Colorado 2021

 Colorado is varied, colorful, and wild!  Rocky mountain National Park encompasses 265,808 acres of a spectacular range of mountains.  The weather was perfect, the vistas were amazing and the wildlife was abundant.  I especially fell in love with the Aspen trees which are everywhere!!

 We took a side trip while in Colorado Springs, destination Del Norte for the night where John "had the best hamburger he had ever had in his life" .We traveled the Silver Thread Scenic Highway thru Cripple Creek and onto Lake City.  Cripple Creek is the most pristine, serene valley highlighted by the Colorado river running through it and surrounded by lush mountains.  Lake City is a quiet, clean little community that brings pause and makes you want to stop and stay for a while.

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Pikes Peak rises to an elevation of over 14,000 ft with warning of Altitude Sickness, which we happily avoided.  The drive us was all clear blue skies and fluffy white clouds.  Unfortunately the top was wet, soggy and socked in with rain clouds for the day.  But the visitors center at the top was very interesting and the drive was scenic, breathtaking and worth the visit.  Can't even imagine what the yearly Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Race must be like!!

Garden of the Gods, in Colorado Springs, is like a mini Arches National Park. What stands out about this location is there are no other red rock formations anywhere in the area and that although it is a National Park it was set aside as a free park so it would forever be accessible to the public!! Beautiful!

Manitou Cliff Dwellings in Manitou Springs are fascinating architecture of the Anasazi Indians. These cliff dwellings were relocated and replica of ancestral housing. 

Great Sand Dunes National Park in Alamosa is a sand dune field encompassing 30 square miles with the tallest dune towering 750 feet high.  Amazingly impressive!  And we went back that evening and took in the night sky, simply beautiful!

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a 3 foot narrow-guage heritage railroad that runs the 64 miles from Antonito, CO to Chama, NM.  It is a slow ride through the prairie with crossroads of wagon trails warning of a train crossing! 

And Granddaughters are the best too!!

This year felt more like "normal" as we were able to take the girls for our yearly camping trip!! We visited the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, The campground had a high ropes course which I knew they would love and they did. It was sheltered by a beautiful canopy of trees with obstacles and zip lines!! John even ventured into the tree tops and I "made the sacrifice" and took photos from the ground! 

 

We went to a water park, checked out the Roanoke Star,

and indulged on some fabulous ice cream.

 

Teenagers are some of the most crazy, excited, fun loving, terrifyingly enthusiastic people that I know!! And our granddaughters are no exception!  I just love spending time with them.  I love it when they ask me about their mom and aunts as children.  I love their silly laughter! I love their curiosity!!

 

The BLOOMS came to town!

 What a treat for TJ, Laurie, Emma and Kendall to come for a visit!!  When they travel they bring their supersized motor home and this time we were included in their swing on a visit to the south!

It was fun to show them where we live, visit downtown Greenville, introduce them to SOUTHERN barbecue, Kansas City has nothing on us, and to enjoy a pontoon boat ride on Lake Jocassee!

Grandsons are simply the best!!!

 
We got to go camping again!!  This campground in Hillsville, VA is a great place for kids, complete with a pool, water slides, paddle boats and lots of shaded campsites.  The weather was perfect and we all had a great time!  I say it every time but I love getting the kids out in the woods to play games, and make a campfire and smores and act like kids!!  We are the luckiest of grandparents!!  The boys were so good and I think they really have come to appreciate our time together in the woods!