Southwest Colorado Road Trip

We arrived home almost two weeks ago from our summer family vacation - a road trip through Southwest Colorado. Most summers we leave the state to travel, but when thinking about what to do this summer, we decided to finally take some time to explore our beautiful state. We had really ever been to the southwest corner of the state, so we took 5 days to make our way through the highlights. Overall it was really, really fun and the kids did great. Of course they had a few cranky moments and a few plans changed here and there, but that's to be expected when on the road as a family of five. We spent plenty of prep time to be sure to be super organized for this trip, which paid off big time. From our itinerary to packing to meal planning, we were ready to go!

Our route.

Day One - July 31st - Myles' Birthday!
We woke up early to get a jump start on the day, and after packing our last minute items, Myles opened a few presents at home. The best one being a big stuffed "Oh," which is a character from one of his favorite movies, Home. The kids (and Oh) were loaded into the car, and we hit the road. Our first stop was just one mile away, where we had our traditional birthday donut breakfast before really getting on the road.

Our day one stop was Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. It is in a more natural setting and more interactive than the Denver Zoo. We were able to feed the giraffes and birds, walk alongside wallabies, play at a park, climb a tree house, ride a carousal, and see lots of animals.

Ryker feeding a giraffe.

Myles checking out the map - he still loves maps!

The baby gorilla in the bottom right walked over from across the way and laid down on his mama's chest. She wrapped both arms around him and they stayed there cuddling for a long while. It was one of the sweetest things I've seen.

After we were finished walking through the zoo, we drove up to the Will Rogers Memorial Shrine of the Sun. The only way to get there is through the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and I'm glad we took the time to drive up. The memorial itself was interesting and the views were so gorgeous!

We finished up our day in Colorado Springs with dinner at "The Dive," which, before arriving, I thought was a tongue-in-cheek name for a hamburger diner, but when we pulled up it was clearly a literal dive. They boasted some of the best burgers in town, which thankfully ended up being true!

Day Two - August 1st
We had spent the night at a hotel in Pueblo, about 40 minutes south of Colorado Springs, which meant we had only a two hour drive to our next destination - Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, the tallest dunes in North America. Everything I had read about the sand dunes talked about how important it is to arrive early before the sand gets too hot to touch. I was anxious to get a very early start, so I was already a bit bummed when we didn't leave until almost 8:00. I was so happy to be headed south that I didn't even think twice about how to get there. Imagine our surprise when we passed a "Welcome to New Mexico" sign. What?!?! We were definitely NOT supposed to be crossing any state lines! We pulled over at the first gas station and realized that we had completely missed our turn 55 miles ago.

New Mexico - check!

After another two hours on the road (in the right direction!), we finally arrived at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve on what turned out to be a partly cloud covered day and the sand was perfect. We rented two sand sleds, hiked into the dunes, and spent the next few hours sand sledding. Ryker wasn't so sure, but the rest of us had a lot of fun. Going down was great, walking back up the dunes was hard work! The kids played in the creek afterward as the clouds and rain came in.

This picture represents pretty well how Ryker felt about the sand dunes. He was still a trooper though!

We cleaned up and headed west nearly two hours to Pagosa Springs and stopped to make the short hike up to Treasure Falls before settling into our hotel room that night with pizza, fruit, and a movie. A good, full day.

Day Three - August 2nd
We had a leisurely morning at our quaint family owned hotel in Pagosa Springs before heading to The Springs Resort, which is a hot springs resort with 23 individual mineral hot springs including one bigger pool. We were easily entertained there for the whole day swimming and trying out different pools. After we had finished up at the hot springs, we walked along the river in the very cute town of Pagosa Springs, stopped for Mexican food, and hopped back in the car for another two hour drive to Cortez, CO.

Day Four - August 3rd
We spent our fourth day exploring Mesa Verde National Park, which is so full of rich history and gorgeous views. The kids were a bit tired this day, so we dealt with some whining and behaviors, but when it came time to go on our guided tour of Cliff Palace, they did awesome. We had to climb down steep stairs, maneuver around the dwelling, listen quietly for periods of time, and climb straight up ladders to the exit. Even though our kids were the youngest on the tour, it added so much to our experience in the park, and I'm glad we did it.

Cliff Palace

After a whole day at the national park, we rested for a bit before going out for pasta at a restaurant that unsuspectingly had an amazing view of the mountains. After dinner we went to the local playground in Cortez where we met another little boy, age 7, with Down syndrome, and his mom. The family had moved from Uzbekestan three years earlier, and although his mother said that it had been suggested that he has Down syndrome, the little boy did not get an official diagnosis until three months ago. His mother had only ever met one other person with Down syndrome. She was very interested in learning more about our experience and Down syndrome in general. We were able to make a connection, share our story, answer questions about Down syndrome, and get her in touch with Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association for ongoing support. It was such a neat meeting in the middle of a very small town.

We had promised the kids ice cream and headed to Dairy Queen after the park. Sydney had been mentioning that she didn't feel well, and hadn't eaten dinner very well, but it wasn't until she puked on Gilby and all over the floor at Dairy Queen that we realized she was actually sick. She had a rough night, but thankfully we had already gotten in all of our major stops for the week and she was able to enjoy it all.

Day Five - August 4th
We took off the next morning for the long trip home. Since we were so close, we decided to drive 40 miles in the opposite direction to go to the Four Corners National Monument. We then took the scenic way home, and other than Ryker getting car sick (thankfully in a bag) on one occasion, it was an uneventful drive home.

All in all, a great week of family bonding and memory making!