Thursday, July 7, 2016

Friends Around the Campfire

In June we took the trailer for it's third trip.  Colorado was the destination and we joined Jerry and Mavis for this trip.  The destination that Jerry had in mind was Dumont campground southeast of Steamboat Springs near Rabbit Ears Pass but it was still closed so we looked at other campgrounds nearby.  The other campgrounds were all still snowy and very muddy!  It was starting to get dark and began to rain so we found a pull off on the main road and set up camp for the night. 

This picture was taken the next morning as we prepared to pull out!  
Travel life is pretty good when you can just pull over and cook a pizza for dinner, enjoy a fully functioning restroom, and sleep in your own bed!  


The next day we headed to another nearby part of Colorado that Jerry was familiar with; the Flat Tops and Routt National Forest areas.  After passing through Yampa we turned up a forest road that looked familiar to Jerry.  I was pretty nervous because there was a sign that said 'Road Ends No Turnaround', yikes!  This is a picture I took as we wound our way up the road into the mountains!  I was pretty convinced the day was not going to end well!  

Oh, ye of little faith, after slowly making our way up we found a nice campsite at the end of the road near Crosho Lake!


We were camped just a short walk away from Crosho Lake. 


There was a small pond next to Crosho Lake, here you can see the path between the two bodies of water, Crosho to the right and the other smaller pond to the left.  

One evening we saw a person come out of those aspen trees and stand at the edge for a few minutes before turning and heading back into the forest, they never came closer and we joked that it was a Yeti!  A few days later while Jerry and Mavis were hiking up in that area they came across a group of four cabins and met our Yeti!  They said she was a really nice lady!

Another view of Crosho Lake on a sunnier day.

Crosho Lake.



The small pond next to the Lake.

Resting after chopping wood.

This was the sawbuck that Bobby designed to help chop wood!

Griff liked to pick out pieces of firewood to chew!

Some scenes from an evening hike we took.  We drove to the trailhead which was a couple miles from our camp.  Two mule deer were having their dinner as we parked the truck and started our hike.

Griff scouting out the trail!

Beaver dam and pond down the hill.



 We could see where the beavers were getting their building materials!


The trail crossed over this small creek.


Although there were more dandelions than I ever remember seeing in Colorado we did see some wildflowers too!






The view walking back to camp from Crosho Lake.


We spent a total of six nights in Colorado and had a great time!  The days went by fast and each evening we gathered around the campfire to hang out and visit.  Good times!

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

One and Five

On June 4th we celebrated Jackson's first birthday and Josh & Susan's fifth wedding anniversary!  And what a fun day it was!

The Winnie the Pooh themed party started at 2:00 PM and there were twenty plus guests to help Jax celebrate in style!

Family picture in the kitchen!

A very happy birthday boy!




Hanging out with Mom!

 Hanging out with Dad!

 Checking out the smash cake!


Trying his first bite of frosting!
After the party he carried around the Tigger figurine for days!


Helping Mom unwrap gifts!


His favorite toy, a ball!



This car was another favorite gift!

Colby and Brody saying goodbye!

There was lots of good food!  The decorated sugar cookies were a favorite of everyone!

 Two of the younger attendees!

This teepee was our gift to the birthday boy!  
Josh set it up that evening and sent us this picture!

And he sent us this picture the next morning!

The day after the party Jax had his first swim in the pool!  
He was a big fan of floating in his boat!





Sunday, June 5, 2016

Walking in the Wetlands

After all of last year's foot problems I've been trying to start walking regularly again and found the perfect place; the newly relocated and reopened Baker Wetlands.  It is a beautiful place for a walk and is only five miles from home!  So far the pea gravel, concrete, and boardwalk surfaces have been much kinder to my feet than the gravel on our road. Another advantage to walking at the wetlands is there is no vehicle traffic like when I was walking on our road where typically three to four cars would drive by during my 45 minute walk.

There are all kinds of birds, grasses, and other wildlife to see.  I've only seen one snake so far and he was a small very fast one that moved quickly off the path as I approached.

On this day storms were moving in and I could hear thunder rolling to the South (our house!)


One of the walking paths was closed due to high water from all the recent rains.




 When I look at this picture I can almost hear those geese honking as they take flight.




Got back to the car just as the rain began.

Another visit on a sunnier day!