Rocky Mountain High

July 24th is Pioneer Day, a Utah holiday. Originally our family was going to do the infamous Mt. Timpanogas hike the day of the 24th, with Jason, Jessica and their children.

The Sunday before our hike was to take place, I awoke with the thought of going to Colorado and visiting Stephen's parents. Minutes later Stephen's mom called asking when we were coming out to visit.

I was meant to be, we left for Colorado Wed, July 23rd to enjoy some camping with Grandma and Grandpa Robert's on their newly acquired mountain property.
Janet and Alex's property is in southern Colorado and so we decide to route through Cortez, Co. and visit Nana too.

The stop in Cortez was short, but meaningful. We went to a local park with Nana, ate ice cream and played at the play ground.

The destination that night was Pagosa Springs, one of my favorite mountain towns in Colorado.Our journey continued the following morning to meet up with Mom and Dad Roberts in the town of Fort Garland. There we had lunch, Stephen and Grandpa took the kids to the town fort while Alexis, Grandma and I shopped for meals at the local grocer.

Grandma and Grandpa have a RV that we all got to camp in, I call this luxury camping. There were no hook-ups but the convenience of sleeping inside a RV without the bugs, a gas stove for cooking, enough water for washing hands and dishes. Grandpa even rigged up a throne to sit on for the call of nature
Camping use to be such a way of life for me as a teen and young adult. Now a days with my little family, camping is a whole different experience.

The site where we camped was incredible. Mountain scenery like John Denver would describe in his folk song of Rocky Mt. High. Quiet solitude of the forest, a peace from within that turns thoughts to God and a the world becomes turned inside yourself to discover true beauty and serenity.





Grandma Roberts planted the seed of imagination with the idea of fairy forts. The children foraged and gathered materials and took careful time constructing their whimsical fairy/gnome forts. The sight of them collaborating and domesticating nature on a miniature scale was so priceless. The children found bones, bark, flowers, rocks, shells and the creativity began to flow. They made teepee's for the fairies and gnomes, tables, beds. Chandler and Spencer made a hot tub for their visitor.

Every butterfly that the kids would spot would be deemed as fairy folk.






Time was also consisted of the Children helping build a fence.















Playing a game Grandpa set up- hike and go seek with a compass/GPS












Grandma and Grandpa eudcated the kids as to what a MRE meal was.




















I discovered Stephen took on the mythological lumberjack Paul Bunyan and played the part very well.