There may be nothing more wonderful than creating memories for the little ones.  A few weekends ago we drove a  3 hour trek to our ‘stay-cation’  in Steamboat Springs, CO, a small mountain ski town.  Three hours may not sound like a long time to most, but for our kids, it is a stretch.  Thinking that the Fall colors would be at their peak (ps. they were not), we joined the category  of individuals commonly referred to as ‘Front-range Peepers’ by the Steamboat community.  In other words, we were stalking trees.

Of course we could not convince the children that the only reason we buckled them into Jerry the Van, loaded with four bikes, snacks, one suitcase, multiple blankies and pillows for all those attending, and a few scatterings of toys, was to look at trees.  I actually tried sharing this explanation with my oldest stating that the colors would be beautiful, to which my daughter responded,   “What else is there?”  What else is there…

The same explanation also did not work after the stop lights of Boulder had disappeared only 35 minutes into the drive.  There are only so many cows to spot, and train tracks to follow, and repeats of “My Brother’s a Monster” to listen too. “Mom, I’m bored,” declares Middle One!   “Look out the window,” I say.  I must have had this same conversation about 6 times over because I realized I was repeating myself under my breath in some sort of  mumble, “Loooudawindo…“

For me the car trip went a little like this:

Tracking Jerry’s every inch on our GPS, focusing on the arrival time, comparing to  the clock, focusing on the arrival time, spying the odometer, “Loooudawindo…”, spying the clock, “Leave him alone!”,  looking at Jerry’s snail-paced movement, checking the clock…repeat.  Fun.

Then we arrived.  ”MOM?!!” exclaimed a small muffled voice buried in the back under pillows and blankets and trapped in her seat next to two adult sized mountain bikes,  ”The trees are…green…,” the voice trails off in disappointment.  Can you picture it?  Maybe not what we had planned, but really, who wants to sit around and look at trees anyway?

One of the best vacations to follow.  For me, the 10.5 mile bike ride along the peaceful river with Little Z tickling my back while sitting in his bike seat was the highlight.  But there was also seeing the hot springs, visiting the multiple skate parks (which invite themselves to my kids as  slide parks), walking the quaint old town in the most perfect Fall weather, watching the kids catch caterpillars and snakes that migrated in multitudes across the bike path, and hiking 2 miles with Zander ‘boneless and snoring’ in my arms (okay, that one is stretching it!)

~Zander meets snake~

We honestly would not have ‘gone up’ (that’s what us Front-rangers say) to the Mountains had we not thought the trees were golden. As it turned out there was quite a bit to do there.  So much uncommercialized fun!  So much so, that we will in fact go back, despite the drive.  There was nothing to get in the way of the sweetness of life and family.  No extra noise.  No extra schedules.  No extra hubbub.  Just us on our own time.

Of course there were things that we could not have planned, like chasing a hot-air balloon around the base of the ski hill (in our car), and riding up to the top of the ski hill in the Gondola for a small, expensive bowl of overcooked Mac-n-cheese.  These two things rated very high on the kids lists of ‘Most Memorable Stay-cation Moments.’  Next up were the migrating Wholly Bears, (you know those little orange and black fuzzy, striped caterpillars?).  Even if I had planned a vacation itinerary perfectly hour for hour, I could not have planned for the spontaneity of those happenings, and the smiles had by all. Much to be said for vacations with nature, I suppose.

It was not a long stay, just an extended weekend.  But when it was time to leave Steamboat, nobody was ready.  ”Mom,” said Jada, “It was okay that we didn’t see yellow trees.  I like it here, and we can come back next year when the trees are yellow. Right?”

I most certainly agreed. To that, we all piled back into Jerry; four bikes, fewer snacks, one suitcase, multiple blankies and pillows for all those attending, our scatterings of toys, and three tired, but happy kids with fond memories of Gondolas and Balloons on our way back to Boulder.

Images:  2) ~ 9News.com;  1, 3-8) Laura @ Monkeysonmyback