RMNP

Tubing fun.

You know how we went tubing in Steamboat and had a bad experience. Well, Jenelle has been saying how she doesn't want to go to Steamboat anymore. Curt and I thought it would be fun to go tubing down the Platte right here close to home. Jenelle was in tears about it. So as parents do we give in to those tears or do we make her face her fears head on and have a miserable time? Of course, we go tubing. The Platte is really low and slow right now so we thought it would be a good opportunity to get her back in the tube.

We start heading down the river and she is super nervous. She was pointing out every potential obstacle along the way. "ROCK!", she'd shout. It was driving me crazy so I started asking her about school.

"Who do you want for a teacher next year?"
"Mrs. Jennings."
"Why do you want Mrs. Jennings?"
"Because she is the duty teacher. Did you know you can't have school without a duty teacher?"
"I didn't know that. What does the duty teacher do?"
"She watches to see if any kids get owies on the playground."

Then we had a super long discussion about school supplies. Jenelle finally relaxed and enjoyed the ride. At the end she said she had a fun time. I still don't think she is going to want to go tubing in Steamboat, though.

Camping at Steamboat

We went up to Steamboat for the 4th of July this year. We shared our pop-up with Chris and Zack. Another family we knew stayed at the next camp site. Steamboat Campground is really nice. It's right on the river. All the kids had a fun time fishing. Curt was great with the kids. He taught Ben and Isaac how to fish and he untangled a lot of fish hooks.

We saw the Steamboat parade. It was hot, but the kids enjoyed it. After that we went for a short hike to fish creek falls. It was beautiful. The kids had fun playing near the water. We also hit the farmer's market. We bought the yummiest garlic bread. Too bad the raccoons got to it.

We went tubing, too. The water was a little high and a little fast. Jenelle was saying, "We're going to die", the whole time. Let's just say tubing was not her favorite part of the trip. On our last tubing trip we hit a big rock and got a hole in our tube. Jenelle and I were slowly sinking down the river. Jenelle hitched a ride with dad and I went down the river scraping the bottom. I got a few large bruises. I'm hoping the conditions will be a bit better later this July.

We went for a bike ride. We stopped and had lunch along the way. We discovered the best smoothie shop. We also saw the best fireworks show. Usually we watch fireworks at Clement park and they last for 10-15 minutes. The Steamboat fireworks lasted 25 minutes and they were huge. They lit up the whole mountain side. It was a really good show. We also saw a cattle drive. The cowboys on horseback lead steer down main street. It was so fun. The cows were making cow sounds and they were going all over the place. It was a unique experience that the kids really enjoyed.

We had a great time. I'm planning on doing Steamboat next July 4th!