We needed a change of scenery. We took our camper and spent nearly two weeks in the mountains of southwest Colorado and northern New Mexico. It was so incredible to be away from cell service, social media, and news outlets.
We took off from Norman, OK to Cotapaxi, CO. We stayed a night there, right on the Arkansas River. Chief threw rocks in the river until he couldn’t keep his eyes open.
Checked a volcano off his list! He was really disappointed there was no hot lava. 
The next day we headed to Ouray, CO. What a magical little town. We stayed there for 5 days – went on hikes, fished, chased waterfalls until our feet hurt, threw SO MANY rocks, and of course had to visit the local park when it opened. I realized later that all my pics from Ouray are the same – Chase carrying Chief, Chase keeping Chief from tumbling down a mountain, Chase grabbing Chief before he toppled into a running river. He keeps us on our toes.
Every morning Chief would say “I don’t want to climb big mountains today, only small mountains” and as soon as we would get on the trail he would cry “Climbing mountains is SOOOO HARRRD!”
After Ouray, we drove to Durango and on to Pagosa Springs. We stayed in Pagosa for a night – bought Chief hiking shoes, Chase stocked up on fishing gear, and again threw countless rocks into the river.
The following day we made the short trek to Red River, NM. We made a quick pitstop in Taos, to eat at Orlando’s. It was just as delicious as I’d hoped!
We met up with Chase’s family and Chief spent 4 days running full speed. It was so nice to have extra hands around, Chase and I even got to sneak away to do a hike by ourselves! Hikes are surprisingly easy when you’re not carrying an extra 40 pounds that wiggles. Chief stayed up late, played hard, stayed covered in a layer of dirt, and had the time of his life playing with his cousins.
Every morning we woke up to 40 degree temperatures, drank our coffee staring at the mountains, spent our days outside, came back to the camper for a mid-afternoon rest, usually did some more exploring before dinner, and because our camps were right on a river, we would throw rocks until the sun went down. It was a magical trip.
Chief finished swimming lessons and is swimming SO WELL in our pool. He jumps off the side, dives for rings at the bottom (of the shallow end), will swim from one end to the other. It’s wild to watch him.
Chase turned 34! We celebrated poolside with burgers and buttermilk pie. Chief handled the decor and insisted on a construction themed birthday party complete with construction cone candles.
Chase and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. We went shopping for fishing gear, naturally, then dinner at one of our favorite spots in OKC – Osteria OKC. A much needed date night.
Things Chief said:
- “Don’t forget to remember that.” When he tells you something of utmost importance.
- “If you resist.” He’s really trying to say “If you insist” which makes it even better. We’ll ask him to pick up his toys, go to the bathroom, or finish his dinner and he’ll scoff “If you resist.” 😂
- If we ask him to do (or not do) something he’ll act like he’s complying, then as soon as we turn our back he’ll go back to doing the thing we asked him to stop. We’ll say “Chief, we told you to (turn the TV off, get out of the pool, etc.)” He’ll reply “It was worth a shot.” We have to turn our backs to muffle our laughter.
- “You’re the best reader in Okamhoma.” As he brings Chase books to read before bed.
- One of the mornings we were in Red River, Big and Honey watched Chief while Chase and I went to hike. When we came back we asked Chief if he listened while we were gone. He replied “I didn’t listen for a minute, but then I did. So that’s okay.”
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