Oleo Ranch Colorado 2009

But the Colorado Rocky Mountain High
I've seen it raining fire in the sky
Shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullaby
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
~ Rocky Mountain High by John Denver


Just got back from another wonderful family vacation to the Oleo Ranch in Colorado.

We loaded up the car (including my sister, who decided to come this year) and left Dallas on Friday, July 3rd. We drove about 14 hours and stayed the night in Alamosa, CO. We bought all of our food & supplies in Alamosa on Saturday morning and then set out for the 4 hour drive up the mountain.

This year we stayed in the La Garita which is the largest cabin there. It is two stories with one bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and main living/eating area on the upper floor and 3 more rooms and a bathroom on the lower floor. Ryan and I and the kids stayed in the upper bedroom and my in-laws, parents, sister, and parent's friends stayed in the three bedrooms on the lower floor. My brother and sister-in-law came as well but they got their own cabin just down the road :)

We went down to Lake City for the 4th of July festivities this year. It's the second year we've been able to spend the 4th in Lake City and it's a lot of fun. Very small town 4th of July feel. There is a street dance with a band and everyone gathers in the town square for games, ice cream, and ultimately fireworks. The fireworks are shot off the top of the mountain that overlooks Lake City. I really do love spending 4th of July there. The kids danced, played on the playground, ate ice cream, and made necklaces out of the glow sticks that I brought for them!

This year in Colorado was the best yet with the kids. The kids are finally old enough to really enjoy all of the activities there. They were able to do a lot more fishing then in years past. Ryan would throw the line out and Little Miss or Little Man would reel it in. They both caught a lot of fish this year :)

I really enjoyed this year as well. Lara was able to come this year. She hasn't come in about 5 years so it was great having her there. All the women (me, Lara, Mom, Lynda, Laurie, and Rita) had so much fun playing Quiddler, Spinner, and a new favourite, Stupid. We also got read a lot and Lara brought a Nintendo DS this year so we had fun rebuilding our Mario Brothers skills! We were able to get into town on three different occasions this year - once in Creede and twice in Lake City - I always love shopping there!

The guys did a lot of fishing, hiking, and more fishing :) Ryan got to spend a lot of time with his brother and some great quality time with each of the kids.

Little Man ended up getting sick on Wednesday afternoon. By Wednesday night his fever was 102.3 and I was worried. Ryan went cabin to cabin and ended up finding us some Children's Motrin (lesson learned - don't forget the fever reducer!!). Thursday morning I took him down to the clinic in Lake City and it ended up he had Strep Throat AGAIN! While we were in town with Little Man though, Ryan and Little Miss got to spend an entire afternoon together. They hiked down to the streams and Little Miss helped Ryan catch fish. They chatted and fished all afternoon - great Daddy/Daughter bonding time!

We stopped in Lubbock for the night on the way home. Got up the next morning and toured campus. A lot has changed since Ryan and I went there! We stopped at the spirit shops and bought each of us a Texas Tech shirt (even picked up a couple for my Godsister) and then had lunch at Mamaritas (the best queso!). We got home Saturday night around 10 pm.

Overall, I think that this was my favourite Colorado trip in a long time.

Here is Little Miss writing in her journal - she carried it everywhere :)

Little Miss & Little Man fishing ---------------------- Denver & Laurie at their cabin