Ellie's Double Take

On the "Picture Rock" in Yankee Boy Basin, San Juan Mountains of Colorado
Taken in August of 2006 and 2008

What a cute little stinker. Check out those rolls and dimples on her legs at 6 months! But her smile is still a winner, as always. I think we'll just keep taking pictures at this rock of her and eventually we'll have six Ellie's all photoshopped together!

Gone 4wheeling! Be back soon!

We're off tomorrow for the beautiful state of Colorado! We can't wait to enjoy the quiet beauty, cool weather, and fun times.

Hope everyone has a great week! I'll be back for more fun the week of the 11th...I'll blog then if I can fit it in between dentist appointments, haircuts, and back to school stuff....whew, I need a vacation just thinking about it. :)

Vacation plans!!!

Well, we got our dates and house all finalized and set-up today, so that's a load off!

I bet you can't guess where we are spending a week this summer....anyone....cause I don't think I've ever talked about it before....

Okay, you dragged it out of me....

OURAY!

COLORADO BABY!!!

Yep, cause we don't love going there or anything.

If you have missed previous posts about one of our favorite places on earth, check here, and here. And here is a website...and another...and a webcam!

Ron and I decided which house to rent this year, and are excited about our choice....although I found the most awesome cabin that we are shooting for next year.....it was completely booked this summer. We are heading out the first week of August. I know, most people take their summer vacation earlier, but in order to catch the mountains around Ouray at their best, you have to go in the end of July-beginning of August. That way the multitude feet of snow have time to melt and the wildflowers are in full bloom. Oooo...just thinking about it...I can't wait! :)

Okay, I'll end the suspense.....

We did survive the rest of our trip to Colorado with much enjoyment, and without becoming bear food.....but we did see a total of 4 bears by the end of the week! The day after our little buddy in the previous post we went to Telluride, and saw two up on the hill below the airport as we were leaving town, and the 1st time we attempted Imogene Pass, Ron rode to the top of a hill to determine a good line for us to follow on the ATVs, and as he got to the top, he saw BIG #4 crossing the road....he quickly came back down and we headed back down the mountain and did Imogene another day! We had a blast on the ATV's, went to Yankee Boy Basin, over Engineer Pass to Animas Forks, where we saw some great old mine sites, and up to Imogene. We decided on that one, that we really don't need to go on the really steep shelf roads and switchbacks again....just to stay on the safer side! (pics to follow...) The wildflowers were incredible....beyond belief, especially on Imogene. Nicole asked me who planted them all. It was fun to tell her that Heavenly Father did it. She agreed that He sure must love us a lot to give us such a beautiful place to see! We were not disappointed with our choice of vacation locale again this year, and I was honestly sad as we were driving out of Yankee Boy that last day. We can safely say that we are Colorado and Ouray fans!

The littles on the gondola in Telluride

Glad we brought the raincoats!

Nicole and the flowers in Yankee Boy Basin

The picture does not do the flowers in Imogene justice

Dad, Nicole, and Jared check out the waterfall up close!

Above Imogene Basin....errr, don't look down!


At the top of Colorado! (We are at almost 13,000 ft here)
In our defense, and even though I was taking the picture, neither Ron or I realized the Jared was standing so close to that edge without an adult hand close by....pretty much made both of us feel ill when we saw this picture later....ugh! We must have a guardian angel. Thank goodness someone was looking out for us!

Fun in Ouray....

Well, we made it! I knew Ron was bringing his lap-top, but didn't realize that we would have internet access, and SURPRISE! Now I CAN get my blogging fix!

The trailer did great, no wobbles at all, so we got here with no mishaps. The weather isn't exactly cooperating, there has been a heck of a monsoon season here this summer, so there are some issues with mudslides and lots of water. It is supposed to clear up tomorrow though. We spent today in town, and then drove down to Silverton. Tomorrow is Telluride.

When we arrived yesterday, we found the trash cans overturned and a mess of rotten food and stuff on the lot next to us. I assumed raccoon, but the realtor that manages the property told us that no, it's a BEAR! So we were a tad nervous about that, and now are being pretty watchful of the kids. Jared has been really wanting to see the little bugger though, while adding in his prayers a request that the bear won't come kill or hurt us.

While sitting in the house tonight, beginning dinner, Jared came blazing downstairs yelling "I see the bear!" We, of course, thought he was crying "wolf," well, "Bear" once again. Then, Ron looked out the front window, right by where Riley was calmly reading her book, and here's what we saw:




Yep....it's our little bear! The kids were alternately excited and FREAKED OUT! Let's just say, they were told, in no uncertain terms, that they are not allowed to go outside without mom or dad present from now on!

**Disclaimer** Sorry for the odd looking pictures...since we didn't bring ALL our technology with us, we had to take a picture of the TV playing the video Ron caught with our camcorder!

Stay tuned for more fun, and now say a little prayer that we don't become Winnie the Pooh food before next Sunday!

We'rrrrre OUTTA HERE!

Off for a week to the greatest place...OURAY! It's almost 11 pm, Ron is off to WalMart in search of more tiedowns, and I'm still trying to get packed. I needed a break, so here I am...I also am about to shut the computer down, so there is a reason for me being on it... ;) At some point tonight I still need to pay some bills to get in the mail...ack! I am a WORLD CLASS procrastinator!

Hope you all have a great week, and check back in around the 12-13th for me to return.

If you could, say a little prayer for our safety...I'm not thrilled about pulling our trailer for that far...thank you!!

One of my favorite places

One of my newfound fun and favorite places to visit is Ouray Colorado. Funny thing, I used to live about 2 hours north of there, and remember some friends of mine went there alot, but my parents never took us there. Come to think of it, when we lived in Colorado, we didn't go much of anywhere...occasionally to Paonia (Colorado), Utah, or Arizona, but we unfortunately didn't explore much of the fabulous state that we lived in.

For a few years, my brother Russ would go back home to AZ detouring through Colorado, and Ouray.....quite the detour!!! He always had fun things to say about it. So last year, Ron and I unanimously decided to forego Disneyland for "The Switzerland of America", and we were not disappointed! We hiked to beautiful waterfalls, soaked in the hot springs, walked along the Uncompahgre river, explored some awesome ghost towns, drove the Million $$ Highway, fell in love with Yankee Boy Basin, and even toured a gold mine. I was also able to see my old childhood town, Cedaredge, which somehow shrunk in the last 25 years since I'd been there.

Imagine a quaint green valley surrounded by 10-12,000 foot peaks, and you have Ouray. Add in some darling Victorian homes, many which have been lovingly restored, reminiscent of Park City. This place is wholly unspoiled. It will never grow to be huge, with million $$ mansions, or film festivals. The valley is too small.

Anywhere you go out of Ouray, and even in the town itself, you will see why the place even existed, and that is the mining industry. The mining is gone now, although the old ghost towns and buildings remain, accessible by 4WD.

It was last years trip there, along with our excursions to a friends cabin in Wyoming, that really spurred Ron's interest and purchase of our ATV's. We are very excited to take them to Colorado and explore some places we couldn't get to with our Durango!

Why am I talking about Colorado now, when we aren't going there until August? Well, because my brothers and sister are going this week. We were invited, and are sad to not be able to join them, but Ron's bishopric responsibilities prevented us going on vacation in July. Sigh. It's going to be a long month until I get there!

Here are some views from last years trip:

Seven month old Ellie at 12,500 ft elevation Yankee Boy Basin

The family at Animas Forks...Riley found out on this excursion that it
really is cold at 12,000 feet, especially when a rainstorm comes in!

Nicole and Jared check out the inside of the boarding house at Animas Forks