Last Hurrah of Summer

.Last Hurrah of Summer 2015.

We enjoyed our annual last hurrah of summer trip to Lake Superior with my family. We go to a fish boil every year & enjoy the lake one last time for the year.  Tonight, I am sharing my Labor Day weekend in photos! 

This was our gorgeous view from our cabin! 

My two cuties playing on the tree outside our cabin!

Hanging out with daddy on the front deck.

Annual photo at the marina-they are getting big so fast!

One of my favorite beaches on earth - South Shore of Lake Superior!

Pondering the lake. He told me he wants to move here...someday buddy, mommy wants a cabin here!

Jumping the waves...

Beach time! YAY! No matter what the water temperature, we are always in the water. It helps when we float on tubes, then your legs don't freeze as fast. HA

She asked if I could please bury her like that kid over there! haha 

They couldn't wait to climb the big chair at the restaurant near our cabin.

Weeeeee!!!! This is his favorite past time when we are up north. He is a little dare devil. SCARES mom!!!

We fill our water jugs and water bottles with fresh "Corny" water, which is a spring fed well. Delicious ice cold water, straight from the earth! The kids love to help!

How did you spend your last weekend of summer?

Rocky Mountain National Park

.Rocky Mountain National Park.

Better late than never right, well that is what I am telling myself. We were in Rocky Mountain National Park over a month and a half ago, but I am just getting to this blog post! We spent 1 1/2 days in Rocky Mountain National Park. After we left, we realized that we should have spent a lot more time there. It was absolutely gorgeous & there is so much to see  and do. Whether you are an avid hiker or just want to walk a little bit, there is plenty for everyone to see. 

^^Heading out of Estes Park & into Rocky Mountain National Park^^

^^Rocky Mountain National Park is so incredibly beautiful.^^

^^Love this man, so thankful we took this adventure together & shared it as a family!^^

^^The Alluvial Fan was beautiful. The water falls were created from the Lawn Lake flood that happened many years ago. We hiked up the rocks and through a wooded area that we later realized was not for hiking. oops!^^

^^Our first day through the park was a rainy & foggy day. We noticed right away upon entering the park that more animals were out & about during the rain.^^

^^This elk hung out on the side of the road, I jumped out of the car quick to take her picture & she didn't even move^^

^^Moraine Park views of the mountains^^

^^Top photo taken at Bear Lake, this was a gorgeous lake that we hiked to in the park. Bottom photo taken at Moraine Park.   Incredible views!^^

^^The kids enjoyed running the grass and letting some energy out after being in the car for a long period of time! I loved taking pictures with my camera of the beautiful wild flowers.^^

We can't wait to go back to Rocky Mountain National Park when the kids are a little bit older & we can hike further into the park. We are so lucky to have such amazing National Parks in the United States, we hope to explore many more! 

For more Colorado blog posts, check out: 

Colorado Springs in a Weekend

Royal Gorge - A Vacation Highlight

Royal Gorge - A Vacation Highlight

.Royal Gorge - A Vacation Highlight.

To be completely honest, we didn't even realize that the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park existed before leaving for our vacation to Colorado. We just happened to look at brochures about the area & fell in love with the photos. We decided it was something we really wanted to see on our vacation, so we changed plans a bit and made it happen!

The Royal Gorge is a little less than 1 1/2 hours south of Colorado Springs. We drove there early Monday morning of our vacation. I was expecting a really neat bridge & cool view, but what we actually saw was way more than I ever expected.  Our tickets for the bridge included unlimited gondola rides, access to the playground, walking across the bridge & the grounds.  We decided to ride the gondola over to the other side, enjoy the other side & then walk back across the bridge. 

This was a panoramic view from the viewing deck.  

I have seen a lot of amazing places in my life, but never anything quite like this. With the bridge, mountains, ravine & river below, my mouth was probably hanging wide open most of the day! 

A little history about the bridge...

One of the deepest gorges in Colorado, the Royal Gorge is approximately 10 miles long with the Arkansas River running through it with granite walls towering over 1,000 feet. The gorge was created some three million years ago when a trickle of water first began to slowly carve a canyon out of the solid granite bedrock. That trickle is now the raging Arkansas, one of America’s longest rivers. The Arkansas river continues to carve its' depth at a rate of about a foot every 2,500 years.

The Royal Gorge is considered a world wonder with its rare red granite formations and has been referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas by the first American Explorers. The width at the bottom of the gorge is no more than 40 to 50 feet.

Fire - June 2013  ... The Royal Gorge Bridge & Park stood unscathed in the mist of its beautiful surroundings until Tuesday, June 11, 2013 when a wildfire raged into the park. One of Colorado’s premier attractions since 1929, along with the pinion and cedar tree landscape was devastated by the Royal Gorge Fire. Just about everything in the 360-acre park except our historic Bridge was destroyed.

(History & Fire information via the Royal Gorge website) 

The playground was a huge highlight for the kids! I even enjoyed climbing through it. It reminded me of a rope park I played at near Minneapolis as a kid. It had rope climbing areas, slides, & look outs! 

Near the playground was a small carousel. We took a little ride before walking across the bridge.  

Let's go! It was a very windy day & the bridge was moving back & forth. But we walked across anyways! 

WOW! That is long ways down! 

What a view! 

If you are ever near Colorado Springs, I suggest you take a drive down to the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, you will NOT be disappointed! It is a view you will never forget! The Royal Gorge ended up being a trip highlight of our vacation to Colorado. 

Check out my 1st Colorado vacation post - Colorado Springs in a weekend!

Colorado Springs in a Weekend

.Colorado Springs in a Weekend.

It's been over a month since we left for our adventure to Colorado! It's crazy how fast time is flying this summer. Every summer I say how fast it goes, but this year has been faster than any year before. So I am FINALLY blogging about our Colorado vacation!!

Colorado is one state we had not explored & my little brother moved there this past fall, so it was a perfect destination for our BIG summer vacation. We kicked off our big vacation in Colorado Springs to see my little brother. We spent the 4th of July holiday weekend enjoying as many sights as we possibly could. 

Friday evening, we enjoyed relaxing & grilling at my brother's apartment that has the most incredible view!  The kids loved meeting their dog cousin Ronin! It was really nice to reconnect & catch up on what had been going on this past year. It was a very long 15 hour drive out to Colorado, but the kids did great...it was well worth it! 

Early 4th of July morning, we headed to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! This zoo is built into the side of the mountain. We walked the entire zoo & took the chair lift up to the top to see the incredible views of the city.  We have been to quite a few zoo's in our life, but this ranks as one of the best zoo's I have ever been to. The giraffe exhibit is the largest in the United States. The kids loved feeding them & touching their long tongues. My daughter loved watching the elephants do their daily checks with the animal trainers. She thought they were dancing around! 

^^fun moments at the zoo^^

^^family photo in the giraffe exhibit^^

^^their tongues were incredible! I never realized that their tongues were black or that long until this trip!^^

^^The kids favorite part of their day was swimming! I always laugh because I try to plan fun activities & try new things on vacation. But my children love swimming at the hotel pool the most! ha^^

^^Fireworks time! Sibling love or overtired laughter...^^

Sunday morning, we trekked to the Garden of the Gods to explore the visitors center & hike in the park. I have never seen such incredible rock formations & colorations like at Garden of the Gods. It is so amazing how these could be formed millions of years ago! My son loved climbing the rocks, digging in the dirt & watching the climbers attempt to climb the rock formations! It was a very hot morning, so we only hiked for a few hours. The kids were not enthused about hiking that morning. 

^^I love all of our fun photos from Garden of the Gods, especially the ones of my children  exploring together^^

^^The most incredible gourmet burgers, fries & shakes at Crave in Colorado Springs! All I can say is WOW! If you ever have a chance to go, don't eat for many hours before. You will be soooo stuffed! I had the Sin City burger & Parmesan truffle fries and a Grasshopper shake. Let's just say I only ate about 1/2 my meal.^^

 After an incredible lunch, we headed towards Pikes Peak. We spent the afternoon exploring Manitou Springs & their adorable downtown area before our trip up the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. We enjoyed a delicious smoothie, playing at the playground & spending money at the old fashioned arcade!  

We had 5:20pm tickets for the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, the last train of the evening. Everyone told us that it would be such an incredible view, but I was amazed by how truly beautiful it really was. The conductor did a great job explaining the history of the railway. It was exciting to hear that a man from Wisconsin raised money to build the Cog Railway. Go Wisconsin!  When we arrived at the top of Pikes Peak, it was quite chilly at 45 degrees & windy!! We walked around for a bit to take pictures & throw snow balls, but were ready to go inside the Visitors station to warm up & grab a snack.

^^I'm on top of the world!!!^^

^^more gorgeous photos from our adventure up Pikes Peak--Snowball fights, incredible views, big horn sheep, & train cuddles!^^

^^Love these two! They had a great time riding the train!^^

We loved Colorado Springs & can't wait to go back someday! We saw a lot of amazing sights in one weekend, but definitely have so much more to see! Colorado Springs is such a beautiful city with great restaurants, incredible views and so much to see & do! It was also great to see my little brother & his girlfriend too!

I will be posting more vacation posts next week- Rocky Mountain National Park & Royal Gorge!

Lake Superior Weekend

My weekend was spent at my Happy Place - Lake Superior. Ever since I was a very little girl, I have been traveling to Lake Superior for weekends or week long vacations. Herbster, Wisconsin holds a place in my heart that many other places can't fill. Once I smell & see the lake, I feel like I am in a different world! Many summer days, I wish I lived closer to the lake. Three hours in the car gets to be long for the kids, so we only get to the lake 2-3 times during the summer. 

We arrived late Thursday evening & set up our tent in the dark. The kids stayed in the car, as the bugs were out in full force! Friday morning, we took a walk to the local cafe for a delicious breakfast. We usually stop at this cafe every time we are town, visiting friends of the family that live in the area. 

We were lucky to have this view on the way to the cafe! 

Lake Superior was warmer than usual this trip. It doesn't matter how cold the water is, we always play on the beach & splash in the water. The kids enjoy playing in the sand, building sandcastles, finding rocks & drift wood. My favorite part is smelling the fresh lake air! 

Friday afternoon, we took a little drive further up the Wisconsin South Shore. We stopped at an old marina called Bark Point that I used to go fishing at with my dad when I was a little girl. 

Friday evening was beautiful. Warm air, sunny skies, and a light breeze was perfect to walk the beach and watch the sunset.

Saturday was a perfect day for more exploring! The kids found sticks to play with early that morning & used them the rest of the day to play!

Hiking, exploring & games at our camp site were a fun part of our day!

I posted this photo on Instagram on Saturday afternoon. I have been walking this path in Cornucopia, Wisconsin to the beach since I was a very little girl and I am still just as excited to see the lake beyond this path! The Wisconsin South Shore has beautiful sandy beaches with nice swimming areas. This area is a secret treasure that I just love to spend time in. 

My goofy boy couldn't wait to be buried in the sand! 

My husband & daughter enjoyed floating in the water!

Ended our last day of camping playing in the sand on the beach. It's always sad to leave. 

So thankful I was able to spend the weekend at my Happy Place with my family. Lake Superior has always been a home away from home for me. I am looking forward to coming back in a few weeks for a last summer hurrah! 

Where is your Happy Place vacation spot?