Colorado...

We took a family trip to Colorado last week-weekend. We wanted to spend some time focusing on the kids before I leave for school.
We had a great time! The kids loved it!
We went up through Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains to Grand Lake, CO.
What a beautiful quaint town, I just loved it! Even though I grew up in Colorado, I had never been there before.
We took a trailer with an ATV and a UTV up with us. This made some of the drive up to the top of the mountains a bit rough at times, but well worth it.
The night we arrived, we ate dinner and walked around town a bit. The next morning, we headed back into town for some breakfast. We ate at a place called The Fat Cat Cafe. Karys and I ordered crepes with a cream cheese filling and cool whip and strawberries on top, soaked in strawberry juice.
It was the best crepe I have ever had, it was absolutely amazing!
The town surrounds Grand Lake; you walk a block down from the main street and you can walk the length of a boardwalk or head to the marina.
We started out at the marina with some coffee, then walked down the boardwalk a bit; it was just breathtaking. There were neat old log buildings that housed boats, some sand, crystal clear water and mountains in the background.
We then got in the pickup and headed to some off road trails. This was so much fun. Day one consisted of some trails in our area. They were a fairly easy drive. One of the trails led you to a little over a mile hike to Lost Lake. The hike was at times rough but again so worth it. The lake was beautiful! 
Day two we decided to drive to Winter Park to drive some trails. We wound up running into a very nice couple riding mountain bikes that asked if they could help us. They led us to a trail on Corona Pass. They told us there would be incredible views! This trail also followed an old railroad.
The views were spectacular. We followed a trail so high up the mountains we could see Denver! We came across a hitchhiker on the trail that takes you to the highest point. She had been hiking quite a ways on a very rough road and had stopped us to ask about how far away the old trestle bridge was. We had a nice little chat with her and I gave her a ride back in the direction she had come from.
Her hiking partner was down in that area and he told us to continue a ways to see the old tunnel. It was spectacular also.
On the way back to the cabin that night, we saw a very large moose a couple blocks away from the cabin. What a sight! Once we got back to the cabin, we took a little stroll to another lake.
We spotted two deer in a yard along our walk.
Once we got back to the cabin, I could hear a band in town playing Jimmy Buffett music. I went around to the side of the cabin to sit on the deck and listen for a bit. I heard noise at the cabin right behind ours and thought the neighbors had come out to listen to the music.
I began to wonder what they were doing as the tree just a couple feet away from me was really rustling.  I was about to go ask them if they were listening to the band when my kids and Tanner came out and discovered it was a very large moose! We all took pictures and I followed him for a bit until some kids on a go cart scared him away. What a rush!
I came back to the cabin and took a shower, I no more than got out of the shower when my kids ran into the bathroom to tell me two deer were in the front yard. I cannot tell you just how in love I am with Grand Lake!
The next day, we headed down to Estes Park for a night. We had a room at the Crag’s Historic Lodge. Their slogan is Welcome Home, they live up to this in every way. It was a gorgeous old lodge with gorgeous woodwork and views, and they went out of their way to accommodate you! I hope to go back someday!