Colorado, Part 1

In Mid-May When Ben realized that his company was giving everyone a four-day weekend for Memorial Day, we hurried to try to take advantage of it.  We looked for a place within a few hours' drive that we hadn't been to before and that we didn't think would be too crowded over the long weekend.  We decided to head to western Colorado, with a home (hotel) base in Grand Junction.  And Ben and Suz and Whit came with us!

We got up early and started our 3.5-hour drive before 7am, and nobody had to stop to use the bathroom until 10 minutes before we got to the hotel, haha.  The drive was uneventful, but beautiful!  And after everyone had lunch and changed clothes we drove to Fruta for a rafting trip on the Colorado River.

The river was very calm and we did a lot of floating, but there was a patch where the wind picked up and we had to paddle hard so that we weren't blown upriver.  The weather was sunny and warm, and the scenery was lovely.  We also saw several birds, including two Bald Eagles (or just one who followed us).  Jack read his book as much as possible while we were on the river and then was really upset when it got wet.

Bonus water time at the hotel pool/hot tub after Thai dinner.

On Saturday we drove an hour in the opposite direction to Glenwood Springs, home of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.  This is a cool theme park on top of a mountain and it includes a restaurant overlooking the river and towns below, two caves to explore, and a variety of rides.  The Alpine Slide and The Flyer (large swings that went out over the edge of the cliff) were favorite rides.  And a few members of our group were brave enough to try the Giant Canyon Swing, which literally swung riders up over the edge of a cliff, which is 1300' above the Colorado River.

How do you get to a park on top of a mountain?
By riding in a gondola.

Alpine Slide

Cute little roller coaster

Excited for The Flyer!

It really was super cool.
The Giant Canyon Swing is actually below us in this picture.

Suz got some grief for riding on Giddy Up, which she didn't realize
was actually for little kids.  (Kidding.)

The three of us went on a tour of Fairy Caves while the rest of the group
rode the Haunted Mine Drop ride.  From this little overlook you can see the
town of Glenwood Springs, and the Colorado River behind Ben.

Ben and Whit, ready for a 50mph ride.

They were so thrilled when they finished their ride and wanted to do it again!

Happy Family!  Well, 5/6 ain't bad.
And no, I don't remember why Jack was upset.
I think the smell was bothering him though.

We finished the day by overwhelming the one (brand-new) employee
at a tiny Mexican restaurant who cooked literally one dinner
at a time, bringing each one out as he finished it.  But it was yummy!