Day 5- Colorado- Sapphire Point Overlook- wrapping up our trip

The highlight of our trip was going to Sapphire Point Overlook in Frisco, Colorado to feed chipmunks. Of course, our free activity would be the favorite. Frisco is about thirty minutes from Vail. It looked like a really cute town and if we wouldn't have had two hungry, tired kids with us we may have explored it a little more. Hopefully next time. 

The roads to the overlook are very curvy, and thankfully no one got carsick.  Once you get there, you have a short .6 mile hike to the actual overlook point.

Off she goes to see some chipmunks!!

Once we arrived at the overlook we scouted out the best place to feed chipmunks and decided to sit on some rocks. Once we sat down with peanuts here they came. I loved the feeling of their paws on my hands. I could have scooped one up and brought it home with me. 

They were so fun to watch and not scared of us at all. 

Paige thought she wanted to feed them, but when it came down to it she was scared of them. She liked to watch them but wanted not part of feeding them. 

The babies were not able to open the peanut shells so Adam started breaking them open for them. 

They were seriously precious!!

Ella has a ton of patience and could have sat there all day. She loved feeding them. She has a quiet, sweet soul, and I think they knew it. They were all over her. 

The view from the overlook was just icing on the cake. The beauty of Colorado is definitely something to be seen at least once in your life. 

 I set up my tripod for a picture, and we had a little photo bomber. A lady walking by said she thought a chipmunk joined our picture, and sure enough, she was right. 

I wasn't kidding when I said they were all over Ella. She even had one on her head, but I missed that. It was hard for her to leave. I think this was not only the highlight of her trip but also the highlight of her life. 

On our last night we headed into Vail Village to rent bikes, but the bike shop was already closed. Hopefully next trip we can do that. 

Paige just had to get into the children's fountain again and was soaked to the bone. 

She had the BEST time. 

The house we stayed in had a bike in the closet so Ella rode it around town for awhile. Good thing we had the bike, because Adam rode back to get Paige dry clothes so we could eat dinner. 

We ate at "Up the Creek" which was the only place we tried out in Vail Village. We went there twice and enjoyed it both times. It's right by Gore Creek so it has a nice view, and the food was good as well. 

The next morning we packed up and prepared to head out but not before spending some time with Toby, the owners dog. He was such a sweet, well behaved dog that Ella and Paige both enjoyed playing with while we were there. 

Overall, it was a fabulous trip. You never know what to expect when you go somewhere new, but it was beautiful. Traveling with kids is stressful, messy, and exhausting. Looking back though, all you remember are the good times. 

When Paige was a baby I wasn't sure if we would ever make it to a time where we could easily travel again. Well, it's not easy but it's much easier than when she was a baby. With two great trips under our belt I feel like we have made it, and it's only going to go up from here. 

I'm thankful for our family and the memories we made together. I can't wait for our next adventure and can only hope it's as great as this one! 

Colorado- Day 4- Timberline Tours Jeep Ride

I enjoy planning trips and coming up with fun ideas for us to do. After spending quite a bit of time on google I found open-air jeep rides through the backcountry of Colorado. This is one of those things that looking back I can't believe we attempted it with a three year old. 

This jeep ride was four hours long. They take you out on a trail so it's not like we could turn around if things went haywire which could easily happen with a three-year-old. On the phone when I booked the trip they assured me that kids younger than three go on these rides all the time and always fall asleep. I told her that was wishful thinking for us, but we would hope for the best. 

We had all morning to hang out on Wednesday, because they were not picking us up for our jeep ride until 2:00. 

That morning we enjoyed feeding some wildlife. We put out some bread for the birds and a squirrel showed up as well. We heard there was a moose that likes to hang out around Gore Creek and has been spotted by the house quite a few times, but we never saw her. 

Paige took full advantage of her time and headed out for more stick and pinecone throwing.

We also took a walk to Vail Village. It was a beautiful day!

At 2:00 our tour guide, Nate, showed up in the jeep to pick us up. I regret not getting a picture of him. He was exactly what I was expecting. He was fun, talkative, and full of knowledge. We signed waivers and headed out with my fingers crossed that Paige would make it through the next four hours. 

It was such a nice day when we headed out, then we drove into clouds and rain, and once we hit the trail it was sunshine again. 

Ella enjoyed the ride!

Colorado backcountry is beautiful. I was not sure what to expect, but it's definitely something to see. 

The Colorado wildflowers were out in full force all along the trail. He told us all the names, but I couldn't tell you what they were. I was too busy taking pictures. 

Just as they said, Paige fell asleep. It wasn't long after we hit the trail that and she was out! I think it was just the refresher she needed, because she did great until about 20 minutes before we arrived back at the house. 

Once we hit the top we got out to enjoy the views and take some pictures. We were able to see three mountain ranges from where we were. The pictures don't do the views justice. It was beautiful, and I'm thankful we were able to do this. 

On our way down we saw elk deer. You can kind of see them in the middle of this picture, but I could not get my camera to focus on them. I was so happy Ella was able to see some wildlife, because that is what she wanted to see on this trip. We also saw a red tail hawk. 

It started to look dark and cloudy on our way back. We were lucky we avoided the rain. 

The jeep ride was a great experience, and I'm so glad we were able to experience it. If you are ever in Colorado I highly recommend it!