Here in Colorado, we are having the summeriest summer weather we have ever had. I didn’t know that it could get (and stay) so hot here. But the good news is that we got to enjoy a lot of fun getaways.
1. Fourth of July in Kansas. I’ve lost count of how many years this has been our tradition for 4th of July, but it is one we always look forward to. My boys love their Grandma and Papa so much (we do too!). Their town has a fun 4th of July parade, a large swimming pool, AND enormous fireworks. Plus, the boys get to buy gobs of their own fireworks to set off. Super Rockstar, Uncle Todd, Morgan and Grayson always plot elaborate tank battles (complete with soldiers) and many other fountains and poppers. Grandma, Papa, Aunt Stephie and I are the judge and jury as to who made the best purchases. Plus, it’s just so fun to hang out and be together. We also got to head to Steph and Todd’s house for a quick visit and got to see Amy, Zach, Aiden and meet our newest great nephew–Toren. So adorable and such sweet time spent.
2. A Pergola Project. I’ve long been wanting a way to shade our patio area. We’ve tried umbrellas of different sizes, but we can never seem to remember to close them. When our afternoon summer storms come blowing in, they often take our umbrellas with them–sending them flying through the yard and smashing to the ground. This year, we purchased a pergola, but it required assembly. Super Rockstar and the boys got right on it. I love it because it has a retractable shade feature AND it is secured to the ground–so no more flying away. I hope.
3. Breckenridge Getaway. We have a favorite place we love to stay in Breckenridge called Beaver Run. It’s just a few blocks from the downtown area and has wonderful rooms, awesome swimming pools and numerous hot tubs. Plus, they have an arcade, restaurants, and often feature live music and other special events. This time we got to stay in a two-bedroom suite– the bedrooms were upstairs and the living room/kitchen were downstairs. Morgan was ready to move in and call it his first apartment. Since our boys are now in their later teen years, we did something we never had before–we gave them their own room keys and let them just come and go as they please. They loved it and so did we. We would all meet up for meals, watching a tv shows and movies and then end the days all together soaking in the hot tubs. Super Rockstar and I loved the freedom of doing things we enjoy–hikes, stopping to listen to some live music, and shopping–without feeling like we were dragging our boys along and listening to their teenagery complaints. It was glorious. We took our traditional trip to the top of Peak 7 on the gondola and Super Rockstar and Morgan enjoyed the Sky Coaster ride, while Grayson and I tried out the Alpine Slide. What a blast!
 
4. A Certain Someone’s 60th Birthday. Super Rockstar celebrated reaching a new decade in life. His birthday was spent sleeping in, doing a scavenger hunt for his birthday box, he and I going for a walk in the forest, steak dinner at Longhorn and ice cream cake to top it all off. Birthdays are not something he ever has really enjoyed celebrating–especially one that includes a 6 and a 0. But he does love all that comes with it–the birthday wishes from family and friends, the creative cards from our boys (they never disappoint) and of course presents.
 
 
5. Summer Football Camp and Scrimmage. Grayson has been gung-ho and ready to play football since the season ended last fall. He got to do a lot of the team summer activities–7 v 7 games and workouts. But football camp is where the real fun begins for him. When he first started playing tackle his 8th grade year–he wasn’t sure he would enjoy it. But now all the running, catching, and tackling brings him pure joy.
6. A Wonderful Wyoming Adventure. We’ve been wanting to explore Wyoming for a long, long time. I had it on our bucket list when our summer began, but as our summer spending account dwindled, I was beginning to wonder if we should put it off again. But when we saw there was a whole week free of commitments–we just went for it. I am so glad we did.
Our first day we drove all the way to the west side of the state and stayed at a hotel in Rock Springs. The landscape along the southern border is pretty deserty and a lot of sage brush. We did enjoy the speed limit of 85 mph but learned that Interstate 80 is a popular truck driving route, so we were often forced to slow down until we could get around them. We chose this route because our older son Morgan who wants to be a YouTuber had learned there were some haunted places to explore that he wants to one day film and share on his channel. They turned out to be a bust, but we did enjoy dinner at a Japanese restaurant and the pool and hot tub at our hotel were great.
The second day we drove up to Jackson. It’s so interesting how the landscape turns from dry, desert to green forest and enormous mountains the further north you go. Jackson is so picaresque, but my goodness–the crowd of people was overwhelming. We are used to crowds in our Colorado tourists’ towns, but this was more like a hoard of people as opposed to a crowd. We also didn’t enjoy our hotel much. Morgan drew the short straw and had to sleep on a cot. It did have a nice pool and hot tub, but like the rest of the town–it was way overcrowded and not very nice. Next time, we’ll stay elsewhere outside of Jackson where the prices are a lot cheaper and not as crowded. We did get to enjoy a wonderful day of fishing the Gros Ventre River. As soon as drove outside the town and around the bend, we got our first glimpse of The Tetons. I gasped so loud that Super Rockstar got worried. Until he looked where I was looking and gasped too. To say they are beautiful is a vast understatement. We didn’t catch any fish, but on our way back to our hotel, we noticed several folks had pulled off the road with cameras pointed (this–we learned– is how you know there is wildlife nearby). There were two bull moose on the other side of the river munching on bushes. I have never seen one in the wild so close.
 
The third day was spent driving to and around Yellowstone National Park. To get there, we drove through Teton National Forest. I didn’t want to blink the entirety of the day. There are no words to describe the incredible beauty, and pictures don’t even begin to capture it. We stopped at Jackson Lake and skipped rocks. It’s an enormous lake with the Tetons in the background. I learned throughout the day that enormous, beautiful lakes are just a part of northern Wyoming. When we finally entered Yellowstone, we pulled over at least a dozen times to gawk at the scenery–wild rushing rivers, lakes, and tall thick evergreens. We kept our eyes peeled for wildlife but didn’t see more than a few squirrels and a deer or two. We stopped at Old Faithful. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t what I saw. In the midst of all the thick beautiful forest, there is this almost alien planet looking landscape with steaming and even boiling pools of water. It’s bizarre. There is a boardwalk leading around the area and signage posted throughout to stay on the path. I felt that this puts entirely too much trust in humans to do what they’re supposed to. While we waited for Old Faithful to erupt (which they can predict within 5 minutes) one of the other geysers shot off. There were tourists within a few feet of it and from our perspective it looked like they would be experiencing a shower of scalding water. None of them screamed, so I guess they were ok. They have seating areas all around Old Faithful to watch when it erupts. It was very impressive and such an amazing phenomenon. We spent the remainder of the day driving what I would call the half loop of Yellowstone. My biggest hope was to see some bison, and we were rewarded on the last stretch of the loop. At first, we saw some off in the distance–just little specs on the side of the hill. But just a little further down the road there were two large bison right next to road. I confess, I became like the other dumb tourists around me just wanting to get a step closer so I could get a good picture. They mostly just ignored us–munching on grass and doing their thing. On the last turn driving out of the park, we saw a bunch of cars pulled over and several guys with professional looking cameras pointed down into a valley. It was a grizzly bear. Thankfully he was pretty far away. I took a couple of quick pictures while sizing up who I could outrun if the grizzly took notice and decided we weren’t welcome. This whole day was so amazing.
Our last night we ended up in Cody and enjoyed staying in a much nicer hotel and getting some much needed rest. Our original plan was to take our time going home the next day and maybe stay one more night in a hotel somewhere. But we were all road weary and ready to just get home. It was a long 10 hour drive but we made it. I’m so glad we did this trip. It will forever be one of my most favorite places I’ve visited.
7. Movies and Shows to Watch–Episode 114. Just click the link to read about all we watched in July.
8. Books I Read. I’m got to enjoy finishing two Sue Grafton books this month: R is for Ricochet and S is for Silence. I enjoyed them both.
9. My Favorite Memes.
Our Summer break ended and school has begun. Grayson is a senior this year and I am NOT ok. More about that next time.