Summer Vacay 2016 - Maroon Bells!

We did it - we finally made it to Maroon Bells - the most photographed spot in all of Colorado and before now, we've never been.

First, we visited Glenwood Springs and the beautiful hot springs pool. The kids had never been and we all enjoyed it greatly! It was HOT down in Denver when we left and only slightly cooler in the mountains.

Beautiful as always!

The motley crew I travel with. Look at Hope jumping!

 I didn't realize I caught Hope in mid-jump with this photo, she looks like she's levitating! HA!

We hadn't been to Glenwood in a while and kind of forgot how much we enjoyed it! So beautiful and so many restaurants within walking distance.

Next up - Aspen and Maroon Bells!
 We stayed at a lovely place right outside of town - the Inn at Aspen. Which is part of the Buttermilk ski resort, who knew? It was really nice and William's favorite part were the signs up on the doors announcing they have had bears in the parking lot and on the resort so please be careful and don't leave food in your car. William lives for the possibility of being able to see a bear in the woods. Mom does not.

But we did see MOOSE!! 

 We did see moose on our drive up to Maroon Bells and back down! So cool! William was completely enchanted. If this kid doesn't grow up to be a park ranger, I will be completely blown away!

The beautiful bells!

 A nice family pic another lady was kind enough to take for us. Of course it started to sprinkle after we got to the top, true to Colorado afternoon form.

So we decided to make the hike from the upper parking lot to the lower one because the trail guide said it was an easy hike. It might be, if there is NOT snow pack and there is not rain moving in AND you do not have a 3 year old you have to carry down the trail because she moves at a snail's pace. William called it our "deadly" hike. I'm very happy to report no one died or even came close. However, it was NOT an easy hike.

Here's a stream we crossed over. By the time we finished, it was raining (luckily we were prepared for that!) and a bit chilly. It was also hard to see if we were still on the trail at times, we were happy to find a bridge and a shortcut to a the bus stop! Hooray!

Then we went back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest and dinner! Between the moose and the "deadly" hike, William declared our mini-vacation - EPIC. I quite agree!