Colorado

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Colorado is still one of the prettiest states in America by my opinion. I have been there in various seasons and each is prettier than the next. Our RV park honestly looked like it belonged on a postcard. We were actually in Colorado recently with the kids and did everything Colorado Springs and Denver had to offer so our trip to Colorado this time was sadly a quickie (but we plan to return in the Spring when we are heading through the Northwest!). Fresh off of our adventures in Moab, we were ready for some downtime and Colorado provided the perfect R&R. We made our home base in Durango and the kids had so much fun exploring this city. We spent a ridiculous amount of time at the fish hatchery (much to my disgust!) but the kids had a ball. Seriously, there were some pools that looked black from the amount of fish on top of each other in them!

We also spent a whole day in Pagosa Springs at the resort using the hot springs. They have day passes available for the pools and we thought this would be a neat adventure for us all. What a neat gem this was. I am 36 years old and have never seen something like it. The resort has 23 "pools" on multiple levels, all flowing into each other via waterfalls and "streams". They vary in temperatures from 91 degrees to 114 degrees and all have funny names that match their description such as 'the lobster pot'! All of this overlooks the river which is 42 degrees. It was hilarious to be sitting in our swimsuits, literally dripping in sweat and watching people walk along the river wearing their winter coats and hats! Matt joined the local polar bear club when he jumped into the freezing river, fully submerged himself and then hopped into the lobster pot! My crazy kids never cease to amaze me...I am literally dreading the teen years when they completely lose their marbles!!! Luke spent the whole day complaining of the smell and would only use two pools that were right along the river and had a great crossbreeze. He did nothing but whine and make gagging noises while everyone else was trying to enjoy the serenity of such a beautiful place. We should've been the smart parents who used that knowledge before making a final decision of the day but apparently we are not the smart ones. We took the kids up to the lobby courtyard of the resort (this place isn't for the economically challenged, the room rate the day we were there was over $600/night) where the actual hotspring is located. This is where the resort pumps the water from. Luke walks over to look, turns around and promptly barfs his nachos and popcorn all over the entrance to the resort, literally blocking the doors. Yep...we were those people! I looked at Craig and proclaimed "back to the trailer park for us!"...

Our drive to Kansas was the hit of Colorado...we saw the first snow of our trip! Conveniently enough, it was located at our stop to see The Continental Divide. Geography quickly turned into recess for this crew!