the    sides

One of the things we’ve always try to do with our kids is to take “mini-vacations.” Let’s face it, no one likes to pack the car for a 12 hour ride to a place where the parental units must demand mandatory fun. But - an hour or two ride with lots of pit stops and photo opportunities…that’s a whole other story.

This past weekend, we grabbed the Smiths and went up to Mt. Evans, the highest paved road in America. Summit Elevation: 14,240.

This is Echo Lake, right at the base of the mountain.

About 3/4 of the way up - we found this mountain goat. It’s amazing how well they blend in. By the way, this is the point where we discovered Will’s new nickname - Goat.

All the kids climbing at the summit.

Mom was a bit nervous, Camber was in complete awe of the view. Here we are at the summit and while we were up there, a thunderstorm rolled in. Besides putting cloud cover over everything, the whole mountain charged up with static electricity. The girls hair was standing up and they moved us off the summit quickly. You could feel the electricity! It was both awesome and scary at the same time.

Afterwards, swung through Evergreen and at the world’s best pizza - Beau Jo’s.

Another great Colorado Adventure…