When we made it to Steamboat Springs, we checked into the Nordic Lodge where we were staying. I would highly recommend it. The staff was great, they were nice rooms, and the price was right. It's always exciting for the kids to stay at a hotel...they like scouting it out and picking where they'll sleep, but they aren't into getting ice like we were as kids! ;)
We changed into our swimming suits, and drove around the town to see the sights a little. We saw the ski hills, jumps, lifts and resorts. We saw the parks, homes, and the scenic surroundings. We decided to go to Strawberry Park Hot Springs. It was nestled up in the Colorado mountains, and it was a beautiful facility. Daffodils were growing and the trees and grass was turning green. The weather was so nice, about 70 and sunny the whole time we were there. They had cute little cabins, teepees, and other fun things set up. They had many hot pools of varying temperatures and sizes. We loved it! It was relaxing and fun! Cal said "Ahhhh...this is the life." And Lucy, with a big grin said "I'm the queen of Steamboat Springs!" This was our kids favorite part of the trip when we asked them what their favorite thing we did was.
That night, we went to Steamboat Smokehouse for dinner. We made Dave choose where to go since it was his birthday. BBQ is his favorite, and it was a great choice! The NCAA men's basketball championship game was on, so we watched some of that. We also went around the table telling reasons why we love Dave, played telephone around the table and I Spy to keep the kids entertained. During the game, some big Wisconsin fans were at the restaurant watching. One of the guys pulled out his accordion during half time and they sang their fight song and he played some other songs. I joked with Dave that he should play "Happy Birthday" to him. After I said this, Cov started sing "happy birthday to Daddy" over and over in his own cute way. The accordion guy played some other songs, and the next thing we know, he started playing the birthday song. It was fun! We went to go get birthday treats at Dairy Queen/Orange Julius to finish the night off. We went back to the hotel to finish watching the game, and the kids watched their kid show. Then we went off to bed. Cal and Cov were sweet when they were sleeping in the same bed. They were cuddling each other all night. So cute!
We woke up the next morning, went to breakfast, then headed out for an action packed day! We started out at one of the parks to play on the playground. We walked along the river. And throughout all that day, we went to find all of the natural sulfur springs in town. We saw all but one. Then we went on a hike up to find a cave. We didn't find it, but we had a great time hiking together. After that, it was Little Toots park, Emma thought that was funny because we called her Little Toots as a nickname when she was a baby. We also checked out the library. We went down to the river and tried skipping [throwing] rocks. It is a pretty place! Then we checked out the Treads of Pioneer museum. They covered the original people native to that land, the Native Americans, then early settlers, finally transitioned to their skiing and olympic heritage associated with Steamboat. They also had a Victoria era home attached as well that was furnished with pieces from that time period. Emma did a "treasure hunt" to find certain objects in the museum and was awarded with a prize for finishing. She got a fan, and Cal and Lucy picked those out too. We went to lunch next. We ate at McDonalds. It was a swanky one, since all businesses there had to be built to a certain code. The playplace was a giant tree and was fun for the kids.
That afternoon, we explored the down town main street. We went to the candy store and let the kids all pick something out. We went to a place that had an arcade and let all of the kids pick out a couple of things to play. And we did a 4 person PacMan game. They loved that, because usually we don't pay for those, they just pretend! :) We got some giant cinnamon rolls from Winonas, which were bigger than our faces to take home for breakfast the next day. They were SO amazing! We also went to FM Light and Sons to check out their Western wear and other touristy spots. And we got our pressed penny, sweet! Then we went to another park and played while Cov slept. After that, we went to Mamba Italiano for diner. From 4-5:30 they had half price pizzas. It was so good! And fun, as you could see the cooks making the pizza in front of you. With bellies and hearts full, we packed back into our car to head home. It was a jam-packed few days and the we were all exhausted on the ride home.
On the way there and back, we listened to the book on CD of Naya Nuki by Ken Thomasma. The author is going to come to the kids school in a few weeks here, so we wanted to make sure to read that book. It is an amazing book based on the true story of a Shoshoni girl who was friends with Sacajawea and was captured by a group of unfriendly Indians to work as a slave. She escaped and made her way across hundreds of miles to make it back with her people all alone. It was inspiring and tied in a bit with our trip. For example, in one part of the book, Naya Nuki got really sick and almost died. Then she found a sulfur springs and knew that her people regarded them for their medicinal qualities. She drank and got in and was able to get better. Then, as we were hiking and the kids were saying they were tired, we reminded them that Naya Nuki ran most of the day on very little food and water. That helped them trudge forward with courage. It was a great story and we are excited to meet the author.
