Day 1: Drove from Bolivar, MO to Hays, KS.
- We stopped in Topeka to see the Haraders, and my amazingly hospitable sister bought us dinner.
- We drove past the wind farm just west of Salina - SO BEAUTIFUL!
- The kids hit a rough patch on the drive, and this is what Nate posted to FB: Miles is crying. Cooper is moaning with a tummy ache. Madagascar is in surround sound on both screens. Carey has escaped in the passenger seat with her iPhone and headphones. And the good news? Only 266 more miles of Kansas...
Day 2: Drove from Hays, KS, to Colorado Springs, CO. Visited Seven Falls.
- We stuck the boys into their beds sleeping and we pulled the boys out of their beds sleeping - they never saw the Hays motel. Praise the Lord they slept after we put them in the car!
- Seven Falls has changed quite a bit from my memory of it. They changed their staircases to 2 ginormous staircases that we crept up and down, praying to the Lord that our kids wouldn't stumble.
- The kids enjoyed hiking the trail at the top of the stairs! Jedi do this kind of thing.
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Day 3: Visited The Royal Gorge. Drove from Colorado Springs, CO. to Vail, CO.
- Our family walked across the bridge of the Royal Gorge. That's trust right there. Miles only felt safe when Nate was holding him. I admit I kinda wanted Nate to hold me, too.
- After some convincing (all of us...not just the kids), we rode the gondola back across the Royal Gorge, again, trusting that the engineers knew what they were doing.
Days 4 through 7: Vail, CO
- The Gore Valley Trail was just outside our hotel and ran along the Gore River. It was beautiful scenery for us to workout by!
- The boys played at some really super playgrounds.
- On Wednesday, we rented bikes and tag-along bikes for the boys. We had four hours with the bikes, so we rode out, had a picnic, and rode more, totaling about 3 hours of riding. Miles only wanted to ride with his daddy, and Cooper only wanted to ride with his daddy. I really tried not to let it bother me, but after several minutes riding with Miles crying and saying hurtful things, I admit my feelings were hurt. The good news is we survived!
- We hiked along a stream our last evening there. We saw several dams, but no beavers. When we were driving home, we drove by a dam on a stream that created a lake. I pointed it out to the boys, "Hey - look at the dam." Miles said, "A beaver dam?" and I replied, "No, a dam dam." Oops. That one slipped out of the lips before I considered what I was saying.
Day 8: Drove from Colorado Springs, CO, to Colby, KS...our old stomping ground.
- We visited with some very special friends - Bev and Dean Anderson, Tim and Leisa Hansen, and Bill and Terri Adams.
- We drove by all of the old houses we lived in and pointed them out to our kids...all they really wanted to do was play at Fike Park. :)
- We enjoyed Taco John's for dinner - it is SO much better than Taco Bell!
Day 9: Drove from Colby, KS, to Bolivar, MO.
- We started our day with Daylight Donuts. Unfortunately, getting there 7:30 meant we missed out on the Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls. And that was a HUGE bummer. I might have even cried a little.
- We stopped by Dad and Beth's house to wish Dad a happy Father's Day and give him a Vail Moose.
- We got home!! Our beds had never felt so good.
Overall, this was a super vacation!
