Aug
15
A few weeks ago we finally decided what we’d do for vacation……Colorado isn’t new to us but we went to a dude ranch, a very new experience for us! It’s a christian guest ranch and was a really nice place to go; I think everyone had fun. We flew out on Saturday a week ago (Don, David, Liz and me) and met up with the rest in Denver…..Kathryn, Jeremy & Katelyn landed about a half hour before us and Trent & Grayson landed a few minutes after us (Shanna & Ava Clair couldn’t come :sad:). It took about 3 hours to get to the ranch plus a stop for hamburgers and groceries but we made it just in time for an orientation meeting they have to let you know about their activities.
I’ll try to summarize on the extended page, but it will probably be long because we did so much while gone!
Sunday morning Don woke up early, turned on all the lights and wanted to know if anyone was going on the pre-breakfast hike! Lots of groans and no one went but him. We did go to the church service they had later that morning; ate all our meals at the lodge that day & on Monday, yummy! Grayson wasn’t old enough to ride the horses but they said Trent could bring him to the barn most any time and they’d let him walk Grayson around on a horse so they did that a couple of times while there.
He was too cute! I had found Trent’s old cowboy hat & shirt from when he was little….I think Grandma & Grandpa gave him the hat; it was a little tight on Grayson’s head but he liked it anyway!
Monday morning we all got up early to hike to the wrangler’s breakfast, about a mile there and mile back afterwards; lots of fun and the food was good.
They cook the food outdoors and serve it to you on tin plates and coffee or cocoa out of old tin cups; kinda fun but they looked very used!
I think this is the only time we got a picture of all of us together.
We stayed in one of the cabins rather than the lodge; they were very rustic but nice. No tv’s, telephones, or internet, yikes! But I’m sure that made for more of a vacation that way. So we played games some….I think we even got into a “heated” discussion late one night over Liverpool!
I did a lot of reading; finished 2 books & started a 3rd one. We ate all 3 meals Sunday & Monday in the lodge dining room, then other days we ate cereal & sandwiches in our cabin and night meal at the lodge. The food was good and I even bought their cookbook at the end of the week.
We went to the pool a few times….there were 2 heated pools and a hot tub that felt really nice, especially when it was so cool outside.
The scenery, mountains, sunsets, etc were all so gorgeous and majestic; such wonderous & awe inspiring things, created by God…..it is so amazing sometimes to see such different landscape than what we live in. I wondered about all of that when we got back; to the heat, humidity, mosquitoes & such and asked Don why we lived here. He said some silly thing about it’s where we make a living or some such nonsense! I am glad to be home but I still wonder…………
Wow, that was a lot and a lot of pictures and it was long! I haven’t even gotten to most of the hiking, fishing, & horseback riding yet! So check back later and I’ll try to get the rest of the week into another post.
August 15th, 2006 at 3:43 pm
Wow, those are great pictures! Katelyn looks so big and Grayson looks like a total cowboy in his clothes and hat… and I love his haircut too. I hate that SK and AC couldn’t come, but I know the rest of you guys had fun. I would love to see that part of the country, I bet it was a great experience. Can’t wait to see more and hear more. YEAH, vacation pictures!!!
August 15th, 2006 at 9:43 pm
wow….good start, I am sure you all had a wonderful time.
I love that, asking Don why you live where you do !!
more !!
August 15th, 2006 at 9:51 pm
Wow, that sounds like a wonderful vacation! One of the teachers that I worked with still has a house in Colorado. They rented it to people because they don’t want to go back…..don’t know why? 🙂 They said that it was wonderful there.
The main thing about a vacation is spending time with your family, and it looks like you got to do plenty of that! ….oh…and the pictures are great!