Go West, Day 9: We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Thank goodness.

So, um, the truck battery died again. Stink. Mr. Fantastic took it to Wal-mart, and they gave him a new one for free because it was under warranty. It was a bummer to take that time away from our trip, but I’m glad it’s taken care of. And now… time for Downtown Denver.

You guessed it... once again I forgot to adjust my ISO. I have GOT to remember to check that...!

Will I never get out of this stroller?

Lamb, aka Miss Super-Cautious, is suddenly in a tree-climbing phase.

 

On the way to Colorado from Kansas, we were reading the AAA book on CO, and visiting the US Mint was at the top of our list. Unfortunately, it appears that we should have picked up that AAA book a little sooner than as-we-crossed-the-state-line. Apparently, the Mint is in high demand—reservations need to be made about 3 months in advance. I felt especially bad for Mr. Fantastic, because there were two stops he had wanted to make in St. Louis and we ran out of time, and now the Mint was off the agenda too. (He really wanted to go there—that was right up his alley.) But we checked out the gift shop and then headed for his next choice, the State Capitol.

 

 

I have to admit, I thought this might not be the best of ideas with the three kids, but Mr. Fantastic really wanted to go and I really wanted to make him happy. As it turned out, though, the tour was quite interesting, and Lamb and Monkey both seemed to enjoy it too.

 

After the tour we chatted with our guide for a while, and she recommended a lunch spot at the nearby 16^th Street Mall, a pedestrian mall right in downtown Denver. Great recommendation! Not only did we enjoy a tasty lunch, but we spent much of the afternoon strolling the mall. So much fun!

At lunch, Roo got restless and started crying. When I asked him what was wrong, he said, "Papa! Papa!" So we called my mom and dad (Nana and Papa). He was thrilled!

Check out these pianos that are sitting around!

It does say that ANYONE can do it!

 

When we came back from downtown, we decided to check out our home-away-from-home for a while. Like I mentioned yesterday, we are staying at a state park here. It is beautiful! We knew that it was located on a reservoir, but we hadn’t had a chance to see the beach yet. We didn’t have our bathing suits with us or anything, but we just explored along the shore a bit.

 

Honestly, this was probably the highlight of the day for me. I wish we had cut our time downtown short and spent MUCH more of the day here. We had fun walking around the city, but this… this was just fantastic.

 

I knew the kids would all like the beach, but I was unprepared for how much Roo would LOVE it. He had so much fun…

 

 

 

He was throwing rocks in the water... and then he found this one. He never managed to toss it in, but he gave it his all.

 

Maybe I don't need to have professional photos taken of Roo. This one is pretty darn good, not to pat myself on the back or anything.

DADDY!!!!!!!!

 

Lamb's treasure: shells.

 

Monkey's treasure: A rock with crystals inside.

 

 

When we finally got back to the RV, we decided it was a good night for some family fun. Here's the downside to being out west right now: No campfires. It is unbelievably dry out here, and there are signs all over the park that wood fires and fireworks are strictly forbidden. But we won't let that get us down! We put Roo to bed, and the rest of us broke out some board games. It was a great way to end the day. It is SO FUN to have kids big enough to enjoy some games that are more complicated than CandyLand.

Trying to break apart Monkey's rock to look for crystals.

What game night is complete without Oreos?!?

Oh, Daddy. Always with the rules.

THIS has without a doubt been my favorite day of the trip so far.