Vacation Part One

All the laundry has officially been caught up, there are groceries in the kitchen, and we've all almost gotten back into the swing of things. You know it was a great vacation if you need a vacation to recover from it, right?

Well, here it is:

The Hansen Summer Vacation of 2007

Day One:

We rented a car and got stuck with a PT Cruiser. We tried to get out of it, but were unsuccessful. So we ventured from Wichita, KS to Estes Park, CO in an ugly orange granny car. We brought our bikes, not exactly the type of car you'd expect to see lugging a bike rack, but oh well.

After about 7 hours of traveling listening to Sirius Radio (the only good feature about the cruiser) we made it to beautiful Estes Park.

We Checked in to the Mt. Yipsilon Lodge at the YMCA of the Rockies. If you ever go to Estes, you should stay there. It's an incredible, Huge facility, and the view is the best in town!

Day one was completed with a late night dinner in town and some much needed rest.

Day Two:

After a good night's sleep, we awoke to the fresh mountain breeze. I hit the pavement and tried to acclimate to the altitude and prepare for Sunday's run. It was tricky, but we all know I survived it.

After a delicious breakfast at The Egg and I, we rode the Aerial Tram to the top of Prospect Mountain.

Once we were at the top we bought peanuts to feed the locals, the chipmunks.

After we fed all the chipmunks we could handle, we took the tram back down.

All that excitement proved to be too much for Judah and he crashed in the car. We took the quiet time as a chance to go explore the Rocky Mountains.

We saw many beautiful peaks and ranges. We also came in close contact with some male elk playing alongside the road.

A couple of motorcycles came by and scared the elk back across the street, right in front of our car.

We'd already saw a herd of mamas and babies the night before, not knowing how aggressive they are this time of year we got out and took video of them. By the time we saw the males we'd been warned about them and we stayed inside this time.

We headed back to go swimming only to be shut out due to lightening in the area. So we killed time by visiting the library on the property and helping Judah not fall behind on his summer reading goal.

After the storm passed we swam in a chilly pool.

I enjoyed getting cleaned up and playing in town at the "Big Slide."

After a yummy dinner, we headed 'home' for bed. I was up bright and early for the run the next morning.

Day Three:

13.1 Half Marathon...awe so beautiful!

The rest of the day was spent by eating at the "Father's Day Buffet," Checking out the river walk and local stores, playing, and riding that slide again!

Day Four:

Playgrounds, mini golf, Smoky The Bear, laundromats, bunk beds, and so much more!

Judah Began singing "It's fun to stay at the YMCA," and really meant it!

Day Five:

It was sadly time to check out of the YMCA and leave that priceless view of the Rockies behind. Judah hit the cafe one more time to get his new favorite snack, fruit smoothies, and then we hit the town one last time for some last minute souvenir shopping.

And what trip to the mountains would be complete with out horseback riding. Or in Judah's case a wrangler ride around the parking lot! He enjoyed riding 'Little Bit' before we left town.

This was the last picture taken in Estes Park. We headed off for a shorter drive to Colorado Springs that afternoon.

I'll call that Part Two and get that up soon.

Enjoy!