Telluride - Day 3

8-5

Family hike to Bear Creek Falls

Well, actually, we all made it about halfway to the falls (a mile-ish?). Molly, Hattie, and I turned back while Matt, Charlie, and Alanna finished the trail. The girls and I went to the library to play while the others were hiking. It was a really nice trail and there were many people out on it. I should have grabbed the Ergo so both of the little girls could have had a place to ride. 

 A family picture on the trail!

 The trail was really wide due to its heavy use. 

 It's hard to really see here since it was overcast, but the mountains were really pretty! 

 Matt and the big kids saw this neat rock cairn garden further down the trail. 

 Bear Creek Falls

 So pretty!

 Looking down the trail back towards Telluride. Living in Colorado sometimes feels like living in a postcard all the time. Amazing. I hope we never take it for granted. 

 This tiny mite is sure proving herself to be a big, strong girl out on the trails these days. She can pound out the miles!!

 After the hike, we stopped at a local bakery for treats! Donuts and giant cookies and a loaf of bread for dinner - YUM. 

 We rode the gondola back to Mountain Village and walked around there for a bit. We stumbled upon a fabulous courtyard with some outdoor games for everyone to play. We stayed for a while just enjoying the space! It was so much fun! 

 Three of the cutest Bocce ball players I have ever seen. 

 We sipped coffee and played beanbags for a while, too. Truly a great combination!

 Back at the camper that night, we all played and laughed and snacked while dinner was cooking because all bets are off when you're camping. Rules? Nope. We had so much fun!!!

 We had to switch campsites a few nights into the trip. We made our reservations in February but apparently that wasn't early enough to get 5 consecutive nights at the same campsite. :) It was a tiny pain but we got it done. The second campsite was much more open than the first. Still SO beautiful!

 Hattie and Molly spent some time picking wildflowers. Precious girlies. 

 Sweet sisters. Sigh. 

Telluride - Day 2

8-4

After breakfast, we hopped in the car and drove to Mountain Village, the ski community right above Telluride. There is a free gondola ride that starts at Mountain Village, goes up and over a ski hill, and then drops down into Telluride. We are ALL ABOUT free gondola rides! It was a really pretty way to see the San Juans around Telluride. It is absolutely beautiful in the San Juans - which is why it's my favorite place in the whole state. 

The final descent into Telluride was really steep!! 

The gondola dropped us off about 2 blocks from the main downtown strip right through Telluride. It's a small town so you can walk anywhere at any given time. There is a pretty river walk that follows the river right on the edge of town. We walked for a bit and then ended up having lunch at this spot so the kids could throw copious amounts of rocks. As it turns out, there was a rubber ducky race that started while we were playing at the river. It was fun to see all of those ducks floating right on down the river! 

It started drizzling just after the ducky races so we walked back downtown to check out the library. Telluride has an AMAZING library filled with tons of books (of course), toys, play centers, and creative activities. It is really fabulous! The girls tackled the melty beads while Charlie found some geometric wood blocks. It was a great place to hang out for an hour while it rained outside. 

Once the rain let up a little bit, we rode the gondola back to the car and went for a little drive heading south from our campground. We found several spots to hang out next to the river - and you know how much out kids love to play by rivers! We spent a good chunk of time throwing rocks, fishing, and trying not to get too muddy. And the sun was out! Yay!

A little card game while I was preparing dinner. Charlie and Alanna have really been into playing Garbage lately!! 

The littlest girls modeling some head lamps.