Road Trip through Southern Colorado - On to Mesa Verde

We drove into Mesa Verde in the morning and were amazed at the sheer size of the park.  It's incredible and there is so much to see beyond the tours of the ancient pueblo cliff dwellings.  We spent the morning hiking around the Chapin Mesa and then toured both the Balcony House and the Cliff Palace. 

Spruce Tree House.  This dwelling can normally be self toured but it was off limits on our visit because of rock fall.  We could see it from a distance on a hike.  

A memorable moment for me as a parent was standing behind Luca in this very moment, and hearing him say, "Wow.  A boy my age was standing right here probably 800 years ago."  

Balcony House.  Touring this house is the most exciting because it has a 32 foot ladder and a 12 foot tunnel that has a 16 inch opening.  This ladder doesn't look like much to climb, but a picture below shows the scale against the side of the cliff.  

Those are the doorways to the rooms.  Small doorways help with insulation.  

Even if you aren't scared of heights, which I'm not, it was unbelievable to see everyone climbing the ladder.  What's remarkable is that ladders are there only for our convenience; the pueblo people used foot and hand holds that they carved into the rock.  You can see those alongside the ladders.  Incredible.  

Kivas are the heart of all of the homes, each home has at least one.  Cool in the summer and warm in the winter, these underground rooms were both for daily and religious life.  

Cliff Palace.  This is one of the larger dwellings, housing 100 to 150 people.  Amazing at one time that this area was thriving with people.  

Road Trip Through Southern Colorado - First Stops

We took about 5 days to road trip through Southern Colorado.  Our first stop was the Royal Gorge Bridge.  We had never been!  It is the highest suspension bridge in North America, built 90 years ago as a tourist attraction.  We walked across it and marveled at how it gently moves and sways.  You have to be 100 pounds to be able to zipline across it, which the kids were dying to do, so we'll go back someday.  

Next stop was Pagosa Springs.  We stayed at the hot springs and laughed because the kids swam more in the river than they did the springs!  The water was cold but so nice.  

Summer Pictures

Mia and a few of her teammates from her tennis team.  This group of girls did fantastic, winning almost all doubles and singles matches.  

Homestead won the RMSL (Rocky Mountain Swim League) title again this year!  Mia went to finals for her 7th year this year, and loved competing.  

We discovered a fun skate park and Luca is in heaven riding there. 

Keeping busy during some rainy days. 

We went up to Copper for the 4th of July and had a blast with Boston.  The kids did the Adventure course all day and we lucked out with beautiful weather.  

Summer 

Camp T

Camp came quickly this summer.  All of a sudden, the trunk was out and it was time to pack.  We dropped Mia off up in Estes on a cold day she was SO excited.  This year felt different as we left her.  This isn't her first time at the rodeo and we were confident that she would have another great week.  While we all felt comfortable in knowing she was just fine, we felt a hole the week she was gone. We sure missed her.

Drop off day!

A blurry picture, but we don't get many of us anymore!

Mia made her camp blanket this year.  

Add caption

The girls were in the oldest cabin this year, and next year will be in "teen camp" (what???  How did THAT happen?)

Pick up day!!  Mia was non stop talk and excited to share all of the week's adventures.  

Her great counselors, all of whom were from Texas!

Happy reunion between these two!!