Rocky Mountain High

We spent 3 days in Colorado over the 4th and when I walked out of the house for work yesterday morning, it was already 88 and muggy and I very much wanted to go back.

We had planned to go to the mountains for a full week in August to see my parent's new house (well, 16 months new, but we've only been once!), stop at some new National Parks, and visit my sister and family, but Landon's middle school orientation (ah!) got scheduled for the very middle of our intended trip and we decided he should get to see his new school before the first day begins, so we canceled with regrets. But then James told me he was closing the Swim School for the Friday after the 4th (he's never closed for any day but the actual 4th before, and he probably wouldn't even do that if he thought anyone would come to their lessons) and though I still had to take the full day off, I decided we could squeeze in a (very!) quick trip!

We drove up to Denver on Wednesday, stopping at my sister's house for dinner and cousin time. Landon was asked to read the bedtime story to Sky and he was delighted. Landon + little kids is pure joy and I hope he never grows out of it.

We woke up early Thursday morning to drive the last two hours up to my parents' house in the mountains. We adopted a 4th baby for that leg of the journey and Sky was VERY excited to be with her big cousins.

Colorado in the summer is magical, particularly if you live somehow as hot, muggy, mosquito-y, flat, and HOT as north Texas. The highs in Tabernash were in the 70's and the lows in the 40's and it was glorious.

We drove to the adorable nearby town of Granby for their 4th of July parade. It was very cute and the kids were very enthusiastic, mostly because candy was being thrown from every car, truck, and float (and llama!) that went by.

Except when a Trump 2020 car drove through and tiny baby Rio did this at the exact moment it crossed in front of us.

She's a very intuitive baby. Also, a group of kids down the way tossed their candy back at the car while saying boooo. It's not a scientific poll, but I've decided it means more people realize he's a weak, whining, amoral, sexual assaulting pile of garbage ruining the institutions and reputation of our country? The baby vote seems to think so.

We ate a tasty early BBQ dinner back at the house and then headed over to Winter Park for a free concert in a park with a big playground, rock climbing wall, and enough foldable chairs for all. And you could bring food, wine, and whatever else you wanted. As always, I spent 50% of the trip wondering why on earth we don't just live there.

The climbing wall was a HUGE hit and we heard Landon's climbing skills talked about with awe by a group of older boys.

Claire and Cora also conquered the wall and I realized I've really lost any concern about any of them ever getting hurt doing anything and I should probably gain some of that back?

The concert was great, the weather was perfect, and we headed home around 9 to change into pj's and watch the fireworks from my parents' back porch, wrapped in blankets and with a space heater on because it was suddenly in the 40's. 4th of July perfection.

Day 3, our first day to wake up to the crisp mountain air, involved a 5 mile hiking trip around Monarch Lake with our whole 11 person crew, from tiny brilliant baby Rio on up.

Five miles might have been ambitious, but we made it and no one fell or purposely jumped into the lake.

There was lots of kid climbing and cousin hand-holding and stops and snacks and even a picnic lunch.

It was also very beautiful.

Once we were all exhausted James went to go swim because he's a crazy person and my family volunteered for my yoga teacher training practice homework because they love me.

I'd forgotten almost everything (I can only seem to do two of the four: breath work, posture, cues and/or adjustments) and my mom quickly declared chaturangas to be "the worst," but they were good sports and we couldn't complain about the view.

(The cows on he field behind my parents' house were vastly entertaining. They lined up to switch fields through one open gate multiple times a day, frequently forgetting where the open gate was and milling about, stuck, until one cow rediscovered it. We spent a LOT of time watching them.)

On Day 4, our last day!, I woke up to discover that James had been sick all night and never told me. I always feel he should be informed IMMEDIATELY of any physical, mental, emotional, metaphysical, astrological, or other distress I might be feeling so I felt badly that he had suffered in silence while I snoozed to the cool tones of my white noise machine and a slightly open window on a 45 degree night.

The plan had been to head to Rocky Mountain National Park early in the morning as a family of five to do some big kid hiking, but we decided to let James rest a little more before deciding what to do. He staggered upstairs and said he'd be fine, so I somewhat skeptically packed our lunches and hiking backpacks and we headed out. Thirty minutes later we were meeting a moose at the Rocky Mountain visitor's center and James was looking worse and worse. We drove to a short hike recommended by the very enthusiastic park ranger and James said he'd wait in the car while we hiked. Now fairly alarmed, because this could not be less like our James, we did the hike quickly while I wished I had phone service to google his symptoms.

The hike was through Coyote Valley and it really was beautiful. Carved by a glacier a zillion years ago (not a scientific figure), we had mountain views and bubbling brooks and benches to jump on...

But no James, so back to the car we went. He insisted we do the other hike the ranger recommended, but when I drove us over there, I looked over at James, now in the passenger seat and decided he really just needed to go home, so the kids finished their Junior Ranger packets in Visitor's Center parking lot and we headed in to get their badges while James once again rested in the car.

The park ranger who lead them through their oath was the earnest and enthusiastic platonic ideal of a park ranger and he called out their names at the end and had everyone clap, which Landon found equally amusing and mortifying.

I adore National Parks and while we'll certainly return to do FAR more of RMNP, it was nice to check a 9th one off our list.

I drove us all home, tucked James back in bed (google had now concurred that he had altitude sickness, something he's never had before and we've done far more strenuous hikes after fewer days at altitude, but sometimes there's no rhyme or reason to it). We walked to my parents' neighborhood park where the little girls ran played

and the big (crazy) kids jumped in the FREEZING pond of melted snow and swam across! (And then had to walk home in their soaking wet freezing clothes; memories!).

My sister and her family headed home and, after ensuring James was still alive and breathing, the kids and I headed out to Grand Lake and Adam's Falls for another RMNP hike.

It was BEAUTIFUL.

There's so much snow melting off the mountain that the falls were roaring and it was so fun to climb all around them.

And over all the fallen trees.

And the giant rock at the trail head.

And really anything else we could find.

We topped off the day with ice cream in the adorable 19th century resort town of Grand Lake and, once we had cell service again, discovered that James was ready to leave the house! We picked him up and got pizza in Fraser that was extremely delicious (though everything is more delicious after hiking) and went home to pack.

And at 7 a.m. on Day 5, we began our 14 hour drive home.

And so for our five day trip we spent about 30 hours in the car for 3 days in the mountains, but it was worth it. We got to see my parents, the kids got to see their cousins, we all got to hold a tiny baby, and we got to do LOTS of hiking near a home that doesn't even need air conditioning.

We can't wait to get up there again!