A Short Stay in Telluride, Colorado

The last stop on our summer road trip was Telluride, Colorado. The plan was to spend a few days mountain biking and then head home. Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans. It rained the entire first day we were there and rain was predicted to continue through the weekend. We decided to cut the trip short and head home. Read more

Four-wheeling in Ouray, Colorado

Ouray, Colorado is know as the “Jeeping Capital of the World” and for good reason. The Husband’s and my favorite part of our trip was four-wheeling near Ouray. Our kids didn’t love it at first but it grew on them. Little Miss enjoyed it more when we started to get into the more technical sections. Little Mister started to enjoy it once I traded him seats and let him sit up front. Read more

Ouray, Colorado – The Switzerland of America

I am in love with Ouray, Colorado, affectionally known as the Switzerland of America. The only thing it doesn’t have is mountain bike trails. It’s probably best that way because if it did we might have to move. We spent three glorious days in Ouray and it’s exactly what we needed. We had fun in Durango (which was our first stop on our summer road trip) but our campground was too noisy and crowded so we didn’t get to enjoy the peace that should come with camping. We have come to realize that we are campground people; not so much RV park people. Fortunately, our next stop was Ouray where we got the peace and quiet we were looking for. Read more

Family Fun in Durango, Colorado

We just returned from our eighth summer road trip. It’s crazy how fast the years fly by. These road trips are a must for our family and we make sacrifices all year long to make sure they happen. We have seen so many incredible places and the time we spend together is priceless. I’m always sad when it’s over but excited to start planning for next summer. This summer we stayed a little closer to home (I’m still recovering from driving to Montana last summer ) and visited Southwest Colorado. The beauty in this part of the country is just incredible. I felt like we were in a painting for the majority of our trip. Read more

Dehydrated Spaghetti Sauce

I’ve been preparing for summer vacation lately and trying to get our food situation set up. I recently tested out dehydrated ground beef and it was a success. If you would like to read that post click here. I use a dehydrator but you can also use your oven if you don’t have a dehydrator. Read more

Ladies All Ride – A Must Do For Mountain Biking Ladies!

I attended the Ladies All Ride clinic in Sedona, Arizona in early April and had the most amazing time. Technically, it would have been even more amazing if I was not dealing with a foot injury but I still had a good time. It’s taken me some time to put into words what I got out of the weekend but I will do my best. There is something incredibly powerful about stepping outside your comfort zone and learning new things. Do that in a group setting and the result is pretty spectacular. I spent two days with a group of women learning new skills, stepping outside our comfort zones, and trying (and conquering) what we previously thought was impossible. Read more

Dehydrating Ground Beef

If you can’t tell by my recent posts, I’m getting ready for summer camping and road tripping. 🙂 We have several dietary restrictions in our family so being away from the safety of our kitchen can be a challenge. Last summer, in an attempt to control food costs and not having to grocery shop, I took meat for an entire weeks work of meals. Our cooler plan failed us and the meat thawed almost immediately. We ended up throwing away some food, which is such a waste. I am determined to figure out the food thing so for Christmas I asked for a dehydrator. While we are not backpackers, dehydrated food is a great way to control costs and safely keep food for longer periods of time. Read more

A Cooler Test – Coleman vs. Ozark Trail vs. YETI

And the winner is – YETI! Are you surprised? Me neither. We ended up purchasing a YETI but let me tell you how we got there. We really tried to buy a cheaper cooler but the universe wanted us to buy a YETI. Remember last summer when we spent over $100 on ice for our two week trip to Montana? If you would like to read about how not to pack a cooler click here to read about it. $100+ on ice alone. Plus all the food that we were continually throwing away. It’s such a waste on so many levels. Read more

Garwood Loop Trail – Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park is practically in my backyard. And by practically I mean about 10 minutes from my backyard. I love hearing stories about how the park came to be and about the homesteaders that originally occupied the land. Can you imagine owning 480 acres with a house smack dab in the middle of what is now the national park? That would be an absolute dream. That’s no longer possible for anyone, but one day that was someone’s life. Read more