Sydney Fuller

RV Trip - Leadville

After leaving the Sand Dunes we decided to head towards our next destination instead of staying at our reserved site in Hooper. The pool was closed for the day for cleaning and there was not much of anything nearby. Our next stop would be Leadville. Daddy would be running in the Leadville 100 training camp for the weekend. We booked a site at the Mayqueen campground directly on Turquoise Lake. This would be a new one for us. We normally camp on the other side of the lake. But, given this was to be a trip about new adventures we decided to give it a try. And lucky for us we did because it was great. Not as woodsy at Silver Dollar campground. But you had lake views and easy water access.

The first day we ate in Leadville and took Daddy to his training camp sign up. We took it easy the rest of the day. Kids rode their bikes/scooters around the campground and made some friends with the neighboring kids. We also made more campfire s’mores. Just before sunset Daddy and Sydney decided to go for one more ride to the lake. Their creative (or silly) sides took over and they took some shots of each other posing at the lake.

The next day Dad was off to his camp most of the day. Mommy and the girls spent a few hours playing at the lake. The water was freezing but the big girls seem to be immune to the temps. They found themselves off in imaginary places while wading from rock to rock in the shallows.

Soon the “Look at me’s!” started and Mom was being summoned to take pictures of the girls in different poses and other hard to reach areas.

We had the dancer…

And Syd on the rock really, really, really far away.

We then got into a bit of a rock throwing contest. It was Mom and Reagan against Sydney. We would grab the biggest rocks we could find and throw them in the water close to the enemy. The goal was to see if you could make a splash big enough to soak your opponent. I think its easy to say Reagan and I won big time. We had a better element of surprise. We then headed back to the RV for lunch. Afterwards, the girls spent more time riding bikes and scooters while Kayla and I watched from our blanket.

Then being the Mom that I am, I had the girls pose for a few shots around the campground. And being the little girls that they are, they ran around looking for the best spots.

We had the “rickety old fence”

The “peeking out from the trees”

The “sitting like a lady”

And the overall campground shot

The next morning Dad would be running around the Twin Lakes area. So we opted to have him drive us all there and we would hang out in Twin Lakes. So we plopped the kids all in Mom and Dad’s bed and Dad drove us to Twin Lakes. All while the kids were sound asleep. We were running low on milk and breakfast supplies so we hoped to buy more at local store. But, nothing was open. One woman who rented out cabins must have felt bad for us because she invited us in to eat with her customers. Very nice.

Other then that there wasn’t much to do. So we hung out in the RV and played games until Dad got back. Then we packed up and headed out for our final destination, Home!

So what did we think of RV’ing. The kids loved it. The parents loved it. Never a complaint. It was great having all your stuff within your constant reach. Easy to pull off into any parking lot and eat, go to the bathroom, or just relax. We will definitely be doing this again. Probably even next summer. Not ready to buy one as you can only use them a few months a year. The rental is definitely the way to go.

Video for our time in Leadville.

RV Trip - Great Sand Dunes National Park

The next stop on the Fuller 2010 RV vacation would be to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. We decided to stay at the Sand Dunes Swimming Pool & RV Park in Hooper which was about 20 minutes from the National Park. They had their own huge 100+ degree hot spring pool which we figured the kids would enjoy. Which they did but they also found plenty of time to complain about how the pool was too hot. The actual RV park mounted up to a glorified parking lot but the pool was our main purpose for the stay. We swam in the pool for a good 4 hours and then cooked a nice dinner in the RV and called it a night.

The next morning we packed up our home on wheels and made the short drive over to the Sand Dunes. These things were much larger then I had expected. You could see them for miles.

There is a stream that flows at the base of the dunes starting in the spring time. As the summer approaches the water flow slowly diminishes until it is gone completely. We knew we would be nearing the low flow period but this was the only time of year we could come. We had about 2 inches of water compared to the knee to thigh high water around Memorial Day. The other problem this time of year would be the mosquitos. They live in the brush around the stream and are relentless this time of year. As long as you stayed up river and covered yourself in OFF you were good.

Sydney and Reagan ran around for a good two hours in the stream acting like crazy ladies. They would splash each other, cover each other in the wet sand, and mostly play chase.

Quick, a group picture before they take off again…

Kayla was loving the water as it was just the perfect depth for her to play in. Sydney would let Kayla cover her in sand and then wash it away to give her a new canvas. Syd was also in charge of making sure Kayla didn’t eat the sand but as you can see that was soon a lost cause. Sometimes you just gotta let babies be babies.

Pretty soon the kids realized that there was more to this place than water. They were also surrounded by sand. So they took the game of chase onto the wet sand.

The look of pure joy!

It wasn’t long before Sydney started showing off her hand standing skills.

What else is wet sand good for? Drawing, of course. The girls grabbed sticks and were writing all sorts of love messages and pictures in the sand.

While all this was going on Daddy was running up to the top of the dunes. Sydney decided to make him a message in the sand to see if he could see it from the top.

Soon Daddy was back and he pulled out the big guns. The girls had gotten metal detectors for Christmas and Dad remembered to pack them along for just this occasion. We didn’t think there would be too much buried treasure here so he buried a few coins around us just to be safe.

We ate lunch on the sand under our umbrella and played in the sand for most of the day. Daddy and the girls made a trek out to the dunes but the dry sand was too hot to enjoy them too much. A ranger came by for a kid info session. They learned how the dunes were made and what kind of weird creatures made this their home. They even completed their workbooks to be inducted as junior rangers. And that was pretty much our day. Here are a few more of my favorite pictures. They were just to beautiful to leave out. Hope you think so as well.

My absolute favorite picture of the day.

It is probably worth noting that the hills above us were being consumed by a three week long forest fire. The day before the sky was completely blanketed with smoke as we swam in the hot springs pool. Fortunately the winds had died down for our day at the Dunes. But you were constantly reminded by the fire every time you looked up. It was cool to be so close yet be so safe.

We stopped to take one more picture on our way out of the park. I think its safe to say we’ll be back. Probably even next Memorial Day weekend. We’d like to see the park while the stream is heavier. Until then.

Our video at Great Sand Dunes National Park.

RV Trip - Durango and Mesa Verde National Park

Our next stop would be in the town of Durango. We picked this location because it was within a few miles of Mesa Verde which is one of Colorado’s four National Parks. We also found a great campground in Durango called the Durango Riverside Resort. It would turn out to be our favorite camp of the trip. As we pulled into new campsites the girls loved playing in the RV front window.

Our RV site was directly riverside so the kids were able to climb down the little hill to go play in the river. We were lucky to be located at a point in the river with a shallow wading area for fun and safe play.

The event for the next morning would be Mesa Verde National Park. We bought tickets to see the Cliff House. It is one of the larger and more popular cliff dwellings in the park. We got to our scheduled tour a bit early so we parked the RV and made lunch. One of the perks of Rv’ing.

The tour starting point was at the top of one of the cliffs. There were large rocks everywhere and of course the girls had to see if they could conquer climbing them.

As we waited for the park ranger Sydney asked to take a few pictures with our camera. Here is one she took of the family. I think it turned out pretty good for her first try.

You could see other smaller dwellings throughout the surrounding Mesa tops. Sydney was especially good at pointing these out.

Here is a shot of the Cliff House right before our tour began. As you can see we would have to climb down a bit for the tour.

Soon the ranger arrived and we headed down the stone staircase to the cliff dwelling. The girls thought this was awesome as we curved down and around.

One more shot as we got a bit closer.

The ranger would stop to tell us all about the dwellings and answer any questions. Sydney was always seen with her hand up for questions. Some were actually good. This particular dwelling was thought to be the gathering place or city for the area. They thought this due to the enormity of this dwelling compared to the others excavated so far. It also housed many “kivas” or worship centers where many others only contained one.

Here we are at the top of one of the kivas. They were large circular caverns in the ground. At the time they would have been covered with a thick thatch roof with a ladder in the center for entrance. Later in the tour we were able to climb down into one kiva but it was too dark inside for photos.

The ancient pueblos who lived here would farm and hunt on the mesa top above the homes which meant they had to climb up and down the slick sandstone with their hands and feet. Lucky for us the park system installed these stairs for us as we weaved up a crack in the sandstone for our exit.

Some parts of our climb were too tight and steep for stairs so we had to maneuver up these ladders. I’d say this was one of the kids favorite parts.

Later, back at the campsite we let the kids unwind at the playground and swimming pool. What would a old west playground be without its own stagecoach?

After dinner Dad started up the campfire for some smores. Most marshmallows were burnt beyond recognition as the kids just liked to watch them burn. But, Sydney was also able to perfect her roasting skills for the perfect smore.

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing by the fire.

And getting extra cozy.

The next morning we took some more photos by the river as we packed up to say goodbye to Durango.

On the way out we saw this on the side of the road and decided we’d better stop for all the roadside attractions that Durango had to offer. This was just one more of many hot springs in the area.

Video of our time in Durango.

Video from Mesa Verde National Park.

The Durango activities scored a thumbs up for the kids. Mesa Verde was definitely a gotta see someday if you haven’t already. And I’m sure we’ll be back to tour more dwellings in the future. But, for now its pack up and move on!

RV Trip - Million Dollar Highway

After one night in Ouray it was time to pack up and move on to our next destination. Today our drive would take us on the road nicknamed the “Million Dollar Highway.” This was the one road we were a bit nervous to take the RV on. Supposedly there are some wicked curves and steep dropoffs. But, our driver did a great job once again. Only a few moans from the back seat today. The highway got its nickname from the great views along the way. We of course stopped and took a few pictures throughout the day.

Here is the family (minus the sleeping baby) as we say goodbye to the town of Ouray below us. I think you’ll see why we love it so.

We would get out for all sorts of vista points. One of the more impressive was this huge waterfall. I am not good with distances but it was definitely one of the higher waterfalls I have seen in Colorado. You could hear the great force behind the water.

Here are a few shots from the various vista points along the way.

There was a sign posted here calling this the “Switzerland of the Americas.”

The girls would start crying due to the cold winds. But its amazing how a hug and a photo with Mommy can cheer them up immediately.

We stopped in the small town of Silverton to take a lunch break and spread out our legs. There was a bustling little shopping district for such a small town. One had to wonder how they were able to support all the stores. We weren’t there too long before we figured out how as the train pulled in and hundreds of people disembarked. Apparently you can take the train from Durango to Silverton. Seems like a huge tourist attraction that we will have to keep in mind for next time.

The kids picked up some good posters from the friendly ranger station and we were on our way to the next campground. If you have to spend the day driving, the Million Dollar Highway was definitely the way to go.

RV Trip - Ouray

Next stop, Ouray! While living in California, Brandon and I once flew out to spend a few days in southern Colorado. One of our favorite spots during that trip was Ouray. It was and still is one of the most beautiful towns we have ever been.

Ouray is also home to its own natural hot springs so we took the opportunity to take the kids. They love being in the water. With having no body fat the warm spring water made for much happier kids.

The RV Park in Ouray was right in the middle of town. Which made walking around much easier. Although the park itself had great views so the girls took turns getting their pictures taken in front of the views.

We were parked along the river. So of course Sydney had to do her best pose. Sydney carried her own camera around the entire trip and was very into taking her own photos. So every pose had to be taken with first my camera and then Sydney’s.

One more with the RV!

And lastly a group photo.

Enjoy some video of our time in Ouray.

We only stayed in Ouray one night before we were onto our next destination. We had too many new places to see. But it was once again worth the stop.

RV Trip - Lake City

Its time for our first ever Summer RV trip across southern Colorado! Wednesday we headed down to Golden to pick up our rental RV. We had tried to rent a smaller RV thinking it would be easier for me to drive. But, they were all out so we were stuck with the big 32 foot machine. But, as it turns out it was easy to maneuver and we enjoyed having the extra space.

As soon as we drove into the driveway the girls immediately began filling the RV with all their crap. This meant all their guys. The cool thing about RV’ing is that you are not confined to a car seat for the drive. The kitchen table had built in seat belts so the girls got to play games and make crafts while we drove. The ride in the back of the RV did get a little bumpy at times. Especially as Daddy was getting used to things. At one point, he took a wide turn and we all flew to the side. With no compassion for her poor Dad Sydney yelled, “Learn to drive this thing already!” That gave us all a smile.

First stop for the trip was to be Lake City, Colorado. Daddy would be running in the 50 mile San Juan Solstice as training for Leadville this August. Lake City was a pretty small town with a cute little old west feeling downtown area with a few shops. The big draw for the kids was the playgrounds.

Here is a picture of the girls with the big rig at our Lake City Campground.

A glimpse at meal times in the RV.

RV parks don’t always have a lot of entertainment so we had to make up some of our own for the kids. For me this meant trips to the playground or walks. But Brandon had his own activities. Come to think of it this may come in handy in the future.

During the big race we hung out at the city park to cheer on the runners as they stumbled over the finish line. Sydney found some great climbing trees to kill some time.

Then as Daddy came across the line his girls where there to cheer him in. Here is a picture of the gang post race.

Enjoy some video the girls took while in Lake City.

The next morning we woke up and packed up so that we could head out to the next destination. Stay tuned for more!

Denver Zoo Camp

Sydney just finished her first summer camp of the year which happened to also be one of her favorites. A week at the Denver Zoo camp is always fun. This year it seemed as though the kids had more Animal Encounters where they got to actually hold or pet the animals. Sydney talked of holding a porcupine, snake, baby owl, tree frog, and even got to feed a giraffe. Another great year!

The last day of camp is the big animal show for the kids and us parents can come along and see the kids sing a song. This year the weather was great! Until, the show was to start and the rain started. So the animal show was cancelled but at least we got to hear the songs. On the way to the car the rain picked up and the tornado warning buzzer started going off. I looked back at the kids in my rear view mirror and Sydney was praying. Cracked me up! So needless to say my pictures were foiled by the weather but I did manage to sneak one in before it got too bad.

Gymnastics Recital 2010

The girls had their big year end gymnastics show for the year. Its a good way for the kids to show off what they have learned throughout the year in gymnastics. Here are a few blurry action shots and a video.

The medal presentation!