Thursday, August 1, 2019

Colorado Part 3

One of my very favorite parts of the day was waking up before the kids and sitting out on the porch listening to the creek, watching hummingbirds and reading.  



You guys know that I'm not a morning person but when it's 52 degrees and GORGEOUS I can be a morning person for a few days :)




This was our last morning in Vail and I made a breakfast casserole and we had a great time just hanging out, eating and talking about our adventures so far.



After breakfast we headed to Sapphire Point in Breckenridge to feed chipmunks.  We did this two years ago on our trip and it was one of my kids very favorite things EVER.  The view is BEAUTIFUL and there are hundreds of chipmunks all over the rocks who loooooove peanuts :)



There is seriously nothing cuter.  Nothing. :)







Luke is like the chipmunk whisperer - it's hilarious.  He's quiet and patient and they love him.





Not a bad view!




That smile!







4/5 isn't bad, right? :) hahaha



We reluctantly left the chipmunks (seriously, the kids would have stayed all day!) when it started getting a little bit busy and headed over to the Country Boy Mine in Breckenridge.  We did the mine tour here a few years ago and this time just went to pan.



The setting is awesome and the weather was PERFECT!  There are guides out in the little ponds helping you know what to look for and how to collect it and they even had boots out for the kids to use.  It was awesome.




There were 3 pond areas at the top and then you could walk down a hill and there were a few more little ponds where you could pan.



This guy was coming around and pretending to rob the panners and take their gold :)






They also have donkeys who walk around and are SO SWEET!!!


I didn't intend to dress her as pretty much a farm girl on this day but it was cold when we let in the morning and the only clean pants she had were overalls THEN her scalp was kind of sunburned from the jeep tour (#momfail) so I made her wear my hat.  Throw in the boots provided by the mine and we had a really cute little "look" :) hahaha





They had pipets for the kids to use to collect their gold flakes



The kids panned for over two hours and then we had a picnic lunch on the picnic tables and let them pan for a little while longer before we collected our treasures (pyrite and some gold flakes along with a few other rocks purchased in the gift shop) and headed into Breckenridge.


And yes... that's the original ore chute that they've made into a slide.  It's pretty awesome.


After the mine we headed into downtown Breckenridge to ride the gondola and eat some crepes.  Unfortunately it started POURING when we got to the top of the mountain and so we rode back down and decided to skip the crepes since the line was long and we didn't feel like standing in the rain to wait. 





Everyone was dirty (from the chipmunks and the mine) and tired and the sillies were setting in :)


Me too, girl.  Me too.


Look how much they've grown in two years!!! (also - two years ago Mason almost lost his lunch on the gondola so we counted this year as a win)


Back in Vail we showered, changed and headed to Ford Park to play for a little bit before dinner.


There was a rehearsal going on in the ampitheater and we could hear the music at the park.  It was great.



We walked through the botanical garden and then headed into Vail Village for pizza.







After dinner we spent a few hours playing in the square... stomp rockets and soccer with new friends.  

This was such a fun day and I'm telling you - if you're going to be anywhere close to Breck - make the trip to Sapphire point!

9 comments :

  1. I want to be eating breakfast casserole on the side of a mountain! Instead, I'm eating Cheez-Its on my patio for breakfast. But they are white cheddar, so I'm kinda fancy.

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  2. Hi Andrea! I live about an hour north of Vail. And I, too, love the cool mornings in the summer! They are the best!
    Your pictures are beautiful! So glad you & your family were able to come & enjoy the mountains!

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  3. Andrea! Great pics! I’m a Colorado native and wanted to let you know that the Crepes shop in Breckenridge has a second location now. It’s an actual store, and is a few blocks from the stand on Main. The crepes are exactly the same and there usually isn’t a line! Hope that helps for the future!

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  4. Another post full of the most amazing pics! Your family is precious and Colorado is beautiful.

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  5. Is there nothing more beautiful than Colorado? We lived there for 26 years...raised my 5 wonderful kids in this state's majesty. Unfortunately, we moved to Florida 19 years ago. Like you, I am back in Colorado right now. 2 of my grown children live here (lucky them!) Reading your entries about Piney Lake (we've camped there, too!) and Breckenridge and Sapphire Point bring back such fond memories...Yesterday we rented a pontoon boat and played on Lake Dillon (outside Breckenridge). Great fun. You might want to add it to your Colorado Bucket list. Take care.

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  6. Griffin is my style icon! Love that Happy sweatshirt!

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  7. What an amazing part of the world to raise your beautiful children, precious times
    Pamela x
    www.style-yourself-confident.com

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  8. Beautiful pics! Did you take them on a regular camera or iPhone? If so, did you edit them and/or use Portrait mode?

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  9. I've never been to CO before but every one of my friends who visits, their photos look amazing! I hope to make it out one day!

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