moffat tunnel

In the morning we packed up camp and headed just down the road to the Moffat Tunnel to do some hiking.  We have been meaning to go there for years, and this campground was so close that it worked out perfectly.

We got to watch a couple of trains go through the tunnel.  The boys waved to the conductor, who kindly blew the whistle and waved back.  They were thrilled.

Lots of silly faces that day.

Austin gives me every dandelion he finds.

We hiked for a ways until the trail was just too muddy for hiking with little boys.  It was pretty wet the whole way with fresh snow melt, and there were lots of stream crossings.  Most had nice bridges.  (perfect for rock throwing, obviously).

I always find old homes and ghost towns fascinating.  We found this house on the side of the trail, near another old log cabin.  What was life like for the people that lived there?  What a different life.

Austin "hiding" from me.

James Peak.  Beautiful! 

It was a great trip and I'm glad we could make it happen, even without much planning.  :)

kelly dahl

 This summer we have had a lot of last minute plans for various reasons, which is unlike us.  At the beginning of June we went camping at Kelly Dahl campground.  We were unable to get a reservation at the campgrounds we know we like, so we ended up trying out a new one.  It is close to Nederland, so not very far away, which was nice.  We were lucky to end up with a pretty good shady campsite, although much of the campground's trees had been cut down because of the bark beetles.  We had a relaxed afternoon and evening just playing around the campground.  Austin dug and zoomed his dump truck around and Zach searched for small green air soft gun pellets which were scattered around.

We went for a walk and ended up on top of a hill, where we smashed some rocks open.  Why, you might ask?  Well, boys will be boys.  There's really no other explanation.  :)  The rocks broke pretty easily and were full of beautiful colors and crystals.  This kept the boys happy until dark. 

The boys slept well and it was a pretty fun and low key trip.  The next morning we went hiking, but that will have to wait for another post.

touch-a-truck

In early June we made it to Louisville's Touch-a-Truck event.  Like last year, it was so fun!  It was much cooler this year, which was so nice compared to last year's blazing heat.  Oz wasn't feeling great, but we decided to go anyways.  It wasn't quite as exciting for him as I think it would have been if he were feeling better, but it was still fun.  There were so many things to see, but we only hit a small selection.  There was even a helicopter this year, but we opted to not wait in the huge line.  Besides, there were lots of diggers to climb on.

 Gears and levers and horns!

Thrilled to find the horn at last!

Putting out the "fires."

  Until next year...

Eldo

One Saturday I was in a funk that I just couldn't shake.  So Cal loaded the boys and I up in the car with my camera and off we went.  He didn't tell us where we were going, but he knew just what I needed to de-funkify.  We headed to a trailhead in Eldorado Springs that we love.  We hiked around a bit and then we found a little side stream that was small and slow enough for the boys to play in.  They built a "dam" and threw rocks and dug with sticks.  Just what they needed.  And I watched and took pictures and marveled at all the wonderful things I was surrounded by.  Sure enough it cured my mood and I'm grateful for a husband who knows me so well.  8 years of marriage today!  Woo hoo!