Day 1 – The Great Sand Dunes National Park

We prayed for great weather and safe travels – God granted us both. If you have never been to the Sand Dunes, they are a splendor sight to see. They look like every image of the Sahara Desert you have ever seen, minus the pyramids. And they are a TON of fun on a beautiful, sunny day.

We spent the better part of the afternoon playing in the water and the sand. Strolling up and down the stream, staying far enough away from the vegetation as to avoid the one big drawback of the dune: skeeters. Yuk!

The kids were eager to get their passport stamped – how appropriate that the dunes are their first entry. Tomorrow they will get the Mesa Verde stamp. And the next day will be from the Grand Canyon. It’s a fun, educational way to keep the kiddos entertained and excited about visiting the Nat’l. Parks.

The shallow stream meandering through the dunes is attractive to both young and old. It took all but 5 seconds for our kids to be drenched from head to toe in the cool, 6” deep water. 5 seconds later is all it took for them to be completely covered (in EVERY crevice) with the site’s biggest attraction: SAND.

We camped at one of favorite Colorado camping spots: the Hot Springs. Located in Hooper, CO – just 20 minutes west of the dunes, this natural 2000’-deep Artesian hot spring brings 110-degree water into the pool. They add no chlorine or chemicals to the water, which makes for an enjoyable swimming experience. The pool is well designed for families, as they have: a 1-foot deep kids pool, 2 basketball hoops, a low and medium dive, and a custom rock water slide. Like I said, it’s one of our favorite spots. The worst part about camping here, again, is the skeeters! They are miserable, as they thrive on the warm, still-standing water.

What’s crazy about the camping site and facility is that ALL of the water is hot. The toilet water is steaming, the cold water spout kicks out hot water, even the drinking fountain has hot water. But since it is from an Artesian well, it’s some of the best drinking water I’ve ever enjoyed. It’s like swimming in a pool filled with Dasani.

If you ever find yourself desperately craving prime rib, one of the best cuts I have enjoyed since leaving the Midwest is in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Alamosa. Appropriately named the “Outhouse ‘N”, this place looks like a dive on the outside, and like the country bar from “Blues Brothers” on the inside. The food is good, home-style cooking, and a must-stop for us when we are in the neighborhood. The five of us dined for $50 (and that included a $2 Heineken for me). My prime rib was half the bill, but worth every penny. Kat enjoyed the “kiddie” burger for $5, and was larger than most burgers in Denver. Jade ordered the “Char-broiled Steak Sandwich”, which rivaled her sirloin steak from Outback. And the fries…oh man! The good, skinny style with the skins still on them. Fantastic!

For day two, we will be heading west and staying at the Anasazi ruins in Mesa Verde. It appears that we will be enjoying blue skies and low wind for the day.

Day 2 – Mesa Verde

W-O-W! This ancient Indian rock-dwelling civilization was created by an early portion of the Pueblo tribe. I had never visited the site, so this was my first experience. As an architect/engineer, I have so much respect for the design and function of these shelters. It’s one thing to see the pictures, but absolutely awe-inspiring to explore the ruins firsthand and touch the stones laid in place by a culture of people that last lived there in the 1200’s.

For me, the hardest thing to fathom was the remote nature of the site. Discovered by cowboys in the 1880’s, this site is nearly hidden from all angles. It is in a deep cavern with thick forestation all around it. There are beautiful vistas from high above, but the ruins and the rock cave that they are situated in are down inside a valley. I just kept thinking: how did the cowboys EVER discover this? Sure, I know that cattle wander. But this site – it’s well beyond the beaten path…miles and miles away from anything. But fortunately for us, the ruin sites were discovered, and the museum was an enjoyable learning experience.

Along our hike to the ruins, we came across a 6’-long snake (harmless garter snake that cared less about us), a little gecko-type lizard, and poison ivy (labeled for our protection!)

The ruins are an amazing sight to behold!














All three kids are having a blast!

We’re having a great time, and the trip is exceeding our hopes! Great weather, great fun, and wonderful camping. Tomorrow we will swing by the Four Corners on our way to the Grand Canyon. Woo-hooo!

Tonight we are camping along the hillside of the Mesa (‘just like the Indians!’, I joked with the kids). It’s a beautiful and remote campsite. As I sit hear typing, we just witnessed two mule-deer does stroll by. Kaleb wanted to hunt them, and Jade wanted to practice her homemade bow-and-arrow against them. Fortunately for everyone, the deer moved along. But as I continue to type…Gwen keeps on point, watching for the next wave of deer to wander past.

Day 3 - The Grand Canyon

Anyone traveling from Colorado to the Grand Canyon undoubabtly makes a stop at one of the Nation’s biggest tourist spots: Four Corners. Unfortunately for us, our first trip to the landmark left us bummed, as it was closed for remodeling. In my research leading up for the trip, I never came across the closure notice. I’m sure it was there, but we were all bummed to be kept from spanning the four state lines. Therefore, this year’s Christmas Card will not be sporting the 3 kids and wife all standing in different states. Hmmm, guess we’ll have to save this for a future photo opportunity.

The drive through Arizona along Highway 160 is a long desolate journey. But gorgeous! The route meanders through Indian Land and Mesas. Cruising at a gentle 65mph, there was a photo opportunity around every bend. It was one of our longer legs along the journey, thankfully the landscape made it enjoyable.

Arriving at the Grand Canyon, I did not know what to expect. Sure, many textbooks and googlemap images are available to peruse prior to the visit. But when you stand at one of the many vista photo-op points – the Canyon is an amazing sight. It is much, much larger than I expected. I’m told it is 10-miles wide from one side to the other. And the river is 5,000ft. lower than the South Rim. The tower is a great tourist attraction, allowing us a fun journey before even embarking on other photo ops.

There were a lot of photo op's available at the South Rim. And a LOT of places that you had to be very, very careful with your footings. Fortunately, it was not very windy. Had there been any sort of gust...these pictures would NOT exist!!















This was a precarious shelf that the 3 of us walked out on. The point (there on the right) was about 1-foot wide....and about 300-feet down! My mom says I'm a bad parent for exposing my kids to the danger. :-) Anyone who knows "Aaron Zimmer" knows that I live my life near that edge, but my kids were never in danger.






























On a side note, Kim’s really getting into this camping thing. For the months leading up to the trip, Kathy kept talking to her about “sleeping on the road”. So now, whenever she references our Airstream, she calls it the “road”. Last night, after coming back from dinner, she saw the trailer and said, “There’s our Road!” How cute.




























There is a path at the first visitor’s center that allows you to hike down to the actual edge of the canyon. My son was fearless and ready to hike. My older daughter was a bit more hesitant. I asked her to stay behind while my son and I captured a great edge-of-the-rim photo opportunity. After we hiked back, Jade asked if she could make the journey too. Hearing our reactions to the site was enough for her to overcome her trepidation and did not want to pass up the chance to peer down into the canyon. According to her – it was worth it!















This is Kaleb and I near the very, very edge of the South Rim. There is a 500-ft. + drop behind us. Very cool!















Today we took a 1-mile hike along the South Rim. Gorgeous!! I asked Kim if she wanted to hike down to the bottom. She responded, “Nooooooooooo, thank you!” Pretty cute for a 3-yr. old!

For dinner, my folks rode their motorcycle up from Phoenix and took us to a local pizza shop in Tusayan. The food was fantastic! And we enjoyed a round of ice cream afterwards. The only disappointment was that my dad and I were not comped for a round of chicken wings or a scoop of ice cream for father’s day. Oh well…it was still worth the money!

The vacation is going well, and tomorrow we are making a pit stop in Mesa, AZ at my folk’s house. It’ll give us a chance to restock our food supply and get some laundry done. Plus, as my wife puts it, give us a chance to sleep on a non-air mattress for a night. Then, the next day, it’s I-10 straight to Anaheim, CA.

Great times! Good food! And some strange lady in the background :-)