Sunday, July 24, 2011

Exploring Around Home

We arrived home after our cross country trip almost 2 weeks ago, which left us just enough time to settle in, do laundry and stock up on supplies before Jamie, Todd, and Chief came out to join us in Ouray.

We've spent the last week exploring around home with them, including trips to Telluride and Mesa Verde, as well as tours of a few ghost towns, some great hiking, and some interesting jeeping. We had a great time... even Charlie and Chief enjoyed hanging out together, although Chief seemed a bit fed up with Charlie's puppy antics at times.

The 3 of them had to head home early on Saturday, but we still had a full weekend with Rex and Jennifer's wedding and a sleep over with James, Laura, and the boys. We love visitors, but they always seem to descend upon our abode at the same time! Today we're finally feeling relaxed and enjoying the quietness of our own home. Only a few weeks left until school starts, and our calendar is definitely filling up!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the last week... Enjoy!

Jer and I on the Petroglyph hike in Mesa Verde National Park.


Our little Element made it all the way down the 4WD high clearance road to Animas Forks!


Charlie and I exploring the fields of wildflowers around the ghost town in Animas Forks.


An amazing field of wildflowers in the alpine tundra high up in Yankee Boy Basin (12000+ ft).

Friday, July 01, 2011

Canoeing with Charlie

This week we're in the St. Louis area. We've been hanging out with friends and family, including attending an awesome gig at Robbie's House of Jazz (to hear my talented cousin Ally play the trumpet) and a trip down to the Ozarks to canoe. It was Charlie's first time in a canoe, and I can't say that he loved it. However, he was very well behaved and settled down quite a bit after the initial dunk in the cool waters.