Jeeping Buffalo Pass, late summer
- It's technically still summer, and warm enough for it, but it sure looks like fall around here...
- I had no idea Buff Pass was dirt. And rutted, rocky dirt at that. I suppose you could bring a regular car up here, but I wouldn't want to...
- I can't even tell you how much our rocky picnic spot reminded me of being a kid in Colorado...love that feeling of giving my kids the same outdoorsy childhood that I had...
- Aspen trees if you hug them are cold. The dead ones are not...
- I love how when the leaves fall on pine trees they look like Christmas ornaments...
- The leaves are nowhere near their peak...another weekend? Two? I'm not sure we'll drive here again this fall but we'll be checking out the leaves elsewhere for sure...what a beautiful drive Buff Pass is, though...highly recommended...
Places we love: Wild Goose Coffee (Hayden, CO)
We drove 20 Mile Road yesterday, hoping to see some fall colors...that was a bust, but we did have fun trying to spot 10 different kinds of animals (final count: 15, including some mule deer) and stopping in Hayden at Wild Goose Coffee, which I am in love with because:
- It's in this cool old granary
- Super friendly staff
- Cool and funky art inside and out
- Great coffee and tea (and drink choices for the kids)
- TONS of cool kids toys tucked away in a corner, the kids can play out of the way, and Mommy and Daddy can actually read the Saturday paper...what luxury...
Check it out if you haven't been...we'll definitely be going back...
XOXO
Steamboat with kids (and for artsy parents): September, 2016
Some things we're looking forward to this month:
Sep. 3 and 4: Wild West Air Fest
We went to this last year and it was such a beautiful warm day, and the air show was super fun. There were also some fun kid things eg a bounce house and big plastic bubbles that rolled around in water. They also do airplane and helicopter rides, which I would love to do with the kids...they've never been on a plane, can you imagine that being their first experience? But it's super expensive, so... Learn more
Sep. 8-11: Crane Festival
I think we're going to do the Friday Sep. 9, 5:30-8:00 event, "Family activities, dessert, and crane viewing." Yum...s'mores... Also Sunday Sep. 11, 10:30–2:00, live owls on the library lawn... Learn more
Sep. 10, 11 AM: Rubber Duckie Race
We happened upon this last year at the library, it was charming to watch all the little duckies in the river...will be fun to have our own in the race and also to watch them get put into the river this year... Learn more
Sep. 10, 7 PM: Big Lebowski Festival
My husband loves this movie...this will be a fun little date night. It's at the Chief Theater which is such a cool downtown venue... Learn more
Sep. 24, 3 PM: Steamboat is Magic! Family Show
How fun will it be to take the kids to a magic show?? Learn more
Sep. 28, 7 PM: Free Foreign Film
"The Automatic Hate," which is actually an American indie film...trying to go to this series each month for a little culture and adult time...
Leaves Turning
The peak should be the latter part of the month...I'll be doing some drives with the kids and as a family we'll go out on the Jeep trails a weekend or two...
I love fall in Colorado...
XO
Jeeping Road 433, Routt National Forest
In at Seedhouse Road, out at Hanhs Peak. Great drive, enough 4WD stuff to be fun but not scary. A creek for a picnic and some hikes along the way. Spectacular views. Wildflowers and wildlife everywhere—we even saw a bear. Excellent (if a bit long...but then again we took a lot of side routes) for kids. Bring a map. Tons of aspen...going to be spectacular in the fall.
XO
Should I take my kids to Strawberry Park Hot Springs?
The short answer:
At night: No!
During the day: Yes!
The long answer:
Strawberry Park Hot Springs, aka the "hippie hot springs," is just outside Steamboat. It's up a beautiful road that turns to dirt but is easy to navigate in the summer (other seasons 4WD is recommended, there are also year-round shuttles if you don't want to drive). The setting is amazing, very rustic with dirt paths and stone steps and the cutest little buildings imaginable, trees and flowers all around, the pools of course and a beautiful little river. I took my 4-year-olds there in the spring and again last week (high summer), and here's my advice for other parents:
You can't go at night
First off, it's clothing optional at night, and kids are not allowed, so if you're going to take your kids it's got to be during the day.
Some pools are hotter than others
There are pools that the kids loved and they could in theory stay in for hours (the 2 closest to the bridge seem to be best). The other pools get hotter, and some may be too hot for little ones.
Some pools are bigger and deeper than others
Some pools are super shallow and small and felt very safe...and were favorites for my kids...others were bigger and deeper and I felt better with life jackets on.
Bring a picnic
There are lots of chairs and picnic tables and some shady spots...bring a meal, drinks too...
Make friends
Everyone is so ridiculously friendly, truly everyone, but especially other moms and dads and the kids seem to congregate around one another, so go ahead, share your toys and snacks (like my son especially likes to do) and make some new friends.
There's more to the hot springs than the hot springs
Especially in the summer when the air is warm, my kids like searching the river and the cool pools for fish, watching bugs, scrambling around on the rocks...you know how kids are not linear, it's fun to see how for them the hot springs are more than just the hot springs.
This is a Steamboat spot not to be missed! Enjoy!
XOXO
Grace in small things, July 4th weekend
So great to have my parents up for the 4th of July! Here are some lovely things that happened to us...
- Great dinners all cooked on the grill by my wonderful husband...
- Yummy apricots that my dad brought up...
- Seeing my mom and dad play with my kids...love seeing their interactions...
- Little fireworks from the fireworks stand...kids loved the snakes and the poppers especially...
- The ranch rodeo, with the kids loving playing on the playground and Luke especially enthusiastic about the rodeo because he could yell and cheer as loud as he wanted...
- The parade the morning of the 4th (the dragon pictured above was my favorite there...apparently this dragon is quite the Steamboat tradition...) there were also horses and a camel and the kids loved the Steamboat ski area float with their polar bear friend...
- A nap with the kids on the 4th...I never nap...it was amazing...
- A great walk downtown and back with my dad...
- Fireworks at Howelsen Hill...spectacular...
The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, love making it special...
XOXO
12 fun things to do with kids: July, 2016
Some fun things to do this July:
1. Have a slumber party
And have some fun and special stuff planned, like favorite-colored helium balloons for the kids, pizza and a movie, a disco dance party, pillow fights, a trip to the playground the next morning and/or and this princess cupcake game...
2. Set off July 4th fireworks
Hello, poppers and sparklers! Take the kids with you to buy them...
3. Make home-made lemonade
I'm going to try this Paleo version...
4. Picnic among the flowers
It can be as easy as picking up sandwiches at the local deli or fancier and homemade with this basket (which we've had forever) and these bento boxes (which we just got...amazing), these water bottles (which I'm lusting after...pricy, but you'll have them forever, right?) and these cloth napkins (I'm thinking you could just get any cute cotton fabric and tear into squares...which I may do this month as well). We're going to be going here.
5. Celebrate Bastille Day (July 14th)
I'm not a big cook but I do like making fancy French meals occasionally... and this seems like a good occasion to do it. Julia Child is one of my heroes. I'm going to make a new receipe from this book.
6. Stargaze
We've got a covered balcony that faces southwest...we have a rectangle of sky we look out on and I always think of the cliff dwelling Indians (eg the Anasazi) and how they must have had similar views of the sky. Seeing the stars is a little challenging this time of year with it staying so light so late but it's so delightful to sit out on the porch in the evenings. Right now we've got both Mars and Jupiter in our view, which is really cool...
7. Go camping
We did a day trip to Steamboat Lake the other week, and an overnight is in order...
8. Have ice cream cones
Lyon's Drug is another recent discovery of ours...they've got an old-fashioned soda fountain and ice cream cones for $1...
9. Draw with chalk
The kids are so excited to do this...
10. Catch bugs
When the kids went on "summer vacation" (aka stayed with their two grandmas while my dad and I did an amazing Pacific Northwest trip about a month ago), we got them a bug hotel and nets as a present. They love catching bugs and having them stay the night (there is a one night max stay at the bug hotel.) We haven't caught a ladybug yet...that is our goal for July...
11. Build a sandcastle
Make it as big and as fancy as you can...
12. Go to a baseball game
Ours is going to be Daddy's work's softball team, on a Wednesday evening with a picnic and a few cold beers in tow...
Enjoy July!
XOXO