Vacation Day 1

We planned that our first day of driving would be easy. We packed most of our things the day before, but there was plenty o' time on Sunday morning to get the odds and ends together before we rolled out of our driveway. And insert Life Lesson #1: It is way, way, way easier to travel with kids over the age of 5. If nothing else than they have better bladder control and aren't strapped into car seats that frustrate them. We've done a LOT of road trips with our kids ever since they were babies, and I love that it just gets better.

We drove a few hours to the Black Canyon near Montrose, CO. A great place to stretch our legs and marvel at the incredible scenery.

Lily and Carver

Zinabu. 

Black Canyon.

It was beautiful, but overcast and chilly. Most of the trails were closed due to ice and snow, so we admired the canyon and the visitor's center, then hopped back in the car for the rest of our drive to Ouray, CO. Probably one of the sweetest little towns in Colorado. There's a natural hot springs there, plus an amazing little Mexican restaurant where they make killer spinach enchiladas. Life Lesson #2: Always be on the lookout for killer spinach enchiladas. 

One of 2 photos of me on the entire trip. That's what happens when you take all the pictures.

After dinner, we hopped over to the hot springs pool, which is basically a giant pool that is naturally heated by hot springs. Sorry if I over explained that. Life Lesson #3: When all your children can swim by themselves, without your help, you have hit the jackpot. David and I sat in the super hot pool while the kids played in the kinda hot pool (104 and 91 degrees respectfully). It was so fun. We swam till they closed the pool. And the children were completely tuckered out. Just as we'd planned.