Travel

Chickasaw National Recreation Area

Published on by Casey

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.

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Outside Pavilion Springs is also where I was attacked by this praying mantis that did NOT want his picture taken. True story.

PrayingMantis

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.

SweatyLogan

El Reno, Oklahoma

Published on by Casey

Oklahoma is rich in 19th century history – the era of my heart! A large chunk of that history lives in El Reno. And in the 21st century, El Reno continues to be in the news for a deadly EF-4/5 tornado that ravished part of the town in May. We did drive through where the tornado touched down and saw plenty of evidence of its existence. Very eerie.

But for the sake of this post, we will travel back to the later part of the 1800s.

El Reno was the starting point for two major land runs in Oklahoma when the Indian territories were opened up for homesteading (well done, America).

BoundaryRun BoundaryLine

 El Reno was also the home a military fort from 1875-1908, known as Fort Reno.

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The fort was established to help curtail Indian uprising. Even though the fort was abandoned in 1908, it was later used as a POW camp for Axis POWs from Europe during WW2. Please tell me I’m not the only one who finds it odd that the US military transported POWs all the way from Europe to Oklahoma…

The fort also had a very fascinating cemetery.  A Chinaman, and an Indian scout were not allowed to be buried near the whites, and the POWs also had their own designated burial area. There were also too many unknown and infant graves. 🙁

ChinamanIndianScout

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And for any of your roadies, Historic Route 66 also runs through downtown El Reno! If you’re ever along that journey, be sure to stop in Sid’s Dinner for delicious burgers! Just don’t expect to be able to eat inside!

Oklahoma!

Published on by Casey

…where the wind comes sweeping down the plain!

This summer our vacation has taken us on a road trip to Oklahoma. Why Oklahoma you ask? Well, it’s a state I’ve never been to, for starters. But most importantly, one of my best friends, Melissa, graduated from the police academy and we went to celebrate with her!

Mel&Casey

This lovely lady and I have been friends for over 20-years! But when we’re together, you’d never know that we only see each other every few years. Noah and I were so determined to not miss her graduation ceremony that we drove straight through the night to get from Colorado to Oklahoma in time! Only, our exhaustion instigated a mandatory nap-time once we arrived that almost caused us  to oversleep and need to rush to the graduation! But we made it! Whew!

By the way, if you ever visit Oklahoma – don’t use Apple Maps.

Vegas Vacation

Published on by Casey

It sounds a bit cliche to say we spent “New Year’s in Vegas”, but we did, sort of. Technically we were in Henderson, right outside of Vegas proper, and only went into Vegas to look at guns and airplanes. Oh boy, it sounds bad when put together like that.

In reality, my lovely cousin Bonny and her husband, Sonny, asked us to visit them for New Year’s. As Noah and I both had time off work we jumped at the opportunity to get out of town for a few days and headed out on the open road. Twelve hours of night driving was worth the visit. We had not seen Bonny and Sonny since a quick stop-over in 2010. We had a fabulous time as evidenced by the following photos:


Bonny lovin’ on Logan (like it’s hard)

 
Dog bone crowned princesses

Happy New Year!

May 2013 bring you great times with good friends!

A Trip to CA

Published on by Casey

The plan was for Noah to travel to California to refinish the floors in my parents house. I had some time off work, so Logan and I hitched along and made a vacation out of it. Not only did Logan get to spend time with both sets of grandparents, his aunt and uncles, he also had his inaugural trip to the beach!

With any luck you can view pictures here. If I need to give you permission, let me know. I can’t recall how I set up the site.

Up, UP and Away – Day 2, Part 2

Published on by Casey

One of the most photographed set of mountains of the US are the Maroon Bells. I’ve wanted to visit these majestic peaks, which are near Aspen, but never wanted to make the 4-hour trek just for them. Since we were in the area I added them onto our itinerary. The plan was to visit them Saturday after the launch, but the rain made that impossible. Worked out better anyway since the weather was perfect on Sunday! Mid 60s and sunny! I was hoping for more fall colors, but since Aspen had snow well into May this year, the turning of the colors was delayed.  I think I still got some spectacular photos, regardless.

You can find additional pictures here!

Up, UP and Away – Day 2, Part 1

Published on by Casey

The good weather from Saturday afternoon continued into Sunday, which means — the balloon launch was a go!


Look who’s in the balloon basket!


Looking down at the balloon festival (I LOVE this shot!)

 
Snowmass Village from a couple hundred feet up in the air!

 
Even Humpty Dumpty was there!

Do you see Noah & Logan in the background? Neither do I…

I was placed with Michael and “Old Yeller, who came all the way up from Albuquerque. I’ll tell you what, when you’re short, it’s not as easy as it looks to get into the basket. There’s a small foot step but that doesn’t help much when the remaining distance is still the length of your inseam! Plus, inside the basket was already the pilot, Michael, and three fuel canisters. Once I was situated, a 9-year old boy joined in. He was lifted in by his dad and made a much more graceful entrance.  Logan cried until we took off.

Halfway through the ride we touched down and swapped out the boy for his dad. Then I was squished between two grown men and the fuel canisters. There really is not a lot of wiggle room in those baskets. I pretty much only had as much space and my footprint. However, it didn’t distract from the experience.

Snowmass had set up targets around the golf course and in the neighboring fields for the balloonists to hit with tennis balls.  The targets were inner tubes and each balloon had numbered balls (for the record I was in balloon #23). Unfortunately for us, even though there was not a lot of wind that morning, whenever we got close to our target the wind would shift and move us away. We never did get close enough to drop the balls.

Most of the time we were around 250-feet above the ground (appx 8400-feet above sea level). At our highest we were probably 300-350-feet up in the air. I am not afraid of heights, but it was a little nerve-wracking at the initial lift off when I realized that if something happened to the balloon we would plummet to the ground like a rock. But the scenery soon took over that thought. I also chit-chatted with the 9-year old to help calm him.

We were up in the air for just under an hour before we landed in someone’s front yard. Not like it mattered, 65% of the houses in Snowmass Village are vacation homes and the one we landed in front of easily fit into the category.  A bunch of teenie bobber girls did come by to gawk.

After collapsing the balloon and stuffing it into a bag we headed back to the field, where Noah and Logan met us, and enjoyed a champagne toast to commemorate a successful flight.

It was a fantastic experience and one that I would not might doing again! Next year, we’re going to try to go to the balloon festival in Albuquerque. Maybe we’ll run into Michael and “Old Yeller”.  Which reminds me, I need to send him some of the pictures we took.

Want to see more photos? Go here.

Up, UP and Away – Day 1

Published on by Casey

Twitter is good for something other than getting news stories before anyone else. It’s also good for communicating with some of my favorite companies – like Chobani Greek Yogurt (@Chobani). Yum!

Last week I complained about a bad cup of yogurt, on twitter, and got a response from the company. I started to follow them, and learned that they were going to be at a hot air balloon festival near Aspen. Well, you must know by now that I have an affinity for balloon festivals.  I told Noah about the launch, not really expecting that we would make the nearly 4 hour drive to go to it. Chobani had a twitter contest to win one of 10 hot air balloon rides. Now, riding in a hot air balloon is pretty high on my proverbial bucket list but it’s expensive (the companies in Boulder run around $250/per person). Never expecting to win, I entered the contest on Tuesday.

Wednesday morning, over breakfast, I casually mentioned to Noah that I entered for a chance to go up in a balloon. That same day I had mention on facebook that I was giving away Rockies tickets. After I dropped Logan off at daycare I checked my phone to see if I had any bites, when lo and behold! I had a tweet from Chobani telling me that if I could make it to Snowmass I won one of the rides! [Insert OMG moment here] I think I literally squealed and bounced up and down in my car. I called Noah and said, “Guess what? We’re going to Snowmass this weekend!”

Last month I entered a text contest with a local radio station and received a response that I won tickets to a concert in Cheyenne only to find out that the station goofed and I didn’t actually win.  So,  Noah and I were a little weary about booking a hotel just yet until I had more specific details. We decided to stay in Glenwood Springs because it was along I-70, cheaper and had more stuff to do, then we would just drive down to Snowmass (about 35 min from Glenwood).


Logan loved the bed in the hotel!

 


The view from our hotel room.

I was scheduled to go up Saturday morning. Now, it had rained all Friday night, and was still raining Saturday morning as we got to the field. Not a good sign, but I still held some hope. Alas, I was not surprised when the event was cancelled for the day.  But that only meant I had to bug Chobani about what was to happen next. Could I go up on Sunday? By the afternoon I was informed that everything would be done on Sunday to get me up in a balloon but Snowmass could not make any promises. Fingers and toes were immediately crossed that everything would work out. I really wanted to go up in a balloon!

Did I forget to mention that it rained just about all day on Saturday? So the hikes we had planned were also cancelled. At least he seemed to rain the heaviest at a part of the day that nicely coordinated with nap time.

We did go down to Aspen after after the balloon festival was cancelled. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t what I saw. Plus, it was still so early on in the day that nothing was open except for a couple of (expensive) cafes. There was a farmer’s market, but we didn’t want to wonder around it in the rain.

Despite the rain, we were given periods of false hope of clearing weather by sneaky peaks of sunshine and thinning clouds. At one point it finally looked like it was clearing so ventured out to ride the Gondola to the top of Iron Mountain. Only to get there and find out that they were shutting it down because another storm was moving in. And voila! No sooner were we back in the car before the monsoon hit.

While waiting for the weather to clear we visited a cozy historical museum. It was great to learn a bit about the local timeline.  There was a young girl there with her mom, I’d guess she was about 10 years old. She noticed a typewriter and asked her mom what it was. (!!) I could not help but snicker out loud when she equated returning the carriage to pressing the enter button on a computer. Am I so old now that I’m shocked that the youth of today are ignorant to devices I had growing up?

We were finally able to make it up the mountain a couple hours later, and it was worth the wait! The skies had cleared and the scenery was just breath-taking!


Glenwood Canyon, looking east from the top of Iron Mountain

Also at the top of the mountain was an adventure park. There were cave tours (of which you could not pay me to take), a roller coaster down the mountain, bungee jumping, live music and several other fun activities. Logan was on the verge of a meltdown, but we still managed to get a few picture.

 

 

Additional pictures can be found here.

Home Again, Home Again

Published on by Casey

Our original plan was to leave California on the 28th and return home on the 29th.  However, Mother Nature had some other plans – Utah and the mountains were going to get slammed with heavy snow.  We didn’t want to drive through the Rockies and risk driving on very icy roads or having the interstate shut down and be stuck/delayed in the middle of nowhere.  So, we decided to push back our departure to the 29th and return via the Southern route, which is longer, but not as mountainous. 

We left around 8:00 the morning of the 29th, in the rain (it rained all but 3 days of our vacation, and they were not consecutive).  In talking with friends before our vacation, I was told to expect to add 1-2 hours onto our journey when traveling with kids.  This is true.  On the way out we would stop so I could nurse Logan.  This took forever as he was distracto-boy and only wanted to look around at everything else going on around him.  So, on the way back home, I decided it would be easier and more time-efficient to pump and give him a bottle.  This did save time, but when you take burping, diaper changes and walking the dog at pit stops, into account, we easily still would take an extra 30-60 minutes during meal time.  Plus, on the way home, our first meal stop was near Flagstaff, AZ where we were driving through snow, which of course made travel slower.  It wasn’t what we would consider bad road conditions, but we could tell a lot of the other travelers were not used to driving in snow. 

The snow came and went off and on as we headed to our hotel in Gallup, NM.  Knowing we were going to be late, I called the hotel when we had barely crossed from CA into AZ, and alerted them that we would be a late arrival.  Always a good thing to help ensure your room is still there when you arrive!  When we were about 100 miles away from Gallup, the hotel called me to check if we were still planning on staying there tonight.  By this point it was about 10pm.  I told the woman that yes we were and that we were about 100 miles away.  Noah and I thought it was strange that they called to double check even though I had called earlier, but we just chalked it up to separate employees and a lack of internal communication.

By the time we finally made it to the hotel we were all car weary.  The snow was pretty heavy in Gallup and the city streets were very slick.  So much so, that Noah was unable to turn into the hotel driveway the first pass-by and had to make a u-turn in a parking lot up the street.  Thank goodness that around 11pm there was not a lot of traffic on that road, because as Noah headed back to the hotel the car slid on some ice and we started to spin out.  Scary, but Noah is an excellent driver and had us headed straight and safely into the hotel parking lot in no time.  🙂  Inside the hotel, when I announced my name to the receptionist for check-in she responded with, “Finally!”  Not in an exasperated way, but a hurrah! You made it with all the snow!  During that process another woman came in and asked if they had any rooms and the receptionist responded that they were booked full due to the snow.  Ah! So now the phone call made sense!  Thankfully our room was still held for us (and if it wasn’t that hotel would have had to face my wrath, which is not pretty).  After 14-hours of traveling, we were so happy to make it up to our room and beyond thrilled at just how awesome our suite was!  Too bad Logan didn’t want to let us sleep in it.

The morning of the 30th, we set out early again, as we had another long drive ahead and a winter storm to contend with as we approached home.  More snow off and on in New Mexico, but nothing we couldn’t handle.  I actually enjoyed going through New Mexico a LOT more than Utah.  There are so many types of geography!  Mesas, rocky mountains, grasslands, etc!  And with the snow, it was quite lovely!  It lasted forever, like Utah does, but at least the scenery was nicer!

The worst part of the drive home happened when we were in Fountain, CO.  The roads were very icy, so Noah put the chains on the car.  The problem with that is with chains our top speed was 30mph.  We were so close to home and yet so far when we all wanted nothing more than to be out of the car and off of the icy roads.  Plus, I had chosen to sit cramped in the backseat to help entertain Logan.  Cramped might actually be an understatement as I either had to sit on my legs or squeeze them behind Logan’s car seat and angled into the front.  Finally, a little after 11pm and after 15 hours of traveling we made it home!

Now that everything from the trip is cleaned up and put away, time to put my feet up, watch a movie and ring in the new year in piece and quiet.  Nah, who am I kidding, I will lay on the floor playing with Logan, and pause the movie at least twice to tend to the baby’s needs, or laundry, and quite possibly fall asleep before midnight.  🙂

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Published on by Casey

Christmas is always a very special day where we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.  This time last year Noah and I were on several planes making our way to Ireland.  This year, were are enjoying Christmas festivities with our families and celebrating our son’s 9-month birthday!

 

Here are his updated stats from what we measured:

Weight: 22-pounds, 6.4-ounces (fully-clothed)
Height: 28.5-inches
Head: 18.25-inches

On the 21st, Logan’s first tooth broke through!  Despite my consistent checking, Auntie Gretna was the one to feel the *CHOMP* on her finger first.  It won’t be long before his second tooth pops up!  I would attempt to post a picture but Logan won’t hear of it.  Despite his lack of showing off his new tooth, teething as not created any additional drama for the boy.  Hopefully all of his teeth will be this low-key!

Gramma and Grampap have been thrilled to spend so much time with Logan and are enjoying spoiling him – like with a new jumper!   This is by far his favorite gift!  If it were up to him, he would spend all of his time jumping away.  If you’re holding him, he’ll bounce against you to let you know he wants to jump around!

This kid totally made out for Christmas too, commandeering an entire side of the tree just for his gifts (not including the stocking)!  He was given many new toys, outfits, and books!  There’s no denying how much this little boy is loved! Click here for pictures from the first part of our trip, and here for more Christmas photos!

As Christmas comes to a close, I hope you and yours have had a day filled with family, friends, fun, and food!  And don’t forget that Jesus is the true reason for the holiday!

Merry Christmas from the Baileys!