A fun getaway to the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden.
Family
Autumn Fun
What child doesn’t enjoy playing in giant piles of leaves??
Happy Halloween!
Smart Elk Don’t Become Food
This year Noah entered the draw for either a deer or an elk tag, and actually received an elk tag. Yay! In Colorado, large game hunting licenses are distributed via a lottery draw, so there’s no guarantee you’ll get one. So you can imagine our excitement, and the tag was for the first season (rifle).
Noah’s dad flew out to go with and spend some quality time with his youngest son. I stayed home with Logan and attempted to get my child to sleep at a decent time so I could concentrate on homework.
After a week of hiking up and down mountains, sleeping in the camper, and trudging through snow, the guys saw plenty of deer but few elk. Unfortunately, the elk had not really started to come down from their high summer grounds. Thus, no yummy elk steaks will grace our table this year. 🙁
Hopefully, next year Noah can get another tag and have better luck. At least he got to enjoy some time with his dad and Logan got to spend a couple of days with Grandpa.
The Camper’s Inagural Trip
Labor Day weekend equals a prime opportunity to take our camper out on for it’s first foray into the mountains. Since we’re (me more so than Noah) new to camping in Colorado, we have been selecting a different area each time we go camping. In May, we went to Granby. For this trip we went to Yampa River, near Craig and Steamboat and invited some friends to come along.
If you pay attention, you may also notice some changes we’ve made to the inside of the camper since we purchased it. And no, we didn’t get a new truck. That one is a rental, ours was in the shop for an extensive repair.
And of course, more spectacular sunsets!
The Pitter Patter of Not So Little Feet
Meet the newest edition to our family: Hurricane!
Hurricane, is a purebred pointer puppy we rescued from the local Humane Society. She is rambunctious, full of energy, but has the sweetest disposition.
A Kansas Day for Logan
Well, hello there, Kansas!
We would have had Logan pose in front of this sign, but he was asleep at the time. Bummer.
However, he has been such a good sport going along on all of our bus driver field trips, we decided to do something he would particularly enjoy – going to the zoo!
Apparently, in August, in Wichita, most people go to the zoo early in the morning before it gets hot. Several bottles of water and ice cream cones later, we understood why.
Kansas weather was also not as nice to us Oklahoma weather. I did not appreciate being up half the night paranoid that the severe thunderstorm ravishing Wichita would turn tornadic.
Farewell Oklahoma!
Dear Oklahoma,
Thank you for the wonderful storm free weather and fantastic history lessons. ‘Til we meet again!
Washita Battlefield
And now we shall travel back in time again to the year of 1868 where General Custer led a surprise (and unprovoked) attack on a peacefully, slumbering Cheyenne and Arapaho village. There were over 250 people wintering along the Washita River that fateful morning, most to be slaughtered in nothing short of genocide. You can read about the battle here.
The Washita Battlefield National History Site is a well-maintained and sacred area for the Cheyenne and Arapaho. We were lucky on our visit, in that we were the only visitors that morning and were able to have a privately-guided tour by the park ranger.
Looking around the field, in August, it was difficult to picture a foot of snow on the ground and 50 lodges (teepees) throughout the vicinity.
It was also sobering to imagine the massacre that occurred where we stood. To call it a battle seems unjustified, given the nature of the attack. The ranger did an excellent job of telling us the history of the area and the battle that ensued. He was also pleased that we had Logan participate in the walk and lesson, even those he’s only three years old, and that Logan was not just along for the ride with an electronic device stuck to his face.
If you’re ever in western Oklahoma, enjoy19th century US history and want to be disgusted at white people, visiting the battle site should definitely be on your agenda!
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Upon never have been to Oklahoma before, I was expecting flat, treeless and brown. What we experienced was rolling hills, a decent amount of trees and green, lots of green. The influx and green and trees was expounded when we headed south to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. The Recreation Area featured several natural mineral springs, some of which you could even drink from. I refused given the high stench of sulfur, but Noah partook. Logan was not a fan.
Outside Pavilion Springs is also where I was attacked by this praying mantis that did NOT want his picture taken. True story.
There were also several swimming holes, full of overweight and mostly naked hicks. This is what people expect to see in the South. According to the information on the NPS website and at the visitor center, there were also several hiking trails, but given all the natural water sources it was just WAY too humid for this dry-air Coloradoan family.
