Steamboat Springs, Colorado

September 7th – September 12th

After 4 nights in Glenwood Springs, we headed out for our shortest drive yet to Steamboat Springs, CO. Upon arrival into Steamboat, we saw a huge fire just 5 miles from where we were staying! It’s heartbreaking to see and hear about all of the fires happening throughout the Western U.S. We were a little bummed due to the poor air quality, but, a nice rain and snow came our first night! It was a bit strange for us Californians to experience snow in September.

We stayed at the KOA in Steamboat Springs. Per our custom arrival protocol, we explored the grounds. Just over a small bridge hovering over the river, we found an awesome area to mountain bike. The boys made a pump track with some great jumps! They have really enjoyed biking everywhere we have gone. Brandon found a gym for us to train at for a few days while we were in town. While it has been fun utilizing nature for exercise, he was particularly excited to have a place to go for a few days. I know he misses his Spartan community where he trains back home.

One of the highlights for our stay in Steamboat was a hike we did at Fish Creek Falls. It was beautiful. There was nice crisp air after the snow with the sun glaring through the forest. The boys had the time of their life rock climbing along the way and the river coming off the waterfall was so peaceful. It brought a sense of God’s presence while sitting on a rock watching the water flow down the creek. The Bible says in John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” We shared a nice moment with the boys explaining the person of Holy Spirit and asked for more of God’s presence in each of our lives. After our hike, we headed into town for dinner. The little town of Steamboat is super cute. Great food and shops down Main Street. We had the most incredible Italian dinner at a place called Mazzola’s. We went through 3 baskets of their bread to start!

Homeschooling the boys in tight quarters continues to present challenges, but, we are doing it as a team and enjoying the process! I have found a bit of a rhythm prepping the night before which helps. We also met a nice family from Florida with two boys at our campground. We plan on keeping in touch with them.

One other “first” for us was we lost power at our site one evening. Brandon got the generator out and got it going, but, it was not working when we plugged our electric hookup in! Fortunately, power was restored after an hour or two and we were back in business.

We really wish we could have had some additional days in Steamboat. It is definitely a place we will visit again! Off to Lander Wyoming for our 1-night stay as we make our way to the Grand Teton National Park!