Colorado

October 1, Thursday

We decided to take the boys to Colorado to do some hiking and fishing as a family.  Unfortunately Mason ended up getting car sick and Nathan was in a lot of pain from his back muscles cramping up.  Thankfully, we arrived safely at Estes Park, CO!  We enjoyed the views of the mountains and the wildlife as we neared our destination! 

The boys loved seeing the big horned sheep and the elk near the road.

There were mule deer right out the window of where we were staying as well as beautiful views of the mountains.

October 2, Friday

The boys woke up early and were having fun playing games together.  Foosball was their favorite!

Ready for a hike up Twin Sisters!

Mason thought that the little pine trees his size were pretty fun!

Mason loved finding the chipmunks in the rocks!

We made it to the top!  It was a great spot to eat our lunch.

The weather was perfect and the Fall was a beautiful time of the year for hiking!  I enjoyed seeing the yellow leaves on the Aspen trees and seeing some leaves piled up that had already fallen.

October 3, Saturday

There were mule deer grazing right out our window in the morning and they weren't afraid of us taking pictures of them.

We drove to Estes Lake so that the boys could attempt to catch trout.

The mountains in the background were very beautiful and this one was the one we climbed the day before, Twin Sisters!

After not catching anything at Lake Estes, we decided to head over to a trout farm to fish.  After hours of fishing and Mason falling in the water, Mason caught one!

When we returned back to our condo for supper, there were elk walking down the sidewalk and eating from some of the trees!

October 4, Sunday

We drove in to Rocky Mountain National Park and took Old Fall River Road to the trailhead of Mt. Chiquita.  

We found snow!

This was a longer hike at a higher elevation and it was tiring!

It was a relief to reach the top!  Elevation: 13,075'  What an accomplishment for everyone!  Nathan was thrilled that hiking felt ok on his back but was still unable to carry a backpack.  It was super windy and pretty cold, but still a good spot for lunch!

I love pictures with all 3 of our boys in them!

Looking back, there is the mountain we climbed!

We made it back to our vehicle and drove the rest of the way up Old Fall River Road.  On our drive back down we stopped for another view of Mt. Chiquita.

October 5, Monday

As a family we decided on our last day to drive in to Rocky Mountain National Park and find a lake so our determined boys could catch a trout.

We were hoping to make it to Bear Lake but it was full so we went to Sprague Lake.  We found a beautiful spot just off of the main walking path around the lake where there was a stream full of trout!  What a blessing!

Mason caught a trout!

Dorian caught his first trout!

Levi caught his first trout!

I was so thankful that each of the boys caught one!  I also enjoyed the beautiful scenery and sitting in the sun.

On our drive back we found another big group of elk!

October 6, Tuesday

We packed our bags and drove to Denver so that we could take a tour at The Aquaponic Source, which is where Nathan ordered supplies to start a system at Dordt. The boys got to feed the fish and try one of the vegetables they were growing.   

They also came away with the idea to convert Levi's fish tank at home into something like this.

We had a smooth trip and made it home by 10:00.

I'm thankful to Nathan for planning this trip and making his ideas possible!  I'm thankful for determined and healthy boys!  I will cherish the memories we get to make together!