Bergen Bunch: Colorado!!!

Here is a long-overdue post... yes, we're still in 2010! But there are still memories that we don't want to miss recording!

In August, our Grandma Bergen took four of us granddaughters to Colorado for a week. This was the first time that Bethany, Ashley and I (Kara) had been in CO for more than a few hours, and this time we were actually "in" the mountains - not just looking at them in the distance - so this was a real treat! We had such a precious and enjoyable time together; though we really missed our dear families at home!

The week seemed to go so quickly, and we had to cram so much in just to see the half of what we wanted to (well maybe not even that much!). The whole time, my sisters and I were thinking of how much our family was missing out on, and were very much wishing they were all there with us! We're hoping to go back and spend more time there with the whole family... and we have no better excuse with my brother's family now living there!

We somehow managed to get all of our luggage in the trunk and left at about 7AM (Aug. 23rd).

Bethany, Ashley and Breanna rode in the back seat while Grandma and I traded off driving. Guess who the ornery one is?... her grin gives it away ;-)

We stopped to get a picture as we crossed the boarder into "Colorful Colorado" :-)

We stayed the first night with this very hospitable couple, friends of my grandparents.

We stopped and hiked around St. Isabelle Lake. It was a fresh, calm morning; and I just love the clear mountain reflection on the lake! This was just the beginning of the many, much more breath-taking, sights that we'd see that week!

One of the most interesting places we visited was the Bishop Castle, which is being built single-handed by one man.

Here we are on top of one of the towers... and yes, there is NO RAILING!!!

We stayed in a KOA cabin near Buena Vista for 2 nights, and we fell in love with this spot. It was located in a gorgeous mountain valley where we had a perfect view of Mt. Princeton (pictured below) right out the door of our cabin! It was definitely our favorite place that we stayed - even if there wasn't a bathroom or running water. We did have both of those not very far from the cabin, but we still had to cook our meals over an open fire - which was a fun experience. :-)

This was the view that we woke up to each morning!

Once we checked into our cabin, we had time to spare before making dinner; so us girls did some exploring. We were tired of our shoes by that time and were not about to put them back on, so we tried a bare-foot hike... only one of us stepped on a cactus (and it wasn't me ;-).

We climbed up to some rocks overlooking our campground.

The campground also had horses, so we took advantage of them and went on a 1-hour trail ride our first morning there. One of our cousins, Miranda, who lived an hour or two away, joined us for the day as well.

One of the highlights was our time together in God's Word and sharing in the evenings.

Bethany fixed us a delicious breakfast of sausage and scrambled eggs one morning.

We also enjoyed an afternoon in and around Victor (an old mining town).

We walked along a trail running through a large area where dozens of the original gold mines - dating back to the late 1800s - are located. We could see over a dozen of them at one time from the top of a hill!

We were able to go right up to one of them (the largest one in the area).

We spent part of an afternoon here

It was incredible to see firsthand some of the most amazing handiwork of our Creator!

Of course, we stopped to see the Balancing Rock. We learned that this was where Grandpa proposed to Grandma over 50 years ago!

We also visited the Seven Falls, and climbed the 224 steps to the top of them!

Justin joined us on Saturday for a hike up to the Rainbow Falls. This was personally my favorite hike - a nice cool day, and the water from the falls was so soft that we wet our hair in it. :-)

We went off the trail to do a little rock climbing while Grandma rested below.

Our Uncle Craig and his family (who were just starting their vacation) joined us on Sunday for a worship service. Our second cabin had a nice, large deck which came in very handy.

Justin, Laura and Braxton then joined us for dinner.

My absolutely adorable nephew!

Braxton brought his mommy some wildflowers :-)

We also took a 1.5 mile hike up to the Crags. Now, one-and-a-half miles in CO mountains is a lot farther than one-and-a-half miles on the Kansas prairie! This was definitely the hardest hike of the trip but well worth the spectacular view at the top!