Colorado Trip with the Mars Family

In June 1998 we had made plans to head to Colorado with the Mars Family, who we have known for many years. Jim and Bill worked and played together back in their 20s (early 70's) and I met them in the mid-1970s when Bill was working and living on his sailboat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Anyway, since our families practically grew up with each other, we did go on a lot of vacations together. This year we decided to head to Colorado.

Jim, Jacklyn and I caught an airplane out of Atlanta on Saturday, June 13 and met up with the Mars Family (Bill, Julie, Garrett & Woody) in Dallas, Texas with a connecting flight to Colorado Springs. We rented a wonderful GMC Suburban that fit all 7 of us. 

Since we started out in the Eastern time zone and ended up in the Mountain time zone, we had gotten an extra three hours of daylight in which to do some sightseeing. So as we traveled south on I-25, we decided to go to the Garden of the Gods and Old Colorado City before heading south to Trinidad. After a short stop at our property where we saw a golden black bear (everyone was excited about seeing the bear), we head down into Trinidad for dinner and provisions.

By this time it was getting dark and we still had a 45 minute drive to Stonewall where our cabin was (Costa Stonewall Ranch). We got lost because it was dark, but we eventually found it. 

 

We were pleasantly surprised at how nice the cabin is; fully furnished with room enough for all of us. The only thing they could have done better is have a good mattress on the sleeper sofa – it was not good and did not offer a good night’s sleep. Jim and I slept there though and gave Bill & Julie the bedroom. The kids had their own room and beds.

The weather was cool with low humidity and a lot of wind. Locals said it was very unusual for this time of year.

Did not do as much as we would have liked. Plans to visit the Whittington Center, Capulin Volcano, and Sand Dunes never materialized. 

We did go over Cuchara Pass, up through the mountains. It was a very scenic drive. There was snow up at the top, and the kids had a blast running through it.

We went back to our property and spent some time there but did not drive around to meet any neighbors. I wish we would have done that.

Jacklyn went to Florida after our adventure to Colorado with the Mars family for a week before we went down for another vacation to the Bahamas.