Colorado Road Trip - Day 10

We left Grandpa's house in Littleton at about 7:30 this morning. We weren't really in a hurry since the drive to Red River is only 5 hours, but we wanted to be able to stop along the way.

First stop: Pueblo Zoo
Pueblo has a very nice zoo. It's small but had some really good exhibits. My favorite were the native dwellings that they displayed in each section of the zoo. They were almost full scale models of a home that would be found in the area and you could walk through most. Scotty and Boyd enjoyed stretching their legs. I think Boyd walked more than Scotty did. Anytime Boyd got out of the stroller, Scotty hopped in.







Next stop: Stations of the Cross, San Luis, Colorado
As we drove through the little town of San Luis we noticed a hillside trail with bronze sculptures of Jesus and the cross. We decided that it looked so much like the Stations of the Cross in Greece that we had to check it out. It was about a mile hike up a hillside, but it was well worth the hike. The sculptures were beautiful and there was a plaque with scripture for each one. The chapel at the top was amazing inside and out. Did you know that San Luis is the oldest town in Colorado?







We finally reached Red River, NM at 5:30. Our hotel is right next to the ski slope and the go-karts. Brian and Scotty road the go-karts as soon as we got there. We are going to ride the ski lift up tomorrow. We are thinking about staying an extra day here. It's so beautiful and the temperature is nice too.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 7, 8 & 9

Sorry, I have been out of commission for a few days. Migraines! Don't know if it is the altitude, sinuses, or just traveling. I will post a few pictures later when I have some time to upload from the camera.
Saturday morning we got up and took a trip into downtown Denver. As we were driving, we saw the light rail train and decided to take it into downtown. Good choice as we didn't have to fight with parking. We walked down 16th Street mall which is an outdoor shopping center. We went to the capitol building and then walked back to 16th Street for some lunch. We chose the Paramount Cafe and were very impressed with the food. Brian and I shared green chile chicken burritos and the boys got corn dogs in a fun little cardboard car. The highlight of their day.
Sunday we went to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park northwest of Denver. We did a little hiking up to Alberta Falls and then drove up to Bear Lake. Then we went for an early dinner. Kristy and Bob recommended Nicky's and we were not disappointed. Great food. The owner is Greek and offers a mix of Greek, Italian, and American foods. I had fried trout, Grandpa ate Cod Florentine, and Brian had Prime Rib. The dessert was also fabulous. I would recommend it if you are in Estes Park.
This morning we were supposed to go to Breckenridge for some family history, but after waking with my 3rd migraine of the trip I decided to go back to bed. Brian took the boys to a water park and then to eat at McDonald's. Grandpa is going to take us to the foothills to see Red Rock Ampitheater tonight. Hopefully, we will catch a glimpse of some deer.
We will leave in the morning for Red River, NM to stay one night and then we will be back in Lubbock.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 6

This morning we visited The Garden of the Gods just outside of Colorado Springs. It is a free park with hiking trails that wind in and out of massive rocks jutting into the sky. Beautiful! Wish you were here! Not much to say about it. I'll let the pictures do the talking.
We made it to Littleton this afternoon and will be staying with Grandpa until Tuesday morning. Not sure where we will stay on the way back to Lubbock. While in Littleton we plan on going to Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Breckrenridge for a family history lesson.

Colorado Road Trip - Days 4 & 5

Congratulations Fish!!!

I am going to condense 2 days into one blog because I spent last night doing homework and never got a chance to blog. But the good news is, I am caught up for the week on my homework and I can relax the rest of the trip.

Yesterday we got into Colorado Springs just in time for lunch. As I said earlier, Scotty had a stomach bug but we thought he was feeling better. So we decided to eat at Bennigans. Not a good idea. Scotty got sick at the table before we even got our food. Brian cleaned him up. I cleaned the table up.

After lunch we went to Seven Falls. Beautiful views and luckily an elevator to take you to the top of the observation deck. There are lots of rock formations in the canyon that are supposed to look like famous people. We rode the elevator to the top and took some pictures. Then we spent some time at the bottom of the falls, chased some chipmunks, took some more pictures, and danced with the Native American dancers. We left just as it started raining.

Today we took a day trip to Cripple Creek and the Royal Gorge. On the way to Cripple Creek we turned on the Cave of the Winds Road. We didn't go to the cave, but the view of the canyon from the road was fabulous.

Our whole reason for going to Cripple Creek was to ride the train. So that's what we did first. It was about a 45 minute ride. The conductor told us about all of the gold mines that we passed and then took us to Echo Canyon where he blew the train whistle and it echoed several times through the canyon. Scotty and Boyd both really enjoyed the ride. Brian and I enjoyed the mountain scenery. I think our conductor must be a fan of Pauly Shore. He sounded a lot like him.
We ate lunch at a park in Cripple Creek. The weather was perfect, cloudy, cool, 80 degrees. Not bragging, just saying.

We left Cripple Creek and traveled on the scenic byway to the Royal Gorge, a suspension bridge built in 1929 over the Arkansas River. The bridge is 1,053 feet about the river. It is quite a tourist trap. It costs $23 per person to get in, but once your in you get to do everything there for free. We rode the carousel first. Then, we headed to the tram to ride across the gorge. The tram is about 1,100 feet above the river. It was very windy and I was sure we were going to sway in the wind, but suprisingly there was almost no movement. Thank goodness, because we were packed in the car like sardines. The other side of the gorge had a petting zoo, nature trail (elk and bison), a wild west show, and some other attractions. You can get across the gorge by tram, trolley, or walking or driving across the bridge. We decided to walk the bridge to get back to the other side. You could feel the bridge move with the wind, the people, and the cars, and if you focused on a stationery object you could see it move. Our last stop was the inclined railway, a 45 degree angle railway down to the bottom of the gorge. It travels about 1,500 feet to the bottom. Once again, we were packed like sardines into the cars. It was definitely worth it, though. The view down the side of the canyon was amazing. From the bottom of the gorge the bridge looked like a rope. We got lucky on the way back up and got the front car. Still packed in like sardines, but the view was even better than the trip down.

Tomorrow, Garden of the Gods and then up to Littleton to Grandpa's house.

Here are a few favorite pictures. The rest are at my picasa site.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 3

Well, here I am writing about yesterday again. Time sure flies when you're having fun and squeezing in some homework at the same time.
Yesterday, we drove in to Capulin, New Mexico to see the volcano. We stayed in a cute little cabin at an RV park that basically consisted of a bedroom with 3 beds and a porch on the front. It was all we needed for one night, and the important thing is we have Internet access. Scotty was really excited about the cabin. He said it was Awesome!!! It's the little things in life. :)

We dropped off the bags and headed straight for the volcano. We wanted to make it around the top before the park closed, and Scotty was dying to see the "hot lava rocks". He was afraid we were going to send him into the volcano alone. He kept asking us if we were going to go with him. We only teased him a few times.

We went to the museum first, and Scotty showed us what everything was. He is very knowledgeable about volcanoes. I'm not sure where he learned it all.
Then, we went to the top for our hike. 8,000 feet above sea level. The hike took my breath away. Maybe because of the altitude, maybe because of the extra 20 pounds I had strapped to my body. I was breathing hard. When I stopped to rest, I heard Boyd panting. We decided that he was just mocking me being that I was doing all the work and he was just relaxing in the snuggly.

The view was amazing. I'm glad we made it the whole way.

Scotty took advantage of every single bench along the trail.

Boyd even got out of the snuggly and walked a bit.

Day 4 started at about 3:30 this morning when Scotty threw up in his bed. Scotty was crying, Boyd was crying, Mommy and Daddy wanted to cry. He seems okay right now. We'll see how the rest of the trip goes. We're off to Colorado Springs this morning. More later.

There's more pictures to see. I just didn't want to put them all on the blog. Go to my picasa site to see the rest.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 2

Sorry, I am actually writing this on day 3 before we head out to Capulin, New Mexico. I just couldn't find the time last night. Day 2 was spent in Lubbock. Brian spent the day getting the boat ready for Chad to borrow, and Grammy and I took the boys to the park and out to eat lunch with Grandma. The guys met us for lunch and Leona got to join us, too.

Scotty took Sadie down all of the slides, whether she liked it or not! Oh well, she seemed willing.

This morning the cactus bloomed outside of Mom & Dad's house. It only blooms once a year so it was a real treat to get to see it.

Next stop, Capulin, New Mexico to see the volcano.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 1

Our trip finally began at 10:00 this morning. We were only running an hour behind schedule. Pretty good considering we didn't pack until this morning. We decided to make a stop in Lubbock for a few days to see the family and to break the trip up. Along the way we like to look for the hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of wind generators that have gone up in the middle of ranches and cotton farms. They are so big that a picture could never do them justice.

The view is flat and monotonous, for those of you who have never seen West Texas, but occassionally you see a mesa.

Right outside of Lubbock, we threw the tread on the boat trailer. No damage and we coasted safely into Lubbock. Since we had to drive slowly we avoided the Interstate and drove right in front of Texas Tech. We haven't seen it since they made so many changes. Here is Jones AT&T Stadium. Go Red Raiders! Tomorrow we may have to take the boys to Tech for some pictures. Nothing wrong with getting them started young.

Hopefully Kelsie and Grammy don't have plans for the next few days, because Scotty already has an agenda for both of them. Play, Play, Play!

Love my critters!

I love our backyard. We have several birdfeeders and I love to keep them full to watch all of the critters that come to eat from them. We have cardinals, tufted titmouse, chickadees, hummingbirds, painted buntings, rabbits, and squirrels. Most people are annoyed by squirrels and the fact that they eat all of the bird seed and scatter it all over the yard, but not me. I keep the bird feeders full just to attract the squirrels. They are so darn cute! My favorite is when they hang from the birdfeeder by their back legs while shoveling the seed into their cheeks as fast as they can. They usually don't have long to fill up their cheeks before they are chased off by cardinals. Who knew squirrels were so picky? We have a mix of songbird seed and sunflower seeds. After the squirrels visit we are left with a pile of songbird seed and sunflower seed shells below the feeders. I guess we should start buying plain sunflower seeds.
Here are some pictures of the cute little boogers and a good shot of a hummingbird from the dining room window.

Who. I. Am.

I found this photo mosaic activity on another blog. Here's what you do if you want to play along:

• Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
• Using only the first page, pick an image.
• Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into this Mosaic Maker. Follow the instructions, and presto! You have a synopsis of Who. You. Are
• Click on the subtitles below the photo to get a closer look.

1. What is your first name? Shelley Shelley's Francolin
2. What is your favorite food? Mexican Food Mexican Food
3. What high school did you go to? Frenship High School team
4. What is your favorite color? Red Blood-Red Flower
5. Who is your celebrity crush? John Travolta Staying Alive
6. Favorite drink? Coke I'm a Mexican Coke
7. Dream vacation? Any beach Relax
8. Favorite dessert? Chocolate Chip Cookies 14th August 2007 / Day 226
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Librarian, almost there. I wanted to put retired but couldn't find an adequate picture for that one. RETRATO - A LA ARCIMBOLDO - PORTRAIT
10. What do you love most in life? family The Calvo Family - Holidays
11. One Word to describe you: driven The Science Of Speed
12. Your blog name: The Statler Family Blog What's on my shelves?

PhotoHunt: Support

This week's PhotoHunt topic is Support. These pictures are from the Renaissance Festival in April.

Where would those medieval bosoms be without support?

There was a petting zoo, and for a $1 you could buy a carrot and feed the animals. Unfortunately, the animals were all newly released in the petting zoo. Very few of them cared much about eating. But Scotty did get one rabbit to stop for a little nibble.

Brian, Boyd, and Scotty on a ship.

We were supposed to stick our tongues out for the picture. Scotty left me hanging.

Busy!!!

Just wanted to share a few photos from this week. Time is flying by with Felicia here for the week and my 2 library courses. I am in the middle of a 10-week course and my 5-week course started on Monday. Check back in 5 weeks to see if I survived.

Nick and Felicia are here for their doctor's appointments all week. Poor Nick is traveling back and forth from Houston so he can stay caught up at work. The big day is Tuesday. Keep them in your prayers!

We got a portable DVD player for the trip to Colorado. Scotty thinks it's his personal TV. Let the couch potato begin!!!

Scotty's first "real" scrapbook page. I gave him the camera and sent him to take pictures of Rascal, and then we printed them. He laid it out himself and I helped with the name. Notice the drool spot on the bottom right picture. I wonder what that's from???