Let the Countdown Begin!

Only 32 more days until we go to Colorado!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yea!!

For a little background my family first went to Colorado in 1988 and we last went in 2001. I was dating Ryan in '01 and wanted him to come with my family on vacation so I made him a "Top 10 Reasons to Vacation in Colorado" booklet. To poke fun on myself, I will try to describe my booklet . . . first its tied together with yarn strings so that should tell you something! But its just plain white paper that I used glue sticks and scotch tape to affix pictures to . . . I'm still not a professional scrapbooker or anything but hopefully I've come a ways since then!

So this will be my digital Top 10 (I'm using the same pictures and list and all):

10. To be up close and personal with the state's wildlife. My brother, Josh, with a whistlepig in 1998.

9. The beauty of a hard hike (notice I didn't make it!). Dad, Amy, & Josh in 1996

8. Welcome to River Hill Campground!! We actually aren't staying here this year because its full but we are staying at the next campground over.

Mom & Dad pulling out of Site 16 in his motorcycle in 2000.

If you look real close you can see campers and trailers along the circle drive. This is a view of the campground from the road you drive on to get there. The Rio Grande is one side and the mountain on the other. If you like hearing the ocean waves at the beach then you would love having the rapids of the Rio Grande putting you to sleep at night!

7. It's cold!! The high will be around 80ish and the lows around freezing!

Josh doing some belly surfing in 1999!

6. 4-Wheel Drive Trips! We always take one 4-wheel drive trip over the mountain to a nearby village/town. To go about 4 or 5 miles takes around 4 or 5 hours! But the scenery is heavenly! The neatest thing is seeing herds of sheep with an actual shepherd gathering them on the mountaintop.

Harold & Sherrie Jones and their fam, Brett, Elise, & Haley, Aunt Cheryl, and my family at Cinnamon Pass, elevation 12,640 feet above sea level in 1995.

5. Good food, good fun, good fellowship!

Josh & Cecil (my boss) in the middle with Brett and Jeremy at the picnic table. Every night we sit around and play games, sing, roast marshmallows, look at stars, and listen to the river. RELAXING!

4. ELK!

My dad always hikes up to "hunt' with his camera! He took this picture in 1995.

3. Beautiful mountain homes!

The "white dot" on the left hand side of the waterfall is Tom Cruise's house in Telluride, CO.

This house is one of our favorites - I'm told our #1 fave burned down :(.

You can only access it by suspension bridge - its called "Thoreau" (I think?).

2. The Scenery!

The guy in blue is my dad in 1996. This waterfall is about 5 minutes from camp. We were all about to have a nervous breakdown that he was so close to the edge. I've literally had nightmares about my kids falling in right here so they will stay with me on the safe side of the guard rail!

Wildflowers - don't pick 'em! My parents in 1998.

1. TO BE PART OF TRADITION SINCE 1988! The family in 1998 . . . we are so excited to share our memories with Blake, Ryan, Erica, Mason, & Conner!

So now you can see a small glimpse of why I am driving 2 days across 4 states with 2 kids to stay 8 days with no running water or electricity!! I think it is as close to heaven as I can find on earth!