I am finally getting around to blogging about our AWESOME trip. It has taken me awhile to sort through the photos, unpack, and recover. We had an amazing time and I want to thank the Hill family for sharing their wonderful vacation home in Crested Butte with us. This was the first time for any of us to visit this unique little town, and we fell in love. My mom agreed to come with us on this trip and I am so glad that she did! We made some GREAT memories that I know we will be talking about for years to come. I figured that the best way to blog all of the details would be to take it day by day.
Wednesday, July 18th
I had the bright idea that if we left Fort Worth around midnight on Wednesday, the twins would sleep for most of the trip. Tayden stayed up until about 1:30 and Brooklyn lasted until around 3:30. They were both so excited and kept saying, "We going to Colorado to tall, tall mountains." I drove until we got to Dalhart at around 7:00 a.m. and then Tim took over and drove the rest of the way. My mom, who I must say was totally against our night driving, kept constant vigil from the backseat, asking me every 20 minutes or so if I was still awake. She didn't sleep a wink, and I got about an hour of sleep once Tim took the wheel.
Thursday, July 19th
We stopped for breakfast at a McDonald's in Raton, New Mexico, and let the twins stretch their legs. We arrived in Gunnison, Colorado at around 2:00 p.m. (which is about 20 min. from Crested Butte). I dropped my mom, Tim, and the twins off at the local park and went to Safeway to get all of our groceries. I stuffed the sacks in spaces between our luggage, picked up the crew and we headed to CB. The house where we stayed is in Crested Butte South, which is about 6 miles from the town of CB. We decided to stop in town to grab lunch before heading to the house to unpack. We stopped at the Sunflower (a little deli) and got delicious sandwiches to go. The temperature was a pleasant 85 degrees - pretty amazing compared to 106 back at home.
We arrived at the house and took a tour. It is an absolutely beautiful home and the views are incredible. The kids played outside while we ate and then we went to work unpacking. The twins took late naps and when they woke up we went back to town to explore. We weren't really hungry for a big meal, so we found a yummy ice cream place - Three Bowls to try. They make all of their ice cream fresh each day and feature savory flavor combos such as salted caramel and strawberry basil. We headed back to the house and settled in for our first night. We were able to sleep with the windows open - wonderful!!!
Friday, July 20th
We woke up and I made breakfast with Brooklyn's help. The Dish Network guy was coming to install cable and internet so we left Tim at home and went to explore the neighborhood park. It was a great park, but all of the equipment was too hot to play on. We let the kids explore for a bit and then decided to drive in to Gunnison for a Sonic ice tea. One of the neat things (except when craving a Sonic tea) about CB is that there are no chain restaurants or stores. There are no fast food places and everything is owned locally.
We arrived at Sonic and as we waited I started to look at Facebook. This was my first time to have phone service since the night before. Everyone was posting prayers for Colorado, which really freaked me out a bit. I soon read about the devastating masacre that occured a few hours away in Aurora. I still cannot believe that someone would do such a terrible thing! We have had shootings in our schools, malls, churches, and movie theaters, which goes to show that no place is off limits. We got the twins their first ever cups of Sonic ice. They were so excited, but both of them had dumped it in their laps before we got out of Gunnison.
On our way back to the house we stopped in the small town of Almont which had perfect access to a beautiful river. SueSue taught the twins how to throw rocks in the river and she even had luck skipping a few. They absolutely loved this!!! Despite not having on swim suits, they both got right on in. We were there for over an hour and they would have stayed for many more hours. We promised to come back with Tim very soon. Once we got to the house the twins went down for their naps and with the newly installed dish we were able to watch the news about the shooting.
We had dinner at an amazing restaurant - Slogar, which is very much like a Babe's. You get a heaping plate of fried chicken with all of the sides served family style. Their biscuits were to die for as well as the mashed potatoes and corn. As an appetizer they bring out a relish tray with cottage cheese and tomato chutney. I had been warned that this stuff was great and even though I am not a tomato fan, Tim and my mom loved it. They also had wonderful tea! After dinner, we walked up and down the main street - Elk Avenue and looked in the windows of all the shops and restaurants.
Monday, July 23rd
We left the house around 9:30 a.m. and headed for Royal Gorge. We stopped along the way for coffee and breakfast. When we arrived, we drove across the scariest suspension bridge in America and then parked. We rode the incline railway, the aerial tram (red box), and the carousel about 8 times. Brooklyn loved it and wanted to ride it again and again, but Tayden was scared to death (yes, the child who flew 30 feet in the air). We saw beautiful mountain views and the river winding below. As we rode the red box across the gorge (SueSue sat this one out) the twins loved looking out the windows. While we waited in line on the other side to come back Tayden and Brooklyn befriended everyone else in line. By the time we reached the car we were all hot and exhausted.
We left Royal Gorge around 5:00 p.m. to start the long trek home. The twins took a long nap and we grabbed a late lunch at a town on the way. We stopped at the McDonalds in Dalhart so the twins could eat and change into their pjs. I started my shift of driving and my mom sat in the front seat to keep me company. Tim and the twins were asleep before long and slept the rest of the way home. My mom and I had great conversations about our family history, marriage, and her childhood. We stopped a few times to potty and for tea to keep us awake. We arrived at her house around 5:30 a.m. and were at our house unloading the cars by 6. The twins and I went to sleep and Tim worked for awhile before he crashed.
We had an amazing time and the twins are still talking about all of the fun they had in Colorado. Brooklyn started calling my mom Susan about halfway into the trip and would always say, "Hey Susan- whatcha doing?" She loves her SueSue or Susan and slept with her 3/4 nights. I would come down in the mornings to find them on the couch reading books while drinking milk and coffee. Tayden called Royal Gorge - Royal George, so my mom started calling him Tayden George, which he still calls himself. Anytime we would laugh at something, they would say, "That's larious!" The drive was a bit long, but the fun we had was well worth it! The twins did suprisingly well in the car and there was only a few times when they got antsy. I am so glad my mom went with us. She has always loved Colorado and she was in need of a vacation - if you can call a trip with 2 two year olds a vacation.
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