Never thought it would happen....

While we were on vacation, riding on the "train ride"(refer to past post)....out of NO WHERE we see 2 bears just walking along a road by the train. Everyone started yelling...."BEARS, BEARS" and of course I HAD JUST PUT MY CAMERA AWAY...so as I scrambled to get it back out of my bag, I missed getting a picture of the other bear but I was lucky enough to get a picture of this one....It was pretty exciting but sort of scary at the same time. Seeing a bear in the wild is ALOT different than seeing one behind a cement barrier at the Zoo where you can look and watch them play. Its a little intimidating and I can honestly say that I was glad that I was on the train and NOT out for a walk on that road. He was a pretty big bear, at least I thought he was. He stood there and looked at us for quite awhile. I guess we were the Zoo animals this time...all behind bars and barriers...and HE was staring at us, watching us do our thing. Regardless of who was watching who, it was pretty neat, especially since I never thought I would get to "really see a bear" in the wild...that was just one of those things that "happens to other people".

Now I can cross off "seeing a bear in the wild" from my bucket list...another one down!

Hug your KiDs!!!!!..because you just never know what tomorrow will bring!

**Warning: Proceed with caution! 

Some pictures may be disturbing. 

If you have a weak stomach you may want to avoid this post***

Cameron has always been a happy, go lucky kind of kid....thats just one of the things that I love about him. From the time he was just little he loved to follow grown ups around, helping, asking questions and visit with them. He has always loved to spend time with his grandpa's, his uncles, cousins and his dad, along with his brothers and sisters.  He has always loved to go up with Grandpa Wilkerson and work on the farm hauling hay, fixing fence, changing water and feeding the horses. He loves to go to Lake Powell with Grandpa Weight and his uncles or fixing up the cabin, working or playing...he just loves being with them. He's just the kind of person that likes to spend time with people doing whatever, and helping them out...it makes him happy.

Last week Cameron went with one of his friends to help him move his sprinkler lines...most of us would dread that, but not Cameron, he thought it sounded like great fun. He had called and asked if he could go and that they had to go up in a field that was a ways away from town. I told him that it would be fine and to be home by 10:00. I wasn't feeling well that night so I was getting ready to hit the sack and Deron was going to wait up for him. Just a little after 9pm I got a call from a very frantic Cameron saying that he needed me to come and get him. He had been in a motorcycle accident and had cut his leg up pretty bad. It was bleeding and he couldn't get it to stop. He couldn't walk on it and didn't know if it was broken. Fear ran through my mind and all I could think about was getting up to Cam's friends house and seeing if he was all right. His friend lives several miles out of town and driving there seemed to take forever. When we pulled up in the driveway, Christie, Cameron's friends mom...was out by the truck taking care of him and talking to him...just being there for him. I was so glad that she was there and keeping him calm and making sure he was okay. (Thanks Christie, that meant so much to know you were there and that he was taken care of...I appreciate you more than you could ever realize!!!) Cameron was going into shock and his cut was bleeding pretty bad. It was dark and we couldn't tell exactly how deep the cut was or just how severe it might be. We knew it was really bad and we were worried that it might possibly have broken the bone and what it might have cut through.

We called the ambulance and met them in town and then followed them the 30 minutes it took to get to the hospital. We knew they were better equipped to handle what was going on with Cameron than we were at the time. Driving the 30 miles seemed like 300 miles...

To make a long story "shorter"...Cameron broke NO bones and missed the tendons in his foot. His cut was about 6-7" long and cut clear to the bone. He got 30+ stitches through several layers of muscle and skin.

The doctors main concern was infection. He said because it was so very deep that the risk of infection was really high...he told us what to watch for and to come back over immediately if we noticed anything. WELL...the way our lives are going lately....he got infection....just as the Doctor suspected he would. We took him back over Sunday afternoon after he was fevering, his leg was swelling really bad, the wound was draining smelly gross stuff and his leg had red streaks up and down it...typical signs of infection. The doctor took one look at Cameron and started him on IV antibiotics. We will have to go to the hospital for the next 7 days for IV therapy. IF his leg is not looking better by Tuesday then surgery will be the next step....we are just praying that this clears it up because we are tired of all this crazy stress in our lives...haven't we had enough already?!!!

There are days that I want to just stick my head in the sand and forget about everything that is going on, everything from today, yesterday and from practically the entire year. There are nights that my mind wanders and I think of all the stressful things happening and my mind just won't shut off... making it impossible to sleep....which then stresses me (one of those endless cycles you know). There have been times during this year that I wonder what it is that I am supposed to be learning through all of this adversity that seems to be plaguing my life...whatever it is, I must not be a very quick learner because it almost feels like I'm caught in a tornado and things keep hitting me from every side....and for some reason, I just can't get out of it. But on the flip side, we are so grateful that Cam's accident wasn't any worse than it was...because heaven knows that it could have been, especially where he didn't have on a helmet and then just the simple fact that he is a teenage boy that thinks he is invincible, as all teenage boys do. I am so grateful that he is all in one piece and that he will eventually recover from this ordeal. I love my Cam and just feel so blessed that he is my son and going to be okay!!!! Life is so short...so unpredictable and defiantly a test. I feel blessed to be able to watch my children fall asleep once again, as the day comes to a close...to know they are safe and sound and under my roof. I feel so blessed that Cameron is alive and is still his smiley, happy and thoughtful self. I don't know what I would do without him!!!! I can't let myself think about all the "what if's" the "could have beens" and the "might haves" because then I just lose it and cry uncontrolably...you know, the UGLY cry!...I have to focus on the "here and now's" and just be grateful....and I am Grateful...more than ever!

Day 4...THE END...it always comes too fast!

I always hate the END of a vacation because it means "getting back to life" and picking up where you left off...the problems, worries and every day stress of things that have all been put on hold for a short time are there waiting to be picked back up again. Although, on a positive note, it's usually nice to sleep back in my own bed...but I would love to spend more time on vacation without the worries of LIFE... wouldn't we all!?!

(getting ready to hike...little did we know HOW HOT it was going to be)

(one of the many cliff dwellings that we visited...these pictures don't do this place justice)

We got up Saturday morning, packed up the car and headed back toward UTAH. We decided that we wanted to take a small detour and stop by Mesa Verde Colorado to see the famous cliff dwellings before we actually called our vacation "OVER", one more little stop. It was a little more off the road than we had originally thought (like 20+ miles in and UP a very scary road...for me anyway) but it was worth it.

(Cliff Palace...a view from up on top before we hiked down in)

(Almost there...it was a majestic and amazing sight!)

We hiked down into the Cliff Palace with a tour guide and experienced tight places and a steep climb both up and down the mountain.

(down, down, down we go....)

(We climbed up a ladder between those rocks. If you look at the top of the pic you can see someone in a white shirt and hat, they are just climbing out and getting to the top of the ladder... thats how you get out of Cliff Palace....)

We climbed between narrow rocks and up very tall ladders, it was 103 degrees which made it even a little more challenging, but we all made it and felt like it was worth the time and effort that it took to see the amazing sights in the area.

The ride home was HOT and very tiring. The air conditioner quit on our car SOOOOOO "HOT" is an understatement...it felt like an oven inside the car as we are driving down the highway. It was 101-103 degrees outside and even with having the vent on to push the air around and having all 4 windows down it didn't make it very cool....but we survived and we will all appreciate COOL air a little bit more once we are able to get  the AC fixed and working again.

We had such a great time, spending 4 days with JUST each other. Everyone got along AWESOMELY WONDERFUL AND FANTASTICALLY WELL... that in and of itself makes for a "wonderful vacation". But Now vacation is over and its back to our normal way of life....awwww bummer!

Day 3 continued....Going back in time, at least for a few hours~

Silverton Colorado....a place I probably would never have gone had we not jumped on a train for a fun family excursion, although-- you can get there via the "Million Dollar Highway"...which I VOW to never go on because of my intense fear of driving on high mountain cliffs, close to the edge of the road (did I mention-its very HIGH??), with the only thing to look at is the DROP OFFS...NOT going to get this girl to do that, sorry...uh uh no way!!!!

ANYWAY...back to our day~
 Silverton Colorado......looks and feels like a place right out of an old John Wayne movie...brought up to the 21 century.  It's a very "touristy" kind of town...but an interesting place to spend and hour or 2, eat and walk/look around....and thats just what we did. When on vacation---act like a tourist, right?!!

(yes, that is a bike suspended from chains...hanging on main street?...Maybe it's the lost and found?)

Silverton use to be full of silver mines, saloons, restaurants, brothels and a lot of people. Then the mines closed down and everyone, along with everything...just up and left. NOW there is only 532 people that reside there (I am pretty sure that most of them are now business owners of the little shops and cafes, as well as the saloons there in town).

(this restaurant "WAS" something else before they made it into an eating joint..ha ha ha)

The only thing that keeps the town going is the tourism from the train, buses and the people that stop in from off the Million Dollar Highway. Their school is a K-12th grade and was made for  more students than attend it now....(we had a little chat with our 16 year old waiter at the restaurant and he gave us the scoop...what a nice, polite teenager he was).

After getting off the train, we walked up to the main area of town and ate lunch at a cute little restaurant called Grumpy's.

They had the BEST darn BURGERS that I have ever eaten....(I made a few attempts at copying the recipes so watch on betterthanburgers.blogspot.com and they will be posted there in a few weeks...my attempts turned out pretty darn good too)

(Cameron found someone shorter than him and we thought we better get a picture...ha ha ha

Cameron is actually close to 6'5" and still growing...so I meant that with sarcasm)

(We found Kimber a boyfriend, Halle is too young, so we thought we would get a picture of the 2 of them...since she probably will never see him again)

(Cameron found himself a new car...but had to leave it there...they wouldn't let him bring it home on the train, and we already paid for his ticket so he had to come with us...)

We even stopped by this adorable caboose for a quick picture...then we found out it was SOMEONES HOUSE...OPPS...oh well we laughed for a long time.

After lunch we wandered around the little town, looked in their shops and then walked down to the train station to check out the old trains.

(found me a job...but the pay was awful, so I quit)

(yes, she is pushing the train with one hand...don't worry, it didn't move)

(so...is she holding the pole up or is the pole HOLDING HER UP? hmmmm...makes you wonder)

(this is the REAL CABOOSE of our train, no one lives here...ha ha ha)

(they even have a store full of Bigfoot stuff....what else could a tourist want?!)

It's a cute little town, but it's mostly set up for tourists and doesn't have much to offer other than eating and souvenir shops....oh and LOTS of bars...but we aren't in to that.

The scenery is gorgeous. I kept taking pictures of the mountains because I couldn't get over how beautiful they were.

They get a TON of snow in the winter...the rod hooked onto the fire hydrant shows just how high the snow can get sometimes.....crazy...glad I live where I do and NOT here.

It was a nice break and we had a good walk and a wonderful lunch...now it was time to get back on the train and head back to our "vacation home" for packing and a long nights rest so we could get ready for the LONG ride home tomorrow...including a "little detour"....to where you might ask? Watch and see......

Day 3..."Oh what a beautiful Morning"...."Oh what a beautiful Day"...."I've got a wonderful feeling, everythings going my way!"

Today we had tickets to take an "all day" train ride, something we were all looking forward to with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. We needed to board the train at 8:15 in Durrango Colorado and Pagosa Springs was about an hour (or more!) drive from there. We had no idea exactly HOW to get to the train station so we decided we better get an early start to make sure we were there in time. The kids were great and jumped out of bed, packed up some snacks, ate breakfast and got ready quickly... we were out the door right on time.  We found the train station quite easily (actually drove right to it...thank you Mr. GPS) and were boarded on the train with 15 minutes to spare. The kids and I had never been on a train before (besides the Heber Creeper and Deron said that it doesn't count as a REAL train). I didn't know what to expect and was eager to get on with our ride. We were in one of the "outside" cars with the fresh air blowing in our hair, the sights right at our fingertips (quite literally at times)-

the crisp sounds and the fresh smell of the mountains....and also the black SOOT and hot CLINKERS from the Steam Engine, which we wore on our faces for a good part of the ride...little black dots and chalky smears...we wouldn't have been able to "experience it all" without looking like true train passengers now would we?!  The scenery was spectacular!!! Although I love UTAH and I think its extremely beautiful,  Colorado is just as beautiful and majestic...and in some places, out does my little home state.

I loved being right out in the open, seeing and hearing the rushing water splash up against the rocky walls of the mountain, hearing the "clickity clack" from the train on the tracks and smelling the fresh air. It was gorgeous, all of it!!! I just couldn't take it all in...there was so much to see!

Being on board a train pulled by an old Steam Engine and riding along the mountainside, back into the deep rugged country gave me a feeling of going back in time...to a time when cowboys rode on horseback, chased after bad guys, hunted buffalo and floated down the wild rapids...

...and I felt as though we were riding through a scene from an old western movie when the train pulled into Silverton Colorado and let us off to look around and have some lunch (wait for the next post when I will show you around Silverton...through our eyes of course).

I knew that I would most likely never pass this way again, so I was trying to look at everything and get a feel for what there was right at the end of my nose....and there was alot.

We all throughly enjoyed the train ride although,  I think the ride UP to Silverton was a lot more fun than the ride back down (mainly because on the way home we had some DRUNK people sitting right behind us that were being awful rude, loud and nasty). It took about 3 1/2 hours each way...so yes, add that up and we were on the train for 7 hours....watching, talking, laughing, looking, waiting, drinking (water and soda's), eating and resting....we did it all!

There was alot of this...Cameron's goofy face

and some of this...lots of smiles

Alot of sitting and watching....

and even some sleeping!....who said they outgrow NAP TIME!?

Lots to stand and look at....

Lots to sit and smile about....

...and in the end...we just enjoyed the entire experience...

and were SOOOOO Glad that we did it!

PS....if you are one of my "bucket list" followers, I got to check off another "to do" from my list...go on a "train ride to somewhere"...woo hoo...at this rate I'm going to have to add some more things to my list.

Day 2...We're STILL "RoLLing" aLoNG!

After relaxing all afternoon out in the sun, the kids and I decided that a nice evening of miniature golf was just what the doctor ordered. I hadn't played since I had been married and I don't know if the kids had EVER played...so we were in for quite a time.

NONE of us really knew the rules...nor did we really care, we probably wouldn't have followed them anyway.

We played OUR WAY and Cameron (our golf pro) taught us how to putt, how to get a hole in ONE and even how to win.

WOO HOO Cameron...Way TO GO!!!

We had lots of laughs, a few quarrels and even a melt down ( After 10 tries AND still NOT being able to hit the ball UP the hill and into a little round hole...gives cause for a melt down, right?!)

It was great times for all of us. We had pizza and played until the sun went down. Then off to our condo for a good nights rest.....and so well deserved!

....the "good night"was a short one-

the alarm started screeching at 5:15AM, time to get up 

and get ready for our eventful DAY 3....out of the house by 6:30 and away we go...

Stay tuned to see----where we went......