Road Trip Day 3 and 4

June 26-27

The adventuresome days of our vacation began on Day 3. We drove to Durango to pick up Daddy from his flight. He got in super early so we had time to eat lunch at quaint little touristy deli. Kenna proclaimed this food the best on the trip because it was her fav meal - bacon egg and cheese sandwich :)

 Today was a first for all of us but Josh - white water rafting! They had a sort of kid friendly trek that only went to level 2 rapids and a few level 3s. I can hardly imagine a whole trip of 3s as they were pretty big! Zach Loved it until we hit that rapid about halfway through the ride, then he was really scared the rest of the trip.

At one point during a very slow part of the river the guide offered to let anyone jump in that wanted to. The boys both did and had looks of absolute terror on their faces as the water was ice melt...so was nearly freezing! Not to be outdone josh jumped in and had to be hoisted back into the boat by the guide as his body also sort of stopped working! He couldn't believe how cold the water was and how it instantly froze up plunging in that cold of water - he said it was hard to catch your breath!

The tour guide was awesome, he kept it light and funny and you could tell he really loved his job! We saw so many different people enjoying the river from river surfing to kayaks to white water rafts....such a fun day!

While we were waiting to get on the bus the kids had fun trying on their life jackets and water shoes...Kenna couldn't resist a few selfies! We were worried it might rain, but ended up being really hot! Crazy Colorado weather!

We spent the next few nights at the Hampton in in Durango. The kids' favorite part of every day was swimming! Most nights we had the place to ourselves! We would run and get pizza or sandwiches and the kids would swim until it was time to eat and go to bed. Kenna stayed in Gramma Rue's room and her favorite memories were sneaking into the lobby as the put out the chocolate chip cookies and taking a few along with hot chocolate back to their room. There they would watch TV and play cribbage. Love that they could share these memories together!!

The primary goal of the vacation was to go to Mesa Verde. We checked out books at the library beforehand, read about the people who developed these awesome dwellings, but to see it in person is completely awesome. They had heat warnings during our trip, as you approach the bottom of the canyon it can get overwhelmingly hot. On top of that the kids were a little tired and cranky from riding for days. The first day was exciting in that they got their passports, their first stamps and had some excitement buildup!

The kids were mesmerized by the clay soil. As we were driving into the park we stopped and walked around. The kids pretended to "mine" the rocks and formed them into arrowheads and such. Pretty sure we weren't supposed to mess with the rocks - but we allowed it this once as they so enjoyed it!

We did the Mesa Top loop the first day looking at Pithouses and hiking down to Square Tower House. There was only mild complaining by the kids, but it was really hot and the elevation was noticeable!

We were allowed to look through the ruins, but couldn't climb on them. After more complaining and kids genuinely being unhappy we found the only shade on a long walk back. There had been fires in years prior that had eliminated the foliage on the mesa. Learning about what these people had to go through just to survive was quite humbling! After a snack we were re-energized and back on the trail.

Zach very much enjoyed looking for lizards along our hikes. He kept talking about how Spyro would have loved to visit the desert!

The next day was far better as far as kid behavior. The kids knew more about what to expect and we were in much more interesting parts of the park. We did the Cliff Palace Loop and saw Cliff Palace and Balcony House. There were times when I was absolutely terrified that my kids were going to fall to their death off the side of a cliff! 30 foot ladders, narrow ledges, and nothing but a chain link enclosure holding us up....but it was so very beautiful!

At the end of our adventures the kids were all sworn in as honorary rangers. This guy was hilarious and his wife was from Boone IA! He said things like "Repeat after me...I solemnly swear that if I see a yogurt shop, I will buy a yogurt and return to Mesa Verde to give said yogurt to my favorite ranger..."The parks department does a great job if making it fun for kids with little treasure hunts and activities along the way!

The grand finale of the evening, once again, was the pool!! I ran to get some food and brought it in most nights because it was hard to pull these kids away from the pool!!