We were so, so grateful to be able to get away on vacation with everything going on. We didn't know if we would be able to actually do it, but in the end we didn't want to miss the opportunity. We usually go on vacation every other year with each family. We were supposed to go with Andrew's family this year but couldn't come together on any dates. The kids have been wanting to get out to Colorado again, so went for it. We actually didn't rent a house until the beginning of June and got a decent deal. But then they called a couple weeks before we were supposed to go and let us know that someone was staying in the house we were going to rent and while they were supposed to be out by the end of July, they now weren't going to be able to leave until October. They said they had another house we could rent, but it was only available for 3 nights instead of 4. We preferred the other house, but went for it since we couldn't find anything else. And for our fourth night, they put us up at the Sheraton resort at the ski mountain base. We left on a Monday morning after Andrew got done with court. We ended up taking all of our bikes since we were informed the bike rentals were in low availability. So Andrew strapped three bikes on top of the car and we put four on the back. It actually ended up working and everything stayed secure for our 14 hour trip there. We decided to break it up into two days, so we could actually do some stuff our first day there. We went through Nebraska which was a good route but there was a decent amount of construction. We think we ended up going the wrong way at some point and ended up on a gravel road that looped down into Colorado.
We got to Steamboat around 3 the next day, just as they were finishing up cleaning the house. We had groceries delivered so we didn't even have to worry about going to the store. We unpacked and then headed out for our first adventure, paddle boarding and kayaking at Pearl Lake. I chose Pearl Lake because it was at the base of Farwell Mountain. It did take about 40 minutes to get to, but it was a great way to start vacation. We had been taking some medicine to help us adjust to the altitude and this low-key activity helped too. We only had them for an hour and then we took a very short hike to get a family picture in front of Farwell Mountain since you could see it from the beach area we were at.
Then it was back to the house to finish unpacking and order out some dinner. We had some beautiful views from our deck.
The next morning, we were out the door by 7:45 to get to our first hike, Fish Creek Falls. We first did a quick hike to the lookout area, followed by the hike to the lower falls and finally the upper falls. There was some grumbling as we made our way to the upper falls because I apparently didn't let them all know how long the hike was going to be. I had told them it could take 2-3 hours. It was 2 miles out and 2 miles back with over 900 feet elevation climb. It was a good first hike for us.
After resting at home for a bit, Ellie convinced us to go try out the C-hole on the Yampa River that our property manager had mentioned. He said his kids have more fun with it than tubing the river. I'm sure it could be a lot of fun, but our kids were totally intimidated by the crowd of teenagers and tweens there without any adult supervision. They were kind of rowdy and didn't leave much room for others to play, but we told Ellie she had to get in since she begged us to go. They got in for a little bit and tried going down the rapid, but the water was cold and it was a short-lived trip.
After eating dinner, we loaded up the bikes and went back downtown to ride the Yampa River Core Trail. We rode around 5 miles and the kids took in a small dirt track they found on the trail. Then they went to the pump track afterwards and had lots of fun with that.
The next morning we were up at 5:30 so we could get to the trail head for the Devil's Causeway hike before it got too busy. The kids knew this was going to be a big hike, but I don't think we were quite prepared for the dry, dusty terrain with a lot of loose dirt and rocks. There was a lot of slipping going on. The way up wasn't too bad, just tiring from the elevation gain and low oxygen. I was so proud of all of them to keep pushing. There were some beautiful views and beautiful wildflowers along the way. We stopped a few times to rest and fuel up. I also brought a small tripod so we were able to get some family pictures. The last two climbs to the top, were challenging and they all made it. Almost 12,000ft with 1600ft elevation gain over 3 miles. The twins were scared at the top, so they didn't move around much. But Andrew took the other three over by the causeway. Then Jackson got his drone out and got some neat footage and pictures for us. We were all good, until it was time to go back down. The twins were scared of slipping and falling off the side. So it was a bit slow going and very gingerly stepping to make sure you didn't fall down. All of us except Jackson slipped and fell at least once. Once we finally made it to the forest area, they were all good and even started doing some running at times. While Andrew and I kept telling them how proud we were of them for finishing the hike and doing it in four hours, they said that we didn't have to do that one again. They all fell asleep soon after we got back on the road.
We all rested when we got home and just chilled for the day. I did start packing up a bit since we had to leave the house the next day and head to the resort. We ordered some pizza for dinner and then went for another bike ride and some more time at the pump track.
The next morning, I got to work on packing while Andrew and Jackson headed out for a mountain bike ride. They had to ride up first and it was a tough 1500ft of climbing. But then the fun began...kind of. I was getting deep into the packing since we had to be out of the house at noon. Andrew and Jackson were supposed to be back by 11:30 so we could load up the car. I got a call from Andrew around 10:50 saying they had a good time, but he had an accident and he thought he should go to the hospital. I knew he must have been in pain if he actually thought he needed to go to the ER. He drove himself to the hospital and then had Jackson bring the car back to the house so I could load everything up. Thankfully Jackson realized he didn't have the keys and didn't shut off the car. So, he and Ellie went back to the hospital to get the keys from Andrew. I got a message at some point from Andrew saying they were taking him for a CT and he was pretty sure something was broken. We got the car loaded up and bikes put on. Fergus, the property manager, even helped a bit with the bikes. I think he felt bad kicking us out with Andrew in the ER. We went to the hospital next and the kids stayed in the car while I went sat with Andrew. I went text them to check on them every now and then and they were good. Andrew had a second CT done of his neck to make sure the blood vessels there were good. In the end, he was diagnosed with a broken left scapula and he broke ribs 2-7 posterior and 5-6 anterior. He was in quite a bit of pain, but really managed it well and the staff commended him on that. They moved at a decent pace but he still spent around 4 hours in the ER. They released him with some prescriptions and a sling. Next stop was Walgreens to pick up the meds. We had to wait a little bit there, but then we went over to the alpine slide that we had planned to do with the kids that day. Andrew said he was fine just sitting in the air condition in the car. The kids got to go up quickly, but it took a while for them to come back down. They had a lot of fun with it though.
Then it was back to the hospital to pick up CDs of the CT scans and finally we made it to the resort. I went to check in and asked about using the pool and they said it was closing in 15 minutes. That was a frustrating part about vacationing during the coronavirus pandemic-everything seemed to shut down early. So, we just sat around the room for a little bit and then Andrew attempted to take a shower while the rest of us went in search of dinner. The area around the resort was very pretty and they normally have a lot to do, but it was all shut down early. We did find a restaurant that we could order out from since the wait was 1 1/2 hours. It worked out well as we were able to find a table closer to our hotel and Andrew joined us. It was a nice evening out, the food was good and the scenery was pretty.
The next day we were up early to start the 14 hour trek home. I wasn't sure how Andrew would handle me doing the driving since he likes to be in control of that part. But it actually went pretty smoothly and we made it home in decent time. It was a wonderful vacation in spite of Covid and issues we had with the house (having to switch houses, having to move, the house having hot water and water pressure issues) and Andrew's accident, he will still say it was one of his favorite vacations. It was great to get away and great to have a fun, active vacation with the kids. It is definitely an easier thing to do now that they are getting older and we hope to be able to do it again.
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