K3 and Toad's Big Adventure

 Subtitled: We took the oldest grandkids to Colorado.

Not ones for much spur of the moment stuff, DH and I began planning a 'big' vacation with K3 and Toad several years ago, back when they were our only grandkids.  The idea honestly came about when Toad was in preschool, and I babysat him several afternoons a week.  DH had recently left for a work trip (out to Colorado), and Toad asked where Papa was.  I explained that he was out in the mountains, driving cars for work.  Toad asked how he'd gotten there, and I said that he'd flown on a plane.

That afternoon, Toad used some small pieces of scrap paper, and some stickers, to make plane tickets for himself, Papa, and I.  He told me he wanted to fly on a plane too, and those were the tickets we'd need.

Of course, when DH checked in later that night (when traveling for work, he tries to call me at the end of each work day, if it's before 11 p.m. here when his day has finally wrapped up) I told him about Toad and the 'plane tickets'.  And an idea for a vacation was born.  A plane ride.  And mountains!  Big, rocky mountains unlike any K3 or Toad have ever seen.

In 2019, DH asked the kids if they would like to fly on a plane out to the mountains for vacation the next year.  We'd hike, and ride horses, and with the words "plane" and "horses", they were hooked.  So DH and I began planning dates and location for a 2020 trip with K3 and Toad to Colorado.

But then, as you all know, 2020 was the year of Covid and lock downs and nobody going anywhere that summer.  Our big trip would have to be postponed.  

Honestly, this year they were probably a much better age for this type of trip than they would have been last year.  They weren't always patient waiting (in the airport, on the plane at the arrival gates, driving in the car), but at 9 and just turned 7, they didn't whine or fuss about it.

We had to drive to Detroit, where we had a non-stop flight to Denver.  On that flight, we only had one window seat, so K3 got it first, then half-way through (when she needed to use the bathroom) DH had her and Toad switch seats so that Toad also got a turn.  They were both very good on the plane, and were excited about the entertainment screens in the backs of the seats in front of them.

In Denver, we spent the night, swam in the hotel pool--which became a nightly tradition--then got up the next morning and drove to Breckenridge (last Fall, DH and I took a trip to Breckenridge that was a scouting mission for this trip with the grandkids).  That drive was a little rough, as the kids had spent most of the previous day sitting, plus K3 had altitude sickness with nausea and a headache.  When we got to Breckenridge, we checked into our lodge, did a little walking around the downtown, and then after dinner DH and the kids went swimming in the pool.

The main focus of the trip was hiking.  Hiking, hiking, hiking.  The first day we did a short and pretty interesting hike to a waterfall (as a way to get the kids exciting about hiking). They grumbled at first, but fairly quickly got interested in seeing what was around the next bend, over the next rise, through this clump of trees. . . 

And then big rocks!  They loved climbing up the big rocks to get to the waterfall.  DH took them, one by one, out to the edge to look down at part of the waterfall.

On the drive back from the waterfall trailhead, a yearling cow moose ran across the road in front of us.  K3 was delighted to be the first one to spot it.

Near the end of another hike, which took us through downtown Breckenridge on foot, Toad spotted a Lamborghini.  This kid has been calling every sports car he spots a Lamborghini for two years, but this time he actually found a real one. A red one at that. So I took his picture with it.  I wish I could draw his grin as huge as it actually was.

We hiked at least part of everyday.

Sometimes the hiking mojo ran low.

Other times they were happy wanderers along the mountain trail.

They discovered that peaks are chilly and windy at the top, and there was always higher mountains in the distance.

Sometimes, at the tops, there were meadows with streams to investigate.

Another trail didn't have a lot of elevation to climb, but had an interesting surprise.

There were two mornings we didn't hike.  On one, we took a guided trail ride instead.  K3 and Toad were very excited about that, and a little apprehensive too.  As Toad confided in me on the way to the stables "Grandma, I've never been on a horse.  They'll give me a nice one, right?"  I assured him that I would let them know it was his first time riding, and they would give him the nicest horse.

When the ride was over, Toad had another great big smile.  "I rode a horse!  She was a good horse!  I love riding horses!"  He exclaimed.  K3 had a little bit less reliable horse, as she told the wrangler that she'd had a few riding lessons.  But she did a good job staying on even when it wanted to take a slight detour through some small trees that I thought she might get rubbed off on.

Another morning we drove to Georgetown and rode the steam train that goes from Georgetown to Silver Plume and back, including over a tall trestle.

On the final night of our vacation, we tried to drive up to a good spot to hopefully see the Alpenglow.  Unfortunately that day had been very hazy from wildfire smoke, and there was no Alpenglow to be found.  We did, however, see a young mule deer buck, a great blue heron, fish jumping in a small lake/pond, a red fox, and a moose cow with her calf.