Colorado Adventure Jeep Tours

So, the kids want to go to Legoland this summer, because EVERYTHING IS AWESOME. You and your spouse have been planning your vacation for months, and it does not include Legoland.  Your kind of adventure is going to be inspiring and educational.  You have told the kids how excited you are to go on a jeep tour and to visit Mesa Verde National Park on a Colorado adventure of a lifetime.  You tell them that maybe next year you will go to Legoland, but you know that after they go on the trip that you have planned, they will be begging for more of your type of adventure.

It is July 22nd and you are ready for your first exciting Colorado adventure, a jeep tour! The kids are singing “Let it Go” at the top of their lungs in the backseat.  As they climb into the bus to begin the day, they notice fellow travelers who are about their ages.  Maybe this won’t be so bad? As the bus winds up the mountains and the earth drops off below, you peek over at your two kids with their faces glued to the window.  You tell them that you are on the Million Dollar Highway.

As the jeep tour begins, the kids didn’t know that you would be visiting Colorado’s most preserved ghost town, Animas Forks.  Beautiful Colorado wildflowers are scattered around the old towns.  On this Colorado adventure, your guide tells you about the settlers long, long ago who forged a new life in Animas Forks. He also tells you all about the flora and fauna and makes the kids giggle with his rendition of an old mining song.

After exploring the ghost town in your open air vehicle, you make your way to Silverton. After a delicious lunch, you are on your way to the next Colorado adventure and board the famous Narrow Gauge Railway.  From your open-air gondola style seating, you have a perfect view into the Rockwood Gorge.  The steam billows overhead and you think about the people who lived in the wooden structures in Animas Forks. You notice the kids telling each other ghost stories and pointing out different animals, an elk, a mountain goat, a bald eagle.  When you get back to your car, at the end of the day and ask them if they had fun on their Colorado adventure, they both say at the same time, “EVERYTHING WAS AWESOME!”  As for their Legoland trip, I think they’ve “Let it Go”.

Mesa Verde Discovery Tours

The next day, you complete the second part of your Colorado adventure as you shuttle up to Mesa Verde National Park, which is one of the most preserved cliff dwellings in the world. As you walk around the visitor center and look at all of the old relics, you anticipate that this will be another fun, educational day. On the tour, the kids scamper down the three 10’ ladders, wide-eyed, as they explore Cliff Palace, the largest dwelling in the park. The red dirt houses secrets of the ancient Puebloans. You complete the Mesa Verde loop after enjoying lunch. The kids are engaged in learning because everything is interactive.

Maybe next year, you will step out of a Colorado adventure and jump into an Arizona adventure with a Salt River rafting trip. In addition to being fun, a Salt River rafting trip will teach the kids about safety and how to read the river and work together as a team. They will be able to learn about flora and fauna as well as rock strata as you raft through the 2,000 foot “mini grand canyon”. You could even camp in the canyon as the kids pretend that they are in an ancient Puebloan cliff dwelling or in an old mine in Animas Forks.  The opportunities are endless!