A Risky Drive, Hike and Soak

So, we woke up today and guess what? Our horseback ride is cancelled due to the rain.  Oh brother. Really?  David and I were both bummed. The kids were still asleep. We contemplated just turning around and going home, but the hotel we had booked needed 72 hours to cancel. So, it was motivating us to go on. So, we did, and we are so glad we did.

The meadows with the fall colors, mountains and clouds....just wow!  So pretty.

 

We knew we had time to kill. I was planning on a 1 PM horseback ride, so I thought we'd pull into Ouray around 5. But, now it was 10:00 and we were already on the road.

So, we stopped at the honey store.  

 

It was cool to watch them fill the honey bears. 

 

  You could see the bees working.

This is a hot spring formation off the side of the road.

 

And as we headed off, we thought it wasn't too bad. We passed the stables we were supposed to be riding at and the horses looked so pretty. Another time. 

 

And then all of a sudden, the road got more and more snowy. 

 

At one point at the top of this pass, the elevations was over 11,000 feet and we didn't think we'd be able to make it.  David had almost zero traction. We were actually looking for a place to turn around and it started to clear up. Then, we saw a car pass us and knew the road must be ok. So, we kept going.  

 

Literally, a few minutes after we almost turned around, there was almost no snow!  

 

We pulled off at a scenic overlook. The other two didn't want to get out of the car, but we eventually made them. 

 

We made it to Ouray!  And wow!  Those mountains!  It's no wonder they call it the Switzerland of America. It's just gorgeous. 

 

We saw this cute animal on the way to lunch. I don't even know what it is. 

 

And this cracked us up. People are funny. 

 

Look, Emily is in the picture too, but she looks like a ghost. 

 

Then, we went for a hike. Literally, it's like if you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes. We were hot at the hotel and we drove a mile and it was freezing and snowing.  

 

And this is funny...Dad, Noah saw the pile of rocks and had to add one to it!  :)

 

 The trail was so pretty. 

 

Then, we went back to our lodge and went in their hot springs. It comes out at 156 degrees and they add water to cool it. 

 

The pool is fed through hot spring water too! It was awesome!  And it didn't stink either! 

 

I mean, how pretty is this place? 

 

We had yummy wings and salad for dinner.  

 

Tomorrow, we get to rent a jeep!  We have to go to the town north of here about 15 minutes, but we will get to go 'splorin in a jeep!    

Horeshoe Bend, Four Corners and More Rain

We woke up today and guess what?  It was still raining. The first thing I saw when I looked at my phone was the cancellation notice of our Antelope Canyon tour.  I was bummed.  It's been on my list of places I've wanted to see for about 20 years. It's only a 3 1/2 hour drive from our house, so as to why I haven't done it sooner, I don't know.

If you don't know what it is, I'm sure you've seen the pictures. Everyone has.

It rained so hard that it was flooded and the ladders to get to it were not safe, etc. David and I walked around to a few other tour places. Yep, the lower canyon was all cancelled. The upper canyon tours were still on, but I didn't pick that one. It was a miserable day and without the sun streaming in like in the photo, it would just not be as spectacular. I'm sure they are still pretty amazing though.

But, we just decided we'll have to come back another time. It's not impossible to do it in a day trip if we want.

So, we pressed on to Horseshoe Bend. It's about a mile hike.  And guess what? It was raining. Thank goodness before we left, I borrowed two umbrellas from Dakri, so that we all had our own. It was worth the walk in the rain though as the site is awesome. It is made up of Glen Canyon and the Colorado River.

 

You can kayak around there at times. All the tours here book up months in advance.  Not only that, but it's all on Indian tribal land, so you run by their rules. Which are few and far between.  Like is there a standby list for the next tour?  Just come back in an hour.  Um, okay. Can you text me if there is an opening?  No. Um, okay, then. That's how it always is. 

Emily took a few pics with some fancy app that puts nice colored filters, so it doesn't look so gray out. 

 

It was raining and it made me so nervous. We wouldn't let the boys go within 5 feet of the edge. It's just so scary. 

 

 

 Here's Emily and Noah making their way back. 

  

At this point, we looked at the radar. It's going to be snowing and raining for the next 3 days. We have a horseback ride scheduled Monday that may be cancelled and a Jeep rental on Tuesday that may be cancelled if the higher elevations get too much snow.  We asked the kids if they just wanted to head home and forget it. We could try Colorado another time. Really, we never get rain like this. There will probably be 5 rainy weekends all year and we got one of them.

But, they all said, no way!  They rather just push on and make lemonade.  So, we did. If we end up at the movies tomorrow or bowling, that's the way it goes. Everything we wanted to do is outside. 

But, the scenery is all so pretty from the nice dry car.  Here's the smoke stacks from the dam.

 

Here's some more nice scenery.  Today was a longer drive, 4ish hours. 

 

Then, we stopped at the four corners. If you don't know, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico is the only place that makes four perfect 90 degree squares, so it's a thing.  And by thing, I mean, the Indians charge $5 a person to take a picture at the X. But, it's something you have to do once in your life.

 

 

Noah did a plank in all 4 states.

 

Then, we threw some rocks in Utah, I think.

  And we finally made it to Colorado. And, it's raining!  David and the kids have never been to Colorado, so we are hoping the next few days are more than just rainy.

 

We went to Applebee's for dinner. Not our usual type of place on vacation, but everything else was super busy or fancy. So, basic it is. 

 

We got some ice cream at Baskin Robbins and headed to the indoor hot tubs at our hotel. 

 

We had another great day. We are having fun as a family and just being together. And if I don't have to cook for 5 days, I'll do just about anything.