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Well, it's been an extremely long time since I've been on here, and lots has changed since I was a regular blogger. But I'd like to give this a try again, and see how it all goes. I prolly won't be very regular, with starting college (eep!) and working and getting my jewelry off the ground (hopefully), but we'll see.

In the meantime, since it's summer and I'm thinking about how much fun it would be to travel, but won't get to travel, I thought I'd recount my favorite family trip that we took several years ago. This was written for a scholarship contest, that I did not win, but it was lots of fun anyways :)

In the fall of 2008, my family and I took a trip like no other. My dad wanted to take us to see several major national parks and do some camping along the way. So in September, our family took off from Oklahoma to visit the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands. However, since the details of the trip could easily fill the pages of a small book, I will stick to writing about Rocky Mountain National Park, my favorite part of the trip.

The first real challenge of the trip started before we left: getting all of us in the van, along with two weeks worth of clothing and equipment. This would have been easier, however, if there were not seven of us, with two in car seats, filling the seven passenger van. Perhaps we ought to have left the littlest one with the gypsies. However, with a car top carrier and some expert packing, we squeezed everything (and everyone) in. After staying the night in La Junta, Colorado, challenge number two appeared in the form of a dead car battery. But with some help from the local Walmart and a new battery, we were back on the road.

Now, between all the excitement and stress of starting such a large trip, we had to figure out an efficient method of getting in and out of each campsite. At first, this might seem easy, but unloading seven sleeping bags, pillows, suitcases, and random paraphernalia is not exactly simple. The campsites did make this easier, though. We decided to stay in Kampgrounds of America (KOA) kamping kabins, and they worked out great for us, as they had a picnic table and grill, and access to community showers. The cabins did sleep all seven of us, but for the most comfort, again, I would suggest leaving the littlest child with the gypsies and bringing six or fewer people.

After two days of travel, we finally made it to Estes Park, Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. September was a fantastic time to go to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was not overcrowded, the weather was great, and there was no snow except in patches above the tree line. However, it was a bit chilly, and we were all glad to have long sleeves. For our first venture in the park, we drove up Trail Ridge Road, which takes you through the mountains and up 12,183 feet in elevation. The view from the summit was simply incredible.

We spent the rest of the time in the Rocky Mountains hiking and viewing the wildlife. My favorite hike was the trail up to Emerald Lake. The trailhead is at Bear Lake, and the trail is 1.8 miles one way, taking you up just over 600ft in elevation. On the trails, and just about everywhere, there were numerous animals to see, including deer, elk, and chipmunks that scurried all over the place, even on our toes once or twice. The last thing we saw in the Rocky Mountains were two large elk, sparring just beside the road.

Whether I was standing on top of a mountain, or down in a valley watching incredible animals face off, the whole park left me breathless. This vacation turned out to be one of the most fun and exciting experiences we have had together as a family, and I cherish all the time we spent together.

Thank goodness we did not leave the littlest one with the gypsies!