This year for Summer vacation we returned to Colorado for a new family adventure!
First stop was Lake City. Lake City is a quaint little town with fun shops, a museum, and restaurants. We rented a cabin at Pleasant View Resort just outside of town, close enough to walk in for shopping.
The Lake City Museum was a pleasant surprise. The girls loved learning about the history of the town as they completed the museum scavenger hunt.
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| inside of the train car |
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| Museum grounds |
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| Pins for completing the scavenger hunt |
While in Lake City we were able to access the Alpine Loop. The Alpine Loop offers 65 miles of off road trail and Jeep trails that are only open in the Summer. The loop connects the towns of Silverton, Ouray, and Lake City. It was MUCH colder in the higher elevations this year. We enjoyed a beautiful ride and loved getting to play in the snow!
Day 1 Ride Photos
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| Ask Grace about the time she threw a snowball at her mom and it went into the window of a Jeep passing by!! |
We rode into Silverton and checked out the train that runs between Durango and Silverton and had lunch.
On day 2 of riding we traveled to the ghost town Animas Forks for a picnic lunch.
That night at Pleasant View the owners invited the cottage renters to a chuckwagon dinner. We had a wonderful time visiting and making new friends. Later that night we saw two bucks in front of the cabin. It was a great way to end our time in Lake City.
Next we traveled to the Gunnison National Forrest. In the past we have stayed in Taylor Park, however this year we rented a cabin in the tiny town of Tin Cup. Tin Cup is sprinkled with historic cabins, because of the elevation and winter snow only 3 people live there year round. We were fortunate to stay in the cozy Moose Creek Cabin.
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| Stream behind cabin. |
At this juncture in our trip we meet up with Texas friends the Arnolds, Gietzens, and Curtis family. We enjoyed exploring the trails, cooking out, playing cards, rafting, and even some square dancing with this fun crew!
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| Photo bombing courtesy of Josh and Elise Arnold. |
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| Top of American Flag Mountain |
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Enjoying the fire pit behind the cabin.
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One of our favorite stops is the mining town of St. Elmo. There is not much to St. Elmo, but there is an area where the girls can hand feed chipmunks.
Frenchy's Cafe in Tin Cup has wonderful food and apparently a grand breakfast!
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| The morning Scott took the girls to breakfast.... |
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| and let them order anything they wanted. |
This year we tried something new, white water rafting. This was an AWESOME experience mixed with rain, a little hail, and lots of smiles.
Every year we take a “girls shopping day”. This year we ventured into Gunnison. We visited our favorite ornament and ice cream shop.
A new stop for us on Main Street was the Open Your Eyes Gallery. Grace purchased a beautiful landscape print. The photographer happened to be in the gallery that day and he graciously signed her print and posed for a picture.
Back on the trails
One day we rode to the town of Pitkin for lunch at the Pitkin Cafe. Then we rode and hiked up to the Alpine Tunnel.
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| Pitkin Cafe in Pitkin, Co |
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| Alpine Tunnel |
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| Exploring the Alpine Tunnel and Tracks |
Last Stop
In the Gunnison National Forest there are many old abandoned miner cabins. In one of theses cabins grows a Christmas tree where people leave ornaments and nicknacks. This year each girl tied a pink bandanna to the tree. We hope there are still there when we return.
A little crazy at the end, but we had a wonder Summer adventure!
We rode into Silverton and checked out the train that runs between Durango and Silverton and had lunch.
Frenchy's Cafe in Tin Cup has wonderful food and apparently a grand breakfast!
A new stop for us on Main Street was the Open Your Eyes Gallery. Grace purchased a beautiful landscape print. The photographer happened to be in the gallery that day and he graciously signed her print and posed for a picture. 
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