Back to Colorado and Beyond

BACK TO COLORADO AND BEYOND

Ok, so we made it back to Colorado after three fantastic weeks in Alaska! The positive thing was we were full of wonderful experiences. The negative –boy we needed to get some sleep!!!!!!!

We got a cab to Debbi’s place where our car and caravan were neatly tucked away and before our parents even got a chance to unpack the bags, we were sound asleep.

The only thing we really did on day one – we just slept!!!!!!! Debbi was on her own vacation so we didn’t get in her way. In the afternoon we decided to hit the road again.

Not very far from Debbi’s place we found a cool swimming pool and a playground, where we spent the rest of the day. As it was a massive sport facility with parks nearby, we decided to stay there the night. Especially considering that our parents signed us up for a day camp the next day.

The camp was fantastic – after being ‘cooped up’ for three weeks in a motorhome in Alaska, it was awesome to just run around and be kids! We did a lot of artwork, played sports and did a lot of swimming.

And while our parents got their first break from us in a long time, they did what any other parents would do …………they went shopping. They restocked the fridge and pantry, serviced the car and spent pretty much the whole day driving around, refueling, restocking and buying stuff.

They said they missed us so much then when they went to Costco, they drove the two giant teddy bears (we always play with) around.  How cute!

Our parents filled out our ‘home on wheels’ with lots of fresh fruits and salads and when we got back we prepared some delicious meals for all to enjoy!

We decided to stick around the area for a little while as mummy enrolled us in….Karate classes. Ever since we met Thomas from our star gazing family, we’ve been dying to try Karate classes and so here was out chance to shine. Thomas would’ve been proud!

The classes were brilliant and if it was up to us, we would continue them forever but I guess eventually we had to hit the road again.

As we were preparing to leave the car park we had a knock on the door and when we opened it we saw a policeman. Oh-oh, we were in trouble!

It turned out the policeman was actually very nice. He was just checking up on us to see if we could move our caravan by a few feet so that when we get out we don’t end up right on the road. When he found out we were travelling from Australia he became super friendly. He gave us some pointers of where to go and what to see. He gave us stickers and badges. He even gave us his card just in case we run into any trouble. He was very cool!

 

We left for our new campground a little late in the evening and so by the time we got to our new destination it was pitch black. We were planning to stay overnight in a state park campground but unfortunately it was full. Oooops! We had to stay around the area as mummy was attending a photo shoot she registered for before we went to Alaska that was starting early the following morning.

Lucky for us, there was a huge Walmart up the road and unlike any other Walmart in the state of Colorado, this one was happy to accommodate RVs. (Thank goodness!)

The photo shoot mummy attended was awesome.  It was designed by photographers who brought birds from the sanctuary. It was an opportunity for image-snappers to take some shots of owls and bald eagles (which normally are hard to photograph in the wild). Funny, mummy almost cancelled this trip because she already got awesome shots of eagles in Alaska but then last minute she decided to go anyway.

 

And, lucky she did! Otherwise, we would have never met our new friends – Jim, Sandra and Sienna.

Mummy initially left us in the caravan with daddy and off she went to ‘shoot’ some birds. Most people were there by themselves except for one lady who had a husband tagging along and carrying her lenses (sounds familiar?). She also had a 7-year-old daughter who looked a little bored. So during a short break, she made a decision then to tell daddy to bring us around so that we can play with the girl (Sienna) and daddy came along to …yes, you guessed it – to carry mummy’s lenses and tripod.

The photo shoot was very interesting (especially for the photographers). While mummy was snapping away, daddy was chatting to Jim and we played with our new friend, Sienna.

The birds were spectacular and mummy got some great shots.

 

When they finished their photo-shoot, we were able to take some photos with the eagle

 

And with the Barn Owl

 

As we were just about to leave, daddy asked Jim ‘Do you know much about suspension?’ And who knew that this question would start an amazing friendship between our families.

As we’ve been driving for over 32,000 miles already (over 50,000km) our Escalade’ suspension has been taking a lot weight and started sagging a bit. Little did daddy know when he asked Jim this question that he couldn’t ask a better man. See, Jim happens to be a racecar driver and didn’t need any more of an invitation to crawl under the car with daddy.

While the boys were discussing the car, mummy and Sandra were talking photography and Sienna and us, well…. we just hang out had lots of fun!

 

After talking for a while our new friends suggested we come around to their place later on and in fact they said, we could camp out on their block of land for the next couple of days.

We agree to catch up later on as they had an appointment to go to and we were catching up with some other friends. Remember the girl we met in the Denver museum before we left for Alaska? Her name was also Jordyn (spelled differently). Well, anyway mummy got in contact with them a few days ago and they organized for a catch up. It just happened that this was the only day in Colorado where one could go fishing for free (without a license) and since we happened to be near a lake (bear lake), a fishing expedition was an absolute must!

Jordyn and her parents (and a little brother) arrived shortly after our Car Racing friends left. We hooked some bait and off we went fishing.

We fished for a while and then we decided to prepare picnic for everyone to share. We put together a delicious feast. Bella even made her famous raspberry-blues (she sticks blueberries inside raspberries – yum!).

When we started enjoying our lunch, the wind suddenly picked up. And up. And up! Before we even finished we had to hold on to our plates, our hats and everything else that could fly. Which apparently was everything! Both mums quickly packed up the picnic, while dads collected fishing gear and we all ran towards our caravan for shelter.

As we were running, we started to lose visibility as the wind and rain blew sand into our eyes. Bella swears that at one stage she was physically lifted off the ground! We all ran into the caravan (except for daddy who was trying to connect the car). The wind got so bad that the whole caravan (trailer) was shaking like a feather in the wind. Mummy was trying to calm us down but soon we had most of the kids crying and cuddling up to the adults. We were petrified. We also were worried about daddy who was fighting against the wind to connect the car. As we were parked across the wind, the whole trailer felt like it was about to fly off.

Finally daddy managed to connect the car and as we held on he drove us around so that the car was facing into the wind. The massive shakes suddenly calmed down and daddy managed to get back in to the caravan without losing the doors.

Mummy offered everybody some tea and coffee and apple juice for kids and if it weren’t for the noisy rain, we would’ve soon forgot that there was a storm outside.

Luckily enough it calmed down after a while. Not that we even noticed as mummy put loud music on and we got to do a performance for the grown ups. Soon we got so involved in the dance routines that we totally forgot to be afraid. In fact we had a ball!

Late in the afternoon, when the winds died down, we bid Jordyn and her family goodbye and drove off to meet with our Racing friends.

What initially was supposed to be a day or two, ended up being marvelous 10 days! Yep, you read it right! We had so much fun with Sienna and her parents that we could not part company.

And on top of that we had a fabulous spot with a view

In the first two days, we checked out the town of Golden, where they lived nearby, we went out for lunch and check out the playground where the three of us (the three musketeers) were climbing the walls.

 

We checked out Sienna’s bees, which they have in their backyard. They were so busy collecting the nectar. Yummy honey!

And we played with their adorable dogs, Taily and Tecca.

We even went to check out neighbor Charlie’s old trucks

We did a concert for all of our parents while they prepared wonderful BBQ for dinner.

During our dinner our parents started talking about Jim and Sandra’s holiday home on a massive ranch in Wyoming. They offered for us to go there and enjoy it. It sounded very, very tempting…

The next day Jim went off to work and Sienna went to her rock climbing camp. We did some schoolwork, while daddy took the car in for service and to replace the brakes.

In the afternoon we hung out with our friends some more. Sienna had a beautiful room full of nice toys. We played with her for a while and then played in our caravan as well.

We were planning to be on the road by Wednesday but then we went to Jims work one day to check out his cool toys.

And some others ‘laying around’

While visiting Jim’s work, he got a phone call from his ranch manager that there were massive fires nearby. The manager suggested to get there ASAP and see if the property could be made fire safe (and possibly remove valuables).

Daddy though for a minute and decided to hop in a car with Jim to help him with the fires. After all, having been through the fires ourselves, we know how important the extra set of hands can be. So they got into a car and left.

That’s about when mummy realized that she had not yet driven on the right hand side and that her drivers license was neatly stored in Australia (her license had expired while we were travelling and her new one was back home). Oh, boy!

After the boys left, all the girls went out for dinner (which is what was planned for everyone initially). We sat at the airport restaurant watching Learjets take off and land. The food was yummy but all we were talking about is how worried we were about the boys.

Boys trip ended up lasting three days. They kept us informed all the time. The fires were there but on a neighboring property (lucky the neighbor owned 63,000 acres!). The fires did not get anywhere near their property during this time, although the risk was always there. This gave the boys enough time to clear up the property from any overgrown grasses and do a little maintenance. It also gave them plenty of time to do well…boys stuff, like shooting cans and racing razors (very, very fast UTVs). The ranch itself is 3500 acres big so plenty of place to race!

 

On the third day we got a photograph from Jim’s phone. They just missed a tornado. They saw it from a distance and certainly felt its power - a huge one apparently half a mile wide! 

Now the boys were not only the Fire Fighters, Can Hunters, Razor Racers but also Tornado Chasers! Wholly Guacamole!!

While the boys were on the ranch doing their boys stuff, we had fun playing with Sienna between her summer camp sessions. We all even went to the local swimming pool one day, which was great!

During the day mummy usually took us down to town, to walk by the river or to the library to do some reading.

On Friday, after having been informed by the boys that the fires were being controlled, we all decided to drive to the ranch to join them. We all hopped into our car and Sandra drove us, and the dogs for an awesome weekend in Wyoming!

The ranch was incredibly beautiful! With some old buildings and sheds, which added country charm to the beautiful newly built luxury log home.

 

We went hiking in the fields

 

We drove Razors through the land, looking at canyons and waterfalls

 

We swam in the massive swimming pool our dads blew up

 

We caught frogs

 

We climbed rocks near the waterfall and watched the dogs take a plunge into the water

 

We had massive water fights with Jim (three to one)

 

We went ‘arrowhead’ hunting but ended up only with some massive bones. Dinosaurs? Nah, just cows! LOL

 

We played cards with our dads

 

And watched some funny u-tube downloads with Sandra

 

We went to check out the bees (we are becoming fond of these little buzzers)

We participated in dinner preparations

 

We hung out with Sienna’s friend, Paton

 

We even raced Sienna’s little car down the hill

But most of all, we enjoyed the most delicious food prepared by no other than the ranch manager himself (Phil - wrangler by day, chef by night!). In other words: we got totally and completely SPOILT!

 

It was so sad to leave the ranch as we all had soooooooo much fun! Nothing beats great company, good food and a ranch full of fun toys!

On the way back to Jim and Sandra’s place we made one more stop to check up on a little patient. We went to see how Jim’s helicopter service is progressing.

Mummy’s fascination with helicopters was immediately reignited as soon as she spotted a workshop full of them. Jim and Sandra’s chopper (that’s helicopter for you English readers, not a body part!) was spectacular! Although it did look like it was getting a brain surgery at the time of our visit.

 Mummy made some notes when she got back to the car. I think she just added a helicopter to her shopping list. Woohoo!


Sienna gave us a wonderful farewell gift - her own bee's yummy honey!


Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

 

It was time to finally ‘hit the road, Jack’. Mind you, it was almost cruel to go from the luxury of the ranch back into the caravan/trailer. Also, it was very sad to leave our friends behind. We've grown to really like Jim, Sandra and Sienna. We do have a feeling however that this is not our last adventure together. Mummy is happy she found a 'snap happy buddy'. Thanks guys for the great 10 days!




Spending time with our racing buddies was probably the first time that we have actually started missing home. We have always missed our family and friends but this is the first time that we thought of our home and the some fun toys we left behind.

As soon as we left though we realized again how blessed we are we can do this trip. Many people along the way tell us that we are the luckiest kids in the world that we have parents like ours and that we are on this adventure. I guess they are right; they are pretty cool. Well, most of the time, especially when they don’t make us do homework, LOL.

Anyway, so after leaving Jim, Sandra and Sienna’s place we went down the canyon back to the main road and within half an hour realized that there was something seriously wrong with our car brakes. Not only did they smell like they were on fire but they also did not work. Ay, karamba! Lucky we had a break controller from our caravan/trailer otherwise there would be one big mess at the intersection.

Daddy got really annoyed and decided to go back to the place where he had his brakes done. To cut a long story short we ended up camping across the road from the mechanic (in an RV park) while they replaced every part they had installed the other day.

While they were fixing the car, we had fun at the RV Park (for which the mechanic picked up a tab). We met some kids who were also travelling around with their mum (two girls from Hawaii and their cousins). Just like us, they were travelling for a year. Their mum recommended a website to our mum. It is awesome. Not only has it a lot of great recommendations for awesome free tours around the US but also has a massive buying power for home-schooled families. Mummy was thrilled.

 

Here is the website for any of you with kids – it’s great, check it out!

http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/home-school-curriculum/?source=115717

In the evening we got our car back in perfect working order. The next day however we decide not to continue south as we planned that morning but we decided to backtrack a bit north and visit a couple of great factories, which happen to have free tours. Our parents were also looking for an excuse to go back and visit ‘untie Debbi’ (who organized the tickets to Alaska for us). We couldn’t leave without saying ‘goodbye’.

So in the morning we went to the Celestial Seasoning factory, which is a very well known healthy tea company. The tour was very interesting. We learned how they collect ingredients from all over the world and make yummy-licious teas. At their full capacity, they make over 10 million tea bags a day! That’s a lot of tea!

We have learned that when the packaging says caffeine –free it actually means there is NO real tea in it – it is just a herbal infusion. However because people would not know what it means, they sell it as a decaffeinated tea. Clever hey?

 

We got to wear these cool hair nets. Daddy even got to wear one on his little hair-island on his chin. He looked so funny. We called him Santa.

 

During our tour we also got to try all sorts of wonderful teas.

 

After lunch, we popped in to Debbi’s to give her a little gift and say ‘Hooroo’ (Australian for ‘see ya!’). It was awesome catching up with her again!

After that, we went to check out the Coors Beer factory. 

Daddy couldn’t wait to get there (a friend told him there is beer testing). From not drinking beer two years ago, he now became quite a connoisseur. He even found his perfect job

We walked through the factory, which was massively impressive. Big machinery and lots and lots of beer. They even have a train line going through it. And each carriage has so much beer that if one man were to drink a six-pack a day, he’d only finish the carriage at the age of 90! LOADS of beer!

After a lovely hour tour, we got to taste some beers. Well, we kids didn’t try them all – only the root beer – daddy however got to sample the real deal. 

And he said it was delicious! Mummy said she didn’t like beer because it was not a lady’s drink, and besides it had a lot of calories. Daddy responded to it ‘well, I’ve never met a calorie I didn’t like’.

‘What’s a calorie?’ we asked. “Oh, darling, it’s an insect which crawls into your clothes cabinet and stiches your clothes tighter and tighter’ responded dad. We were totally puzzled!  Why would one drink beer if it had insects?

After the tour, we drove south to Colorado Springs (about and hour and an half from Denver). There we found a spot at a local RV Park and instantly made some new friends. We decided to call them the ‘Sweet Bunch’ because not only were they really, really nice but also they fed us ice cream and chocolate within minutes of our arrival. Sweet! It was a big group of family from different parts of the west coast who got together for a reunion.

We played with Savannah, the youngest of ‘The Sweet Bunch’ while mummy and daddy talked to the grown ups, who were either medics or fire fighters. With all the rescue neighbors - we figured we’d be safe that night, LOL.

The next day we left our home on wheels behind and went exploring to near-by towns. We drove and drove for a while and we came across a town called Cripple Creek. The name sounded strange but the town looked pretty funky, with its Old Americana architecture. So we stopped for a while to check it out

It turned out that the town was one of the biggest gold mining camps in the USA; in it’s hey days of course. As we walked through the town, we spotted a place where one could go ‘gold panning’ and digging for gems. We didn’t need any persuasions – we love dirt!

We didn’t find a lot of gold but we certainly had a lot of fun!

In fact we liked it so much that mummy and daddy bought us our own gold panning equipment. Apparently there is still a lot of gold in the ground; we just have to figure out where, LOL

At the gold panning place they also had these adorable goats, which we got to feed.

When we finished playing with dirt, we were recommended to go to a town called Victor, where we could see a real open-mine and their massive ‘Tonka’ trucks in action.

We drove for a while, stopping occasionally so that mummy could get her photography fix. She was all ‘ah’ and ‘oh’ over the falling down homes and barns.

And the trains

And the trucks

After about an hour we got to the mine. We were too late for a guided tour but we were still allowed to go to the viewing platform, where we marveled over the massive trucks, which at distance looked like working ants.

From a close up though (we saw a few at the intersection) – holy guacamole! Now, that’s what you call a truck!!!!

The photographs certainly don’t do them justice as there is nothing next to them to compare it to (we weren’t allowed out of the car there). But here is an example of its tire. Bella is standing inside of it. Hopefully this will give you a little perspective – they were HUGE!!!!!!

We spent the evening with our Sweet Bunch friends, who gave us a few tubs of ice cream to take on the road. They said they had no space left and they really wanted us to have it. We didn’t discover those tubs for a week or so as mummy hid them from us in a freezer so that we didn’t consume it all at once. I’m not sure why she doesn’t want us to have ice cream all the time. We are kids, right? Aren’t we supposed to bounce off the walls all the time?

The next morning we packed up pretty early and went to see Garden of The Gods, a public park, which was donated by a very wealthy man to the city, with the request that it will always be offered to public for free. Wasn’t that nice of him?

The park was very beautiful. We stopped at the first car park and went for a walk. Very soon we came across some rock climbers. We stopped and marveled at their skills.

As soon as one of them got down (Darren) we started chatting to him and what do you know? He is an instructor! ‘Please, please, please, pretty please’ we pleaded with our parents ‘please can we climb this rock?!’. Well, before we knew it, we were strapped into harnesses and off we went, climbing the heights of a massive rock.

It was quite incredible. Thrilling, scary but very incredible.

Bella was like a little spider-girl, going up and up and up. Eventually she looked down, her little calves started shaking from the strain of her weight. She then decided she was way too high. With the help of an instructor, she bounced off the rock and descended like a little froggy, jumping off away from the rock. The instructor said he had never seen a 6 year old be so brave on descent.

I didn’t get as high as Bella (my parents still looked like ants from there), but I beat Bella her on time. One, two, three four; one, two, three four – my limbs were moving up like it was a ‘piece of cake’. Once I reached my comfort zone, I too jumped off the rock like a goat. It was so much fun.

Before we left Colorado Springs we decided to check out one more attraction: The Cave of the Winds. They actually had to close off the road so that we could get our rig up there. The road was very steep and windy and by the time we got to the top, the car was going so slowly we thought we’d have to get out and push it. But it made it to the top.

The caves were OK but the tour itself was very interesting. The tour guide was very entertaining. At one stage he even switched the lights off to show us how dark it was when the first people discovered the cave. It was pitch black!

After the tour is when we had the most fun. Bella went climbing on this massive wind-walker, which at one point was hanging 600 feet off the ground. She has no fear this girl!

I settled for something more ‘up my alley’ – digging in the dirt of course. This time I got to find some really cool fossils. I was even allowed to take them home this time. I of course added them to my ever-growing collection of rocks, which I intend to stick in the luggage to take home to Australia. I’ll stick them in when my parents are not looking to avoid the lecture about weight limits on the plane. Maybe they won’t notice!

While Bella was climbing and I was digging in the dirt, our parents got talking to a really nice man, who went on a cave tour with us. He recommended that we stop in a town called Salida, which was sort of on the way. He said he grew up there and it is a real fun town to visit.

We left the caves in the afternoon and headed for Salida. On the way there however we stopped at another National Monument called The Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Lucky it didn’t close till late so we got a chance to see some spectacular petrified tree stumps and some insect fossils.

This is what happened here long time ago: a good-looking healthy wasp was minding it’s own business when a massive volcano erupted. It pushed up an enormous load of ash into the sky which and landed right on top of our wasp. It was so much of it that once it settled, it squashed our wasp like…well a little bug. Then 35 million passed and voilà – a fossil was created. Cool hey?

There were also a lot of ‘squashed flowers and leafs and other interesting insects’.

We learned all that at our Junior Ranger program, which we completed with the help of our new friend – Ranger Melanie.

She got us all sworn in and presented us with Junior Ranger badges, which we neatly added to our collection. National Park number 23, yeeha!!!

By the time we finished our day, we were totally ‘wasted’ – what a wonderful fun-packed day that was!

When we woke up in the morning we were in Salida. We fell asleep and our parents carefully transferred us to bed. We were only planning to spend a morning here but we soon discovered that it just happened that the town was getting ready for massive celebration. See, every weekend in summer this town has different celebrations and attracts massive amount of tourists. It just happened that we arrived on Saturday.

As we came to town pretty early (around 8:30am), we still managed to find a car space on the side of the road, which was big enough to fit us (all 50 feet, 15 meters). We took the last spot left in town.

As we walked up the street, vendors started opening their shops and galleries and so we strolled from one gallery to another. One of the first galleries we went to was just incredible. Cowboy/Indian style with upmarket taste and prices). Mummy was ready to buy the whole shop but unfortunately we need to watch what we can bring with us to Australia. Not just the weight but also the items, which customs might not like, like certain leathers, furs, etc. It’d be a pity to have it confiscated. It’s bad enough that daddy is still cross about his Tequila, which was taken from him in Mexico!

Anyway, we went to this gallery and we met Rylie, an 8 year old boy, who was the grandson of the owner. He took us on a private tour through his grandpa’s workshop and after that his grandpa gave us these really cool boards with Tic-Tac-Toe games on them. We all hopped onto a bed (don’t worry, it was just a display item) and we played together- we got along like house on fire!

We didn’t want to leave Rylie but there was a huge parade going on the streets so we went to check it out. We sat by the side of the road and watched lots of people in costumes, walk pass and throw us candy and lollypops. It was like Halloween…. but better – we didn’t have to go and collect the sweets, they came right to our feet, all we had to do was wave. Groovy!

The parade went for over an hour and it was so much fun! There were police cars and Firefighters (who splashed the audience with water) and all sorts of goofy people.

They even had home-made water rafts, which were going to be used in rafting races later that evening. Fun!

We followed the crowd to the festival and watched people goofing around on their kayaks. We also watched the local talent perform. It was one of those karaoke – ‘Salida’s got talent’ shows. Some were good and some were… ‘ah, where are my ear plugs?’ type of talents. Overall though it was a lot of fun!

On the way back we went to see Rylie again - to share some candy with him and say goodbye. He was so thrilled to see us again. A few more games of Tic-Tac-Toe and we had to get going.

While walking though the crowds we spotted something extremely beautiful – a German Shepherd dog. Both mummy and I absolutely LOVE German Shepherds and so we couldn’t help ourselves going over to pat it.

Mummy started a conversation with the owner and before you knew it, mummy was doing a photo –shoot with Kruger (the dog). Mummy said he was the most beautiful shepherd she had ever seen.

The owner gave mummy details to the breeder who happened to have a litter of dogs right now. Did somebody say puppies?????

Needles to say, after a phone call and an hour and a half drive, we ended up meeting our new ‘shepherd’ friends – Samee and Robert and their adorable happy bunch of pups.

 

They were sooooooooooooo adorable!!!! We played with them for a while, while our parents discussed a possibility of one of their future litters making it to Australia one day. There are very strict quarantine requirements in Australia but if it were only possible – wow, we’d love to have a little ‘Kruger’ back home. Our grandma would probably be happy because the dog would definitely slow down our constant voyages. She could see us more often then (and not just on Skype, LOL).

 

The little munchkins got so tired playing with us that one by one they dropped into a deep sleep. It didn’t even bother them when we put them all together and covered them up with our jackets.

They also didn’t blink when we cuddled up behind them for a well deserved sleep.

The next day we kept driving west to a town called Gunnison. The drive was so beautiful.

At one stage daddy started to worry a bit as the clouds were making funny shapes. He had learned the other day from our friend Jim (the racing car driver) that clouds like this could equal tornado. We thought we would disperse the clouds by blowing at them and I think it worked. The clouds reshaped again and the sun peaked through. Back to beautiful landscapes…

The town of Gunnison was quite nice. We stopped at a massive playground for lunch and met a lady from Crested Butte, a town ½ hr north. Mummy remembered that Sandra highly recommended going up there as during summer the wild flowers go really…well wild.

So we took our home on wheels all the way to the top (you can do it, you can do it…). The town was just spectacular! Although the wildflowers either have not flowered yet or just didn’t make it this year (as one hiker told us), it was still worth the drive.

Spectacular juicy-green pastures with a colorful mountain backdrop.

The color of these mountains on this photo is their actual color – they were spectacular!

It looked like this beautiful ski area would absolutely rock in winter too. Is there anybody in Colorado who does not ski? There are so many gorgeous mountain resort places in this state…it would be almost a shame living here and not ski.

As we descended down the mountain we kept driving south-west towards Ouray (apparently mini Switzerland). On the way there however we noticed a sign to Black Canyon National Park, so with screeching breaks, daddy maneuvered the rig to the right and off we went to the Canyon.

When we arrived it was about 7:30 at night. We decided to do a quick drive around the rim and make a decision whether we’ll stay overnight. The drive was very nice and occasionally we would see glimpse of massive hole in the ground (the canyon). We hopped out of the car in one spot to have a closer look and – wow, the canyon went down for what seem like miles.

We also noticed tiny little dots on the rocks and realized that they were actually people rock climbing the canyon. Oh, my! See if you can spot them!

 

We decided that we would stay at the campground overnight. As we were setting the camp a couple of people walked past and invited us over to their campsite for a campfire. We did that right after daddy cooked us a delicious dinner.


Speaking of food...do you know what you get when you mix a bear with a deer?

When we arrived at our neighbors’ campsite we realized they were part of a massive motorcycle club. There were people from all over the country- Texas, Kentucky, Montana, Pennsylvania…… One big happy bunch. Apparently once a year they have a massive rally and travel together to different places. Their group included almost 60 bikies! Lucky for us some of them have moved on to a new spot – otherwise we wouldn’t have found any places in the campground.

We stayed there for a little while and when we were leaving, one man told us a good night story. It was an incredible recitation of a poem of why monkeys stay on the trees. It was the funniest and the most incredible story we have ever heard.  We all almost cried from laughter- he was soooo good at remembering it. Wish we could tell poems like that!

In the morning we completed a Junior Ranger program, which included a cool Ranger Olympics. We learned about different ways that animals have adapted to their environments and we tried to ‘compete’ against them.

We did a running test (to see how we compare to a pronghorn – a second fastest animal on ground). We didn’t come close to the 60-mile (100km) mark that a pronghorn can run.

We did a long jump to see how far a bunny (snowshoe hare) can hop. The rabbit can hop 12 feet, we only managed 3 ½.

Then we did an eye test (eagle can spot a mouse a mile away) and a smell test (bear can smell berries two miles ahead). Again we didn’t even come close.

We did get second place though and were awarded with silver medals, which we got to decorate ourselves.

After lots of driving around and a little hiking and answering lots of lots of questions, we got awarded Junior Rangers of the Black Canyon National Park.

After lunch we continued our adventure through a number of little, quirky towns – Ouray and Telluride. We stopped in the second one to stuff our faces with yummy ice-cream and stroll around though the shops.

Mesa Verde

The next day we got to Mesa Verde. We had been so looking forward to getting there – an ancient town of Anasazi Indians (Puebloans) from as far back as 900 years ago!

Spread throughout the National Park, were numerous, extremely well preserved cliff homes, some of which housed over 70 families!

We attended a guided tour of one of those ‘villages’ called the Long House, probably because it was….. well, quite long!

Our Guide was extremely passionate about this area and it’s history and he bedazzled us with interesting stories about the ancient way of life.

We even got to hike and climb some ladders, which was so much fun – if we were alive 900 years ago, we surely would’ve chosen to live there. With the ladders and all!

It was very interesting to see how cool it was in those dwellings, especially considering the temperatures outside were ‘boiling hot’.

And to top it all off, they had spring water seeping through the rock inside their corridors to keep them hydrated.

In the Long House, there were a lot of rooms; some were designed for storage and some for living in.

  

There were even indentations of corn in the mud floor (which is what they grew on the land below them) and some interesting artworks (mum, can we decorate our house like this when we get home?)

The corn storage areas were built way above, near the ‘ceiling’ of the cave – we couldn’t work out how on earth they got up there to store it. Maybe they wanted to make sure the kids didn’t get to it in the middle of the night and munch it all up (like we do with mummy cookies from above the fridge, LOL).

When we finished our tour we made sure we completed all the books for the Junior Ranger Program and then we headed off to Durango – a cool little town in Colorado.

DURANGO

Our first day in Durango was an extremely special day. It was special because it was my 8^th birthday and as you could imagine, I got absolutely spoilt!!!

First I woke up to the caravan (trailer) being completely decorated. All of our toys were lined up, all dressed up and holding balloons – waiting for me to wake up so they could sing me ‘Happy Birthday’. Mummy, Daddy and Bella of course joined in and soon we had a huge party going on.

I got so many wonderful presents. I got a fantastic card which mummy designed out of a collage of all the different animals we have seen on our trip with me right in the middle of them. I really liked it. Especially that it was signed by everyone attending my birthday party (toys inclusive).

I got the coolest ranger gear. A Junior Ranger backpack with a ranger teddy.

I also got all the equipment a good ranger would require on his/her outings.

My sister bought me the coolest plastic box where now I can store all of my fossils and gems I have been so carefully collecting.

And to top it all off – I got a real professional set of pastel pencils and artist’s drawing pads. Wow, I was so thrilled about it – I have been becoming a real artist in the last few months and so my parents finally realized that I need some serious tools. I was ecstatic!

After breakfast we had my birthday cake. Well, it was supposed to be an ice cream cake, which mummy and daddy created the night before (by squashing some Oreos and MMs into a vanilla ice cream- you know, ‘Cold Stone’ style) but unfortunately our propane (gas) chose to finish that night and so the freezer did not work that well. And so instead of cutting my birthday cake, we put in four straws and sucked it all out, straight from the container. It so delicious anyway!

Around lunch time I had another surprise waiting for me – we all went on a 4hr rafting adventure! Woohoo! I have never been rafting before so this was just ace!

After they packed us on a bus with 50 other people- all in lifejackets on and a paddle in hand, we arrived at the river where they divided us into groups of eight. As luck would have it, they put us together with an awesome family from Missouri: Chrys and Heather and their two cool boys,  (from now on referred to as our Rafting Buddies).

We had so much fun with them. All the other rafts seem to be quietly enjoying the scenery while we were the ‘rebels in the sea’. We would sneak up to another boat and splash them with our paddles. It was so much fun! Most of them took on the adventurous spirit and before you knew it, we had a water fight going on between all the rafts. It was the best fun ever!

At one stage the river got very deep and daddy threw me into the river for a swim (ok, I did ask for it). Then he jumped after me. Then the other boys joined us. Then daddy pulled Heather in and everybody was floating except for…… mummy, of course. Everybody knows better then to mess with mummy. She doesn’t practice boxing for nothing, you know!

The four hours went in a blink of an eye! We hopped back on the bus and I had a whole bus sing me Happy Birthday. It was so special! I even got to do announcements for the lifeguards. How cool!

In the evening our family went to a cowboy chuck-wagon dinner and show. It was really good. The food was delicious, entertainment was fun and we also got to do some honky-tonk dancing.

We even got to meet all the musicians after the show!

All in all, this was my best birthday ever. Well, this and the other 7 I had before! I only wish the rest of my family and friends were here to enjoy it with me!

The next day we went for a drive to Silverton, a groovy little town north of Durango.

We stopped along the way at some beautiful lakes and took a few hikes.

At one of them we met Pat and Jack, a couple from Missouri and at the next stop we met some kids from Oklahoma, whose dads took them fishing. We hung out with them for a little while.

   

When we got to Silverton, we had a nice surprise awaiting us. Mummy wondered off to photograph the famous Durango-Silverton train, which was parked on the tracks. She came back in 5 minutes and told us we have been invited into the steam locomotive by the engineer to check it out. Wow, how can you say no to that!

We hopped into the engine room and the train engineer showed us how it is to drive one of these steam trains. There is a lot work that needs to be done to make the train go ‘huffing and puffing’

 

His assistant scoops up coal and throws it in into furnace which is super-duper HOT. Wow, we were boiling just standing next to it. No wonder the train engineer had a perfect ‘Bahamas’ suntan!

The township of Silverton was also very cool. We had yummy lunch and strolled the streets (well, just the major one) looking from shop to shop.

Occasionally we’d stop to admire some strange vehicles on the road, like this one for example.

The drive back to Durango was just as picturesque.

The next day we left our car and caravan at the information center and hiked to town of Durango to explore. It was a fun day but the hot temperature made our 10 mile hike very, very tiring.

On our hike we visited the Durango train station and it’s museum, which was very interesting. This is where the ‘puffer’ train leaves from every morning.

After lunch we went exploring the other side of the town where we found out was the biggest rally reunion of ‘Can-Am Spider’ motorcycles. Here they are below (yes, of course we got to ride on one, LOL)

Mummy even attempted an ‘artistic photograph’ of some of these bikes. They were very, very cool. Funky three wheelers!

There was a band from Texas playing so we also got to do some dancing.

After we got too tired to dance we wondered off to a fish hatchery at the end of town. We arrived just in time for the final feed for the day. Normally people would have to buy food to feed the fish; we just made friends with the maintenance man, who liked us so much he gave us all the food we wanted for all the fish – so we got to feed them for free! Are we lucky or what?

We finished our massive hike with a well-deserved splash in the river (where we went rafting the other day). Little splash ended up being a mud bath – mummy was SO glad we left our RV parks facilities and had to rely on our little bathroom in the caravan. NOT!

The next day was a bit strange. When we walk up in the morning we were kind of…lost. All four of us got separated and ended up somehow in different states, namely Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico!

Ok, so we weren’t really that far apart from each other. This is the famous four corners point where these four states meet. They say you cannot be in more than one place at once – well, here is proof that you can! If fact we were in 6 places at once! We were politically corrected by a lovely Native American Artist, who we met on site that in fact this is also where two major Native Lands meet: the Navajo’s and the Hopi’s. So this used to be their border before a white man came along and drew some lines on the ground and put some fancy stamps to represent another four states! Looks like it’s a special place for everybody!

Our destination continued back into Utah. Mummy and Daddy spotted a really cool picture of ‘House on Fire’ ruins on Internet. So we went in search for the ruins. It took us a few hours to find it as it was not a touristy spot and very little signage has been put up. But after hours of driving and then some hiking – we finally found it! Check this out: right spot and right light and voilà!

Our next destination was the Natural Bridges National Monument, where we did another Junior Ranger program and looked at some …well, natural bridges.

The next place we really wanted to see was the Monument Valley. For years mummy and daddy had this massive picture hanging on the wall from Monument Valley and so we couldn’t wait to see it. At the Natural Bridges though the ranger recommended we check out the Valley of the Gods, which apparently was supposed to be a free park nearby, which seriously competes against the Monument Valley. How could it possibly?

So we detoured a bit to see what the fuss was all about. And wow, we are so glad we did! Not only did we drive through this amazing park but we also spent the night there. Parked by the red rocks in a little shade we got to enjoy the most spectacular sunrise! Well, mummy did as she went for a drive at 6 am. We all slept in but hey, we still enjoyed her photos, LOL.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park was only an hour away so we got there still in the morning. You would probably recognize this road – it is often used in western movies. It was also a road used in the movie Forest Gump. We contemplated getting daddy undressed down to his shorts and running down the road just like Forrest did, but with all the yummy food we’ve been having in America, the picture could’ve been quite scary – so we decided not to do that to you guys.

Monument Valley was remarkable. We left our caravan (trailer) behind at the car park and went for a drive. Lucky we did that, as the roads were very steep, rocky and full of potholes. With all the training our Escalade has had over the last few months, the road was a breeze but those who did not have 4x4 had to take a tour, which was very expensive.

The drive was beautiful and the ‘monuments’ were spectacular!

Page, Arizona

Ok, so here comes the ‘dessert’. Mummy so could not wait to get to Page, Arizona. She has seen pictures of Antelope Canyon in galleries and she was ‘dying’ to do a photo-shoot there. It wasn’t until we got there that we realized why. I guess it’s too hard to put it into words, so let the pictures do the talking!

We started our journey through the Lower Antelope Canyon, which when we got there and the guide pointed at a crack in the ground, we initially thought he was kidding.

But no! Kidding he was not – look what we found inside!

In the afternoon we went for a short drive to another Arizona Icon – Horseshoe Bend. The drive was short but the hike was a little strenuous, especially considering that it was middle of the day and the temperatures started to get over 40C (104 F) with no shade whatsoever. The path was also on sand. But after a seriously determined walk, we made it….. and what a view it was!

Half way through (on a way back) we stopped for a few minutes to get some shade in a little bungalow. We met a few other travellers there and we also met Robert – our new guide to be. Robert is a Navajo Indian who runs private tours through the Native Land (usually only restricted to the Natives). We agreed to meet with him in two days.

Mummy took a separate tour the next day, which was an organized photographic tour of the UPPER Antelope Canyon– it was the only way she could get shots without thousands of people sticking their heads in all her photos. The Upper Canyon is only 40 yards (approx. 35 meters) long and the crowds were unbelievable. Lucky she had a good guide who she paid well to make sure he worked as an awesome traffic controller. Because the beams of light only last a few minutes, she got him to STOP everybody so she could get THE shot.

 

During her trip mummy also met another photographer guide (a Navajo Indian) who showed her a picture he took of the canyon at night (with starts poking through). Mummy didn’t think twice to negotiate a deal with him to come back to the canyons at night when nobody was there.

From what she told us afterward it was an unbelievable experience! They drove at night through the back country 4x4 roads of the Navajo reserve (pronounce: Navaho) in his massive Jeep and then they got to the back of the canyon where they set up their tripods and cameras on long exposures.

Mummy said it was one of the best photographic experiences she as even had – being there, with stars above, moon-light in the background and this tremendous canyon which is visited by millions every year, all to herself.  ‘It was very, very special’ she said ‘like a Chicken Soup for the Soul’. No idea what she meant but if it’s anything like our Grandma’s chicken soup than it must’ve been heavenly!

The pictures were not too bad either!

The next two days were almost an adventure of their own. Robert picked us up early in the morning and off we went to check out the Navajo ‘backyard’. Places that hardly any ‘white-folks’ get a chance to see.

We did a lot of hiking and climbing. Robert recons he lost 30 pounds in the two days he hiked with us (mind you he had a few to start with). But hike, we certainly did!

He showed us some canyons

And arches

And some more beautiful canyons (see the little green dots in the middle? They are full grown trees!)

We did some hiking

And rock climbing

And just some pondering

We went arrowhead hunting (these are the ancient rocks that have been carved by Indians into arrows tips to hunt animals – some date back 700 years!)

We even found some ancient pottery pieces, just lying around like they were yesterday’s rubbish… We even got permission to keep a few little pieces that we are sure will end up in mummy’s art collage one day.

We were spotting all sorts of rocks and formations

And once we spotted them we climbed up all the way to the top to get up close and personal with some spectacular arches.

The rocks lying around had a beautiful fungi growing on them, displaying all sorts of wonderful colors. Our guide told us he once had Iraqi geologists on his trip and all they would talk about was oil when they saw the colors. How could you possibly talk about oil when you see such spectacular colors nature had given us to enjoy?

On the way to our next stop, Robert introduced us to some local bull riders, who were there to feed their angry-looking bulls.

We then hopped into Robert’s car again and drove to see the most magnificent Arch we have ever seen. Wow! It was spectacular! Of course we had to hike to get there but boy, was it worth it!

When we got to the top, we asked Robert if he’d mind if we were to get into our traditional clothes mummy made for us and do an ‘Eagle Dance’ for him. He said he didn’t mind at all – in fact it was quite a treat!

After the Arch Robert took us to a very special place in one of the Canyons. It is a place where one could camp under the stars. It had an existing Hogan, over 100 years old (a round wood/mud house), which the natives occasionally use for a hangout. Had we been a bit more prepared (food wise) we probably could’ve stayed a few nights. We’ll make sure we’ll put it on our ‘to do’ list for the next time we come out this way. Although not too sure about the mountain lions they have around here….

We were so exhausted by the end of the day that we fell asleep in the car. We needed to recharge our batteries for another day full of adventure tomorrow.

The next day we told Robert we would like to meet some Native Indians and so after a shopping trip to get some basic supplies we drove to one of the most remote houses on the reservation

We stopped along the way to talk to some farmers and check whether they knew if we could get there in our car. They said the track was very sandy and so we should watch out as if were to get bogged in that canyon, we might not be able to get out for a while. And it’s a LONG way to walk.

We took a chance anyway. After driving for an hour or so and enjoying the spectacular scenery of the Navajo Canyon, we started to descend down the canyon and as predicted the road was getting sandier and sandier. In fact it got so soft that our tires, which by now were looking like pancakes (Robert kept on reducing the air in them), started to spin more and more often. This made us a bit nervous as the temperatures were getting extremely hot and a canyon in the desert can be quite unforgiving.

The boys hopped out of the car and went for a walk down the road to see if the road got any worse. We could almost see the property we were going to visit from the hill we were on.

They came back after 20 minutes (sweaty and exhausted) and decided that the road was way too soft to be able to get back on. So it was either turn around or ……hike. Considering that there was a possibility these people haven’t been able to get out to town for a while, we decided to hike it.

And so we went down the hill, trying not to think that we’d have to come back up this sandy hill again.

When we got to the bottom, the scenery suddenly changed. The mountains provided decent shade and the nearby river created a lovely oasis with green pastures for the animals. We’ve always wondered why someone would chose to live so remote and in such harsh environments – now we understood!

Soon we came across one of the owners, an old Navajo man, who was very surprised to see a white folk. Robert explained to him that we have purchased some supplies for them and wanted to deliver it personally. He seemed extremely pleased. Especially when he saw some cans of Sprite! He didn’t even mind that those cans, which have travelled on the back of a pick up in 110-degree heat (44C) through a very rocky road by now were like a ‘boiling explosive’. He just sculled it down like there was no tomorrow.

His sister soon joined us and Robert asked if mummy could take some pictures of them and their way of life. They agreed and, although very, very shy, they seemed to enjoy posing for the photos. Initially they were careful not to look into the lens of the camera so that their soul will stay in tact but after a while they relaxed a bit and mummy managed a few nice portraits.

In exchange for the food we brought them, they asked us to take some of the apricots their trees have produced. We went around and picked a bunch; some for us, some for Robert’s family.

We then got to meet all the other ‘residents’. The sheep, the dogs, the donkeys.

It was so hot that when we discovered the natural spring they had on their land, we didn’t think twice to get totally soaked. Ah, how refreshing!

Just as we were starting contemplate hiking back to the car, the farmers’ daughter and son in law arrived. Apparently there was another little track that they have been able to drive on. When they discovered that we brought food for their parents they offered us a ride back to our car. Awesome!

Donovan (the son in law) took us for a little ride around the property and showed us some nice waterholes and waterfalls. We got to play there for a little while catching tadpoles and frogs. He then packed us into his pick up truck (mummy, daddy, Bella and I on the tiny back seat) and with hops and bumps, which almost smashed our heads (LOL) we finally made it to Robert’s car.

After getting out of the canyon, we went to pick up Robert’s wife (Millie) from work and then we went to visit her sister’s family. We stopped on the way in the shops to buy some sausages for dinner.

On the way Robert and Millie showed us these humongous ‘Elephant Feet’. Here is one of them, how cool is that?

Robert and Millie told us that her sister had 4 children so we were looking forward to meeting them. We even stopped to buy some ice creams for them and us (6 in total). We drove very fast so they wouldn’t melt.

When we arrived though we weren’t met by 4 kids but more like 44! All the neighbors, cousins and friends who live nearby seemed to be hanging out together so we decided to give up our ice creams so that they could share them. Not sure how they were divided but they disappeared in seconds.

We had a ball on the farm. Their living standards were very, very basic but their hospitality was rich. 

And anyway, who cares; with 44 children (not quite, I am exaggerating a bit), 75 dogs and just as many cats – the place was a paradise to us!

I, of course, fell in love immediately when I spotted this little munchkin. He had not left my side for the whole evening – he was the sweetest little dog! Apparently he got rescued from a trash dump (somebody decided to throw him out – horrible!). Anyway, he found his home here now and although I pleaded with mummy whole evening, I couldn’t keep him (apparently it costs $4,000 to get a dog to Australia). Ah, Chihuahua!

We met all the other ‘residents’ of the area as well. We’ve learned how they keep their sheep and goats and how they look after their animals

Look, the sheep like their coke as well! Just kidding!

We ‘run a muck’ for the rest of the evening only coming back for a few minutes to scoff down a sausage and have some nice fry bread (a local dish). After that, we were gone while daddy took turns in teaching the adults (and some kids) how to play the didgeridoo. Millie’s sister decided, that with an instrument like this, she needs to find an Australian Aboriginal man for herself.

When night fell, we had to say goodbye to our Navajo (and some Hopi Indian) friends. And to all the pets of course. I was very sad to leave my new, Aussie friend (the dog) behind.

The drive home took over two hours by which time we were totally gone (asleep).

The next day we had to get going. Mummy said that if we would stay in all the places we like, it would take us 10 years to get through the country.

In the morning we met up with Robert and together we went to Wal-Mart so that mummy could print all the photos she took for Robert. It was his birthday in the next few days so an album full of nice pictures was a nice present for him.

Even his mum came to say goodbye. We hung out with her for a while and had some ice cream.

Then mum’s friend joined us for a while. She heard from someone she could get a cuddle from little Australian girls. She liked it.

We also had to say goodbye to Robert, which was very sad. He was a fantastic guide. We have decided to post his telephone number here for anyone who would like to enjoy a private guided tour through this beautiful and so unknown land. Having somebody who knows when and where as well as speaks the language was absolutely ace! Perhaps camping out in the canyon in a Hogan or a Teepee would be something you’d like to experience? He is your man!

Robert: (ok, mummy misplaced the number but as soon as she finds it, she'll post it here)

When we left Page, Arizona, our initial intention was to get back to the Grand Canyon to do some more hiking. Having experienced the scorching temperatures in the Arizona