This was our view after we hiked up to around 10,000 feet in Pike National Forest, CO. What a beauty! Our week with family was spent not only in the Rampart Range firehouse, but in a skydiving tunnel, at our favorite restraunts, in my grandparents mountain home, sleepovers at my aunts, and (consequentaly)... in the car.
The final push up the firehouse steps were a bit difficult for the dogs... but they made it! Altitude and all. Such troopers!
This was a really enjoyable hike - not only was the scenery obviously gorgeous, but the weather cooperated for us the whole week. High 80s and dry dry dry. I was also expecting it to still be pretty hazy from all the fires, but it was surprisingly clear! There were 2 days where I noticed a bit, but since the fires have been out for a few weeks, and they have had more rain, it's dissipated nicely.
Probably the highlight of our trip was our experience flying - I do have to say, it kind of gave me the bug to actually skydive. What a feeling. Because we were in the "tube" solo and not attatched "tandem" style we learned about how to control our bodies; move forward and backward, let ourselves shoot up and drop down, and even spin in circles a bit. 120ish MPH winds, it was a weird feeling right away, but we adjusted quickly, were sore the next day, and ready for round 2!
We are fully aware of how nerdy we look....
Thank you to my wonderful wonderful aunt for sharing in her passion with us! It was so much more than we could have expected. And some things were just as we expected... :)
This picture goes in the "unbelievable" file. The rest of our trip was just as vacations with family were to be. We enjoyed the views, went out to eat, tried some new things, played games, and squeezed in some favorite places...
I'm actually beginning to really enjoy sushi! It's not my first go to - but it's definitely growing on me, and I've found a few different kinds that really like!! We had a girls lunch out, and it was mom's first experience to!
One of the hazier days from my grandparents house - although you can still see downtown Denver! And the massive mansion in the foreground. I used to creep on it with binoculars when I was little - TMI.
We spent some time towards the end of our trip going through 2 big boxes of old family photos my grandparents had. And by old, I mean really old. This picture is of my great-great-great grandparents and their family. They are the really old ones in the middle. I think I remember my Grandpa saying it was taken around the 1810ish time. Wow.
And this is of my great-grandma and some of her family on the last boat over from Germany before Hitler closed the borders. They were from East Prussia and got pushed out of their homes by the Russians. Some of her brothers had to stay and fight in the German army. My grandma's mom is the 2nd from the left.
It was definitely a highlight of this trip... hearing the story of what my family went through in Europe and where their families are now. I'm so thankful my grandparents as well as their extended family members wrote this all down!
We finished our trip off at our favorite Chinese restraunt, and packed up the car the next morning. It's always kind of tough to leave the mountains and family - we definitely do not get to see them enough. The road trip knew we needed some lovin', it defnitely provided us with some spectacular views!
So we said goodbye to a fabulous week in Colorado and hello to a great weekend in Nebraska with our wonderful friends! The trip worked out perfectly, and it is always such a treat to spend time with my bestie and our wonderful friends!!
Our weekend was capped off with sun, boating, tubing, wakeboarding, floating, searching for wedding rings *ahem* and good eats. And yes, we did find Jared's ring....
More to come this next week - it's been a busy July that's for sure!
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