Lagoon

Each year we get a free end-of-summer trip to Lagoon. This year, we waited until the very last day before Dad headed back to work to visit. We also kept our day fairly short, spending only about 6 hours at the park. Dax did stay to be with his FSY friends, which meant Mom had to go back and pick him up, but he loved it. This trip was like most other trips, but Dad insisted that everyone go on the scary rides: Dracula's Castle and the Terror Ride. 

Of course, Dax and Mark loved the biggest roller coasters, and Dax tried the Samurai for the first time. Seth, Mom, and Dad stayed on the mid-level rides like Music Express and Colossus. Dad also wanted to get a portrait done for his classroom, which was fun. 

We sure like our day at Lagoon every year!

Dracula's Castle for the first time.

The Terror Ride!

Seth still likes the kid rides, too!

We seem so happy at the start of Rattlesnake Rapids.

Before

After. We were drenched!

We enjoyed a nice Subway lunch!

Mom wouldn't ride the Music Express with Seth.

But Dad would!

Seth loves the bumper cars.

Good old break-your-neck Jet Star!

It was a good day at Lagoon. We are on the sky tram!

Colorado Day 6

This was the final destination and it was worth it. But so hard!

It was drive home day, but first, we had a hike. Just east of Glenwood Springs is a reservation hike called Hanging Lake. Dad really wanted to go, but Mom keep warning him that it was steep. She was right. It was very, very steep. 

Dax spotted some bighorn sheep off the highway on the way. Then Mark started seeing birds: American goldfinch, spotted towhee, bald eagle, and swifts. Mom showed us a shrew and a vole. We even crossed four or five bridges, but every single step was up. There was a nice brook chuckling along next to the trail, and we saw several small waterfalls as we hiked straight up.

We started before the sun even came over the mountains.

Spotted Towhee

Bald Eagle near the river

Seth was tired after about 10 minutes. 

Seth found a Utah shaped rock.

There were lots of cute bridges. 

Mark and Dax were usually waiting for Mom and Seth.

The trail was shady and beautiful.

Tons of little waterfalls along the way!

Mom loves hiking with Dad!

Eventually, we came to a beautiful spot. The water above spouted over the rim of the canyon, sprinkling down more than a dozen waterfalls. It was as if the mountain was alive with ribbons of water. The trail even flattened out for a few yards. Then we realized that we'd need to climb a Cirith Ungol-like stair to get up to where those waterfalls were coming down. It was the last stretch.

Dad barely made the last few steps to the top. Then, we stepped out in Eden. There was a gorgeous emerald pool with brook trout sunning in the shade. A series of waterfalls peacefully fed this pool. There were benches and a boardwalk with just a few people. It was spectacular.

Hidden Lake is one of the most beautiful places we have been.

We all loved it!

Mom took this picture and is very proud of it. 

We were so happy to be at the top of the hike.

It was worth it!

The trail branched and led up further to another waterfall. This one was a large sputtering, spouting double chute. The larger waterfall fell from the edge high above. The shorter one gushed out of the middle of the stone wall. You could venture behind them and take pictures out through the curtain. They were so beautiful standing together like that. The hike, though difficult, had definitely been worth it.

This waterfall was amazing, too!

Can you see everyone underneath the falls?

You could walk right behind it. It was so cool!

Seth was a trooper on this hike.

We lucked out with family pictures on this trail. 

Hiking buddies!

Dad got pretty wet for this picture, as Mom couldn't get the lighting to work.

Mom's picture turned out great!

The remainder of the day was for driving home. It was around 6 hours, and the tire on the van was losing air at about 1 psi per 10 miles. We had to stop to fill it up 3 times, but we did finally make it home, though that tire was flat the next day.

Colorado Day 5

We wanted to break up the drive home from Alamosa because it's almost 9 hours. After doing some research, we settled on Glenwood Springs. This is a little resort town in western Colorado, and though it was expensive (this day would prove to cost as much as the rest of the trip), we were looking forward to it. 

We checked out of our house in Alamosa at about 9:30. That's sleeping in for us. Then we made the long drive to Glenwood Springs. It was beautiful along the way, and we came over a pass on Hwy-24 that peaked out over 10,000 feet. We were hoping to see a moose or some elk, but we didn't really see any wildlife. At around 2:00 we rolled into Glenwood Springs. 

We went immediately to the amusement park in this small town, which is located high on the hill. A tram took us to the top of the ridge, and that ride alone was pretty fun and gave us an amazing view of the valley below. We could see the confluence of the Colorado and Roaring River right below us. Then we went straight to the rides. 

The tram ride was beautiful.

We really enjoyed the view.

There were a lot of things to do. Our first was an alpine track that was like a roller coaster down the hill. If you didn't touch the breaks, you could really scream along at a pretty good pace! Then line was long, so we waited about 30 minutes, but it was worth it. All of us loved it. 

Next, we did the Soaring Eagle Zipline. It was less fun, but we got pulled at a rapid rate up a zipline, and then shot right back down. There was a small roller coaster at the foot of the zipline that we enjoyed, too. 

Next, we hiked to the top of the hill. There is a roller coaster called the Cliff Hanger. It does hang a bit out over the cliff, but it wasn't too scary. We made sure to ride that one twice, too. The best ride up top, though, was the swings. This was a standard swing ride, but the swings went out over a thousand foot drop above the valley. It was so beautiful to see the valley stretched out below you. It was Dad's favorite ride.

Mark and Dax look thrilled!

Seth was so brave and went on all the rides!

Dad and Seth had fun together.

This ride was cool, but Mom was terrified!

Down the hill, we talked Mom into trying a mine shaft drop. She doesn't love those, but aside from a few screams, she was fine. We hustled really fast to a short cave tour. That's right, this theme park is built around two caves that were the original attraction to the area.

Mom and Seth having fun in line together!

We enjoyed a 4-D Looney Tunes movie where we played the part of Wile E. Coyote, which was really inventive. Then we hit the biggest roller coaster on site. It reminded us of wicked at Lagoon. It had a steep first hill with some barrel rolls and other twists. Since there was no line, we went right through twice. It was as fun as any roller coaster we've done, and Seth enjoyed it, too!

The caverns were quite large.

There was even an opening where you could see the river.

Glenwood Caverns!

The 4D shows were fun!

Seth went on the one little kid ride. He was the only one small enough!

Proof we survived the huge roller coaster.

We grabbed dinner at a restaurant right on the canyon rim. The food was really good, and it had been a long day as we looked out over Glenwood Springs. After dinner we road all our favorite rides again. Of course, the alpine coaster got the most rides, and mercifully, the line was much shorter. 

The dinner was delicious and the view was amazing!

Dad is all ready to go!

This is about our 10th time on the ride!

The boys seriously loved it!

Mom liked it, too!

Ran into Dax at the end!

Our hotel was only about a minute from the adventure park. After we rode the tram back down and got checked in, Dax and Seth still wanted to go to the pool. We made it about twenty minutes in the pool before we showered them and got them to bed. It was a really awesome day!

It was a great day!

Dax & Seth fought over this orca that was in the pool at the hotel, but it is pretty fun!