glenwood springs

The first weekend in April we thawed out the RV and hit the road for our first trip of the year. Roger planned a great trip to Glenwood Springs. I had no idea there were so many fun things to do - I've only ever stopped there for rafting or as a pit stop on the way to UT. Keeping true to form, we left late and camped around 11 pm. Why break with tradition? Note to self: No more Alex sleeping up on the bunk. Alex + swaying bunk = motion sickness = trip to Target for more PJs. I guess it was a win for him after all.

Friday morning we hiked up the first .3 mi to Hanging Lake. ONE of us forgot the backpack for Max. Turns out we didn't need it - the kid is a mountain goat. We turned around when things got icy - it was also preventative, as we were outnumbered by kids who could potentially want to be carried down the mountain.

After lunch we went to the train museum, and then hit the hot springs. The train museum had an O-scale model train and a maintenance car to climb on, and was good for a nap. It also gave Rog a chance to practice his cliff-side parallel parking. The hot springs are enormous, and were ridiculously crowded. I don't even want to think of how packed they are in the summer. Pizza for dinner made for Roger's perfect day.

Saturday we took a gondola up the mountain to the Glenwood Cavern Adventure Park. SO FUN. And fun for Max too, once he got used to the bumps when the tram went over the poles.

The weather was gorgeous, and there were so many things to do. Katie got THIS close to trying the rock climbing wall - maybe next time. The boys could have spent the entire day in the sandbox 'fossil digging' area. Big surprise there.

The alpine slide was everybody's favorite. Max's face in the middle photo is his reaction as everyone else got to ride the slide but him. By the end of the day he finally got his chance.

The Speleobox - a wooden box maze simulating a cavern - was a hit with 2 out of 3 of our friends. Max got stuck 2 turns from the end, and started a chain reaction of inconsolable children. He finally let Katie lead him out - I tried to go in after him, but it was a little too tight for claustrophobic mom. Katie and Alex couldn't get enough of it.The backpack would have come in handy during the tour of the caverns. The cave is really really great - they are opening more spaces this summer - but poor Max was just too cooked when it was time for the tour. Miner Alex loved being in a cave.

Every night we seemed to camp right by the railroad tracks. This picture also shows the snow as it just started to fall Sunday morning. A few hours later, Vail Pass was closed and we got to hang out in West Vail for 6 hours. It could have been worse - we could have been stuck at the McDonald's with NO play land! It would have been better if I had listened to Roger and agreed to drive home Saturday night. SOMEONE didn't want to arrive home 4 hours later 1 am - even though that same SOMEONE would not have been driving - so instead we scored the 12 hour travel day instead.