AW: CO Trip summary with PIPs (very long)

[AmyRI]

I've been writing a trip summary to put in the kids' baby books, so I figured I'd share it too, since a lot of people gave me great advice on CO and traveling with kids in general.

The itinerary:
We were going out to CO for SIL1's wedding, and extended the trip to see more of the state. This is what we ended up doing. We had backup plans in case of bad weather, but it only rained once so most didn't get used. FIL, StepMIL, and SIL2 traveled with us after the wedding but stayed in a camper, we stayed in nearby hotels/cabins. There was still some IL drama, related to SIL2 (she has an inability to communicate necessary information in a timely fashion), but much less than I was expecting. They did bail on 90% of our activities, but we just carried on with our plan without them and had a good time.

Day 1: Travel RI to Denver.
Day 2: Denver Zoo, lunch, drive to Estes Park during naptime, SIL's rehearsal dinner that night.
Day 3: Riverwalk through Estes Park and played in a playground. SIL's wedding in the afternoon/evening.
Day 4: Fishing at Trout Haven in EP. Drive to Colorado Springs during naptime. Dealing with my FIL's camper became that afternoon's activity.
Day 5: Garden of the Gods (part 1) in the morning, Dinosaur Resource Center in the afternoon during a thunderstorm (both in/near CO Springs).
Day 6: Garden of the Gods (part 2) and Manitou Cliff Dwellings, drive to Great Sand Dunes National Park during naptime, Zapata Falls in the evening.
Day 7: Great Sand Dunes, drive to Denver.
Day 8: Travel Denver to RI.

Denver:
After we arrived, we got our rental van, checked into the hotel, and went to the Shoppes at Northfield Stapleton for dinner and a Target run to stock up on food, beverages, diapers, and wipes.
During our first full day in Colorado, we started out at the Denver Zoo. It was definitely worth the stop, and it was beautiful. Great zoo, lots of animals to see and the big favorites are all there. The morning we were there, they had a bunch of teaching things going on with zookeepers bringing out animals and talking about them, so we got a more interactive trip than we were expecting.

We had lunch and got in the car at naptime to drive up to Estes Park. The main road up there was washed out (we thought it had been repaired after the floods last year), and the detour took an extra 45 minutes. Thankfully this was the shortest drive and FIL warned us about the closure the night before.

Estes Park:
The afternoon we got there was SIL's rehearsal dinner. They had pizzas and beers at Estes Park Brewery. The food was edible and the Raspberry Wheat beer was awesome. We got to introduce DD to the family that hadn't met her yet and met most of the groom's family for the first time.

The next morning, we walked along the Riverwalk, and started at the Visitor's Center. A very helpful man working there recommended the path to us to get to a playground on the other side of the downtown area. It was a nice, easy walk on a paved path, and the kids liked walking along the river, through a tunnel, over a bridge, and playing with a xylophone-like thing and the playground that are along the path at different points. It also goes right by a bunch of shops and restaurants, so we stopped for lunch on our way back through.

After nap was the wedding itself, up in a little town that was mostly washed away in the floods last year. But my SIL's DH's (BIL-IL? Just BIL? Whatever.) dad and stepmom live up there and the wedding was in their back yard. In case anyone remembers, SIL tried to convince us not to drive our own van up the washed out road and told us to ride in someone else's jeep (a "shuttle" according to her) with the kids in no carseats on a 1 lane dirt road that runs right along a creek for the mile-long trip that still takes 15 minutes. After talking with the "shuttle" driver, we drove up ourselves and parked in a neighbor's driveway. The neighbor didn't care at all, since they were also attending the wedding... lol. It all worked out and the kids were in their seats like I wanted.
The wedding ceremony was really nice and the weather was perfect (mostly cloudy with a breeze, threatened thunderstorms held off). We took pictures up in the meadow before going back down into "town" to the fire station.

The reception was in the volunteer fire station - they parked the trucks outside and set up the reception inside. DS was in love, getting to see the fire trucks and all the construction equipment in down that was working to rebuild the roads. The kids danced all night long. They were so tired by the end, but they did really, really well.

The next morning, we went to Trout Haven in Estes Park so FIL, DH, and DS could go fishing together. It's a privately owned pond stocked with trout from their neighboring fish hatchery. FIL wanted to take DS fishing, and this was the compromise - a place right in town, where you're almost guaranteed to catch something, and we didn't have to pay for permits, you only pay for what you catch. It certainly didn't keep DS's attention for the full 1.5 hours we were fishing, but he did enjoy it and got the experience. DS would not touch the fish, though! It was hilarious. DH caught 2 and FIL caught 3. DS helped reel them all in and grab them in the net. They provided all the equipment and bait and cleaned up the fish and put them on ice for you. It made the whole experience pretty painless.

We had a picnic lunch there before driving down to Colorado Springs during naptime. That night we didn't get to do more than check into our cabin and get FIL's camper set up a block over in the Garden of the Gods RV park. Let me tell you, having a full kitchen and grill is the way to go. It was really nice to be able to just get up and pour some cereal for the kids as usual and make our own dinners for a couple of nights.

Colorado Springs:
There's not much I didn't love about Colorado Springs. Garden of the Gods was the main reason we went, and it didn't disappoint. The red rock formations were awesome. We did the main trail the first day, which is a concrete path so we were able to take a stroller with us. The kids alternated who rode, or both walked and it carried the diaper bag. We went right after the visitor's center opened and it was just getting busy as we were going back to the car at 10:30. We hit up Balanced Rock on our way out of the park the first day.

It rained that afternoon, so we went about 20 minutes north to a place called the Dinosaur Resource Center. They had a bunch of fossils and skeletons on display, a big open room where the kids could run around, and a kid activity area that kept them occupied for 1-1.5 hours.

The next day, we went back to Garden of the Gods really early and did the hike to the Siamese Twins formation (dirt with 150ft elevation change, which was about it for DS I think, at least on that short of a trail) and went back to Balanced Rock to get a pic with the 4 of us together (had done DH/DS and me/DD the day before)

Then we went to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, which was interesting, but I'm not really convinced it was worth the money. DH and I aren't into history, and it wasn't very interesting for little kids, although we did walk through them a few times and it made for some pretty pictures.

Mosca (Great Sand Dunes National Park)
After lunch we packed up and drove down to Mosca, stopping at the Fort Garland museum for the ILs... go ahead and skip that unless you're super into history and have zero children with you. The ILs camped inside the park and we were at a hotel a mile or two from the park entrance. The evening we arrived, we hiked the 1/4 mile up to Zapata Falls before dinner when we first got there. The kids and I didn't get to see the real falls, as you had to get into the creek to get in the cave to see them. Hiked back down and drove into the park to FIL's camper. We cooked the fish that DH/FIL caught in Estes Park for dinner and took pictures of the dunes and deer on our way out of the park.

The next morning, we watched the sun rise over the dunes and got to the park around 8:30, hoping to hike a bit before it got hot. The ILs were dragging their feet again so took our time and crossed Medano creek, hiked to the top of the first dune, took some pictures, and went back to Medano Creek when the ILs just arrived. DS played in the water and mud for a LONG time. We tried to get DD in on the action, but she hates sand, dirt, and most of all cold water. She was not a happy camper unless someone was carrying her around.

Then it was driving back to dinner and flying home the next day.

Actual traveling:
We drove from RI to Boston so we could get a direct, cheap flight to Denver. We did the math (including extra gas, more expensive parking, toll roads, and baggage fees on United vs none on Southwest) and flying out of Boston saved us a few hundred bucks and a couple of hours worth of travel time since we avoided a layover. I normally hate driving a long distance to the airport, but this was 100% the right decision, from a logistical standpoint as well as financial. We were bringing the carseats onto the plane, and not having to get them on/off and installed twice each way was nice. And having 1 of the legs of the trip in the car, where no one but us has to hear the kids whine/scream/cry, reduced stress level a lot. Only downside is that DD got carsick in the stop and go traffic on the way to the airport at the beginning of the trip. I think it was a combo of her being on the sunny side of the car, rear facing, and in an hour of traffic with DH driving not-so-smoothly (he was driving my car, so it was not as smooth as him driving his own truck would have been).

My major vent: If you have 2 kids under 40 pounds, and you only have 2 adults going on the trip with the 2 kids, do not under any circumstances attempt to bring both carseats on the plane even if it's the FAA recommended way. (FTR, I was well aware that this was a stupid ass idea. I am still annoyed at DH a week later.) I had bought a CARES harness and had it with us but DH insisted that DS wouldn't sleep on the plane without his seat. He only slept 20 minutes on the way out WITH his seat, and not at all on the flight home since it was not naptime. We had to buy 2 of the roller carts that the seats attach to to get them/the kids through the airport, and that part worked well. It's getting 2 kids (only the 3-year-old would walk to his seat - 18mo old DD would not budge and required being carried), 3 small carry-ons, and 2 carseats on the plane that is bordering on physically impossible. On the way out, DH left me, DD, her carseat, both carseat carts, and a camera bag on the jetway to fend for ourselves. He had the nerve to tell me how easy it was getting on the plane! Umm... DS just walked to his seat, DH had on a backpack and carried 1 carseat. I, on the other hand, had to carry DD, wear the backpack and camera bag, carry the carts, and a very nice man in the 1st seat in First Class took pity on me and carried back DD's carseat. The return flight, I told DH I would take 2 bags and the kids and he had to figure out the carseats if he wanted them both on the plane. So he carried them both back at the same time, which was not at all graceful and he bitched about for a long time afterwards because no one offered to help him. The flight attendents, at least on United, would not help at all and acted like we were inconveniencing them by using the seats, even though they are FAA approved and recommended for both kids. I was not impressed at all.

Things we bought to make life easier:
- I bought this quiet book, which was a huge hit with both kids: www.amazon.com/Almas-Designs-My-Quiet-Book/dp/B000021YZS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404412059&sr=8-1&keywords=quiet+book
- "Grab and go" sticker book for each kid from Walmart, $4. They were on an endcap near the office supply stuff in our store.
- A Galaxy Tab (8") tablet, with the Kids Mode app, the public library's app and borrowed books, and a few downloaded episodes of Curious George that were a couple bucks a piece, IIRC. Also, looking at their own pictures from the trip was a huge hit. I was backing up the pics I took with my DSLR onto the tablet (and those auto-back-up to the cloud) as well, and this eliminated the need for a laptop which made going through security a lot easier.
- Califone headphones for the kids for when they were using the tablet.
- Brica Roll n' Go Carseat transporters. Our Safety 1st Alpha Elite 65 carseats attached with no issues and they fold up easily. It was a pretty stable ride and it was easy to pull the kid behind you or push in front of you. DH said that the handle did flex a bit with DS in the seat (he's 35ish pounds) but I didn't notice the handle flex with DD's 25ish pounds.

[Deleted]

thanks for sharing! great pics, I really love the one of you guys at the wedding!

[WhatYouSee]

Nice photos! Boo to your husband for his insistence on 2 carseats! We took a cross-country flight last summer with both kids and having the CARES harness for the older one made things so much more manageable.

[carolinagirl831]

Beautiful pictures looks like a great trip

[Deleted]

Glad you had a good trip! I grew up in CO so I loved seeing your pictures.

[frlcb]

I think any car seat on a plane for a child over 1 is a PITA and would not recommend it to anyone!

[Marmee]

Great recap & pics!! I've lived in CO 8yrs (plus WY another several) & you may have seen more of CO than I have...lol. Thanks for sharing!

[oceanstbride]

Sounds like a fun trip! Love the pictures

[countthestars]

Great pics! You and your kids are all gorgeous

[lolo]

What lovely pictures! Thanks for the write up.

Which roller bag did you use to haul your carseats?

[niki]

Thank you so much for sharing! We are planning a trip to COS in about a month and this is certainly helping us decide on what to do!

[AmyRI]

Jul 3, 2014 22:22:21 GMT -5 lolo said:

What lovely pictures! Thanks for the write up.

Which roller bag did you use to haul your carseats?

We took both seats on with us, so we didn't need bags for them, just roller carts. We got Brica Roll 'n Go Car Seat Transporters instead. They worked well. www.amazon.com/BRICA-Roll-Car-Seat-Transporter/dp/B0074JKQ0Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404493340&sr=8-1&keywords=brica+roll+and+go+transporter

We had one JR Childress bag with us that we had used on our last trip to gate check a car seat and it was fine. 
www.amazon.com/Childress-Gate-Check-Bag-Seats/dp/B000RRD7UG/ref=pd_bxgy_ba_text_y

[AmyRI]

Jul 4, 2014 0:30:01 GMT -5 niki said:

Thank you so much for sharing! We are planning a trip to COS in about a month and this is certainly helping us decide on what to do!

LMK if you want the full list of activities we found for that area. I had a pretty long list as backup plans, so I can't say if any of them are better than what we ended up doing, but it could give you more options if you're there more than 2 days. 

[niki]

Jul 4, 2014 12:14:05 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Jul 4, 2014 0:30:01 GMT -5 niki said:

Thank you so much for sharing! We are planning a trip to COS in about a month and this is certainly helping us decide on what to do!

LMK if you want the full list of activities we found for that area. I had a pretty long list as backup plans, so I can't say if any of them are better than what we ended up doing, but it could give you more options if you're there more than 2 days. 

I would love that, thank you!