For Brent's Big 30th Birthday, I almost surprised him with a week long adventure in Colorado for him and I along with his best friend Colby and his wife Heather. Heather and I started the planning process back when I was pregnant and our goal was to surprise the boys with the trip to Colorado but to also surprise them by not letting them know the other couple was coming. I led Brent to think I had a vacation planned for just him and I for a week but he had no idea where and didn't think we would be going with anyone else. But a few weeks before we were scheduled to leave my Dad accidentally let the cat out of the bad and spilled the beans to Brent that he was going to Colorado. I was a little disappointed that the big surprise was spoiled but he still didn't know Colby was coming. Then a week before we were suppose to leave, Heather called me and said she couldn't hold it in any longer and told Colby everything about the trip. Disappointed again, I ended up telling Brent everything as well one night at dinner because now that Colby knew, it wouldn't be as big of a surprise. Brent couldn't believe that Colby was coming and that I had been planning this entire trip with Heather for so long. He got super excited and couldn't wait to head to Colorado with his best bud Colby!!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
A couple days before we were suppose to leave, I started to get upset about leaving Preston for 7 whole days. I'm not sure what I was thinking booking a trip for such a long period of time but everything was set in stone and there was no turning back now. I tried to spend every second with him that I could and when my parents drove off with him in the car leaving us at the airport, I couldn't help but cry. It was a strange feeling to cry at the start of a vacation but I knew this would be a good break for Brent and I.
While waiting for our bags in Colorado, Brent shared a story with all of us about the guy sitting next to him on the plane who turned Brent's overhead light out. Brent said he couldn't believe someone would do that and went on and on about it not realizing the guy he was talking about was standing right behind him listening to everything Brent was saying. The guy knew I knew he could hear everything Brent was saying and it was the most awkward situation. When Brent finally finished, I looked at him and said quietly "the guy is standing right behind you". Brent was so embarrassed and Colby and Heather thought it was the funniest thing. It definitely got our trip off to a funny start.
When attempting to pick up our 4 door open aired jeep, the rental company didn't have what we requested so they offered a 2 door. Not really happy about it, we accepted not realizing how tiny of a trunk space the 2 door jeep had. It was pretty funny watching the guys try to figure out how to squeeze 3 large luggage bags into a space that barley fit 2 bags. Frustrated, the boys headed back in and complained and ended up getting an $80,000 Infanity Q56 SUV with full insurance coverage. The boys thought this was fantastic and said the woman said if any damage was done to the vehicle to just, "walk away". This was the wrong thing to tell these boys. Once they heard this, they thought it would be hilarious to try to dent and ding the car any chance they could the entire trip. It all started when we had to pull off the side of the highway to type in directions in the GPS and Brent saw yellow barricades and purposely dinged the front of the car into them. Colby thought that was the best until they started to threw rocks at the car, threw food and Popsicles inside the car, run the back of the car into the side of a mountain and place gummy bears in random places for the cleaning crew to find. It was a little funny and actually nice we didn't have to worry about damaging the car!!
I don't think all the bags will fit...
The boys are determinded to make them fit
Us girls have to sit back here too, you know
The poor cars first on purpose dent
We landed in Denver and drove a few hours to Canon City. On the way we ate at Famous Dave's Legendary BBQ and it was pretty good. We arrived at our hotel and checked into the very accommodating Parkview Hotel where they give you your room key on a key chain and the hotel is an exterior corridor hotel. It only cost of $78 bucks. Not my favorite place but it was part of the experience and Brent and Colby love staying in dump holes. Canon City is just a little river town and there weren't any nice hotels anyway. We got the air going in our room and took a quick stroll down Main Street which was a little scary because not many people were out and the ones who were looked a little weird. I slept with all my clothes on including socks and didn't touch the comforter.
Outside Famous Dave's BBQ
Oh Colby
ParkView Hotel in Canon City
I want this sign
Lucky # 126
Fancy bedspread
Our warm accommodations
Sunday, July 15, 2012 - River Rafting
The next morning we grabbed breakfast at Sonic and drove a short distance to the Royal Gorge Rafting company. Driving out of Canon City Brent finally pointed out that our hotel was right next to the Canon City prison. Good thing he didn't tell me that last night, geesh. Heather and I knew the boys would love to raft one day so we went ahead and booked it even though we both were terrified of going. I got more and more nervous as we were putting on our gear and loading into the bus. But when the head guy started talking about what actions to take if you fell out of the raft, which took him at least 15 minutes to explain, I started to get really really nervous. We arrived at the loading point, met our guide and headed down the Royal Gorge River. Our guide was ultra-cool and it ended up being a lot of fun. Half way through, we went down a level 4 and saw a raft turn completely upside down. All the rafts near by including us, rowed quickly towards the overturned raft and assisted in pulling in rafters that were in the river. Brent and Colby had the job of keeping the raft in place while fighting the current while Heather and I had to pull a lady into our raft by pulling on her life jacket with all our might. We got her in and she had the biggest smile on her face. Everyone got the rafters back in their rafts and we continued our journey. On the last rapid, the guide asked he we wanted him to guide us to where we would all flip out. The boys were all about it but us girls were not quite ready for that. I think the guide did try to tip us but we all held on pretty tightly. At the end of the ride, all the guides let their rafters get out and jump off a cliff. Brent was the very first one to jump and he jumped so hard that he sanked to the bottom and when he popped up, he was gasping for air. He said he didn't anticipate going down so deep that he ended up taking a breath under water and got a mouth full of water. We all just laughed at him.
We're ready to go rafting!!!
Here we go. Our guide is giving us some pointers
First little raft
Not too bad, I can do this
We all found the camera man
Oh boy
Oh man
This is not good
That water is COLD
We made it, thankgoodness
Here we go again
I don't like the look of those rocks
Crazy
Finally, some calm water
Royal Gorge Bridge
That Bridge is way up there
Looking up at the Royal Gorge Bridge
Old water drain
The cliff we jumped off of
Our guide gave us a recommendation of a place to eat dinner that night and we all enjoyed his suggestion. We ate dinner at "Fritz" in Salida on our way to Durango. I got the chicken, brie, apple sandwich and it was really good. I wasn't sure how apples would go on a sandwich but with the brie it was so good. The restaurant was in a little town that had all kinds of unique houses. We sat outside and enjoyed the scenery.
Scenic stop along the way
Taking in the views cliff side
View from the car as we were driving
Fritz Restaurant - recommended by our rafting guide
Fritz was a cute local restaurant in Salida, CO
When we arrived in Durango and pulled up to our Log Cabin all of our faces lit up because the Log Cabin was so beautiful and surrounded by nothing but tall trees and the stars in the sky. It was a little chilly so after we unloaded our bags we all jumped in the outdoor hot tub and munched on our pizza rolls. It was a perfect evening under the stars. We all talked about the fun we have already had and it was only day 2!!
Our awesome Log Cabin
Front entrance after you walk through the front door
Downstairs living room
Downstairs bedroom
Downstairs bathroom
Staircase from first floor to second floor
Main living on second floor
Main living room
Main living rooom and dining room
High window in the living room
Kitchen
Our bedroom on the second floor
Our bathroom on second floor
Staircase to 3rd floor
Colby & Heather's bedroom on the 3rd floor
Front deck
Hot tub in the back
Back view of the cabin
Monday, July 16, 2012 - Durango to Silverton Train & Off-Roading
The plan for Monday was to drive into the town of Durango and ride the Durango to Silverton train. We grabbed breakfast at McDonald's and got seated in our open-air car on the old-timy coal powered train. Our engineer guide was pretty funny and the scenery from town to town was beautiful. Riding the train along mountain cliffs was spectacular. I kept telling Brent that I couldn't wait to take Preston on this train someday. He totally agreed. When we arrived in Silverton, I didn't know what to expect and was surprised by how this little town appeared out of no where in the valley of 2 enormous mountains. It was one of the only mining towns left in that area and during the winter there are only 200 people that live there. We walked around and then decided to eat at "Grumpy's". A suggestion by a local. It was the best suggestion because the food was out of this world good. By the end of the trip, we all agreed that Grumpy's was the best place we ate during the whole trip. I got the blu-cheese burger and it was covered in blu-cheese. I loved every bit. When we saw the menu, we all noticed that the Grumpy character looked quite a bit like Brent. Brent can tend to be grumpy quiet often so the rest of the trip, Brent's nickname was Grumpy. After walking around a bit more, we loaded on the bus back to Durango and went on the Million Dollar Highway. That was really nerve racking because you are on the big'o bus on the edge of a mountain cliff. I tried not to look out the window too many times because it made me really nervous.
Durango to Silverton Trip
The coal engine train we will be riding on
Train Station
All the coal it takes to make the train run
On our open-air train car
View of our car
They gave us sweet buns!! Love it
Yummy
Here we go...
Wiping the black soot off
Entering the San Juan National Forest
Cliff side train ride, so cool
Beautiful scenery
Feeling the fresh air
House that a man lived in and wrote a childs book about his adventure and his friend the bear
We bought the man's book for Preston
Our conductor telling a story
Massive waterfall
Getting close to Silverton
The front of our train
That's some hot coal
Town of Silverton
This town only has 200 people in it during the winter
Love the horse's
Perfect restaurant for Brent. He is Mr. Grumpy and he looks like him too. This place had the best food the whole trip
Picture of Grumpy. Spitting image of Brent
Go ahead, try riding that thing
We had a little day light to spare so Heather and I reluctantly accepted the boys proposal to do a little off-road driving. We knew the boys loved to go off on random park rodes so that's why we agreed. It wasn't too bad at first but 6 miles into it, we found ourselves on the side of a mountain cliff with just enough room for the tires to rub against the side of the mountain and titter on the edge of the mountain cliff. Heather and I began to freak out when we passed a sign that said "Road Narrows". I couldn't believe the road was about to get even smaller and we both ended up making Colby mad with our constant cries of fear. He ended up stopping the car and asking "what the hell we wanted him to do about it." We didn't want to continue, plus it was getting dark and we didn't know how much further this rode went. So he and Brent made a 10 point turn on the edge of a cliff to turn the SUV around and head back down the rode to get back to the main highway. Needless to say, the car ride back to the Log Cabin was a quiet one.
Stop along the way as we were off-roading
Being adventurous and climbing the mountain side
Taking in the beautiful scenery
Pretty specular
That evening, we all calmed down by getting back in the hot tub and talking about the days adventure.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012 - Boat Rental & Alpine Slide
We left this day open for the boys to decide what they wanted to do and we all agreed that renting a boat was a fun way to spend the day. We got the boat for 4 hours, the sun was shining and the guy let us use all his water toys. We grabbed the water tub and we all took turns riding the tub and then eventually tried to do tricks while riding the tub. Brent was the first one to stand on the tub, Colby turned around and flashed everyone his white butt, I almost made it in a full stand and then Heather showed off my standing up completely with no hands. The boys then wanted to try the knee board. It took them a while to figure out how to use it but when they did, they had a great time.
Out on the lake
Never been to a lake that had views like this
Brent's up first
Better hold on
Wipe out
Getting creative
Very nice
Bye Bye
Showing Brent up
But not for long
Nice Colby
Wipe out
Best Buds
My turn
Not doing to bad
Trying to stand up. This is harder than it looked
Bye Bye
Wipe outs can be fun
Wish every day was like this day
Show off
Tell me your not trying to look sexy
Knee boarding for the first time
After boating on the lake, we quickly headed to the Durango Mountain Resort to ride the alpine slide. Brent was trying to film his ride down and go at full speed when he turned a corner, lost control and flipped. He ended up scrapping up his elbow and knee pretty bad. Of all people to fall on the alpine slide, it would be Brent. I loved it and we all ended up riding it twice. At $16 a ride, it got a little expensive but that is what vacation is for.
On our way up
View of part of the slide
View of the resort as we were going up
Looks fun!!
More of the slide
Colby & Heather on their way up too
View from the top
Brent & Colby
Have fun going down!!
That evening we walked around Downtown Durango and ate a little mexican food. Not the best food but I got a strawberry margarita and it was yummy!!
Brent found a buddy
Making sure his hat looks good
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 - Drive to Tulleride & 90 Minute Massage
We sadly left our adorable Log Cabin and but eagerly headed towards our last destination...Tulleride!! On our way we drove back on the Million Dollar Highway which was so beautiful but again nerve racking driving along cliff sides again. We made our way through Ouray which was the cutest valley town ever. I could actually live in Ouray, it was so picturesque. Then we finally made it to the Peak's Resort in Tulleride. The hotel was stunning but our 90 minute massages were waiting. Us girls headed to the girls locker room and soaked in the hot tub before our massages and the boys went into the steam room before theirs to start the relaxation process. After our massages we all looked like walking zombies but all agreed we were hungry. We rode the gondola into town and ate at a very nice Italian restaurant, Rustico Ristoranie. It was delicious and we ate 4 baskets of bread, it was soo good. We then headed to a restaurant called The Sweet Life for dessert. We learned that Rachel Ray had filmed there during one of her $40 a day show. We ordered the fried oreos and they were sinful.
Making our way up
A little bit higher
View of Silverton
Another view of Silverton
Ouray
Such a cute town
Peak's Resort (our room)
View from our room at the Peak's
Riding the gondola to the town of Tulleride
Dinner at Rustico
Group pic at dinner
Our view during dinner
View of the restarant outside on the street. Pretty stunning
Brent's belly is full
At the Sweet Life where Rachel Ray filmed a show
Fried oreos
Colby's loving the fried oreo
That evening while sitting on the hotel restaurant balcony, we all decided it would be fun to ride horses the next day since we left that day open as well.
Thursday, July 19, 2012 - Horse-back Riding & Dinner to Celebrate the Boy's 30th Birthdays!!
I was super excited to get to the Circle K Ranch to do a little horse-back riding. I love horses and I was probably more excited than anyone about this adventure. The guide took us up into the mountains, crossing river beds and snapping a few pictures for us along the way. Brent's horse kept things exciting by constantly running over random trees. His horse would decide he didn't want to follow in the line anymore and make his own path. It was hilarious because not only was Brent's horse the biggest one of the bunch (it had to be to support Brent) but it had a mind of his own. At one point, his horse stumbled and spooked the other horses causing our horses to trout off a little bit. That was fun though.
Just arrive at Circle K Ranch
Brent and I posing with Brent's horse
Getting all saddled up
I like my horse. He seems sweet
Brent got the biggest horse they had
Hitting the trail
Our view during the horse ride
I'm enjoying this!!
So pretty
Stop along the way for a group pic. My horse was going a little crazy
A car stuck in the side of the cliff
That evening, we got all dressed up and rode the gondola back into the town of Tulleride for a fancy dinner to celebrate Brent and Colby turning 30. It was a 3 course meal and everyone got the buffalo steak but me. When our meals came out, everyone was jealous of my meal and wished they got what I got. I got the steak and mashed potatoes and it was great. Dessert was my favorite part!!
Friday, July 20, 2012 - Brent's Official Birthday & ATVing in Ouray
Heather and I saved the best adventure for last and that was ATVing in Ouray for a full day. We all didn't really know what to expect but just 10 minutes into it, we were already having the times of our lives. We made our way along rocking trails leading up to the very top of the mountains. We made it so far, we were able to touch the snow that we had been admiring all week thinking that snow was so high up there. We ended up going off on a trail that we ended up realizing was the trail the guide at the base told us to avoid because it was dangerous. He was right because Brent ended up falling off his ATV and tumbling down the hill. It took Brent and Colby a good long while to get Brent's ATV unstuck. But it was totally worth it because the views from up there were out of this world. We felt like we were on top of the world and at 13,114 feet we pretty much were. We went on several trails that led to secluded lakes, basins and very old mountain mines. We walked up a large mountain side to look into a mine door. Its crazy to think years ago, men worked up there mining for gold and minerals. I found a piece of an old mining cart and took it. I'm sure it is probably illegal to take it but I couldn't resist taking a piece of history.
We packed a lunch before we left and ate it at the top of Yankee Boy Basin. Beautiful. Best lunch views I have ever had for sure. We drove around all day, even got rained on at one point then headed back into town by 5pm. Our muscles were sore so we jumped in the natural hot springs pool in Ouray and it felt so good. It was short lived because a storm was moving through but those 10 minutes felt great.
Our last adventure...ATVing in the mountains
Off we go
This part was fun.
Amazing views everywhere we went
Gorgeous
We made it to the top of the summit they said we shouldn't go on due to its danger levels
Wild flowers growing so high
What up...
The boys are having a blast
Parked our ATV's to enjoy the atmosphere
So this is why they said this summit was dangerous
I don't think I am really helping here but it looks like it at least
Good job boys
We made it all the way to the top where the snow was
Breath taking
I could stay here all day
Signs says, "No Vehicles"
Making our way to Yankee Boy Basin
Natural waterfall
Made it to Yankee Boy
This is where we had lunch
Brent making his way up to see the old mine with us. It was soo hard to breath at this altitude
We made it to the mine. Can't believe this is a tiny hole in the side of a huge mountain
Inside the tiny door
This is what we climbed up to get to the mine
On to the next location
Beautiful pond up in the mountains
Taking a breather
Another natural waterfall
Making our way up to over 13,000 feet
We're getting close. We are with the snow again
We made it!!!! We can see the town of Telluride from here. Crazy
Pictures just don't do this location justice. It was soo windy and a little scary
Colby and Heather
The peak of our trip...literally
Getting in the right spot to take a few pictures
Helmet kiss
Back down the mountain. This was our snack location
We shared the road with the cars
Can't believe our last stop we found a rose wreath. Two people fell off the cliff and died. This is no joke
We headed back to our hotel at the Peaks and that concluded our week long journey in Colorado.
Saturday, July 21, 2012 - Drove to Denver
It took about 5 hours to drive back to Denver but we ate along the way and stopped at a few scenic spots. We even show the Ralph Lauren Ranch. I was super excited to get back home to see my baby. I had missed him sooo much and could literally hardly wait to see him. It was killing me when we landed and had to sit on the plane for 20 minutes waiting for our gate to open. When I got to hold Preston, I told Brent that I had a great time but I don't think I could ever leave him for that many days ever again.
Happy Birthday Brent and Colby!!!
