A ColoRADo Camping Trip!

Yes! You read that correctly. We went CAMPING-- and I even did so without fear and trepidation mostly willingly!! I feel like my Dad would be proud. Jon says I owe him for every time we went to the beach while living in NC, but I am in no way agreeing to that (at least not yet) so I think he'd better take what he can get.

We left Friday right after school and headed towards Arapahoe National Forest near Black Hawk, CO. We hit rush hour weekend traffic, and didn't get to the campsite until almost 6:30 p.m. We'd picked up Jimmy John's on the way up and before we'd done anything, we enjoyed our picnic dinner before the sun set!

Jon was a beast and got the tent and most of our camp set up while the kids and I were eating dinner, so by the time we were done I wanted to walk over to the vista really quick to see if we could catch the sunset. We knew the fall colors would be pretty this time of year, but in fact, they were SPECTACULAR!

There were aspens interspersed everywhere with all the evergreens, and when the sun would hit the gold leaves, the whole tree would just GLOW. It was breathtaking!

Walking right into the sunset with the aspens on fire! It is truly such a shame to not have a good camera that can do these kinds of pictures justice! The majesty of those mountains (which were much closer in real life) is totally lost in these flat, 1-dimensional pictures. The whole sky was just glowing gold and pink. Alas!

We headed back to camp and Jon made us a roaring fire and we bundled the kids up against the chilly mountain air! We roasted s'mores and told ((semi))-scary ghost stories (Zach has bad dreams) and Leah reminded us all several times that "there are NO bears in Colorado!" The older kids had seen signs posted all over the campground warning about bears so every time we heard ANY noise.... Well, you get the picture. Leah was totally freaked out. 

We made our s'mores with these pumpkin marshmallows I'd found at Target. They were still vanilla flavored, but I don't know if it was their size or shape or the extra food dye, but they made the BEST s'mores I've ever had!! They roasted up so perfectly and were just the right size! Highly recommend.

Leah wasn't feeling great that day-- a mild fever and a little cranky, so she and I headed to bed in the back of the van pretty early. The other kids and Jon stayed up longer and played card games and told more stories--and they slept in the tent. My least favorite thing about camping is that you just never seem to sleep very good! Despite being plenty warm, and having a nice cozy bed, Leah woke up probably 10 times-- partly due to noisy neighbors, and partly due to the full moon being so super bright (the almost super moon)! It was literally like someone was shining a flashlight into the car! She kept saying, "Mom! Turn that light out!" it was that bright. Jon said he woke up in the middle of the night to get some water and he didn't even need his flashlight to see outside.

Rise and shine! Jon enjoying another pumpkin mallow s'more as an early breakfast horderves. 

We had a fantastic breakfast with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hot chocolate. We'd brought up a propane burner but it was not working very well, so we ended up cooking everything over an open fire and despite the eggs getting a little overdone, it turned out great.

Once we'd packed up camp (I know, I know! So much work for hardly even being there!) we hiked up this little hill to an overlook at the top of the mountain. We got a great view of the surrounding mountains and the fall colors!

Here's the sleep-deprived Naughtykins herself! On our hike she also reminded us that there are "NO snakes or crocodiles in Colorado either." Well, she is right about the crocodiles. 

Even though short and sweet I'd like to suggest that our first Colorado camp-out was in fact, a roaring success.

Before heading back home, we wanted to check out Black Hawk and Central City, which were both booming mining towns during the silver and gold rushes, but have become old "ghost towns" that have been preserved and revitalized into some pretty cool historical locations. Back in its heyday Central City was home to thousands of miners, but now has a population of about 500 people. This was the Teller House, which was one of the first hotels in Colorado-- and where President Grant came to stay shortly after the Civil War.

The Central City Opera House built in 1878 by local gold miners-- which attracted performances by legends such as Buffalo Bill and PT Barnum's Circus.

The once-abandoned Presbyterian Church located right off Main Street. 

 Main Street, USA! Just kidding-- but it really did kind of look like Main Street USA at Disney World. It was a very picturesque ghost town-- I think my kids were picturing something a bit more decrepit! Lucy loved learning about it though.

Coeur d'Alene Mine Shaft which operated from 1885-1940, harvesting gold, silver, copper, and lead. Tours were closed for the summer, but I'm sure we'll be back!

We decided we'd better stop for lunch at Cafe Rio since we happened to be driving right by on our way home. I don't know for certain, but I think it's safe to say that any camping trip that involves Cafe Rio at the end of it will definitely get my stamp of approval!