Sand Dunes

For the week preceding July 4th we headed back to Colorado to be joined by our friends the Clarks and Hagers.  Having never been there before we took them to all our favorite spots.

The Sand Dunes were first on the list.  Unfortunately, the water was receding and wasn't very deep.  But, the kids had fun anyway.

Here are the kids burying Garrett.

Our "camp".

Tabitha and Liz made a joke of taking pictures with a cardboard cutout of their dad.

Regan and Cora.

Tim Hager hiked to the top of the dunes and melted off the soles of his shoes in the process.

The Hagers

Medano Pass

After playing at the dunes we took the 4-wheel drive road up to Medano Pass.

Jason was determined to bring their Suburban on the road.

A view of the road from the Jeep.  Lots of sand!

At one stop Liz spotted a bear.  He is in the center of the picture, but hard to see.

Tracey and I bouncing around in the jeep.

On our way back to the dunes we helped pull out a vehicle stuck in the sand.

Up Top Ghost Town

The guys did some off-roading and went up Trinchara Peak.  Afterwards, they met us at our favorite resturant, Dog, Bar & Grill.  On the way back to the cabin we stopped at Up Top, a ghost town.

The Hagers showing Tracey what the broken pottery they found.

A mural in one of the buildings.

NASTY

Another mural in what must have been a dance hall or saloon.

Bonnet Park

We took the Hagers and Clarks to Bonnet Park.  Tim H. has a fascination for old things and a knack for finding them.  I figured that if he could find a Confederate cannon ball in Kansas, he could help me find and old cabin in Bonnet Park.

Tim, Garrett, Nathaniel and I took a long walk around the meadow looking for any sign of civilization.  Above is Garrett doing his best pose of the "Thinker".

Tim found a board that had markings from hinges on it.  It was likely a door post.

We found an old tin bucket and various pieces of tin scattered around the meadow.  Somewhere that must have been a cabin site but we didn't find it.  We will have to try again another time.

Heading back to the group.

On the way back to the cabin I let Garrett drive my Jeep and scored some major points with him.

Misc pictures

Here are some miscellaneous pictures thrown in.

All the kids after lunch at the Dog Bar & Grill.

Jason and Yvonne working hard in the kitchen.

My Jeep suffered a broken something-a-rother that was attached to the axel.  A drive into town to the mechanic got it welded back together and running like new.

Chad and Tim setting up the binoculars to scope out wildlife.

The kids making ice cream.

Music Pass

Yvonne joined us partway through the week and stayed longer than the Clarks and Hagers.  Once they all left I rallied the family and Yvonne for a hike.  I chose Music Pass because it was rated and easy hike and only a mile and a quarter long.

Keep in mind that "easy" generally translates to "moderate" for us flatlanders.

The boys and Katrina at the top of the pass.

Yvonne posting with the sign signifying that if we continued on we could be entering Sand Dunes National Preserve.  

Looking back at the Wet Mountain Valley.

I tried to get a family picture not realizing that Nora was doing a great impression of the Unibomber or a homeless vagrant.

After we left we drove to the small town of Westcliff and enjoyed some fantastic burgers at Chappy's Bar & Grill.  On the way back to the cabin I snapped the above picture of the Sangre De Cristos the mountain range we had been climbing in.

While driving back we spotted something coming toward us on the side of the road.

It turned out to be a fox carrying off a dead chicken it had stolen from a nearby farm!