Climbing Family Adventures

It's kind of crazy to think that before our big 3 week trip we had only "camped" with Odub once.  And that was in Adam's parents' backyard, so not even really camping.  So I thought I'd go over some of the gear we had with us that made this trip go smoothly in case anyone else was thinking of camping with toddlers and wanted ideas. Obviously, the Native Campervan we rented was a HUGE part of our gear, so let's start there.  It seems like it would be a pretty good choice of vehicle for two people on a trip.  For three, one of whom needed a car seat, it was less ideal.  To use the bed, we would have had to completely take out Owen's car seat, which is why we only used the full bed once: when Adam went to bed super early before the Grand Teton.  We did use a section of the bed in Rifle as well, for Odub to nap on since there weren't great nap sites at the cliff base.  The kitchen in the back was nice & organized and having plates, cups, silverwa...

On rainy Monday, we headed to Cave of the Winds to check it out.  Adam was quite surprised by how pristine they had made everything in setting it up for tours by the general public. A very different cave experience than when we taught caving classes in college!  It was still neat to see the cool rock formations though! Group shot! They had one spot you were allowed to touch. On Tuesday the weather improved!  But after so much rain, climbing sandstone in Garden of the Gods was not a good idea. Luckily, my Uncle Chris offered to watch Odub so Adam and I could meet Jeff & Jackie at Clear Creek Canyon to climb in the morning.  It was cool to finish our trip in the same place it started (Little Eiger in Clear Creek Canyon is the place we climbed our first day of the trip with Nate) and really nice for Adam & I to climb together for the first time all trip!  Sadly, it appeared that all of Colorado had the same idea, the place was super crowd...

First, here are some of Jeff's pictures from the past few weeks! Hiking the overlook trail of West Thumb in Yellowstone & campsite at Wild Iris. Summit of the Grand Teton & Adam on the way up the Grand Teton.  Katie climbing on Symmetry Spire & on the summit of Symmetry Spire. On Friday, Jeff & Adam arrived at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and investigated the approach and route for their climb on Saturday.  The canyon is huge and impressive, with 1500 foot walls. Despite their planning, they had some difficulties on the approach but eventually managed to find the base of the route.  Although the setting was beautiful, the climbing wasn't great and the rock quality was terrible!  They eventually found their way back up and out of the canyon and headed to Colorado Springs. In the mean time, Odub & I had been enjoying spending time with my Uncle and cousin and his kids!  We went to two parks on S...

We got to Green River Campground in Dinosaur Natoinal Monument just in time to cook dinner Tuesday night.  After our yummy pasta, we headed to the River Trail to take a lovely sunset walk.  Although the only wildlife we saw were two bunnies and some birds, Owen had a great time booshing rocks and it was a beautiful walk.   On Wednesday morning we headed to the quarry exhibit center to look at the fossils.   As Jeff noted, it looks fake with how many bones are in the wall, but that’s actually how they were found.   There are a HUGE number of fossils in the rock layer and they decided to expose them while leaving them in place.   There are even a couple that you can touch!  After seeing the fossils, we stopped briefly at the Swelter Shelter where there are pictographs and petroglyphs which were really neat.  Then it was off to Rifle! Rifle Centennial Parkis really nice!  It had a cool ...