made the trip up Pikes Peak in the van. It was a beautiful drive and the weather was fabulous. We made our lunch and ate it at the top. When we finished, we made a brief stop at Garden of the Gods before we headed for Denver. We ate dinner in Denver at the original Chipotle and Matthew had a blast at the flagship REI store. Finally we finished our road trip and ended up in Estes Park at the cottage we rented for the week.
At the top of Pikes Peak
View from the top of Pikes Peak
The aspens on Pikes Peak
Garden of the Gods
Balancing rock at Garden of the Gods
The flagship REI in Denver
The next day we woke up to beautiful weather and spent the day in Estes Park. We drove into town and got some groceries for the week, checked out a local art store co-op, went to the Rocky Mountain National Park visitor's center for some information, took Daisy to the dog park, and watched the elk in the evening. On Tuesday, we took the 48 mile drive that the park Ranger recommended to us that took us up into the mountains of the park and ended up in Grand Lake, where we had lunch. When we finished the drive, we took a 3 mile hike in the park and saw 3 beautiful lakes.
Estes Park
I was a little scared of the big bull elks!!
Waterfall on our drive through RMNP
Lake on the RMNP drive
The Continental Divide goes right through the park
The baby likes a hike, too!
Matthew at one of the highest points on our hike
The hike was worth the view!!
One of the lakes on our first hike
Elks fighting on the golf course in town
The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park - inspired Stephen King's "The Shining"
On Wednesday, we drove to Boulder. We walked around town, checked out the shops, went to the University of Colorado, and Matthew took pictures of some beautiful houses! We also had the best meal at a great Mediterranean restaurant in town. On Thursday, we went back into Rocky Mountain National Park for a 5.5 mile hike. I wasn't sure if I'd make it (the 3 mile hike two days before kicked my pregnant behind!!), but I did great thankyouverymuch! It took us about 4 hours with stopping and taking pictures, but it was a stunning view of a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains at the top! After the hike, we came back into town, watched the Texas Rangers game on TV, had a late lunch, and relaxed!
Beautiful aspens on the trail of our second hike
Waterfall on our second hike
Love the waterfalls!!
Breathtaking view at the end of the hike! (I look pretty tired in the picture...)
Friday morning we woke up early (AGAIN!) and packed up the van and headed back towards Trinidad Lake State Park. We took a different route through Keystone, Breckenridge, Florence, and the Royal Gorge. It was beautiful drive and we saw lots of snow! We made it to Trinidad before dark, setup the tent, and prayed for better weather! It turned out to be a successful night of camping!! (however, I still don't recommend it for the pregnant folks in the crowd!)
Royal Gorge view
Beautiful church in the mountains
Snow!!! (and Matthew in shorts!)
Our last night of camping!!
We woke up even earlier the next morning, anxious to be back home, and ended up back in Dallas at Shannon & Kevin's in time to watch the Rangers game again. We also went to a baby store and Matthew and I test-drove some strollers. We had breakfast in Dallas with Shannon & Kevin before we finally headed back to San Antonio.
We are both exhausted, but we had such a great time together!! Matthew also took some 17 week belly pictures while we were in Colorado that I've posted. No new news with the babe! Everything seems to be going well...I feel good...just larger and larger every day!! I haven't felt the baby move yet, but I'm sure it will be soon. I'll keep you all updated!
17 weeks!!
Love you all,
Courtney
looks beautiful! the scenery and you! wish i were there! xoxo
ReplyDeleteWow, so adventurous I must say! I bet your poor preggo self was so uncomfortable in that van. Bless you! You look great and your pictures are fab! I love the one of the aspens! Glad ya'll were able to go do this pre-baby! Love ya'll and miss ya'll tons! Glad you got the card!
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