Holy schnikies! It’s August already, and here I am, having fallen behind on posting. I have no idea where this summer has gone, although I know where I’ve gone, and those places have been many, far and wide. It has been a great summer, aside from that whole having to work thing that I’ve got going on right now. I love going on vacations, and traveling with my Fuzzy Huzby is always an adventure! And since I’m a little behind, I think I’m going to do mostly a pictorial post today about some of our summer travels.
First up was the family reunion that we went to in Durango, Colorado. Every couple of years or so, my dad’s side of the family (the Koski’s) get together for schmoozin’ and boozin’. This summer, my Uncle Paul and Aunt Renee, who live in Nucla, Colorado, picked Durango for our clan’s gathering. It was a short weekend, but Chris and I packed in a lot of action and adventure!
Everyone who made it to Koski-palooza 2013.
Saturday: Mesa Verde National Park
Chris and I grabbed our cousin Heidi and spent Saturday climbing all over the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park, just outside of Durango. First we took the Balcony House tour, where we had to climb up ladders and go through tight tunnels. Then we toured Cliff Palace. Both sites were amazing, but for me, a highlight was letting my big nerd self buy the “Explorer” edition of the National Park Passport and getting a couple of Mesa Verde stamp cancellations!!! Woo hoooooo!!! (Also, I might have purchased ALL yearly stamp collections from 1986 to the present. Also, I might have the Passport App on my iPhone. Also, I might have a problem with being too obsessive about this whole thing.)
Sunday: Narrow-Gauge Train to Silverton
The next day, the whole family took the historic narrow-gauge train from Durango to Silverton, which largely followed the Animas River between the two towns. It’s about a 2.5 hour ride each way, so I occupied my time taking selfies with various people, drinking smuggled Fireball Whiskey with my cousins on the DL, and enjoying the fresh air (which was nicely flavored with freshly burned coal from the steam engine, cough cough cough). Want to see some pictures? Great! I have some!
It was a really enjoyable trip, but I must say, it was way too short. I feel like I didn’t really get a chance to talk with many people, other than the usual pleasantries and quick updates. I did spend some time hanging out with my Aunt Tje, which was great because I think we’re both somewhat introverted and share some things in common. And, it was really awesome hanging out with my cousin Heidi for the day – I love that she’s grown into such a smart, fun and laid-back young woman! Colorado, and especially Durango, is a beautiful place and I realized that I do miss that landscape. Another successful family reunion…check!
Fuzzy Undertones 
Awwww such cute photos in your conductor’s hat and with Fuzzy Husby and one with your Dad(?). You did pack in the activities!! Loved the photo of the iguana/lizard – whose fuzzy family does he belong to 🙂
Lol Sammy! I did return the conductor’s hat to the conductor, like a good citizen, and yes – that’s my dad with the mustache (not the wooden guy with the mustache, the other guy). We found the collared lizard on our way down to the Balcony House cliff dwellings – he was so pretty, and the photo doesn’t do him justice! Unfortunately, he’s not part of our fuzzy family, but he does belong to a cold-blooded clan that loves him just the same, I’m sure! I’ll be writing about our second, more recent trip soon! I hope you’re having a fantastic summer! 😀
I’ve seen lots of lizards but never one so multi and brightly colored. Can’t wait to see where else you’ve traveled. I’m a homebody this summer but enjoying (almost) every day:-). Big Fuzzy Hugs!
Hugs back at ya! 😎
I skipped Mesa Verde after spending too much time in Moab on my southwest tour in May. Thanks for the vicarious tour (which is way better than the one I would have had with three dogs and a parrot in tow!) I love. love. love trains, especially historic trains to ride just for the sake of riding. I am going to pretend that I did not read about the National Park Passport app here so that you cannot be blamed for a new obsession that may cause loss of job, income, marbles, etc.
Ha ha haaaaa!!!! I bought my first National Parks Passport book (the little one) back in 1998; my first stamp was at the Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado. I started running out of room so I broke down and bought the mega-sized Explorer edition and I love it!!! I spent quite some time cutting out all my old stamps and arranging them in the new passport book…kind of like National Parks scrapbooking. And then, of course, I had to add all my park visits to the app (which didn’t take too long!) so that I could see everything on a map! I love geeking out on that stuff. 😀
It does stink that you can’t take pets into the parks (save per the usual limitations), so I don’t blame you for cutting out Mesa Verde. It was beautiful, but I’d choose Moab (I love Arches NP but there are other amazing places in that area, as you know!!!) over the Mesa Verde area any time. But if you do find yourself in Durango, do take the narrow gauge railroad! It was pretty awesome 😉