Spring Break Trip to Colorado

This year for spring break we went to Grand Lake Colorado with the Reagens for 4 days.

We stopped in Denver for pizza with Andrew.
Some of us.
The view of Lake Granby from our townhome.
Cam eating leftover pizza.

Our first day there we went for a hike at Adams Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Elliot and Cam
Hope, Lucia, Susan and Rose
Rose enjoyed some climbing.
The hot tub.

On day 2 we went tubing at the Frasier Tubing Hill.

Susan and Rob
Windy Family Photo. It got really windy toward the end. Luckily we were about ready to leave by this point.
After tubing we walked about the Winter Park ski village.
Pretty mountain view.
Snowshoeing.

On day 3 we went for another hike, this time along the Colorado River Trail in RMNP.

Crossing the Colorado River
Elliot
Toward the end the snow was less packed and we found ourselves falling through the snow a lot. This is how we knew it was time to turn around. For most of the hike the snow was packed and we could walk comfortably.
This is where we ate a snack before turning around.

On day 4 we rented cross country skis and the shop recommended we drive to where Trail Ridge Road is closed in RMNP and ski on the road. It was awesome. The weather was grat. The views were good. The girls picked it up without a problem. It was awesome to be on the road that is so busy in the summer, but we literally only saw one other person who was out snowshoeing.

Getting started. You can see Rose and Lucia is way up ahead.
Lucia, Rose and Hope
Nate, Erin, Cam and Elliot
In the evening we played games.
Our drive out of the mountains was beautiful.

Our drive home did not go so well. There was a blizzard in Eastern Nebraska and I-80 was closed across the entire state. In this picture we are in a gas station in Western Nebraska trying to figure out what to do with our lives. We were going to drive the whole way home on Wednesday, but we ended up spending the night in North Platte on Wednesday and finishing the drive on Thursday.

Acadia National Park Carriage Roads

Acadia National Park has a cool carriage road system that runs throughout the park. They are used by horse-drawn carriages, horses, bikes, and pedestrians. Today we went for a short walk on one of the trails to a couple of beautiful bridges. The carriage roads were really nice and it was a beautiful walk.

Back to the Mall

Today we were back on the Metro to head to the White House and a monument tour of the Mall.

We started at the White House.

Next up was the Washington Monument. When we were here last weekend it was cold and rainy. It was much nicer today.

Andrew & Abraham Lincoln

Mari & Martin Luther King, Jr

Speaks for itself. . .

Also speaks for itself. .

We walked around the Tidal Basin.

Susan and Thomas Jefferson

It was important that we complete our walk before the Carousel closed. We made it.

Carousel Fun

Yea!

Airboat Tour

Yesterday after work we headed out on an airboat tour of the Everglades. We signed up for a 90 minute tour. Once we arrived at the tour location we were quickly boarded and off into the Everglades we had fun cruising around and looking at the plants and animals. We would drive for a while, then stop and look at things, then go somewhere else. Our guide had a good plan and showed us several alligators, birds, fish, and plants. 

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This last one is an accidental video. My phone spends most of the video in my pocket.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

This morning we were up early to head to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We took two trips down to the caves. First we took the elevator down and walked around the Big Room. Then we went back up to the surface for lunch and hiked down the natural entrance. Neat.

Headed toward the Big Room.

In the elevator.

Familie, outside the natural entrance.

Hiking down.

Saguaro National Park

After lunch today we went to Saguaro National Park. We have seen a lot of desert on our trip, but the saguaros here were very dense. They had one of the most interesting films of any of the national parks we have been to. After stopping by the visitor’s center for our traditional sticker and t-shirt, we went for two short hikes – one through the desert and one up Signal Hill, to see some petroglyphs. 

Our first attempt at a picture. I wasn’t going to make it in time.

Hiking

Spirit Cacti

Cactus la bufanda

Petroglyphs

More Petroglyphs

The Castle Tour Continues

Yesterday we went to the Mystery Castle; today we headed north to Montezuma Castle. We tried to stop here last week on our way to Sedona, but it was closed because of the government shutdown. We spent about 30 minutes each at Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well. The castle area features some neat cliff-dwellings. The well area features a spring that comes up in a limestone crater of sorts. Over 1.5 million gallons of water per day come up through the desert floor. There were also cliff-dwellings, cave-dwellings, and a pit house around the well. I am glad we had to make a special trip and had more time. Had we gone last week we would not have taken the time to go to Montezuma Well. 

Montezuma Castle

Montezuma Well Overlook

Mari helping Rose.

Andrew’s picture of Montezuma Well. No fish can live in the well because there is not enough oxygen, but it is full of leaches. We passed on swimming.

Cabrillo National Monument

This afternoon we visit Cabrillo National Monument, in/on Point Loma, a peninsula that juts out to help form the San Diego Bay. The park featured an old lighthouse, a lot of information, and a nice hike with beautiful views of the city. It was a nice day, but very windy, so we did not stay too long.

Cabrillo Monument

Our tour guide.

Lunch.

The Hike

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is about an hour from where we are staying Palm Springs. We headed that way this morning, not knowing what to expect, other than Joshua Trees. Joshua Trees are cool, but the real beauty of the park is the huge piles of rock that have evolved there over time. The best thing of all is that you are encouraged to go off the trail and climb on the rocks. The kids had a blast with this part.

While we were there we went on a couple of hikes, drove to an overlook, and the kids earned their Jr. Ranger badges, of course.