After leaving the canyon, we headed further west to explore more towns. our first stop was Montrose. We checked out the city park, which turned out to be really, really nice for family activities.
Johnny played in the water while the boys enjoyed the large playground with a group of friends they immediately connected with. I read and medicated on some good stuff in the grass! Johnny ended up breaking his paddle in this water...Donations anyone?? Ha!
He was getting his boat prepared for the race!
After quickly looking for a place to stay, we decided to stay at Jellystone Park.
The boys quickly took advantage of the playground,
the game room,
the pool, the creations around the park,
and shuffle board. It turns out we are all pretty good. Well, at least playing by our rules!
I told you I thought I took another picture of one of our meals.
Johnny eats the same meal, in just a little different format. He spreads his hummus on tortillas, I dip my food in mine.
Our view from the front of our camping spot. It turns out, we decided to stay 2 nights at Jellystone in Montrose.
The next morning, we all spent the day at the water park. Admission for all 4 of us for the day: $18 and some change!
The boys made lots of videos going down the slides. They may turn them into a movie soon.
That evening, we enjoyed a showing of the Yogi Bear movie in the recreation room.
The next morning, we visited a local curiosities shop--the name said it had unique, one of a kind finds. And it indeed delivered on that promise. Here is an on-road/water dragon, complete with a fire breathing mechanism!
One of Jackson's favorites. After seeing the real thing in New York, he mimicked the stance the rest of the day in the city.
A old plane hull
A eagle protecting a jail cell
We later returned, hooked up to the camper and continued westward.
Mule deer herd (not captive)
Our next stop was Telluride. We really thought we would spend the rest of our time here. If we were planners, we would have had reservations here. The scene of the town was breathtaking. At the back of the city landscape was a 100 ft+ natural waterfall (you can see it in the back of this picture.) I don't have any pictures that does the scenery here justice because they were all made from inside the vehicle and BECAUSE this place was PACKED with tourists in every square inch. Obviously, Telluride was the "tourist" destination. We inched our way through the main stretch, turned around, and drove on in search of a more peaceful destination. If you want a breathtaking resort from the real world, Telluride would be a great destination to land (if you like crowded touristy places).
So you see, glad we had no prior plans! We just kept driving on westward.
We found a neat little park to stop for a break and to eat.
And by sunset, we found what we were looking for. A unique little town that offered us some things to explore that required outdoor activity and didn't nickel/dime us to death! Their claim to fame: the world's deepest Hot Springs. Many of the places we had visited had hot springs in Colorado but they were really expensive. And the thought of sitting in hot water over 20 minutes or so is not that appealing to us. We assumed it would be the same here.
What intrigued us was the river area. We knew we could hike and play there for a few hours. The boys did not want to wait until the morning. They jumped on in!
Or walked...they walked on in. Aren't they sweet? I still love to see this sight. I know it is just a matter of time and this view will be extinct!
They eventually settled in and floated/swam down the river.
Having places like this for them to swim and play is so good for strengthening their swimming skills.
And then guess what we find as we move on down the river. Yes, natural hot spring pools on the side!
We stayed until pretty late, enjoying the water and springs. We decided Pagosa Springs deserved another visit the next day. So, we looked for a road that would take us out onto National Forest Land. (This picture was taken the next morning). We drove down it for a few miles, pulled over and camped for the night.
Guess what greeted us the next morning? More mule deer!
I think they were just as interested in us!
Here is the view from the side.
The next morning, it was on. Jackson wanted to take his first voyage down the river in a "real" kayak, not on his sit on top.
John was sticking to the trusty paddle board!
Boy, did this guy surprise us both! After going through a rapid, he would purposely head back towards it and surf. On his second trip down, Johnny said at one of the upper rapids, (I was at a lower part with John), that he not only surfed, he was able to do 360's and move his boat to the side and back. He flipped once but wasn't shaken at all! He said he is ready to be strapped in and learn to flip!
JG navigated those rapids with ease as well, donning his own style!
The end result after a couple of trips down.
I just liked this picture!
And up for another trip for the kayaker! JG wanted to float down again.
The natural hot springs in the daylight.
We had a late picnic by the river and then headed out. Sadly, we had to turn the truck east.
On our way up on top of one of the mountain passes, Johnny got captivated. He pulled over on side of the road. Really, I mean just on side of the road, not at a rest stop, overlook or anything. I asked what was wrong. He said, I just want to adventure on to the top of that peak. We are going to walk on up. Jackson didn't want to go, so I stayed with him while Johnny and JG ventured out to scale to the peak of a mountain. Turns out, it was pretty steep! But, they prevailed.
We traveled on and found a park to make a pit stop at. There was a small water park that we would have hit up, but it was 30 minutes until closing. Jackson wanted to ride his bike on the skate park. He was hesitant to do this in Salida.
The following day, we made our way to Oklahoma City for a pitstop at the Botanical Gardens playground we visited last year. The boys took advantage of the water features in the park. This "splash pad" sounds like a rainforest thunderstorm, complete with thunder, lightning, and animal sounds.
And they spent some time on the unique playground.
Our driver took the opportunity to nap a little.
The temperature...103!!!!
On our way out, we snapped a picture with Optimus Prime and continued our journey east. We ended up making it to Arkansas. After an overnight stay at a reststop, we made it home.
Our 19 days of adventure came to an end. As usual, we were all sad for it to be ending. However, we did express that we were thankful to have good friends and family to come home to. So, our first long road trip with a camper was a success. We are patiently awaiting our next adventure!
Live a Meaningful Life!
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