Colorado Day #5

Another early morning walk for Matt and I on an absolutely perfect trail!

Blue skies, snow-capped mountains

 and the sound of the river rushing by!

 Then we picked up the girls for a really cool hike along the Sallie Barber Mine Trail.

 We were all intrigued by the snow melt river running along the trail. We made many stops to break up snow patches to watch them flow down the mini-river.  Another really warm afternoon walking through snow!

Once at the top we spent some time checking out the remnants of the old mine...pretty fascinating actually!

After our hike, we cleaned up at the hotel and drove to Idaho Springs to meet some of our Barnes family at Beau Jo's.  I knew we would be seeing Brian, Kathy and Keri but were excited to see Daniel too!  Fun catching up and eating delicious pizza where they dip the crust in honey...yum!

Colorado Day #4

We stayed close to our resort today.  Matt and I did an early morning walk through town

 and a stop for French pastries.  Then the girls and I went to a local pub to watch the World Cup game between USA and Thailand...13-0 win!

We tried out this cool trail right behind our hotel.

A quick walk up the ski slope for views of the town

 and really pretty hiking along the Blue River.

 It was kind of crazy walking in short sleeves across snow patches!

Colorado Day #3

Today was full of lots of time in the car mixed with the best adventures!

Our first stop was to the Continental Divide at over 11,000 feet!

Then a stop in South Park, CO to get this great picture to send to Andrew (one of his favorite TV shows).

Then on to our first adventure...Royal Gorge Bridge Park!  This is insane and Taylor and I were anxiety-filled from the moment we parked until the moment we left.

Matt and Allison took off to walk across the bridge with no issue.  Taylor kept her head down and speed-walked across without saying a word to anybody.  I trailed behind at my own pace trying not to freak out at every sound, split between each slat, pounding of hammers as workers did maintenance on the bridge, etc.

Once across, I found Taylor crying on a bench.  I sat with her as we calmed each other's nerves and tried to plot our way back to the car (which meant either another walk back across the bridge or a gondola ride across the gorge.

Matt and Allie took off for the gondola without hesitation and loved every minute.  Taylor and I spent quite a bit of time on that bench, giving each other a pep talk and ultimately deciding to walk back across.

 Don't be deceived by our smiles...we were freaking out, but proud of ourselves for at least looking up long enough for a picture!

 Reunited on the other side and enjoying the slushies I bribed Taylor with if she made it back across...lol!

 I'm happy to say we did this, but don't ever need to go back! 

 Back in the car for a trip to Garden of the Gods.

 A most spectacular display of gigantic red rock formations lined with walking trails and every shade of green landscape.

We hiked some, 

 climbed a few rock formations

and may have had a few disputes over directions back to the car!

Successfully found the car and refueled with some snacks at the trading post before our drive back up to Breckenridge.

Colorado Day #2

 Matt and I were up early so went on a nice river walk to Daylight Donuts.

 Really good fresh donuts, sausage rolls and breakfast sandwiches.

I took the girls back down to the show them the river before we headed out on our hike.  I loved how the weather was spring/summer-like in town, but the mountain peaks were still covered in snow!

 We hiked the Boreas Pass Trail this morning.

 Not too strenuous, but a decent incline and great views of the Breckenridge area.

 Rather than Taylor making fun of Matt fastening all of his backpack straps, she decided to join in!

 Loving our family time!

 On our way down to Dillon Lake this afternoon, we stopped by this adventure park for a fun picture with the Colorado flag.

 Lake Dillon is about 20 minutes from Breckenridge and is lined with trails, a cute park

 and a few beaches perfect for skipping rocks!

We went back up to town for a taco dinner and cookies at Mountain Top Cookie Shop.