Denver Vacation February 2017

We don’t take vacations.  We aren’t good at it.  Mostly because Rob was always at work, so we couldn’t go.  If he had time off work, we would use it to go camping or for hunting camp.  Granted, we prefer being in the mountains to anywhere there are crowds of people, cities, tourist attractions, etc.  But also, we couldn’t afford to go either.  So we’ve always stuck close to home for the most part.

 

We did go to Glendive, Montana for a weekend to see the dinosaur museum (best one ever) and Makoshika State Park.  But honestly, our last family vacation (with all of us there) was driving to Reno for 3 days so Cody could bugle in the World Championship elk calling contest.  He was 6.  That was half of his lifetime ago! 

Last June we had an impromptu family reunion/camping trip with the In-Laws since several of them were crazy enough to sign up to run a half marathon in Yellowstone.  Sometime during that trip, we started to seriously think about visiting Rob’s brother Sky (and his fiance Whit) in Denver.  Why not?  Well…of course, it’s expensive, but I budgeted out the trip costs and we should be able to swing it.

So…off to Denver we decided to go.  And shoot – if we are planning to head to Denver, we might as well pair it with a pro game!  We aren’t fans of the Denver Broncos, and the tickets are crazy expensive, but we do like the Golden State Warriors, so we thought we should catch them in Denver! 

February rolled around and we hit the road to Denver.  It was great to get Rob out.  Some parts of the trip were a little stressful, because all of the responsibility is on me…but…overall, it was so great to get out and have family time.  We were able to laugh a lot in the car.  We took in the big city – which is always an eye opener for people like us who think Bozeman’s population has gotten completely out of control. 

We stayed at a hotel in Sheridan on the way down so that the kids could swim, and we had a great time.  The hotel was brand new and very clean.  We were the only people in the pool.  Rob has lost his ability to swim, and I had to help him in and out so he wouldn’t slip, but he stood in the pool and laughed at us while the kids and I goofed off.  We stuffed him in the car again in the morning and hit the road to Denver.  We laughed over so many things, it was wonderful.  He started telling a bunch of his old hunting stories and I tried to write some of them down so I could remember them, but I couldn’t get them down while I was driving.  Oh man, has he lived an interesting life!

This was the first time we used his handicapped tag, but he was real accepting of us using it, especially in the city.  We had a great time with Sky and Whit.  We went to a Dave and Buster’s and Rob struggled with quite a few of the games, but then we got him on a race car driving game and after a few rounds he was “tearing up the track.” – It was bittersweet watching him.  He used to be a professional driver, but now his driving is limited to very short trips near the house, so he had to drive a video game instead. 

We went to the zoo, and he did a pretty good job of walking around.  He wasn’t afraid to tell us when he was tired and needed a break.  We also went to the aquarium and did the same thing.  The aquarium had an escalator that posed an issue momentarily, but he got it.  I do have to help him on uneven ground and stairs a lot more now, but he is usually willing to accept help.  Some of the crowded places at the zoo were a bit overwhelming for him balance wise, but he did okay.  

Sky and Whit live in a gorgeous neighborhood along the river with a lot of walking trails, so I would “take the dogs” for a walk just to get Rob some PT time.  He used to out walk me like mad, but now we all have to take it pretty slow so he can keep up.  We also can’t go very far…but that’s okay. 

Cody got to go to top golf, which was awesome, and even play some holes on the course with Skyler. 

We had fun at the warriors vs. nuggets game.

It was a short, short trip, but it was good for him and for all of us, to have the time together.  We also realized that it isn’t that intimidating to take a trip that doesn’t end up camping in the mountains!  Ha ha.  Most importantly, we were able to make some memories and work on some family bonding.  Cody can always remember going to watch the Warriors play in Denver with his dad and “Uncle Bucky.” 

We will have to consider visiting family or traveling more often.  Denver is not that far to go.  We’ll just have to try to budget some more travel time in.  Especially before it becomes too difficult for Rob to travel long distances.