We had this great idea to do a mini-vacation to Colorado Springs. We put it on the summer bucket list and then kept putting it off thinking it would be fun to do it right when school started so things were less busy. We did Mount Rushmore that way a couple of years ago and thought it turned out really great.
This little trip didn't.
I guess traveling when most of Northern Colorado is having a flood is a bad idea. Hmm, who knew?
It goes like this: It had been raining in our neck of the woods most of the week. Wednesday Boulder and Estes Park started flooding pretty severely. But we weren't going to Estes or Boulder so we though we were good. We knew it was supposed to continue raining but we figured it would kind of carry on like it had been and we'd deal with a little drizzle while hiking around Garden of the Gods. We woke up Thursday morning to some pretty major rain and continued flooding to the west of us. But we got packed up and made our way down to Denver. We stopped at Ikea for a little shopping and lunch, as per the plan, and then continued on to The Springs (I sort of hate that people refer to Colorado Springs as THE SPRINGS. Sounds so snooty, but whatever.) We arrived to slight drizzles of rain but mostly sunny skies. So, we drove on to Garden of the Gods in hopes of some hiking and fun. Fun was not in the plans. They had the entrance to the park blocked off by cones and police. At this point Isaac is in tears because all he wants to do is "hike the red rocks." We let him know there is nothing we can do about it and try to think of an alternative. We drove by Shannon's old house and then went on to the mall. We figured the kids would benefit from being out of the car and running a little. We took them to the play area and let them have their fill of playing. Well, actually, Isaac was crying again when we left because he wanted to stay longer and ride escalators but he'd also just made a little girl cry (not sure what happened exactly because my back was turned. So we left despite the protestations.
Our hotel was near by so we decided to check in and see what was going on that caused Garden of the Gods to close. Well, they shut it down because there was a lot of rain forecast and they didn't want anyone to get stuck in the park. We figured we'd try again tomorrow and see how things looked. But, it soon began raining just as forecast. We decided to get in our swimming gear and do a little swimming in the hotel pool. The boys did love that part of the trip. Well, we all did really. And then we opted to eat at the hotel restaurant to avoid the rain and getting the kids in the car again. We also had a $10 voucher for their restaurant. Turns out they made a decent pizza and we were all happy.
We ended the night with some popcorn and treats and watching a little TV. Then the wrestle began between Isaac and the parents. He was less thrilled with going to sleep and we were less thrilled with him staying awake. I'm not going to lie, it got ugly. But eventually he settled in and fell asleep. And he still loved is in the morning so we are all okay. Ben slept beautifully by the way. He really is so easy going. What a blessing. He did wake up because he had wet out of his diaper and was cold. A+ mom moment, I didn't have an extra set of pajamas because I can't even remember the last time he's wet out prior to that. Oh well. I did have plenty of spare changes of clothes and a sleep sack so all was well.
But since we were awake at 3 anyway, Jacob checked the weather. It was still raining hard in Colorado Springs and we learned that things were far worse at home. Due to the huge overload to the West of us all the rivers were flooding. The river running through our town was flooded and the river in the neighboring town was even worse. We went back to sleep and figured we'd probably be in for a mess in the morning.
And we were. Everything in Colorado Springs was shut down and schools were cancelled. And it appeared we weren't going to get home. The highway home was shut down just to the south of where we live because it was flooded over. All traffic was being diverted East. So, we packed up the car and figured we better try heading home on the Eastern route before we were totally shut out.
Colorado Springs is about 2- 2.5 hours from home. It took us 6 hours to get home. Every time we'd come to a bridge that was supposed to be open we'd find that it had been closed just a half hour before we got there. And then we would sit in traffic, literally not moving at all, while everyone tried to get turned around, including semi trailers. It was a nightmare. Our poor boys. They were troopers but they were done! We finally found a bridge that we were able to get across, even more East than we intended to go, and then had to wind our way home. Everyone was glad to be out of the car. Everyone!
The next day all of the roads we had traveled on to get home were underwater. And the freeway was still shut down through part of our city. Jacob's work is off the river and they barely escaped flooding. He has some pictures of the crazy river and the damage on the property that I'll try and find and post later. Our city is still pretty undamaged and other towns have definitely not fared as well. I feel really sad about the hundreds of people still unaccounted for and those that have lost lives and homes due the damage. We were lucky.
So here are the photos I do have:
Ben liked playing with the air conditioner and heater.
This little trip didn't.
I guess traveling when most of Northern Colorado is having a flood is a bad idea. Hmm, who knew?
It goes like this: It had been raining in our neck of the woods most of the week. Wednesday Boulder and Estes Park started flooding pretty severely. But we weren't going to Estes or Boulder so we though we were good. We knew it was supposed to continue raining but we figured it would kind of carry on like it had been and we'd deal with a little drizzle while hiking around Garden of the Gods. We woke up Thursday morning to some pretty major rain and continued flooding to the west of us. But we got packed up and made our way down to Denver. We stopped at Ikea for a little shopping and lunch, as per the plan, and then continued on to The Springs (I sort of hate that people refer to Colorado Springs as THE SPRINGS. Sounds so snooty, but whatever.) We arrived to slight drizzles of rain but mostly sunny skies. So, we drove on to Garden of the Gods in hopes of some hiking and fun. Fun was not in the plans. They had the entrance to the park blocked off by cones and police. At this point Isaac is in tears because all he wants to do is "hike the red rocks." We let him know there is nothing we can do about it and try to think of an alternative. We drove by Shannon's old house and then went on to the mall. We figured the kids would benefit from being out of the car and running a little. We took them to the play area and let them have their fill of playing. Well, actually, Isaac was crying again when we left because he wanted to stay longer and ride escalators but he'd also just made a little girl cry (not sure what happened exactly because my back was turned. So we left despite the protestations.
Our hotel was near by so we decided to check in and see what was going on that caused Garden of the Gods to close. Well, they shut it down because there was a lot of rain forecast and they didn't want anyone to get stuck in the park. We figured we'd try again tomorrow and see how things looked. But, it soon began raining just as forecast. We decided to get in our swimming gear and do a little swimming in the hotel pool. The boys did love that part of the trip. Well, we all did really. And then we opted to eat at the hotel restaurant to avoid the rain and getting the kids in the car again. We also had a $10 voucher for their restaurant. Turns out they made a decent pizza and we were all happy.
We ended the night with some popcorn and treats and watching a little TV. Then the wrestle began between Isaac and the parents. He was less thrilled with going to sleep and we were less thrilled with him staying awake. I'm not going to lie, it got ugly. But eventually he settled in and fell asleep. And he still loved is in the morning so we are all okay. Ben slept beautifully by the way. He really is so easy going. What a blessing. He did wake up because he had wet out of his diaper and was cold. A+ mom moment, I didn't have an extra set of pajamas because I can't even remember the last time he's wet out prior to that. Oh well. I did have plenty of spare changes of clothes and a sleep sack so all was well.
But since we were awake at 3 anyway, Jacob checked the weather. It was still raining hard in Colorado Springs and we learned that things were far worse at home. Due to the huge overload to the West of us all the rivers were flooding. The river running through our town was flooded and the river in the neighboring town was even worse. We went back to sleep and figured we'd probably be in for a mess in the morning.
And we were. Everything in Colorado Springs was shut down and schools were cancelled. And it appeared we weren't going to get home. The highway home was shut down just to the south of where we live because it was flooded over. All traffic was being diverted East. So, we packed up the car and figured we better try heading home on the Eastern route before we were totally shut out.
Colorado Springs is about 2- 2.5 hours from home. It took us 6 hours to get home. Every time we'd come to a bridge that was supposed to be open we'd find that it had been closed just a half hour before we got there. And then we would sit in traffic, literally not moving at all, while everyone tried to get turned around, including semi trailers. It was a nightmare. Our poor boys. They were troopers but they were done! We finally found a bridge that we were able to get across, even more East than we intended to go, and then had to wind our way home. Everyone was glad to be out of the car. Everyone!
The next day all of the roads we had traveled on to get home were underwater. And the freeway was still shut down through part of our city. Jacob's work is off the river and they barely escaped flooding. He has some pictures of the crazy river and the damage on the property that I'll try and find and post later. Our city is still pretty undamaged and other towns have definitely not fared as well. I feel really sad about the hundreds of people still unaccounted for and those that have lost lives and homes due the damage. We were lucky.
So here are the photos I do have:
Ben liked playing with the air conditioner and heater.
Isaac liked playing with the new toy we bought for the boys. It was a wise purchase since we ended up spending a lot more time in the hotel room than we maybe would have. It bought us a little bit of time to figure out our game plan in the morning.
But they still managed to find all the cupboards and drawers and especially the fridge just their size.
You'll probably have to click on this picture to make it a little larger and see the water. It looks like a lake but it is in fact the river that runs through town. I don't think this particular bridge ever got shut down but the ones to the North and South of it were what had shut down the freeway, preventing us from getting home quickly. It really was kind of a nightmare, but we both kind of laugh about it now. And it certainly will be a memorable mini-vacation. At least for Jacob and I.
1 comment:
That is pretty crazy! I wondered if all of that flooding was affecting you - guess I know now. Glad you guys made it home safe and your house has not been affected!
Post a Comment