Thrilling Jeep Rides & Waterfalls

So I'm just now getting the courage to write about the next two days of our Colorado trip (over the summer!).   These days were thrilling and I was actually downright scared through some of it.  

I felt like Roo in this picture.

We rented a jeep for two days.  A jeep that would take us to some of the most amazing places I've ever seen.  But with that came narrow roads, steep inclines, and raised heartbeats!  The jeep trail that we did the first day was a bit long and really bumpy.  But nothing too major.  (That was day two!) Our day started off nice and calm at an old abandoned mine.  This house obviously belonged to a wealthy family.

 It even had an indoor potty.  I could have stayed in this house all day.  My love for houses does not discriminate between the old and the new.  

 Our next stop was so breathtaking I can't even try to describe it.  The name of the point on the map is called "oh" point because it leaves you speechless.  We enjoyed our lunch here with the most spectacular 360 degree view.

I was happily in charge of the map that gave historical information about each spot along the trail.  I still can't believe that the next spot was just a little dot on the map.  Not too much information but the word waterfall is like a magnet to my hubby so we had to stop.  And we couldn't just look at it from the nice overlook they provided.  Nope.  We walked straight down the crumbly trail to the base of the waterfall.

My baby girl was becoming a pro with those hiking boots.

 See?  He's in heaven.

 The water was very cold!

Here is another random waterfall on the way back to town.  They were everywhere.  It was like a game to see how many waterfalls we could find.  

But day two of jeep riding?  Oh how I wish I could go back and try to enjoy it more.  Honestly, I really did try.  I prayed my heart out to not be scared but but maybe I was just praying that I wouldn't die.  Hmm, that's not the same thing.  Anyway, if there was any day I could have a do over with it would be that one.  Hopefully I won't be away from the blog too long to tell you about it soon.  But I've got a crazy week ahead of me and I've got to prioritize my time.  That means cleaning because bible study is at my house this week!

Colorado Trip 2012 Part 2-Durango to Silverton Train Ride

On our second full day of our trip, we boarded this beauty for a scenic trip to Silverton, Colorado.

I love that this picture gives you another chance to see the views all around Durango.

When we arrived in Silverton, we made a beeline to a little restaurant called Avalanche (thanks to Yelp!).  We explored the town and got excited for the next 7 days that we would be spending there.  We spent most of the time looking for the grocery store and quickly decided that we would be doing most of our shopping in Durango and bringing it with us!  The store was so tiny and expensive.  But I was glad to know that we had options just in case we forgot something.

I have to be honest, the train ride was long and bumpy.   And because it started so early in the morning, a few of us may have been a little grumpy.   Also, our views were somewhat limited in the covered cars on the way to Silverton, so we moved out to the open gondolas on the way back to Durango.  It made the other 3 1/2 hours go a bit faster, I think.

We could actually stick our heads out and see the bridges we were going over.

And we really got to experience the cliffs that we were hugging.  This my friends, is a straight shot all the way down.

Ah, this is more like it.  Flat on the ground and a gorgeous river roaring right beside us.  

We ended the day with a good dinner with even better family conversations.  I had the opportunity to check my email and find out that J-man had officially been assigned a drum lesson time.  Roo quickly expressed that she wanted to do piano lessons instead of soccer and "Musical Fall" was born!  With hubby's crazy shift schedule, we made it very clear to the kids that for now only one child could be in a sport.  It was Roo's turn.  But now, since she is in lessons as well, we can enjoy our weekends together and not feel pressured going here and there for games.  I know it won't be forever but we are looking forward to spending more time together as a family this Fall.  And to learning and playing new instruments in our new music room.  More of that to come!  I've been busy painting.....  

Thanks to Bagster our shed is gone!

Our project for Spring Break was to remove the unused shed in our backyard.  It was falling apart and rotting and we couldn't even get the doors all of the way open.  I've always hated the way it peeked over the fence.  

The only pic I could find of the view from the street was one I took right after Hurrican Ike.  The palms, bushes and tall evergreen are all gone now too.  I don't miss any of them!

Woo Hoo!

The big green bag is the Bagster.  It would have taken us two days to tear down and haul away that shed if we hadn't used it.  Because we did, we got it done in a day!  You just set up (we moved ours to the street), fill it up, make an appointment online for them to pick it up and you're done.  No borrowing a trailer, no unloading trip after trip to the dump.  It was so easy!

After we got it all out of the way and onto the street, we  hubby created our new veggie garden.

It was so exciting when our Waste Management came two mornings later to pick it up.  Can you see J-man taking pics too?  A future blogger?  (-:

Roo got to work the crane after our stuff was all loaded into the truck.  Only with Daddy's help, of course.

If you decide to use a Bagster, watch the short video on their website about how to load it.  That way you know they won't deny your pick up.  Our sweet WM guy showed us some pictures of crazy loading that they denied.    

Here is an in progress pic of our garden.  We are planting today and I hope to be giving updates on our veggies soon!  

I've been given the go ahead to make it "prettier" but I'm not too sure how I'm gonna do that.  Any ideas?

p.s.  I was not paid by Bagster to do this post but I wish I was (-:  It really wasn't that bad though.  $35 for the bag and $100 to pick up.  Totally worth it for the time saving.