Friday, August 15. 2008
Yay for family
We had a great time with Dad Sickmiller and the Armbrusters. The weekend was pretty busy involving quite a long hike for little legs and didn't leave much time for altitude adjustment as it was the first day everyone was here. The pictures are amazingly beautiful. We had bright blue skies, everything was green and there was an abundance of wildflowers. Following the hike we grilled out and spent an evening catching up. The good weather continued for most of the weekend as we went to Animas Forks, watched Adam perform with the Brass Band, rode the train and went to the Bar-D Chuckwagon.
It was the first time for Adam and I to ride the train. We left from Silverton and got off short of Durango in Rockwood. We really enjoyed the ride and are looking forward to doing it again on locals day. It was overcast that day and I rather enjoyed it that way. It made for a nice moody train ride.
When our friends Mark and Jason were here in May we tried to go to this Bar-D Chuckwagon in Durango but they were closed for a private party on the night we planned to attend. Bummer. Adam made the suggestion that the gang of us go down after the train ride and I'm so glad he did. I wasn't necesarily sold on the idea but I loved it. The food was great for being a buffet capable of feeding 700 and the show was fun. Mark and Jason, you would've loved it! Next time.
The Armbrusters left Tuesday morning heading to Steamboat Springs then on to visit other family in Fort Collins. Dad stayed with us and we had a nice week together until he flew out of Denver on Saturday. I worked most of the time but he and Adam visited the museum and went hiking. We had heard the museum was interesting but we'd never been. Adam and his dad confirmed that it was a great museum, so I really need to go check it out. We left Friday to start heading towards the airport so as to not have to drive in the middle of the night the entire way. We stopped at the botanical gardens in Grand Junction just 45 minutes before they closed and probably could have spent a BIT more time but we were able to see everything they had. It's a pretty nice garden, if a bit small, but they have plenty of room to expand and have lots of plans for the future. They had a most interesting tree that I had never seen the likes of before and I asked the one guy who was working there what it was but he didn't know. He said I was the second person to ask that day so he would have to find out. Most of the plants were marked but not that one. It had pink fluffies all over it. They also had a really nice succulent garden.
Anyway, we stayed in Eagle along I-70 Friday night and then leisurely got up and went to the airport in the morning. Adam and I did some shopping at the mall afterwards and then headed to REI. We tried to eat fast food as we left Denver and ended up having a problem that we've had before. All of the sudden it's as if we're leaving Denver and we haven't see any fast food places. So we get off at what seems like the last exit before heading into the hills and it took us an hour to find and eat at Burger King. We get back on the highway (after backtracking three exits on side roads) and then about twenty minutes later there is a Wendy's in some po-dunk town in the foothills right off the highway. Strange. I was really grumpy after shopping on an empty stomach and I was not going to eat from a gas station (I had an irrational fear that Colorado gas stations don't serve warm food and I wanted a warm meal not a cold refrigerator sandwich) so I was glad to put up with the hunt for BK. Continuing on... we camped that night and then headed back home to Silverton in time for Adam to play with the band. The end.
I just looked back at my posts over the summer and realized I never posted about my parents' trip out here the first week in June. My mom will probably give me a hard time about that. LOVE YOU MOM
It was the first time for Adam and I to ride the train. We left from Silverton and got off short of Durango in Rockwood. We really enjoyed the ride and are looking forward to doing it again on locals day. It was overcast that day and I rather enjoyed it that way. It made for a nice moody train ride.
When our friends Mark and Jason were here in May we tried to go to this Bar-D Chuckwagon in Durango but they were closed for a private party on the night we planned to attend. Bummer. Adam made the suggestion that the gang of us go down after the train ride and I'm so glad he did. I wasn't necesarily sold on the idea but I loved it. The food was great for being a buffet capable of feeding 700 and the show was fun. Mark and Jason, you would've loved it! Next time.
The Armbrusters left Tuesday morning heading to Steamboat Springs then on to visit other family in Fort Collins. Dad stayed with us and we had a nice week together until he flew out of Denver on Saturday. I worked most of the time but he and Adam visited the museum and went hiking. We had heard the museum was interesting but we'd never been. Adam and his dad confirmed that it was a great museum, so I really need to go check it out. We left Friday to start heading towards the airport so as to not have to drive in the middle of the night the entire way. We stopped at the botanical gardens in Grand Junction just 45 minutes before they closed and probably could have spent a BIT more time but we were able to see everything they had. It's a pretty nice garden, if a bit small, but they have plenty of room to expand and have lots of plans for the future. They had a most interesting tree that I had never seen the likes of before and I asked the one guy who was working there what it was but he didn't know. He said I was the second person to ask that day so he would have to find out. Most of the plants were marked but not that one. It had pink fluffies all over it. They also had a really nice succulent garden.
Anyway, we stayed in Eagle along I-70 Friday night and then leisurely got up and went to the airport in the morning. Adam and I did some shopping at the mall afterwards and then headed to REI. We tried to eat fast food as we left Denver and ended up having a problem that we've had before. All of the sudden it's as if we're leaving Denver and we haven't see any fast food places. So we get off at what seems like the last exit before heading into the hills and it took us an hour to find and eat at Burger King. We get back on the highway (after backtracking three exits on side roads) and then about twenty minutes later there is a Wendy's in some po-dunk town in the foothills right off the highway. Strange. I was really grumpy after shopping on an empty stomach and I was not going to eat from a gas station (I had an irrational fear that Colorado gas stations don't serve warm food and I wanted a warm meal not a cold refrigerator sandwich) so I was glad to put up with the hunt for BK. Continuing on... we camped that night and then headed back home to Silverton in time for Adam to play with the band. The end.
I just looked back at my posts over the summer and realized I never posted about my parents' trip out here the first week in June. My mom will probably give me a hard time about that. LOVE YOU MOM
