Today we all got up and decided to drive up Old Monarch Pass. It was a dusty little road, and we only saw one other car on it. We stopped up at the top when we got to the Continental Divide to get some pictures.
Witten enjoyed walking down the mountain with GranDad.
He was getting pretty tired though, he hasn't been sleeping well, so he looked a little grumpy when the boys got back to the car, and he slept all the way back down the mountain.
We followed my parents back down the mountain, then we drove to the top of the new Monarch Pass.
There was a little gift shop and cafe there, so we stopped to do some shopping and get something to eat. Witten was very hungry, so while everyone else was eating ice cream, Mitch and I decided that our family needed to get some real food first. Once we got the food, Witten wasn't too interested in his hot dog, so GranDad took him outside while Mitch and I ate our lunch and our ice cream. Then GranJan and I decided it was time to find a few souveneers of our own. I bought Witten the cutest pjs, and a fleece that he probably won't be able to wear until next Winter. They really were lacking in the infant department. It was either really ugly onsies that just had words on them, like something about Grandma which had nothing to do with the mountains, or they had items from toddlers over the age of 3. The pjs were really the only thing we could find that would fit him now. While we were busy doing that, a stuffed chipmunk somehow caught the eye of my dad, and Witten ended up with a new toy too. (I don't have any pictures of the chipmunk, but I thought it was funny because I got a stuffed chipmunk in CO when I was little too.)
When we got home, Witten got busy playing. First he pestered Sadie who is quite jealous of him. (I find that funny because he doesn't live with her, but any time he comes over, he's of course the center of attention.)
Next he went out and played with my dad's sting cheese wrapper and his root beer can.
We tried throughout the week to get naps whenever we could because between the discomfort of the tent and Witten crying throughout the night, we found it hard to sleep. We couldn't sleep in the tent in the afternoon though because of the sun, so it was either taking over my parent's trailer or this.
It's been a long time since I've gone to the bathroom in one of these.
This particular latrine was the worst offender when it came to both smell and comfort. The seat was really low, and the smell was enough to make you almost puke. Two things surprised me when going to the bathroom on this trip. 1. I held my nose while I was in there, and when I got out, I felt like the smell was exiting through my mouth...yeah...disgusting. And 2. When we went to a latrine farther up the road, these actual words came out of my mouth..."Hey, this one's pretty nice, and it actually smells good." I know...I was shocked too. I must admit that in the middle of the night, I harnessed my inner Wilderness Trekker and walked just outside of the tent. I know it's against the rules, but there were bear signs up in the camp ground, and it was already all of the courage I could muster just to go the few feet outside of the tent.
At one point in the afternoon on Sunday, the campground hosts came by to tell us that the burn ban had been lifted, and we could now make a campfire. They also gave us the go ahead to gather wood in the campground which is normally against the rules, but due to the high volume of wood on the ground, and the flammable nature of it, the hosts thought that gathering it and burning it in a controlled environment rather than having it become fuel to a raging forest fire was the lesser of two evils. So, the boys began to cut up a dead tree from our site that we had had our eyes on all weekend.
That night, as we were getting ready to head down to the tent, Witten had had enough, so GranDad held him while Mitch and I made one last trip up the hill and got everything we would need for the night.
Monday, July 25
The next morning, GranJan made breakfast while Witten played. Here's a shot of his new pjs. My only concern is that they are not going to fit him when it's finally cool enough in Texas again to wear long sleeves. They were just the right size for now even though they are 18m.
Grandad enjoyed sitting outside with Witten while we girls did what we did everyday...played games.
There were way more mosquitoes than I remember there being the last time I camped, so despite our best efforts, Witten became a tasty little snack to them. I know it's hard to see, but he had quite a few bites on his face. That was the hardest part to get the repellent on.
My aunt really wanted for us all to go down to town together and have lunch. My mom had a pretty bad headache though, so she stayed behind. Mitch and I left before the others because after yet another sleepless night with a baby that wouldn't stop coughing, we decided it was time to move into a hotel. We were exhausted from the lack of sleep. We were so conscious of every sound that Witten made during the night. When he cried out, we were quick to jump up and try to soothe him because we didn't want him disturbing the other campers. We also worried about his health after how much he was coughing the night before.
We went down into Salida in search of a cheap, but decent hotel room, and gave the doctor a call while we were there to determine if there was anything we could get for him at Walmart. She suggested just to use a humidifier or do something similar.
On the way down the mountain, we saw a ski lodge that was just south of the camp ground, and that seemed like the best option for us because it wouldn't require us to travel 25 minutes each day to get the the campground. We just decided to meet up with my dad, aunt, and cousin for lunch and then call the hotel on the way to Walmart.
My dad found this little steak house on the far end of Salida, and we pulled in at about 1:45. They closed at 2, as most of the places did in town because there just isn't enough business for all of the restaurants to stay open between the lunch and dinner crowds, and they let us in anyway. The food was really good and really cheap. We got 5 adult entrees and a kid's plate for under $50!
On the way back up the mountain, we stopped at the hotel to get our room. We told the lady at the desk that we had a very fussy toddler, so to please put us away from any other people. The hotel was pretty empty, so it didn't look like it'd be a problem. Turns out, she put us in the same hall, and actually directly across from a family that had three rooms. The noise didn't seem to be a problem though which was good.
On Monday night, we finally had a campfire and roasted S'mores. 
Witten seemed pretty interested in the fire. He was mesmerized by it for a while.
Can you believe that my aunt who first of all has been camping every summer for decades, and secondly is over 60 has NEVER had S'mores before?!? I was shocked!
After making many S'mores at the campfire, everyone was really tired, and Witten was sleeping on my mom, so we decided that it was time to put the fire out and head to bed. While everyone else was settling into their campers, we piled into the car and headed back down to the hotel. When we got in, it was REALLY hot. We tried to turn the air down, but it wasn't working. Sometime around 2am, I couldn't take it anymore. We had the window open, but there was no breeze to blow the cool air in. It was so frustrating to know that a millimeter past the window, it was cool and crisp, but we just couldn't get it into the room. Mitch went downstairs to check on the air situation only to find out that they don't have air conditioning. Luckily, they did have fans, so we got the fan set up, and all was well. It cooled off the room nicely, and added the white noise that I'm used to when I sleep.
Witten started coughing in the middle of the night, so Mitch turned the hot shower on, steamed up the bathroom, and then we moved the pack and play in there, elevating the side that his head was one by putting the legs up on towels. It worked like a charm. We didn't hear another cough out of him all night!
1 comment:
Cute. BTW, Aunt Debbie won't be 60 until November.
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