From 1,200ft to 12,000 ft in a week

Buller has been from here to there and back again.
We left Minnesota with Buller in tow on August 13th.

We drove from Minnesota to Pierre SD the first day. We stopped at 1 am and slept for 4 hours in the hotel. Luckily Buller and the kids had fallen asleep long before that in the van. The next day we were back on the road by 6 am. We drove until we reached Colorado. We were determined to reach our destination quickly. That night we stayed in Idaho Springs, CO. We camped in a tent by a small (very small) spring feed stream that is part of the hot springs there.

We drove across the entire state of Colorado the next day. Driving from the Plains to the the top of the Rocky Mountains and back down the Western slope toward Grand Junction, CO. Once in Junction we finished the last 100 miles by heading South down two canyons. We finally arrived in the small town of Naturita, CO.

The next six pictures were taken on the last 100 miles. It is a scenic by-way. It is one of my favorite drives ever, and one that the kids did well on considering that one side of the road is a straight 1000 ft drop (I actually don't know how far down it is, but it is a straight drop down) and the other side of the road is a sheer 500ft cliff up.
Red Rock is the feature attraction in Gateway, CO. Center point of the two canyons.
Buller felt at home. We had a hard time getting him back in the van to reach our destination. We finally convinced him that where we were going would be lizard heaven. That is we had him convinced until he ran into a lizard friend (can you see the lizard? he is brown.) Like all lizards we had to trick him. Was he ever that naughty for you? Maybe it is the little lizard that persuaded him?


The kids became very good at lining up for pictures by the time the trip was over.

Looking at the spring. We visited two natural springs and filled our water bottles. The water is fresh and clean as it is filtered naturally through the mountain.



The Dolores River

"Fairy Palace" behind cabins that we stayed in. Does this rock look magical enough for fairies to live in?

The first place we went (daytrip) was Ouray. There is a hot spring swimming pool there. After visiting a water fall, and having a picnic in the park, us and 20 friends enjoyed the rest of the day in the springs going from the very very hot part of the pools to the freezing cold water slide area and back and forth.

Part of the Cascade Falls, in Telluride CO

The next day was spent in Telluride. This town was known for it's mining. Today it is more of a tourist area. After a yummy lunch at the bakery we went up to another waterfall (or as close as little legs can get us) and then road the gondola to the top of the ski area and had a look around then, back down for ice cream in the car on the way back to the cabin

Buckeye Reservoir in Utah. Natural lakes are few and far between in Colorado. Reservoirs are man made lakes. (can you see Buller hanging out in the sun?)

The water level had dropped so low that the shore line had become quite muddy. The kids found this quite fun. Addie's suit still shows the "fun" in each mud spot stain today. Good thing we have a new one for next year already. No worries.

We are ready to head back across Colorado. Picture taken in front of the little cabin we called home for the week. The van and trailer were repacked and ready to go. Our next destination was Estes Park.
We had a great trip. Including several days in Estes National Park where we finally tracked down a herd of elk. We went from our elevation of 1200ft up to 12,000ft. and back down again. We were gone for 14 days.

Buller has now been to Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (we had him waving as we went past your grandparent's area), Nebraska, Colorado, and Utah. He has seen forests, prairies, mountains, semi-arid desert, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, mountain streams, and waterfalls.

If you look back through the blog, you will see that Buller has been to school, he has been camping, and hiking, biking, down the Mississippi River in a canoe. Buller was at family celebrations, and listened to bedtime stories snuggled in a loft bed.

He has watched Addie go from second to third grade.

He traveled short distances - to Grandma's, Headwater's of the Mississippi, in town for a statue walk, or just to the couch to watch t.v.

He learned about Earth Day, and how to fish and garden in Minnesota. He cooked a hotdish, and learned about fashion. He read favorite books, and packed school lunches.pictures of taking pictures

He has been busy.
Yes, we even showed him just how big Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox really are.
But, we have a problem.
Buller won't get out of the van. He has been clinging to his Colorado river rock on the dashboard of our van since we returned. Seems he misses Denmark, and he misses you Sabin. Buller wants to come home. Although it is a strange time for a robin to fly North (most are gone for the winter now) we are wondering if Early is ready to fly the coop too?

Addie has a brilliant idea. She doesn't want to shut your blog down, rather keep it open and post on it when you two have something you want to share. Halloween and Thanksgiving, Christmas, Addie's birthday - there are lots of things coming up. Thing to share. When you want to. I think it is brilliant.

What do you think Sabin?