Kit Carson County Carousel (Burlington, CO)
Kit Carson County Carousel Wooden Token
This is the second time we have visited the Kit Carson Carousel. It sits on the edge of the Kit Carson County fairgrounds in the small town of Burlington, Colorado. The first time we visited the carousel we were driving Interstate 70 from Colorado to Kansas to visit family. We were looking for a good place to stop for a little bit and stretch our legs. It was such a neat place to visit we told other family members about it and the next time we were driving through we stopped to share the experience with them!
The carousel was #6 of the 74 carousels made by Philadelphia Toboggan Company. It was made in 1905 for the Elitch Gardens amusement park and was used until 1927. In 1928 Kit Carson County purchased the carousel for $1,200 (the price included shipping).
The carousel animals are stationary with three animals per row. The original Wurlitzer band organ has been restored and plays music when the carousel is in motion. The carousel is inside a 12 sided framed building on the edge of the fair grounds with a museum and small gift shop beside it. It is the only antique carousel that still has the original paint on both the panels and animals. Most modern carousel go approximately 8 mph, however, the Kit Carson one goes a whopping 12 mph.
The carousel has quite an interesting history. During the Great Depression the carousel spent several years in storage. They local town stored grain inside the building that housed the carousel. At one point 3 of the animals were stolen and later found in another state. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1978 and National Historic Landmark in 1987.
If you are in the area or driving through on I70 we would encourage you to stop and explore this neat carousel. It only costs 25 cents to ride the carousel and $1 to visit the museum.
Riding the Kit Carson County Carousel
Flowers at the Kit Carson Carousel
Going for another ride on the carousel!
All smiles!
Kit Carson Carousel building
Other side of the wooden token!
Boy Oh Boy – NICU Time with Sweet Kaelan
Recently, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Colorado with family. My cousin Renelle Broughton (who is like a sister to me) had her little one early and was spending a big part of each day in NICU. I was able to spend time with her, her husband Eric, and their new sweet little one Kaelan! It was a precious time for me.
Words cannot express how honored and truly amazing it was me to spend time with this awesome Momma, caring Dad, and adorable little guy. Not to mention to have the chance to experience NICU from a totally different perspective from when the girls were in it over 10 years ago. Kaelan won my heart immediately and I am grateful for Renelle and Eric opening their home, sharing their precious boy with me, and everything during that crazy busy week.
Thankful for a chance to spend some extra time with my Aunt, Uncle, cousins, my parents, and other extended family over the weekend as well! Wish I lived closer to see them and their little guy grow up. Love you guys! Lots of hugs, kisses, and prayers always from South Carolina! Thankful for an awesome husband Jake Hayes for taking good care of our two chickies while I was in Colorado that week!
Goodies for Kaelan!
Renelle is like a sister to me and it was wonderful spending the week with her.
He was not happy about getting his footprints done and into the baby book, but his tiny little toes looked so stinkin cute afterwards!
Precious time with Renelle and her sweet little bundle of joy. I cannot tell you how amazing this week was for me to spend with her, Eric, and her adorable baby boy!Travel & Vacation: Cozy Cow Dairy (Windsor, CO)
Cozy Cow Dairy
On one of our trips to Colorado my cousin Renelle introduced us to Cozy Cow Dairy in Windsor, CO. It was a hot summer day and we were heading back to her house when we made a slight detour to the Cozy Cow Dairy. The girls LOVED it! Not only did they have amazing fresh chocolate milk, ice cream, cheeses, and more they had a farm animal petting zoo.
Before even going into the store we had to go by and say “hi” to each of the farm animals. They had some precious little ones so they girls thought it was so neat. After petting the animals and washing our hands we enjoyed some fresh chocolate milk and ice cream. It was DELICIOUS!!! It hit the spot on the hot summer day too. After our special treat we headed back outside to pet the farm animals once more before heading back to Renelle’s house. If you are in the Windsor area this is a great place to spot, cool down, and get a treat. The kids will probably enjoy the farm animals too!
Cozy Cow Dairy – “In the moo’d for something good?”
Black and white baby goat
Baby brown calf – he was so soft and small to touch
The girls loved this one. They said it looked like it had a crazy hear day, but it was as soft as a teddy bear!
Fresh milk, ice cream, cheeses, and more at Cozy Cow Dairy!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Animals at the Denver Zoo (Denver, CO)
Elephant on the move
Our kids love animals. On one of our trips to Colorado we had an opportunity to go to the Denver Zoo with extended family. The kids had a blast. It was neat seeing all the different animals, going to show, learning about the zoo animals, activities, and so much more. Thankful for a chance to go to the Denver Zoo with the kids.
If your family enjoys Zoo’s and you are in the Denver, Coloardo area you should check this one out. They have a lot of animals to see. The shows and activities are fun and very educational for the kids.
Hanging around and watching all the people walking by
Decided to make a move and head the other direction
Two of them moving along the rope now
Rhino munching on its hay.
We watched the penguin demonstration. They were happy to get treats!
Found something tasty to eat1
Elephant Show, this elephant was only a few feet in front of us. I was just hoping it wasn’t going to spray us. If you are at the Denver Zoo I highly recommend the elephant show, it was really neat. Kids and adults really enjoyed it!
Getting ready for the next act!
Getting ready to bow for the audience!
Didn’t want to look at us.
What animal is this!?
If you guess “camel” in the picture above you are correct. Never saw a camel lay down like that before.
This camel is either all stretched out or doing it’s yoga for the day!
Pretty giraffe’s hanging out together in the shade.
Sea lions swimming around!
Beautiful white arctic fox hiding in the log
Capybara still wet from his swim
Big snake….no a big fan of snakes so thankful when they are behind glass.
Gorgeous zebras enjoying some treats!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Big Thompson Indian Village (Colorado)
Big Thompson Indian Village
As I was going back over a few pictures from our 2012 trip to Colorado I noticed we had a handful from our stop at Big Thompson Indian Village. We made a stop at the Big Thompson Indian Village on our way back down the mountain from Estates Park, CO. Unfortunately, after being there for several decades Big Thompson Indian Village was destroyed in the 2013 flood.
The only thing left after the 2013 flood waters went through was the sign. Big Thompson Indian Village was a fun place to stop, stretch your legs, browse the gift shop, check out their huge tepee, and more. The store had been there for many years, but we had no idea that the next time we were in the area that it would be completely gone. Floods can wipe out many homes and businesses very quickly. At this time the owners do not plan on restoring the Big Thompson Indian Village so we may not be able to stop there again, but we are thankful for the chance to visit when we did!
Inside the tepee at the Big Thompson Indian Village
The kids LOVED the giant tepee. They thought it would be super neat to camp out in it!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Beaver Meadows and Road Trip (Colorado Rocky Mountains)
Cool rock formation next to Beaver Meadows
On our road trip through the Colorado Rocky Mountains we made several stops along the way to explore. One of the stops was at Beaver Meadows. The girls did ranger training and located all the items on the checklist. We enjoyed exploring at Beavers Meadows for a little bit. It is a beautiful area.
Beautiful Scenery
On the road again through the Rocky Mountains. The red sign shows the fire restrictions. They have had some big fires in the Rocky Mountains over the past few years.
Look at that curve in the road! We will not be speeding down this mountain!
This is going to be fun!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Alpine Visitor’s Center & Trail Ridge Road (Colorado Rocky Mountains)
We just came up that road
It was the kids first time in the Rocky Mountains so we decided to take them up Trail Ridge Road. We stopped at the Alpine Visitor’s Center and the Trail Ridge Gift Store to explore and take in the views. The Alpine Visitor’s Center is on Fall River Pass at the junction of Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road. It is open daily, however, Trail Ridge Road is only open usually May to October due to the large amount of heavy snow it gets during the winter months.
At the Alpine Visitor Center you can see amazing views of the tundra. There are some educational items to look at in the visitor center as well as a bookstore, gift shop, and snack bar. The snack bar at the Alpine Visitor’s Center is the only restaurant in the park so if you need something to eat this is where you need to stop.
The Alpine Visitor Center is along Trail Ridge Road. Trail Ridge Road extends from Estates Park to Grand Lake. It climbs up over 11,000 feet and has 11 miles where the treeline ends. At the treeline you will often still see snow in the summer time, trees twisted from the winds and more. Along Trail Ridge Road you will see evergreen forests, tundra with no trees in sight, wildlife, wildflowers, and probably even some snow all from your car. As kids we used to go up past the tree line in the summer time and have a snowball fight in our shorts and tshirts. Which is fun for awhile then everyone is heading quickly back to the car to defrost.
Neat Activity for Kids: On the way up my Aunt and Uncle put a sealed bag of potato chips between the girls seats. We didn’t say anything to them other than we are sitting the chips here so they won’t get crunched before our picnic. As we made our way further up into the mountains the bag began to inflate. The girls noticed about halfway up that the chip bag seemed to be growing larger (like an expanding balloon). We didn’t make a big deal about it, but before we reached the top we heard a sudden “pop” in the car. The girls immediately insisted that the potato chip bag had burst open. Why do you think the chip bag expanded and popped open? When packaged the bag of chips are sealed air tight to help preserve the chips longer. When you go to higher altitudes the air is thinner which means there is less air pressure on the outside of your chip bag, however, the air inside the bag remains at the original higher air pressure. This causes the chip bag to expand until the pressure both on the inside and outside of the bag are the same again. Sometimes, like in our case, this will cause the bag of chips to actually explode or open when traveling to higher altitudes. It is a fun activity to do with the kids (especially if you don’t say anything to them before hand). They thought it was awesome!
Wonder what animal lives in this cave….
Looking out over the mountains from the Alpine Visitor Center. As you can see from this picture there are no trees on the mountains because it’s above the tree line. You will also see there is still snow even though this picture was taken in July.
This area gets a lot of snow. Even in the summer there is still snow sitting on this mountain.
Rocky Mountains and it’s amazing natural rock displays
A stop at the Alpine Visitor Center
Beautiful green valley below the bare mountain tops
It was colder up higher and still had areas with quite a bit of snow on the mountains around us.
As we were looking around at the Alpine Visitor Center it got dark and cloudy outside. Only a few minutes later we were getting hit with a rain storm. It rained part of the way back down Trail Ridge Road, but after awhile it was bright and sunny again.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Twin Sisters Mountain (Colorado Rocky Mountains)
Twin Sisters Mountain
The girls thought it was awesome that there was a mountain in the Colorado Rocky Mountains called the Twin Sisters Mountain! The Twin Sisters Mountain has an elevation of over 11,000 feet above sea level. The mountain can be seen from several locations, however, the twin peaks can only be seen from certain viewpoints. It got its name because at the top of the mountain there are two almost identically high peaks, therefore, it was named Twin Sisters. It had a couple other names, Tahosa and Lily Mountain, but in 1911 the Geographic Board decided to permanently name it “Twin Sisters Mountain”.
Shortly after being named officially Twin Sisters Mountain they put in a trail, lookout station, and ranger cabin. Now there are a number of hiking trails to choose from on or near Twin Sisters Mountain. There are easy to follow trails and a variety of hikes for any level. Although there is no formal campground actually on Twin Sisters Mountain there is one located nearby at Long’s Peak Campground at 9,400ft which is open year round and there are 26 sites.
Twin Sisters Mountain at 11, 428 feet
Looking out over towards Twin Sisters Mountain
Beautiful valley between us and Twin Sisters Mountain
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Beautiful Scenery on Our Rocky Mountain Road Trip (Colorado)
Beautiful Colorado Rockies
Our family enjoys going to Colorado. The scenery in the Colorado Rocky Mountains is beautiful. If you ever get a chance to drive through the Rocky Mountains do it. You’ll see wildlife and breath taking views. There are a lot of places to stop to hike, eat, camp, or sight see along the way too.
These pictures are from a road trip through the Rocky Mountains I took with my Mom, brother Josh, Aunt, Uncle, cousins and our two girls. We had a blast going through the mountains. Depending on where you go the roads can have a lot of twists and turns, but the views are worth it.
Our first sight of the mountains. We were driving to Colorado from Kansas and the girls were excited to start seeing glimpses of the mountains where we would be spending the next few days!
Driving up to Estates Park
They don’t call it “Rocky” Mountains for nothing…lots of cool rock formations
Coming into Estates Park. We stopped for a little bit to walk around, shop, and grab a bite to eat before heading on our way.
Neat statue at Estates Park
Driving up past Estates Park
Beautiful day in the mountains
Love just soaking all the beautiful scenery in as we drive
Still heading up higher into the mountains
Lots of evergreen trees on these mountains.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildlife
Elk lounging around near where we parked
I was going back over some trips that we had taken in the last few years when I came across a trip we took with my parents from Kansas to Colorado. There were a lot of fun activities and adventures from that trip so I thought I would share a little bit with you and maybe you will see something you might want to do with your family. I grew up going to Colorado for summer camp and vacation so I have made a few trips through the Rocky Mountains.
On this particular trip it was the girls first time in the Colorado Rockies. They loved it and thought it was amazing the number of animals that we saw on the side of the road and near where we were walking around. All of these animals were in their native wildlife settings, however, some were pretty close to local towns and hiking trails. They didn’t seem disturbed at all by us taking their pictures. We did keep a safe distance away just in case (we didn’t want to upset any of the animals).
The one on the left is the same one as in the first picture, but if you look closely to the right under the tree is another elk. These were spotted next to the parking lot where our car was in near Estates Park.
Mountain goat must have found something tasty to eat on the side of the road.
He looked up briefly to look at us and went back to eating again.
This little bird was making all kinds of noise on our hike and picnic.
There are chipmunks everywhere. You are not suppose to feed them, but they are very commonly seen around picnic areas scavenging for bits of food.
Two chipmunks hanging out on a ledge together
The girls want to pet or pick these little cute chipmunks up, but they are not tame and it wouldn’t be safe either. They were fun to watch scurrying around.
Elk sitting at the edge of the mountain looking down on the valley. It didn’t even turn to look at us.
Two elk eating food near where we were hiking.
Several hours later after our hiking, exploring, picnic, and other adventures we came back down the mountain and it looked like the same goat was still eating from the same area near the road. He must have found a lot of good food in that area!
A lot of places in the area have hummingbird feeders. If you want a few minutes you will see them coming and going. They are fast and pretty neat to watch.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
