Wow, Kids! Look At That! (Day 6 -- July 31, 2016)

The day began with breakfast on the terrace at our hotel, the St. Regis in Aspen.  We took full advantage of being in beautiful weather with zero humidity.


After breakfast, Jack and Hadley made friends with some of the local wildlife...the hotel statuary.

Then, we walked around downtown Aspen in the daylight.  It really is a beautiful place!


This picture has some of the ski slopes in the background.  Having never snow skied before, I can't imagine careening down those at full speed.  I would like to give it a try, though.  We would really like to return to Aspen some day.  Less than 24 hours is not long enough to experience this lovely town.
  

Before we packed back up in the car for the drive to Denver, we did find a playground in downtown Aspen to let the younger two run off some energy.



There were two different routes to get from Aspen to Denver -- one was primarily interstate driving, and the other was the Independence Pass, which is only open in the summer months due to the high altitudes and curvy roads.  We chose the second option, as it looked like it crossed over the Continental Divide.  We had no idea how incredible this drive would be, which led to the title of this post. Around every turn we would yell, "Wow, kids!  Look at that!"  I attempted to take pictures from the car window as we continued to climb up and up.

                  

We finally made it above the tree line to the Continental Divide at an elevation of 12,095 feet.  There were patches of snow on the ground in some places.  Once again, jackets would have come in handy, but we managed without them.


We walked down a trail to get a better view of the surrounding Rocky Mountains.
                     




We spent a few minutes just looking at the view and trying to take it all in before we headed back to the car.  The air was definitely thin up there.  It was strange how the altitude affected us in different ways and at different places.  I was the first one to feel the effects of the altitude on this trip at Mesa Verde.  I experienced headaches and slight shortness of breath at the Far View Lodge.  The altitude affected Sidney the most in Aspen.  Dan felt the effects the most at Independence Pass, and it hit Lyndon in Denver.  The younger two never really seemed to be affected.  Dan and I had always heard about sports teams not playing as well in high altitudes when they are used to being closer to sea level.  I never really put much stock in it before, but now I do!  I see why Olympic athletes spend time training in Colorado.  If you are in your peak shape here, you can dominate anywhere!

The rest of the drive to Denver was...something.  We drove through the interesting town of Leadville, CO. It is the highest incorporated city in the US at 10,152 feet.  It has quite a colorful history, which is worth googling, including being the home of the "Unsinkable Molly Brown".  They have burro races the first weekend in August each year.  We spent a few minutes trying to locate t-shirts with the slogan "Get your Ass over the Pass" to no avail.  Apparently, they only sell them the day of the race.  They are missing out on a golden opportunity to capitalize on that race all year long.

The remainder of the drive to Denver was not quite as fun.  We soon made it back to the Interstate only to sit in traffic for several hours.  A drive that should have taken just over an hour took about 2.5 hours.  Apparently, the two lanes of the Interstate (and the mile long tunnel through the mountains) just doesn't have the capacity to handle the high volume of traffic heading back into Denver on Sunday afternoons in the Summer.  I read that this was typical traffic multiple places AFTER we were already sitting in traffic.  Oh, well.  Now we know. Once we arrived in Denver, Dan dropped us at the hotel, and he and Lyndon returned the trusty rental car to the Airport.  We will be hoofing it around Denver for the next several days.

On the Lookout for Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (Day 5 -- July 30, 2016)

We started the day earlier than usual, because Dan and I had both read that you should begin a visit to Arches National Park in the Summer months by 8 AM.  Otherwise, you ran the risk of huge lines to enter the park.  We actually met our goal and were in the park by 8:00.  It was such a surreal experience.  As you drove over the top of the mountains shielding the park from view, we felt like we had been dropped onto the planet Mars...or in a Road Runner cartoon.  Look out for anvils or packages from the Acme company!  Our first stop was Balanced Rock.


We took the short hike to the base of the formation.


Then, we drove to the Windows Section of the park.  There were half-mile hikes to see several "windows".  Here is North Window.


And...South Window


This one is called the Turret Arch.


We were able to find someone to take a family pic at one of the Windows.


The views were phenomenal as you climbed inside the opening of each arch.




We were really lucky with the cloud cover this morning.  The temperatures stayed in the mid-to-high 80s while we hiked around.  It would have been miserable in the 103 degree temperatures that Moab had been experiencing.

We capped off our visit to Arches National Park with a hike to see Delicate Arch.  This is the most famous of their arches and is the arch featured on the Utah license plate.  We had two options in order to see the arch.  We could hike 1/2 mile uphill to an overlook point, or we could take a 3-mile, very strenuous hike that was mainly uphill over slick rock and not recommended for young children.  Since we didn't bring hiking boots and wanted to get to Aspen before midnight, we decided on the first option.  As we hiked, Jack was on the lookout for wildlife with his new binoculars.
                                           

The hike was beautiful, and we were rewarded with a great view when we reached the top.

Delicate Arch is on the top right of the picture.  The tiny dots around and under it are people who opted for the long hike to the base.  I was glad we didn't attempt that one after I saw that the arch is precariously perched on the edge of a sheer cliff wall.  That would have made me very nervous with the kids.  Someone offered to take a family picture.  Delicate Arch is on top of Dan's head in the picture.


We loaded back up in the car to head to Aspen.  Dan was really excited to see this speed limit sign!


On the drive to Aspen, we passed through Fruita, Colorado, which was the home to Mike the Headless Chicken.  He was a chicken who managed to live 18 months after attempting to be decapitated for dinner one night because the farmer accidentally left the brain stem intact.  It is a fascinating story that is worth googling.  We had a bit of a lunch debacle in Grand Junction due to poor planning on my part, but we persevered with a snack lunch and made it to Aspen.  The kids took a much needed respite from the car with a swim in the St. Regis pool.



We ate dinner at Ajax Tavern, which overlooks the gondola up to the ski slopes.  It was a bit chilly on the patio of the restaurant.  Once again, I earned my mother-of-the-year status by leaving everyone's jackets in Lexington.  I meant for us to grab them on the way out of the door, but I forgot amidst the packing chaos.  I remembered them when we were halfway to the Charlotte airport.  In all fairness, this was the only time we have needed them on the trip.

The gondola was closed to the public for a private event, but the gondola operator let us have a "pony ride" for free around the loading and unloading zone at the bottom of the hill, because she was impressed that the kids brought books to read at dinner.  I think she also wanted to give us incentive to come back the next day for a $9 per person ride up the mountain.  She clearly didn't know us very well.
                                          

After dinner, we walked around Aspen a bit.  It is a very lovely town.

Tomorrow, we enjoy the morning in Aspen and take the mountainous drive to Denver.

Rooms with a View (Day 4 -- July 29, 2016)

We began our day with a 10:30 ranger-led tour of Balcony House at Mesa Verde National Park. Balcony House was built around 1200 AD by the Ancestral Pueblo people.  The Visitor's Center warns you at the time of purchasing the tour tickets that you will have to climb several tall ladders (one is 32 feet tall) and crawl through a narrow (18-inch wide) tunnel as part of the tour.  The site is 6,700 feet above sea level, so they warn you that the tour will be strenuous.  Needless to say, we were all a little nervous about it, but we decided it was too great of an opportunity to pass up.  Here was the view from the trail at the meeting point to begin the tour.  Pretty crazy view, huh?!?


After descending several trails and sets of steps into the valley, we arrived at the "big ladder" in order to get up and into the dwelling.  Here is a view of the ladder from above.


We faced our fears and chanted the mantra "don't look down" as we climbed.

                                               

                               

We made it inside the dwelling!  We were able to learn a lot about the dwelling and about the people that inhabited it.  It has 38 rooms and 2 kivas (which were the community gathering spots that were dug down into the ground).  I can't imagine living that close to the edge of a massive cliff.  Archaeologists think that several extended families lived in this dwelling.  I guess you had to really be able to get along with your family, or it would have been really easy to be "accidentally" pushed off the cliff.

We were able to visit several rooms in the dwelling.


We also attempted a family picture.
                 

In order to get back to the trail/ladders that led up to the top of the cliff, we had to squeeze through the aforementioned dreaded tunnel.


I was the last one in our family to attempt the tunnel.  I told the random strangers behind me that they could push me out in the style of Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Pot, if I got stuck.  Luckily, we all made it through unscathed and no one had to paint a face on my rear end.  (Re-read the Winnie the Pooh stories, if you don't understand this reference.)  We thought the hard parts were behind us (no pun intended), until we got to yet another ladder...


This one was shorter and more manageable than the 32-footer.  We made it back to civilization!

I was so proud of the kids for facing their fears to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Well, Jack didn't have any fears.  He spent the whole tour telling us how awesome he was at all of this.

After lunch, we toured the Cliff Palace dwelling on another ranger-led tour.  We knew that this one required a few small ladders, but we weren't nervous, as we had already survived Balcony House.

When we saw the view from the meeting point, we were really excited to be able to see this dwelling up close.


As we hiked down, we got a better look.


We finally arrived at the base of the dwelling.


Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America, with around 150 rooms, including 21 kivas.  Here is an example of a kiva.
                           
The kivas were covered with a flat roof with a hole in the center of the roof.  They entered and exited the kiva via a ladder leaned against the hole.  They also built a unique ventilation system inside the kiva.  This was so fascinating!  They estimated around 100 to 120 people lived in Cliff Palace together.  The ranger described it as the "New York City of Cliff Dwellings".  Here are a few more pictures from inside the dwelling.




The trek out of Cliff Palace wasn't quite as harrowing as Balcony House, but it was still a bit of a hike up.
                        

On the ride back out of the park, we encountered some wildlife -- turkeys and deer.

                               

Mesa Verde was an amazing experience.  I would definitely go back again, if given the opportunity.  Jack was disappointed that he didn't get to go down into a kiva.  My parents visited Mesa Verde about 15 years ago and had pictures of going into a kiva.  Unfortunately, that site (Spruce Tree House) was closed during our visit due to rock fall danger.  Maybe some day we can return to experience that site.

We left Mesa Verde and headed to Moab, Utah, which seems to be a really fun little town.  The drive was gorgeous.  The pictures don't do it justice, but I am posting some anyway.


Moab was still around 103 degrees at 9:00 PM.  I will buy into the dry heat argument after the sun is down.  It didn't feel nearly as hot as the 107 degree heat from the day before.  Tomorrow morning, we head to Arches National Park!