Pikes Peak Or Bust

We had a great time on a trip we took to Colorado.  Kyle was able to come home for a few days before needing to be at Colorado Springs.  Marilyn was wanting to make a trip to Denver to visit her sister, Sandy.  We all loaded up in the van on Tuesday morning & made our way west.  When we got to Colorado Springs we checked into our hotel room & the girls were excited to go swimming.  Kyle was not feeling well & ended up back at the room.  The girls & I had a great time swimming.  After an hour of swimming we got ready & went to Apple bee's for supper.  It was kids night & the girls got balloon animals made.    We were all exhausted after supper & called it a night early.

Wednesday morning Kyle ran his steers in slack. Slack stated at 8:00, it made for an early morning.  We were there until almost noon. Kyle did not have any luck but we still made the most of our day.  After slack we headed up to the mountains.  We wanted to take the girls to Pikes Peak.  I had went there when I was probably close to Jenae's age & we thought it would be fun for our flat land daughters to see the mountains.  Where we live, it you not be more flat!  After our time in the mountains, we all are thinking that the flat lands of Nebraska are a great place to live!!!  While the mountains are beautiful, the altitude & thin air took its toll on our family. 

It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to the top of Pikes Peak and only a couple of minutes up there we were all ready to leave!  Kyle, Jenae & Aubree got to really feeling sick.  It did not take long once we started back down the mountain to get them feeling better.  It was something about being that high that just did not sit well with them.  We stopped a couple places on our way down & everyone seemed to be feeling fine.  As we got to about the bottom 1/3 of the mountain, Aubree started getting really whinny & complaining that she did not feel good.  We just thought she was tired & tired of riding in the van.  Well we should have taken her complaints seriously as she ended up getting sick in the van.  What a mess!!!!  After lots of cleaning & Fabreezing the van is finally smelling OK!   

Kyle left us that evening to get in with his crew of guys to head to Utah.  Marilyn, Me & the girls stayed the night in Colorado Springs & got up early to make our way to Denver. 

Leaving on our trip to Colorado.  Whitney was even waving bye bye.

Kyle taking the girls to the pool in the hotel.

Kyle ended up not feeling well, so I took the girls swimming.

The pool was not very warm so I was not sure if I should even take Whitney in the pool.  She ended up loving it!

The pool time wore Whitney out!  Little did I know this would be a rare sight to see Whitney sleeping on our trip!  Sleep was one thing she did not do much of!



Whitney chillin in her new stroller at slack Wednesday morning.



Jenae & Aubree on a bear near the Cave of the winds.

The girls pretending the bear was after them.

Aubree being her silly self.  She was really into posing for pictures.

Jenae trying to look like the Indian.

Marilyn & the girls in the mountains.

The girls with me & Kyle in the mountains.

On our way to Pikes Peak Jenae was really wanting to see some big horn sheep.  Wildlife was not very prevalent & I never dreamt that we would see any thing like this.  Marilyn happened to look out & spot them. 

This is a picture I took looking down as we were going up the mountain.  It looks really hazy because we were up as high as the clouds.  I do not do well with heights.  It was pretty scary to look down!

After spending 1 1/2 hours to get to the top of Pikes Peak, we ended up only spending about 10 minutes on at the summit.  Kyle & the girls did not do well with the thin air.  They felt sick.  I had a slight head ache when I got up there, but poor Bree was so pale she was almost green. 

Our Family Picture at the Summit of Pikes Peak.  As you can see from the picture it was a fun time!!




Coming down off the mountain.

 


Me & Kyle a little ways down the mountain.



A Marmot on the mountain.



Marilyn & Whitney in the mountains.





We had to stop on our way down the mountain since our breaks were getting a little warm.  It was a nice place to stop.  The girls & Kyle did some exploring.  Aubree was really brave & made her way down the mountain really well.  Jenae was not as brave & it took her a little longer :-)

 



Me & Whitney




A family picture on a rock.





A long story, but Aubree is sure Big Foot is real.  On the way up to the top of Pikes Peak there was a place that was called "Big Foot Crossing"  Here she is with a Big Food Statue.