Vail and Camping

As I mentioned before, Vail is our family's happy place. 

When Ben and I were just engaged and fresh out of college we lived in Vail for a summer.

When we had a toddler Mimi we got a hotel room in the fall and enjoyed the pirate ship and night walks.

When Bode was born and just a little newborn we did the same thing. So of course we had to fit in a stay at our favorite hotel, at the base of the mountain (with a great pool) before we went to Piney River Ranch.

We scheduled to stay in Vail for two nights to fit in a lot of swimming, bike riding and hanging out.

It hits me at different times how chill life is right now. The kids are self-sufficient swimmers. There's no diapers or naps or pack 'n plays. We just like being together. So we'll be over here trying to do as much of that as possible.

Auntie Jennifer, these are for you :)

US: "Bode just learned to ride his bike. Let's rent a bike with brakes he can't work and have him ride through Vail on Fourth of July weekend!"

(spoiler alert. It didn't go well)

To our defense in my brain there was always a "fall" crowd..a.k.a. not many people. This was our first family summer trip here. Live and learn ;)

 (I can't resist things like this. Even though I'm a 38 year old, I will NEVER turn away cute little things like this... xo)

(the only moose we saw)

Between some morning runs, moose scouting, failing at family bike rides, sub-par mexican food, hotel room cartoons and swimming, we definitely got the most out of Vail that we could.

Monday, we drove up to Piney River Ranch, where we'd be staying for a night before we went back home.

Real confession: we aren't the best campers. 

We don't have gear, don't really know where to go and usually find ourselves wondering why we are sleeping on the ground when we have perfectly comfortable beds at home.

But waking up to views like THIS Gore Range is why people camp.

And for dirty, tired kids who go to bed full of memories and s'mores.

So we found the perfect solution:

PINEY RIVER RANCH.

They have "tents" like these for city dwellers like us!

Ben put it best: all the things that he loves about camping without all the parts that he doesn't.

(It was slightly embarrassing saying we "camped" with a queen bed, two twins and electricity...but it was all pretty awesome).

Not many people know about this little gem. Again, Ben and I knew about this place from when we were up here in 2003. It's been in my mind since then (and then again when I photographed a wedding up here a few years ago).

The boys fished while Mimi and I went horseback riding (more on that later).

Since it's a ranch, there's a little restaurant that serves lunch and dinner. We made sure to get in before it closed at 6.

Then to our little spot for some Apples to Apples and S'mores.

This girl. Man does she light up our lives.

And she's almost 11! And is witty, funny, thoughtful and smart and takes apart dolls so she can put them back together. {insert wide-eyed emoji}

I don't know if her room will EVER be clean, but I do know that somehow all of her "a beautiful mind" mess has made her an amazing chemist/engineer. She's so one of a kind (and I looked fondly at these pictures while she was gone at camp for a whole week recently).

I would apologize for the onslaught of pictures, but it's my blog and being choosy and selective with an editing eye has never been my strong suit. (And most likely if you're still reading you're family...so you expect it I'm sure ;)

***

I made sure to leave our cold brew coffee out to get cold, like all hard core campers do.

We had a stove in our tent. But, we didn't really pack it full enough with wood, so in the morning there was a Mimi and Ben and a Me in the twin bed. (Bode, who had his sleeping bag AND some blankets was snoozing long past sunrise).

We went for a small morning hike before any crowds drove in to also drink in this view.

 (And what a "view" it is! ;)

(Excuse me while I belt out "THE HIIILLLLSS ARE ALIVE...")

So thankful for this trip with our crew.

Honestly in every spot we stopped, there's more I wanted to do. More hike I wished we took, more trails I wish we were on longer (more I wish I knew about backpacking to find your OWN remote camping spot, cause I think I'd be more into that kind of camping). But that just means we'll just have to keep adventuring...