On Top of the World

HIP HIP OURAY!!

Love the Wildflowers in Colorado- So Beautiful! I like to pretend I'm a professional Photographer and I took a million pics of these flowers. Be prepared for a million pictures- My job on this vacation was to Document our adventures for all those who couldn't come (Brad and Eric- Jim and Heidi and kids).

After 8 years of telling the Fam how great our annual trip to Ouray Colorado is- We finally got The Burtons to come with us. Dan's family has been coming here since before Dan was born for Family Reunions and such and they've got me hooked- and now I'm pretty sure my family will be accompanying us for years to come. Growing up in Utah- We have plenty of mountains and scenery to take in- but nothing compares to the San Juans and the scenery here in Colorado. It's so much different and more lush and green. If we could move anywhere- It would be here. I love the scenery, the shopping and the weather- so unpredictable and changeable. I never grew up 4 Wheeling or anything like that- but it is Dan's one true passion- so I adopted it as soon as we started dating. Pretty sure we'll pass the passion onto the boys as well. They loved driving over the passes and Tucker would always ask to go over more "bumps". Tate got scared on a few of the trails and kept saying "I scare! I scare!". So fun.
We spent 4 full days 4-Wheeling and Jeeping, Hiking and Sight-Seeing in Ouray, Telluride, Durango, Purgatory and Silverton Colorado. Beautiful Vistas, Awesome Heights, Jeep Rides through the Clouds, Hikes up to 13,000 feet- Mine Exploration and Photo Ops.

This is Red Mountain Pass- The color of the mountains here is mainly from Mine Tailings. The San Juan Mountains are covered with mines and open shafts- mainly dug for silver and gold. Silverton and Ouray are small little Mining Towns who have resorted to Tourism to stay afloat. Telluride is beautiful as well but more commercial and busy- Ouray is still quiet and relatively undiscovered. We love camping and then shopping downtown in the cute little shops.

Hurricane pass is one of the highest passes we go on- Freezing cold and snowing on the top- Even in August. We were surrounded by mist and fog this year- so we didn't really get the full effect of the heights and sheer cliffs.

We stopped by the Purgatory Ski Resort and went down the "Alpine Slides" with the boys- They loved it and screamed when we had to get off. Tucker wouldn't talk to me after I made him get off the slide and when I asked him why he said "I'm Angry Mama- I want to slide again." At least he's labeling his emotions correctly! Purgatory is one of the highest ski resorts in the Country- Very pretty but after hiking around we certainly felt the elevation! It was really nice to ride the chair lift and enjoy the scenery from up above- but I was nervous about dropping the kids off the lift the whole time and couldn't quite relax...

The boys had a good time and it was nice to get them out of the Jeep for a little while. The only downside of the trip is A LOT of time is spent in the car- and little kids just don't understand why they have to be strapped in all day.

Here is one of my favorite stops in Telluride- If you look closely, you can see that the huge Waterfall goes directly under a big gorgeous house used for Weddings and Receptions. So pretty! I make Danny stop here every year for pictures.

Dan had a blast breaking in our new Jeep Commander. It did amazingly well on the passes- and even though it doesn't look like much in the pictures- This pass is a very steep grade. Dan was a good sport and let Jodi and Todd even drive on some of the easier parts. No one dinged up the car too awfully bad and I think they enjoyed having Dan show them the Ropes. It was fun to listen to him teach the kids how to navigate these passes and I'm excited for the day when he can teach our own boys how to drive.


So fun to share this vacation with my family and Dan's parents. They were wonderful sports and drove Mom and Dad around in their Truck. Dad said that he had nightmares of falling off the cliffs- There are some pretty spectacular heights! It's so hard to fit all the sights into one vacation- so I'm pretty sure that we'll drag the family back next year for more sightseeing and nightmarish heights!