• Travel & Vacation: Cozy Cow Dairy (Windsor, CO)

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     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!

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    Cozy Cow Dairy – “In the moo’d for something good?”

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     Black and white baby goat

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     Baby brown calf – he was so soft and small to touch

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    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!

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     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)

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     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.

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     Hanging around and watching all the people walking by

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     Decided to make a move and head the other direction

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     Two of them moving along the rope now

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     Rhino munching on its hay.

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    We watched the penguin demonstration.  They were happy to get treats!

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    Found something tasty to eat1

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    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!

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    Getting ready for the next act!

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    Getting ready to bow for the audience!

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    Didn’t want to look at us.

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    What animal is this!?

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    If you guess “camel” in the picture above you are correct.  Never saw a camel lay down like that before.

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    This camel is either all stretched out or doing it’s yoga for the day!

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    Pretty giraffe’s hanging out together in the shade.

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    Sea lions swimming around!

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    Beautiful white arctic fox hiding in the log

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    Capybara still wet from his swim

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    Big snake….no a big fan of snakes so thankful when they are behind glass.

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    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)

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    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!

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     Inside the tepee at the Big Thompson Indian Village

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     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)

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    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.

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     Beautiful Scenery

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     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.

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     Look at that curve in the road!  We will not be speeding down this mountain!

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    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)

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     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!

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     Wonder what animal lives in this cave….

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     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.

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     This area gets a lot of snow.  Even in the summer there is still snow sitting on this mountain.

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     Rocky Mountains and it’s amazing natural rock displays

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     A stop at the Alpine Visitor Center

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     Beautiful green valley below the bare mountain tops

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     It was colder up higher and still had areas with quite a bit of snow on the mountains around us.

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     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)

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    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.

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     Twin Sisters Mountain at 11, 428 feet

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     Looking out over towards Twin Sisters Mountain

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    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)

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     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.

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     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!

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     Driving up to Estates Park

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     They don’t call it “Rocky” Mountains for nothing…lots of cool rock formations

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     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.

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    Neat statue at Estates Park

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    Driving up past Estates Park

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    Beautiful day in the mountains

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    Love just soaking all the beautiful scenery in as we drive

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    Still heading up higher into the mountains

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    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!