July 8, 2007
Meredith:

Wolf Creek Pass was quite an experience in the dark and rain. But we made it -- and even saw three large deer along the way. Daddy and Jan (a.k.a. Grandpa and Grandma) already had our tent set up, and luckily the area was fairly dry. The night passed fine, except for one nose bleed (L) and one nighttime pee in the bushes (N).
Today we (Daddy, Jan, the boys and I, Gary, Carole, Amy, and little Ryan) all visited the town of Creede and also went to a place called Fremon's for hamburgers. A hike to a waterfall at Bristolhead (Daddy and Gary did fly fishing), then a drive to Clear Creek Falls -- a final return to Creede ended the main activities. The hike at Bristolhead was short but scenic, and the falls at Clear Creek were simply stunning.
Tomorrow we visit the mines in the Creede area. I'm sure I have more to add, but I'm tired!
Click image for more photos.
Logan:

Today was a fun day. We went hiking on a trail going by a waterfall. My favorite part of the day was meeting Twister and Bo the chihuahuas and Nanook and Sabrina the huskis (YAY FOR DOGS!!) Mom still says green chile cheezburgers are BLECh (maybe...).

We went to Creede, are going to a mine tomrrow, and will eat waffles. I forecast both rain and sunshine tomorrow.
Nolan:

CHAPTER 5: A Day at camp.

We're at camp and saw Grandma Jan and Grandpa George and Twister and bobo the to chihuaha and nanook and Sabrina the huskiy and we wet hiking and saw a water Fall that was huge.
July 9, 2007
Meredith:

Today was another Mom & sons adventure day!

This morning I got woken up by hummingbirds. Hummingbirds! They've been fighting over the feeders. They zoom and whir and sometimes do this feisty hummingbird chirp at one another. But this morning they were zipping around right above the tent, which is situated between six feeders (thanks to the new dead animal smell near our original tent spot).
But frankly I think it's pretty pleasant to be woken up by hummingbirds. I also saw two robins during my morning jog. Jogging in the mountains is quite the run-huff-puff-walk-run-huff-puff time! But the scenery can't be beat -- well, if you take out the RV park, that is.
After breakfast and showers, the boys and I drove to Creede to check out some mining history. We went to the Underground Mining Museum, where we enjoyed an audio tour through a tunnel with "scenes" from mines. They really went to a lot of trouble to show what mining was like. But the highlight event at the museum actually happened outside as we were leaving. The museum has become the home of at least 33 chipmunks and ground squirrels, and visitors can buy food with which to feed them. They are so tame they will take food from your hand and even crawl on you to seek it out. We spent close to an hour just sitting there feeding and taking pictures of the little critters. Their paws and fur are so soft. They like peanuts, corn kernels, and sunflower seeds -- in that order. The ground squirrels were the quickest to approach; the chipmunks were skittish if people moved suddenly.
Afterward we headed out to drive the Bachelor tour, a 17-mile drive that takes you to many old mines in the area. Soon after passing the first mine, the unpaved road headed up a very steep hill. The little hybrid go slower... and slower... and stopped. There was no going up that hill. But the scary part was that we had no choice but to back down the mountain -- on the dirt path with a cliff on the side. Luckily the cars behind us were still at the bottom of the hill and waited for us to get down.
I think the battery of the hybrid didn't have enough charge to get us up the hill. We drove around town for awhile and then attempted to follow the tour from the other direction. We went quite a ways up, but the car just never had much power, and I was getting nervous about getting to a part of the mountain we couldn't get up or down from. Plus, this was NOT the direction I wanted to be going -- we were on the cliff side. I found a place to turn around, and we headed back. But I was pleased we made it up as high as we did on that second attempt -- the view was really nice. But Grandpa will have to drive us to the mines in his Yukon.
OK -- I'll admit it -- it was scary at times. Glad to be not on that road now!
As I write this, I find myself once again mesmerized by the hummingbirds, who are at it again. The ruby-throated ones might be my favorite -- there is one whose main feathers are a mottled effect of red and green. I need to look and see whether they are all like this.
Tomorrow I'm taking the boys to Mesa Verde. I had no idea how close we were going to be on this trip -- when I realized it's only 2 hours away from where we are camping, it became a must- do.
I hope I'll actually get cell phone service on the trip. I hope Michael is doing well, and I wonder how he's been faring with the zoo. And tomorrow is Loki's first day at "school." I'm so excited for him. I hope he behaves and plays nicely with the other dogs!

The boys are in Pokemon mode talking to Grandma. She's as lost as I am when they do it around me.
Logan:

Right now we are on our way to the mine. Before that Twister knocked down Nolan and we had fun. We have cookies with us.

We are going to Creede. Peaches are ripening for ice cream. I see a mountian that looks like wind in a cartoon. This place is a crazy area!

We found chipmunks at the mine. I finally got to play putt-putt!

Hole-in-one: loop-de-loop, west.

Fun holes: loop-de-loop, pinball, loop turn.

Hard holes: windmill, dome volcano

Cookies: 2.5

Chipmunks: 7

Squirrels: 4

We went up on some scary mountians. The mine was cool. I liked the chipmunks/squirrels at the mine. I even got to pet one! At 8:00 AM I want to be there to see all 33. This will be a great trip!

Chipmunk picture:
The mountians were at Creede. The mine was in the mountian. The chipmunks/squirrels were at the mine. Uie dijqnvplt/tsvjrremt xere gvp!! (translation using the Code of Claw: The chipmunks/squirrels were fun!!) Here is some info on the mine: there are magnetic stones and light hats for sale, are some chipmunks/squirrels that you can feed for 25 cents, all 33 rodents come out of hiding at 8:00, you can pet them, the audio is slightly boring, and the mountian is steep for little cars. The chipmunks are cute and cuddly. I was able to pet one and one crawled on Nolan's shoulder!
Today was a humming bird day. In the morning mom was woken up by humming birds. The birds fought over six feeders. Suddenly they went away. I saw the culprit: a bee. It seems humming birds (hummers for short) are afraid of bees. Later I saw a bee, flying hummers, and two flys sticking their heads in feeders. The hummers won't like that...
Nolan:

CHAPTER 6: We're going to a mine.

We're going to a mine at a fire station and the mine is a museum. and the mine ihe town is called creede. and Logan whacked himself with a pencil. and we saw chipmunks and squirrels at a mine and it was a mineingmueum and it was Fun and mostly of Feeding the chipmunks and squirrels and we Finally go to play Golf and puttputt and it was Fun.
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