McCash Family blog: April 2015

Sunday, April 12, 2015

The Paint Mines

The weekend before Easter, right after we returned from Keystone,

we planned a day trip to the Paint Mines.

Apparently it is one of those places that even Native Coloradians don't know about or visit,

but it was mesmerizing in both the sheer size of the park and in color.

The Paint Mines resembled a literal paint party.

With splashes of pink and purple intertwining the clay and rock,

we felt a little bit like Alice in Wonderland.

Everything felt out of scale.

Hoodoos, spires, and crags towered above us while slabs

of 55 million year old granite boulders provided hiding places for small children.

: )

It was windy and a bit chilly, but the hike was uphill a good portion of the way,

and we worked up a good sweat.

The littles were carried until ~~David's back gave out~~ Henry needed a break.

We hiked our tripod in and literally had to force ourselves to stop for pictures.

The area was just something straight out of an Egyptian landscape.

King Tut and sphinxes.

I felt like my eyes and my mind and thoughts were elsewhere.

We even found a few Easter eggs hidden away, deep in some of the crags.

The boys felt like it was their own personal maze to conquer.

I wore my Paint Party Jamberry wraps to commemorate the experience.

Since becoming a consultant, I've had great fun pairing nails with trips.

We have a small list of places to hike and explore this Spring and Summer.

I hope we can hit a new place every other weekend.

Can you, dear reader, recommend any places we should visit here in Colorado?

: )

Life out West is sweet.

Enjoy!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

We spent some time at Keystone over Spring Break this year.
We went last year for New Years, which was magical, all glowing and festive with Christmas tinsel and ice sculptures.
This year was just as much fun: the young Spring break crowd, snowboarders wearing swimsuits, and warm weather in the upper 50's with great snow pack.
Our dear little friend, Hunter, celebrated his 7th birthday with a mountain party and invited our family to tag along.
We originally anticipated letting the kids play the bulk of the day at the ice castle at Keystone's summit. But after buying lift tickets for all eight of us and reaching the top, we found it already gone, melted away in the March sunshine.
So, we did what we do best- have fun with plan B.
Plan B ended up being a hundred tiny photo shoots among the trees, throwing snowballs, climbing through snow tunnels. meandering among the pines, riding the lifts, eating lunch at the Summit house, chatting with skiers, and gallivanting around Keystone village.
Down in the village, bonfires roared and we had to keep an eye on the little ones. At one point, Harbor's face was soot covered and Henry fell backwards in his pack,cracking his head on the concrete.
After a minor heart attack from me {David was in the restroom!} we were all all able to resume the adventure.
The boys loved riding the gondolas. We took one to the top of the summit and another further onto the backside for pictures with less people.
Both Melissa and I shoot with Canon cameras, so what one friend didn't capture, the other did.
This was Harbor's 3rd trip, Henry's 2nd, and Hollin's first time to Keystone. We are starting to make some traditions- and I love it!
The ride back home from the resort to our front door took exactly two hours. You just can't beat living in paradise. : ) Happy Birthday, Hunter! Hope you had a great Spring Break, too, friends!