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......

Day 2 continued still....a smelly kind of fun~

"Pagosa Springs derives its name from the Ute Indian name -Pagosah- which roughly translated means healing or boiling waters. The Utes discovered the healing power of the Hot Springs, and to this day, Pagosa welcomes travelers looking to soak away whatever might be plaguing them,"...after a long, dirty ride on horseback- we were all a little stiff and sore, not too mention dirty...did I already mention dirty??? So off we went to soak away everything that was plaguing us and HAVE  the REAL "Pagosa Springs" experience...we headed off to the Hot Springs! We had gone to a Hot Springs in Wyoming once several years back and it WASN'T a pleasant experience. It was run down, horribally stinky and just down right trashy and unkept....so I was a little leary about "hot springs" after that...BUT this HOT SPRINGS was anything but trashy. It was beautiful, well kept and clean. (Below is a picture of the Hot Springs...but once again, I don't think the picture does it justice. It was pretty neat to say the least!...just take my word for it.)  

YES it still stunk, but that goes without saying (if you have never been, they are SULFER springs...and SULFER stinks!)...but we figured we could deal with the smell if it relaxed us and we got to play around a little bit. Deron has problems with his joints, some arthritis and aching and the hot springs was so therapeutic for him. He felt so good soaking in the smelly pools. It made his body feel rejuvenated and young again. 

The Hot Springs was also right next to a gorgeous river where people were floating in Kayaks and rafts. It was entertaining to watch the people bobbing along and goofing off as we soaked and relaxed our afternoon away. 

The Hot Springs had a lot of small "HOT tub pools" that we could soak in, each one a different temperature. I couldn't sit in them for very long because I would sweat so bad...plus they were so relaxing they would just put me right to sleep. So for a lot of the time, I sat on the side and took pictures of the family...(someone had to document this little escapade, why not me?!)

Cameron liked to do the "Polar Bear Plunge and go from the "LOBSTER POT" 

which was 110 degrees, into the coldest pool there, back and forth, back and forth. 

He tried to convince the rest of us to join him...but we weren't that crazy. We all soaked and walked around for about 3 hours, then decided we better get out because we were looking like raisons...and smelling like spoiled beans...(sulfur really is a repulsing smell). It was fun and I am glad that we got to experience the Infamous Pagosa HOT SPRINGS...I would recommend that everyone drive right to Colorado so you can go too...at least add it to your "bucket list" and go before you die!

...afternoon turned to evening and we still had 

 places to go and things to do...you know, thats just how 

this family "rolls"~

Day 2 continued.....STOP!

I need a bumper sticker that says, "this vehicle stops on a DIME for beautiful scenery", because I am a sucker for a good picture. I don't take "PHOTOGRAPHER" worthy pictures, but if I see something I think is gorgeous, I stop to take a picture so that I can remember just how beautiful my surroundings are/were. After all when I am traveling, I most likely will never cross paths with the same area or be able to capture the same picture again...that was the case today as we were traveling back to the resort after our horseback ride.

We came to a pull out off the side of the road where we could look out over this beautiful meadow with the mountains in the background and also where we could walk down a hill and look off a "cliff" down at the river and beautiful rocky ledges below.

The kids raced down the hill, beating Deron and I down to the bottom and sat down on the edge of the cliff...(AHHHHHHH...is right!!!!).

I saw them sitting there and just assumed that there must be some more rocks out farther where they were resting their feet...I did not realize they were sitting right on the edge (literally) until we got down there and starting snapping pictures. 

Deron and I both about had a panic attack and told them to get back immediately....WHAT if they FELL off? It could so easily happen if they lost their balance, just slightly...it was terrifying to us as parents, even though it didn't seem to scare the kids at all. The view was grand...and very majestic...but certainly not worth falling off a cliff for.  

Luckily everyone was quick to get back, away from the edge, before Deron and I completely lost it...parents are allowed to do that in circumstances such as these. We got some great pictures and then continued back down the dusty road. We saw a huge grey fox (sorry I wasn't quick enough to get a picture) and a lot of gorgeous scenery. Southern Colorado was so beautiful, more so than I could have ever dreamed...it's defiantly going to go down as one of the prettiest places I have ever seen.

...and so continues our journey of a long, fun, well planned vacation......more fun to come! 

Day 2...Back in the Saddle Again!

Horses...thats right! Big ones, sassy ones, spotted ones, jumpy ones, short ones, tall ones and even docile ones....those were our riding machines that were taking us to the top of the mountain this bright, sunny beautiful day. I hadn't been on a horse in probably more than 30 years (oh please don't figure my age), so I was a little worried about this 2 hour ride. Not only how I would feel AFTER the ride was over (the whole "bull legged" thing), but would I remember all the in's and outs about riding one of these large beastly creatures....you'll be happy to hear that it all came back to me in a matter of seconds. I was so excited to be back in the saddle, I've always love riding horse and this was something I had been looking forward to....AND for THOSE of you who are avid readers of my blog, you might remember that riding a horse again was also on my bucket list...woo hoo, one thing down and 73 to go!

Halle had never been on a horse before and she was both super excited and really nervous. Our guide, "Willy", gave her the calmest horse he had. Willy said that Halle's horse would just follow the other horses and wouldn't ever get out of line...and he wasn't kidding. Halle's horse would keep his nose touching Willy's horses "back side" most of the ride (Willy was in the lead), the only problem was Willy's horse didn't like that Halle's horse followed so close or that his "back side" was being touched by the nose of another horse, which caused Willy's horse to get "A BIT" jumpy at times.

 Kim got the oldest one...17 years and also the laziest horse of the bunch. Several times I had to tell Kim to wake her horse up because he was sleep walking (not really, but he looked like it). He just moseyed
along the path with no enthusiasm or excitement...just like "another day" on the job....

Cameron got the "gassy" one...I was right behind Cam and his horse and that thing passed gas the entire 2 hours..."horse gas" stinks!!!...my horse didn't like it either!

Deron got the noisy (grunted all the time), hungry horse. Anytime the horse thought that Deron wasn't paying attention, he would try to stop and eat...luckily Deron spent his childhood around horses and knew what the horse was doing and whipped him right into shape...no getting out of line for this horse!

I got the sassy one! "Little Joe"!! He was Willy's horse until Willy got a new one...needless to say, Little Joe had issues with "following". He wanted to be in the lead and did everything he could to get around the other horses and up to the front. He tried just about everything he could think of...but just ask my kids....NOTHING gets past me and I knew all of his tricks...just like I know theirs. I kept him right in line, he wasn't pulling anything over me. Willy said thats why he gave me Little Joe, he knew I would be use to "sneaky tricks" and that I could handle the "sass" that Little Joe was going to give me. I have to say...I think I did a pretty good job and keeping him under my thumb!

 I had to reign him in on several occasions so he would keep in step and on the path with the rest of the horses. It was pretty tough though, because every time we came to an open meadow or close to the road where it was open, I wanted to let him take off running.  I wanted to feel the wind in my hair and his galloping legs underneath me as badly as he wanted to get to the front of the line. BUT I refrained and kept his sassy little body right in line...walking (sometimes trotting when I could get away with it), like I was supposed to. 

We rode to the top of the mountain and looked out over the edge. It was breath taking and so pretty. I wished that my picture did the view justice, but it doesn't...sorry...you'll just have to take my word for it, it was gorgeous. 

After 2 hours of riding we were tired, stinky and ready for some R&R back at the resort...so off we headed, over the river and through the woods, down the dusty road, when we came to a STOP........

Stay tuned to see where the road takes us next~

 

Vacation day 1...The Journey~

Wednesday morning, bright and early and right on schedule at 7:00am, we loaded up the family into the car and headed out on our long days journey to Pagosa Springs Colorado. None of us had ever been there before, but had heard from a very reliable source, that is was one of the most beautiful places on earth. We were all looking forward to some R&R after a long and stressful week with Kim's accident and Graduation and the normal hubbub that takes place in our lives. The GPS said that it was an 8 hour journey, which didn't scare us too bad because a few years ago we took a trip to Arizona that took 14 hours....so 8 sounded easy and do-able.

  We stopped several times to stretch our legs, to get a snack and to take a potty break, but when we finally arrived in the "CITY OR CORTEZ" we actually got out to eat! We had packed a ton of snacks to eat along the way....we thought we might get lost and be forced to live off of what we had packed, so we wanted to be WELL prepared (ha ha ha)...so none of us really got too hungry until 2:00pm when we decided that we needed something GOOD for us to nourish our bodies, instead of junk. Cortez was the perfect spot to stop and have a picnic lunch...and it was a really cute little town. I was surprised at how big it was, NO it wasn't large by any means, but I expected to drive through it and not know that I had ever been there, so I was pleasantly surprised by the size.

We stopped at the city park and had our lunch, walked around a bit and laid on the grass. We ventured into the "Visitors Center" and picked up some maps and looked around in there while walking off our cramping and tired legs.

By now, we were all ready to be at our destination and were tired of being in the car, so getting back on the road was a little bitter sweet...

...bitter because getting back into our car meant we would have to be driving several more hours, sweet because we knew it was the only way we were going to get there....so off we went. After many more hours (not really, only about 2 1/2) we arrived at one of the most beautiful places I had ever been (EXCLUDING the tropical areas). Pagosa Springs was nestled up high in the beautiful mountains with gorgeous pine trees, lush greenery everywhere and some of the NICEST people that I have ever come across on a vacation. Everyone was considerate (because me driving in a new area requires alot of patience from others) and so kind and everyone waved at you as you went by. There was alot of smiling people, and I could see why...this was a very relaxing place! We were thrilled to finally arrive and wanted to look at everything around us,  but we also couldn't wait to get settled in at the Wyndom Resort and put up our feet.

 After a little unpacking and resting I ventured down to the lake (in UTAH we would call it a pond...but there it was referred to as a LAKE) that was just across the parking area from our cabin. It was amazing!!

There were geese EVERYWHERE...lots of honking, friendly geese. They would walk right up close to you...didn't seem to be bothered by having me there looking around at all. It was truly breath taking and beautiful!....what a fun and wonderful place to have a vacation....we were all super excited to spend some bonding time together, see the sights and experience new things...but that would have to wait until Thursday, after a good nights rest.

Stay tuned for adventures from DAY 2.......

So much to tell....and so little time to do it!

Its been a VERY crazy week and 1/2 to say the least...we went on Vacation and had a wonderful time!!!!! We did a ton of things, all with a story to be told~ SOOOOO...I am going to break it down, (my posts) not only to "days" but "events"....so that I can write all about our fun week. FOR THOSE of you who might not be interested in long stories and experiences or lots of pictures, here is fair warning...the next SEVERAL posts will be of our vacation, with the last being the "good-bye" and "farewell's" to Kim who left the nest to start a new chapter in her life.... SOOOO from vacation to good-byes....it should make for many posts to come .... HOPEFULLY tomorrow evening I will find the time to get my first post going...tonight I am too tired, but felt like I needed to let my avid followers (ha ha...most likely my family) know that I am STILL here and even though I usually ALWAYS post on SUnday, I am just too beat and tired today.