Summer Catch Up Part 3: Disappointment Valley, CO & Monticello

Betcha thought Part 2 was it huh? 

Nope, we've done a lot this summer and it's not over yet.

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I don't even know how to describe how beautiful the country in Colorado is.

The small portion of the country I have seen is sooo gorgeous, serene, fierce, and magnificent. 

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We got a late start that Friday and didn't end up getting to Blanding until after 11pm.

We were ornery because of the late drive but equally as relieved just to finally be on vacation.

It was a long few days leading up to this vacation because Ty had to go into overdrive mode to get homework done since we didn't know how much he'd be able to do while in Colorado. 

Seriously he was doing a minimum of 6 hours of homework a day.

We barely got to talk, let alone see, much of each other leading up to this trip.

Let's not forget to mention it also happened to be his most difficult class ever! 

Finance. Shudder.

He repeatedly told me that he thought he might break the desk because of punching it out of frustration.

Side Note: He passed with flying colors when it was all said and done.

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Back to the vacation.

First thing Saturday we hit up the Monticello Parade with all its tractor glory.

Onto Colorado.

As soon as we pulled up I couldn't stop smiling.

It seriously just couldn't be helped.

This part of the country is a little piece of heaven on earth. 

It warms me to my soul.

Can't explain why but it just does. 

It rained pretty hard while we were there.

Every....

Single...

Day....

& I LOVED IT!

Down pours, lightening, thunder, sleet and hail while driving the 4-wheelers.

MUD EVERYWHERE.

It was blissful.

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We got to see a ton of BEARS!

Apparently a couple cows died up on the mountain so one of the guys brought it down to a more accessible location so we could watch them. 

 Black Bears. At one point we saw 11 different ones. 

Talk about an adrenaline rush. It was better than Yellowstone. 

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It would cease to be a complete vacation without injuries - Ty got stung by a bee, I bruised my shin because I let the kickstart for one of the 4-wheelers swing back and hit my leg and my leg got caught in the same 4-wheelers tire. 

Brynlee shot a pop can on her first try with the BB gun.

We went on horse back rides, went 4-wheeling, hiking, found some kittens, lost Lexie, shot guns and swam in the freezing cold lake. 

Ah, it was so fun.

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Our drive home won't ever be forgotten either, unfortunately.

As soon as we left Brynlee said she didn't want to leave. Me neither.

About a half hour into the drive we heard a weird sound coming from the truck.

I asked Ty if he could tell if the truck was riding weird.

Yep, we had a flat tire. Not a flat actually, a shredded tire is more like it.

On a dirt road, uphill.

We had to take everything out of the back of the truck so it wouldn't keep sliding off the jack. 

We had every crevice of the bed of our truck jammed packed. 

Not the ideal circumstances to fix a flat but I'm grateful it happened there rather in the steep, winding canyon 75 mph roads we got to drive through on our way to Grand Junction.

90+ miles from our original flat tire location, a lot of stress and being misguided by Siri. 

We finally found a tire place and a half hour before quittin' time got 4 beautiful brand new shiny tires.

$750 and a meal later we were on our way home. 

Thus we ended the vacation the way we started. Arriving home around 11 pm. 

It's all part of the adventure.

First activity after unpacking.
She was so excited.
Drew is even smiling so that's saying something.

Riding with Kritta after the parade.
Rooster is so patient with the kiddos.
We got to see CiCi too.

This country is so stunning. 

We were maybe a quarter of a mile away from these creatures.
They were fun to watch but it was a little eery to be so close.
They were coming out of the forest in every direction so we had to watch our backs. 

I am so glad Jannie let us come stay at the cabin this year. 

Who knows how often it will happen but I am glad for every chance we get to spend out there. 

Brynlee had a blast.

She got dirty and played her little heart out which means she slept good every night.

She brings up the 'cabin' all the time.

Which makes me grateful for the memories she will make and hopefully retain on our family trips.