Today was a ride up into the Rockies! We loaded up the car early in the AM. First site of the trip was the football field. The Denver Broncos!
Here is where we were headed. Oh my goodness! You should have heard the ooooh and ahhhh's in the car. Isn't this so awesome!
Easton, Ryland and I hung out in the middle seat! We got to watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
We noticed a bit of wind blowing the snow around. When we got to Keystone (ski area) it was cold and windy but sunny!
Here we are! Walking toward the ski mountain and the village at the base of the mountain. OHHHH so beautiful! 12,400 ft. elevation. That is way up there for sure!
The boys! Big and small!
I enlisted the help of the family photographer!
It was cold but if it got too cold you could stand by the gas fire and warm your tootsies! It did warm up nicely as the day progressed!
Apparently there was a plan to ambush Papa Mike and Grandma Jackie with snowballs. Ryland's target was GMA Jackie and Mark's target was Papa Mike. Ryland was pretty happy about hitting me with a snowball!
Lunch! Pizza! Yum!
Mike, always puts on a show for the camera!
"Cheese!" and not on the pizza!
The village! Or at least part of it!
We found some crazy hats! Stunning!
These two people were co-founders of the Keystone ski area! They will forever be at the base of the mountain!
The creek runs along the base of the mountain right by the founder's statues!
Mike and I went and checked out the lift ticket prices. 93 dollars for adults. Could be worse in Colorado but it sure makes our $50.00 tickets look good.
Ryland and Keri before their blow fish faces!
and here are the blow fish faces! Beautiful either way!!!
After our 100% tourist trip to Keystone Ski Resort we headed back toward Denver. Still beautiful!
We made a little side trip to Golden, Colorado. It was right on our way home so we stopped at the Coors brewery. We took a small bus from a parking area to the brewery. The driver gave us a quick tour of Golden. Lots of history and Buffalo Bill's grave was just a stones throw away from the quaint little town.
As you enter the brewery they swipe your driver's license. You can only visit once a day! Wonder why???
Keri looks pretty excited about this adventure. No beer for Keri so she must have been excited to see how beer was brewed!
These giant copper kettles extend way underground! These kettles hold 15,500 gallons of brewski! This is one step in the brewing process.
Everyone is headed down to the sampling area! This was at the end of the tour!
Each adult could have 3 beer samples. Each sample was 6-8 ounces.
Not sure what is on the agenda for tomorrow. Maybe just hanging out around in Parker! Maybe a trip to Coors field for a tour!
A Ram! I love the Rams that is for sure. This one is about as active as the Rams that play on the football field.
The local wolves!
Ryland posed with the buffaloes. They were life size! Big!
I discovered this bear peering down at us!
Roar!!
Watch your fingers Ryland!
I think Cougars are one of the most beautiful animals on Earth! I have never seen one in the wild thankfully.
Lots of fun things for Ryland and Easton!
Here the kids had to work together and try and move like a caterpillar!
There was a play room for the little ones like Easton. Easton has sharing down. He wants to give everything he has to someone. Such a nice little boy!
Easton got to build a beaver dam!
After the museum we stopped and got some lunch and then it was back home to rest up for the next fun activity. Bowling. Mike stayed back at the ranch to work on his Bible study. We missed him but had a great time anyway! Ryland and Mark were a team and Keri and I were a team. Ryland keeps his hands in the air until the ball makes contact with the pins.
Total concentration!
What technique these two have! Stars!
Mark is passing on his technique to his son!
Break time! Bowling takes a bunch of energy so a snack is helpful to keep the energy level up!
If Easton could have picked up a ball and rolled it down the lane he would have. Maybe next year Easton!
There was an arcade at the alley. When I was in high school I was a champ at this game. Of course the game wasn't colored pink then. We would play and play down at Balboa Island. The Fun Zone if I remember correctly. Keri beat me on this outing. I guess I am a bit out of practice.
Ryland got to smash some sharks.
My brother and his family came over for dessert tonight. One minor detail they hadn't eaten dinner. I guess we should have planned to feed them. My brother, Steve, had just started a new job! We had a great visit and it was good to see them all!
