Mountain Vacation

We were bound and determined to go camping this summer but when it came down to it, I just couldn't bring myself to go.  So I hopped on the internet last minute hoping to find a cabin in the mountains that didn't cost a fortune.  I found a little cabin near Cripple Creek, CO.  It's an old mining town that is now transformed into a casino town.  However, they still have a few operating mines and one gold mine that is open for tours.  We decided to invite Grandma and Grandpa Pratt for the first night of our two night stay.  It was way fun and glad we were able to get out into the mountains.

We did the gold mine tour that takes you 1,000 feet down into the ground via a shaft about the size of a telephone booth.  All 9 of us crammed into that shaft for two minutes as it descended down into the mine.  It was quite the experience!  It was a very interesting tour and we learned a lot about mining in the old days and how dangerous it was.

We also poked around a small museum and visitor's center located just down from the mine.  Dallin was excited because he had just finished learning about Colorado history in fourth grade and this museum was all about CO and the state symbols and animals.

Later, we took a train ride to see some of the old mines that are no longer in operation as well as the "million dollar track" that is full of unrefined gold.  They say it's worth a million dollars but would cost 4 million to extract and refine it!  So there it sits!

We also played some games and a few activities from the cabin as well as relaxed and enjoyed.

The morning we packed up, the kids were outside the cabin exploring around.  At one point Gennie got upset about something, I can't even remember what it was.  She was crying and got mad and I just shrugged it off as typical three-year-old behavior.  I remember talking to her for a second and then walked back into the cabin to keep packing.  A few minutes later Charlie asked where's Gennie?  I said she was just outside with the rest of them.  He didn't see her, nor did anyone else.  We looked and looked but she was nowhere to be seen.  We called her name over and over again but not a sound.  I think it ended up being about 8-10 minutes later Charlie finally found her crying on the side of the dirt road that led further up away from the cabin.

It was terrifying as you can imagine.  Apparently, when she initially got mad and was crying she was trying to run back to the cabin but got turned around.  Later we found out that Lulu "saw a girl walking away but thought it was a different girl, not Gennie!"  Oh my!!  Anyway, lessons learned and happy ending.

On the ride back home we stopped at Manitou Springs to tour the cliff dwellings.  It was pretty cool, the kids had a blast playing and running around through all the rooms and crawl spaces.