First Family Vacation

This week we took our first official family - of three - vacation to Colorado. We left Tuesday morning and arrived at our friends Tim, Charity, & Asa's house in Colorado Springs around 5:30pm. We stayed at their house until Friday afternoon when we headed up the road to Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp for the weekend. Sunday afternoon we headed out and made the long trip back home to Newton!

Here is a breakdown of some of our activities during the week:

Tuesday - We only made two stops on the 8 hour trip. Corynn was a great traveler, although I had to ride in the back seat with her from the CO border to our destination to keep her
entertained.

Enjoying the ride - packed in next to daddy's bike in the car

Wednesday - Kevin, Tim, Corynn & I hiked around Ute Valley Park; then we all had lunch at the Garden of the Gods Trading Post restaurant.

Thursday - We toured the campus of The University of Colorado-Colorado Springs where Tim teaches. Then Corynn & I walked around (Kevin biked) at the Airforce Academy, specifically exploring the chapel.

Friday - Tim, Kevin, Corynn & I hiked the Manitou Springs Incline & Barr Trail (at the foot of Pikes Peak)! This was a 1-mile uphill hike of 2000+ steps made from railroad ties; elevation gain was 2000+ feet, with the steepest grade being 68%. We hiked the Barr Trail back down the mountain which was approximately 3 miles.

This is a photo from the bottom of the Incline looking up to the top of the ridge, and the top is actually a false summit, so there was even more hiking once we got there.

Here is a photo looking down the Incline. I tried not to look back too often because it was just a little too freaky being so high and steep! (I got both of these photos off the Internet because I only had my phone along on this hike to take pictures, and haven't downloaded them yet.)

After lunch we drove to Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp for the Bartel Family Reunion.

Saturday - Kevin hiked Pikes Peak while Corynn & I hiked to the Crags - 3 miles round-trip. In the afternoon we all enjoyed some much needed naps, and woke up to experience a serious Colorado thunderstorm that lasted the rest of the evening and covered the ground with hail.

Sunday - We stayed for a short morning worship service and brunch, and left for home shortly after. We only made one official stop (not including the 15 MINUTE stop at a Dairy Queen DRIVE-THRU) and arrived home safely at 10pm.

Overall, we had a great time in the mountains and catching up with family and friends, and Corynn seemed to enjoy herself as well - even on her 3-hour hikes in the front-pack! The only downfall was that Corynn didn't sleep well at night, so we were glad to get home and hope that it was the altitude keeping her up, not a new habit.

Enjoy some more pictures from our week in Colorado - July 20-26:



Morning play time and stretching in mommy and daddy's bed


Laying on the huge stuffed dog at Tim & Charity's house


Playing in our bedroom at RMMC


This is how I found her sleeping after I woke up Saturday morning - so peaceful (and yes, she was in our bed again, but at least she was sleeping!)


Daddy and Corynn at RMMC


Grandma and Corynn enjoying the Colorado air at RMMC