Clear Creek Ranch, Colorado Day 5

Guess what? Drew forgot to take the camera with him on his hike today...very disappointing that he has no pictures from his hike.  Even though no pictures, I (Drew) still had a blast.  I went to the top of La Plata Peak. This mountain was supposed to be one of the steepest in the area.  The trip was 9 miles round trip with 4,300 feet of elevation gain but seemed that all the gain came during the last 2 miles as it went straight up. A lot of route finding and boulder hopping made it a lot of fun but when I was back down, I was beat. La Plata Peak is the 5th highest peak in Colorado at 14,336 feet. Up in 2 hours and 21 minutes and down in 1 hour and 35 minutes. Not nearly as much running as the trail was too steep and dangerous to run fast until I got to the lower slopes. Sorry for no pictures, unfortunately I missed the best views all trip.

And, I (Kelli) woke up to a sick little girl. Avi woke up about 6:30 saying her tummy hurt. She proceeded to be sick for the rest of the morning. She finally slept for about an hour around 10:30 and when she woke up, she was miraculously feeling better. Thankfully we were able to enjoy the afternoon as if she was never sick. Amazing, really. While Avi was sleeping, the others enjoyed the games available at the ranch, and I took pictures!

Amy A., Emily and Jack playing badminton on the beautiful lawn of the ranch.

 Just another gorgeous view of the mountains and trout stream from the ranch.

 The Fountains enjoyed a game of horseshoes.

 The Adkersons played each other in badminton.

Jack and Emily enjoyed croquet.

 I lay down in the grass and couldn't resist taking pictures of this beautiful sky.

 View from the deck.

 It rained a bit just after lunch, and Emily and Avi decided they would try to share a rain jacket!

 Joe decided he'd go hiking!

 And, Avi was feeling better and we played croquet.

 When we were almost finished playing croquet, she asked if I would play horse feet with her! She meant horse shoes, which made me laugh! 

 

 The kids were being given instructions on how to play our "Olympic Games" (we all played games to get us geared up for the upcoming Olympics). And evidently something was really funny. I think Emily was laughing at her mother showing them how to do the bear crawl :).

Of course, the guys were standing back taking it all in as Amy A. instructed the children.

Drew and Avi running the piggyback leg of the relay!

 They were both exhausted after the relay!

 We walked to see the horses after dinner, and Avi loves to ride on her dad's shoulders.

 The horse stable.

 The horses came over to us, and we were able to pet them. I wonder if they enjoy the scenery here as much as I do?!

 Avi got cold on the way back to the lodge (because she wouldn't listen to me and dress appropriately), so Drew gave her his rain jacket. I'd say it didn't fit her.

 Joe decided he was going to keep all the S'mores for himself :)

 The kids loved roasting the marshmallows.

 Avi took one bite of her S'more and decided plain marshmallows were for her...

As you can tell!

And, this might be one of my favorite parts of the vacay...sitting around the campfire after the children go to bed. The weather has been divine and the views unbelievable. Can you tell I've enjoyed myself?