A Grand Ol' Time in Grand Lake, CO

Sleepy Lion Trail

For our 4th of July holiday we headed UP with our friends, The Bayons.  Up, up up to Grand Lake, CO.  We'd rented a house, packed up the kids, the dogs, and most of our kitchens and got on the road!

Our first stop wasn't too far from home.  We wanted to do a nice hike before heading over the pass, and Sleepy Lion Trail fit the bill.  The dogs could roam off leash for most of it and the climb wasn't too steep, but there was a nice view at the peak.  It was a great way to soak up some vitamin D and exert some energy before the journey to Grand Lake (~2hrs away).

The house we'd rented on VRBO turned out just as cute as the pictures.  It had a back deck with a big dining table and chairs, and a long front yard the boys put to good use with yard games.  There were trees completely surrounding us, and those were put to work holding hammocks and as hide-and-seek obstacles.  There was a lovely flagstone fire pit with Adirondack chairs out back as well.  Inside there was a small but well equipped kitchen, another large dining table and plenty of room for everyone!  The only down side to staying up there was the fire ban.  The season had been so dry that even the local 4th of July fireworks displays were cancelled.  We weren't allowed to have a wood fire in the pit, light sparklers or even crackers.  We WERE allowed to have a propane fire tho - one that had an on/off switch... which we own.  So we packed it up, placed it in the existing fire pit at the house, hooked it up to the propane tank provided, and carried on with our picturesque mountain cabin experience.   Voila!

Play time at the house

There were lots of games at home.  The boys loved playing croquet, corn hole, and learning bocce.  We also brought lots of water balloons!  They hung out in the hammocks outside, sometimes having their technology time there.  We bigger folk entertained ourselves as well with some good games as well.  Lots of laughter.

Colorado River Trail

Not all our time was spent at the house though.  We went out for a good hike our second day there.  Being so close to the National Park made it hard to find dog-friendly trails.  We managed to find one that led to a great spot on the river.  The Colorado River Trail wound a couple miles up into what was, and will be again someday, a thick pine forest.  Currently it is a charred pine forest.  Fire hit the area recently and while the ground is turning green and growing again, the trees won't be for a few years to come.  It looped around by the Colorado River though, and we stopped and everyone got their toes wet and refreshed.  The boys all got a little more than their toes wet - they just dove right in!  Molly and Morty, too, were excited to play in the water.

The town of Grand Lake is pretty small, but quite charming.  The store fronts are all connected with covered wood walkways, and there is a small beach on the lake just a block from the Main Street.  Josh and Chris took a morning to go golfing so Chris and I took the boys to check out the town.  She scored some beach toys for the boys and we hung out at the beach for a while.

Moose.

Back at the house we settled in for a quiet evening.  It'd started to rain a little and we were busy fixing dinner when Chris came in saying there were moose out back.  Chris and I totally thought he was pulling our leg, but we made sure the dogs were safely inside and went to check it out.  Moose!!  There was large bull in the small meadow behind the house, sure enough!  He must have liked what he found because the next day he brought his friends.  We'd been warned to keep the dogs away, which we happily did.  (The day before we arrived a young bull moose had charged at the next door neighbor's dog and taken out their fence!  The dog was scared but unharmed.)  The boys thought they were neat, but the moms and dads were super cheezed to see them hanging out back there!

On our last day we took the boys back to the lake for some pedal boat action.  They'd seen them early on, and had been begging to go out on them.  At last, we caved.  Josh took Wes, Van and Gabe out as Brody didn't feel so hot that morning.  We'd overestimated how much time was enough and by the time the first group came back, Brody was feeling better. So then he went out with just Van.  When they returned Wes and Brody went out for the last bit of time remaining.  It was perfect timing.  They all had so much fun, too!  While they enjoyed that Chris and I checked out a little art festival downtown.

Grand Lake

At last, it was time to depart.  We packed up our cars, kids and dogs and headed back over Trail Ridge.  Even though there was still snow at the peak, it was blistering hot back in Longmont.  It was a really wonderful holiday weekend with the best of friends, but it's always so nice to come home.