Colorful Colorado

After our short trip home we went back to my parents to get our dirt bikes and meet up with my grandparents for a week of camping in Estes Park, Colorado. My parents came too, they just drove seperately. We were so excited to be in the mountains. We really enjoyed the east coast but there is just something about going west that we love. We stayed with my family at the YMCA of the Rockies and my grandparents camped nearby.


One afternoon we went Whitewater Rafting. It was fun but freezing. There was a spot to get out and swim where when you jumped in the current carried you downstream. We had a really good guide and our friend Mike Anderson even came with us.

Another morning we went on a 2 hour horseback ride. We were the only people in our group which made it so much more fun. Dad had a great big slow horse and it was hilarious to see it maneuver around the rocks and down the steep grades. We had a lot of fun and even trotted some. We didn't see any wildlife but the view was still nice.

At night we went into Estes Park browsed the shops. We looked and looked for Elk all week but didn't see any. My grandparents and Josh drove up Fall River Road and saw lots of elk but we still hadn't seen any. On the last morning after everyone left we drove up Fall River Road to find some elk. We actually even got to see some young elk that had wandered into Estes Park that morning. The drive up the road was a little scary. The road was a one way narrow dirt road with lots of winding turns.
It made it even worse that we were pulling the dirtbikes. Dean was not bothered but I was. The drive up was actually really pretty. It even got better as we got higher.
We didn't see any elk until we got almost all the way to the top. The view was gorgeous.


We even crossed the continental divide on the way back down.



After we left the park we found a spot and went dirtbiking. It was quite muddy and I was quite scared so we didn't stay long.
We still had lots of the west to see. We had a great time with my family and grandparents. Thanks for a great vacation!!!

Michigan

It is now July and we are about halfway through our summer. It seems like we have done so much already but there is still so many more places to visit before August. When we arrived in Michigan I got a phone call from the school district that we work for in Houston. They wanted me to come in for an interview. I could not be hired by my school if I did not come in. We were a LONG way from home and had NO intentions of driving back especially for such a short visit. I needed a job so we decided we would go. So most of the time we were in Michigan I was preparing a lesson to teach and Dean was trying to fix a four wheeler. Unfortunately, he never got it fixed. We did get to enjoy our time visiting with Dean's family before we had to leave. We went fishing with them one night and Dean decided to go swimming in this ridiculous looking inner tube. What a great vacation!!





Our anniversary actually fell during our visit in Michigan so we decided to take a little two day trip to Mackinac Island. It is a great little island on Lake Michigan. There are only two ways to get around the island. Horse or bike. We took our rollerblades because we thought that we could rollerblade all around but we weren't allowed to rollerblade in town. We didn't know where our hotel was so we decided to walk there. It was a long walk and we got turned around a couple times but we finally found it. It was called the Stonecliffe Inn. An old mansion on a cliff overlooking the lake. There was no air conditioning and no TV. It was great. We walked back into town and had some delicious fudge. Mackinac Island is famous for their fugdge. They say there are two smells on the island. Fudge and Horse poop.






The next day we decided to go horse back riding. There are lots of trails all around the island and they even let you take unguided rides. Dean and I went off on our own and had a great time. We were definitely wishing for our own horses after that.


After we left Mackinac we headed into the Upper Peninsula to Tahquamenon Falls. They were pretty falls and a very coppery color. It was a nice little side trip before we headed back to Dean's parents house.



I finished up my lesson and we headed for home. We stopped in Iowa to drop off the dirtbikes and then hightailed it home to get there in time for my interview. We were there for about 24 hours.Then back to Iowa to rest up and finish the summer.If you were wondering I got the job!!

New York: Part 2

After Maine he headed west. Our next stop was Buffalo, NY. My great aunt lives there so we decided to stop and rest up for a couple days. We arrived there just in time for the 4th of July. We went to this city park to watch the fireworks. We were sitting on a hill and could see fireworks from cities all around. Instead of just seeing one fireworks show we got to see 5 or 6.

My aunt Margaret and cousin Reid showed us all around the next day. They even took us to see one of those Sears and Roebuck houses that you used to buy from the catalog. It was cool.


We went back to that same park where we watched the fireworks to see these toboggan slides. They are huge slides that they use in the winter. They use tubes or sleds and slide all the way down. It looked so fun. I wish we could have see it in the winter.





Most of my mom's extended family lives in or around Buffalo so we went and spent an afternoon visiting with my great uncle Gordan, great aunt Kathy, and their family. It was fun to see them and to hear uncle Gordan talk about the old days and the things that my grandpa Romine and him used to do. They were very hospitable and even got us some buffalo wings so that we could say we came to Buffalo and got to have Buffalo wings. They were delicious! Thanks Sheffers!!

We also went to the stadium where the Buffalo Bills play. The stadium is right down the street from Gordan and Kathy and right near their farmland. Unfortunately it was the day after the 4th so only the team store was open. We couldn't go in the field house or anything like that. When I was growing up my dad was a HUGE fan of the Buffalo Bills. My Aunt Margaret worked for the city so when the players came to the city office to get the licenses or other legal things she would ask them for their autographs. She would then send them to my dad. He now has them hanging in their basement along with a piece of the old field turf. It is pretty awesome.




We had a really good time visiting them and after we left there we headed to Niagara Falls and Canada. Dean had never been there before so it was fun to go and see them again. I had been there a couple times when I was little. The only thing I really remember is that I hated being near the edge.



I was SO AFRAID of falling over the edge. I was still afraid this time. Apparently some people don't think its scary at all the way they leaned over, sat on the edge, or held their babies over the edge. It almost made me sick. They have a few really cool things you can do at the falls. One is Maid of the Mist where you can ride a boat right up to the falls. We didn't do that. There was another thing too but we don't remember what it was. And then you can go under the falls in these caves they have there. That is what we did. We got a cool poncho and went on our way all the the down. When you get in the caves you are right behind the falls. The water pressure is amazing. So many gallons of water just flowing over the falls. The roar was sooo loud. It was cool to be so close. I think my favorite part of being at the falls was getting to go behind them AND all the rainbows. There were so many rainbows. When the sun hit just right you could even see two or three. We had a great time there and made some super great memories!!

Maine!!!

We were so excited to finally get here!! Even thinking about it now makes me want to go back. It was beautiful. We could have spent much more time there but we hadn't planned on it and we didn't think we would enjoy it so much. Our plan was to just go into Maine, stay along the coast, eat some fresh lobster and head back out.

The first big city we got to we stopped at a couple different places, including an Orvis store, where the man told us we had to go to Acadia National Park. We were not planning to go there because it seemed like a little too far. Thanks to our National Park Pass it would be free anyways so we went. We were sooooooo........... glad we did. It was beautiful. I will post the whole Maine album on Facebook so you can get the full experience. It is difficult to remember all the names of the places and landmarks but I will describe them as best I can.


Along the coastline there was this rock inlet called "Thunder Hole" During high tide when the water comes in and hits the rock the water can shoot 40 feet in the air. Unfortunately we missed high tide by a few hours but it was still cool to see the rock and imagine what it could do. We also drove to the summit of this mountain that overlooked the water and the town of Bar Harbor. It was beautiful. We had fun taking pictures and enjoying all the scenery. It was quite windy but still a wonderful view.












After all the sightseeing we were ready for our lobster. Bar Harbor was a nice, quaint town. There are well known for both their seafood and the blueberries. They even brew a blueberry soda. We went to a nice restaurant near the water for dinner. Dean ordered the lobster and I ordered shrimp. The last time we had lobster was at Red Lobster and it was not that good. This lobster was AMAZING!!!! It was quite a messy undertaking but Dean cleaned that lobster up. My shrimp was equally delicious as was my blueberry soda. We had blueberry pie for dessert but it was not that great. Not as good as grandmas. We walked along the water and enjoyed the shops and ambiance of this Maine community.







We did not see any wildlife other than birds. We wanted to see a Moose so badly. When we were at Yellowstone a lady from Maine was saying how she sees moose all the time. Well, we didn't see any!