Work took Rob to Colorado so we made a thing of it.

He was stressed trying to get some stuff wrapped up before we went out the door and I caught him having a moment. I mean, he looks pretty relaxed to me, but what do I know about what’s going on in that headset of his?

This time we took the route through Vernal so we could stop at Dinosaur National Monument. It was a decent stop, though only worth it if you’re heading that way anyway.

The giant 2-story Wall ‘O Bones is impressive!

The next morning we stopped in Vail and enjoyed some beautiful park time with the symphony practicing their program in the background.

Madeleine did a photo re-do.

We hit up a couple of free tours in Downtown Denver:

1. The Hammond’s candy factory tour. Honestly, I have yet to like any of their products…but it was interesting enough.

2. The Money Museum. The museum is tiny but they give everyone a bag of shredded money equivalent to $165…which my kids were both overjoyed with and angsty about.

The next day we did more free stuff down in the Colorado Springs area:

1. The United States Air Force Academy. We walked around campus, hit up the visitor’s center, and walked through the Cadet Chapel. It houses multiple chapels for different religions so we were able to learn a little bit about Catholicism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam.

Gotta say, seeing the Top Gun men and women strutting around looking all B-O-S-S was pretty cool. I could only dream of being so cool. Although, one of them was locked out of the building and needed my assistance opening the door from the inside. So…I guess that makes me pretty BOSS, right? You’re welcome for my service to this good land of America.

2. Manitou Springs. This was a surprisingly fun stop. I mean, really fun. This little town is like a vintage downtown Park City before all the name brands moved in. You can tell it was quite the place in the roaring twenties.

First of all, it’s the home of a block-square Penny Arcade. I got $10 worth of quarters and it lasted us nearly three hours! Some of the games came from way before my time, but some of them brought back memories from when I was my kids’ ages.

Second, this little town is the home of 7 different springs of mineral water. Each spring has a fountain built over it. Stop by the Chamber of Commerce and they give you a map, a detailed chart of the mineral make-up of each spring, and a handful of plastic cups. Most of the springs are within walking distance of each other and each spring had a different taste and different levels of carbonation.

I’ve gotta say, I knew this activity would be a hit with my science-prone kids, but I was still surprised by just how much they loved this scavenger hunt! I swear it was better than Disneyland for them. Nate collected a water bottle full of each type to take back for Rob to try. Then he packed them all home and had all his friends give them a try, using the handy mineral reference sheet at all times.

The next day was already time to start our drive home. We took two days to do this since we wanted to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park.

We ended the drive with some more scenery, courtesy of Dinosaur National Monument.

Colorado never seems to disappoint.  As many times as we’ve been there, there is always something fun to do and a new amazing view to see.