Mesa Verde National Park

One of the great things about having a teacher husband is that he has lots of time off. Have I already mentioned this? No? Well, get used to hearing it from me a lot this summer. (Actually, let's be realistic. I've hardly posted at all this year. If I keep up my infrequent posts you won't hear from me much at all, which means you'll hardly have to listen to me prattle on about Eric being on summer vacation.) We took a big road trip (Utah to Colorado to Dallas to Arkansas to Kansas City and home again), and to spare you from the longest post of pictures ever, I'll break it up into a few posts for you. (You're welcome.)

We first went to Mesa Verde National Park. It was neat, but I wish we had had more time to spend there. I also wish that Felix had napped in the car at an earlier hour so that when we got to the park around 1 he had been rested. He was a bit of a pill sometimes. Ike loved any opportunity to climb a ladder. I had read from various places that this park is not child-friendly, and I can see why people say that. Still, I thought it was totally worth going, even with two little kids (aged 3.5 and 1.5). I'd love to go again without little kids so we can spend more time there and go on some of the longer hikes.

After our visit to Mesa Verde National Park we camped somewhat nearby. We had planned on staying at a campground with running water and such things, but we didn't make a reservation in time and instead camped in a camping area in the national forest. We had a great time camping. It was pretty cold, but we managed to stay warm enough.  I shared a tent with Ike, and Eric shared with Felix. Both boys went to sleep fairly well, and in the morning we headed to Dallas. It was definitely the worst leg of our long journey with Felix crying quite a bit. Ike eventually got tired and grabbed Felix's blanket, which Felix had thrown down in a rage, covered his head with it and promptly went to sleep. Ike gave up and napped later as well.