Fantastic Leg of the Trip

The wonderful visit with my sister and her family was concluding today as we packed up the car this morning. The visit at my sister’s house may have concluded but we had one more scheduled event together. As usual my sister does think of everything and had suggested to us earlier in the week to go to hot springs which was conveniently located on our west and right off of the interstate. I thought this was a wonderful idea and my sister’s family would join us as well. I had never been to a hot springs before and didn’t know what to expect but listening to my sister explain the attraction I was very intrigued.

We sat out on time this morning with both mini-vans (my sister also owns a mini-van) headed west from the outskirts of Denver. We headed into the Rocky Mountains and made a very beautiful three hour drive to the world’s largest hot springs pool. Of course my sister being who she is asked if our children could come with her family in their mini-van thus relieving our children from their cramped quarters. The children were excited to join their aunt, uncle and cousins for the ride. I was also happy to see our children in a space with legroom.

The drive from my sister’s house was filled with natural beauty and drastic elevation changes. We passed many bicycle paths with cyclists along with runners along the way. I do enjoy the natural beauty of Colorado and think it is a wonderful place to live and recently Colorado was named the fittest state in the country. Looking around at the many cyclists, runners and fitness enthusiasts I could see why. This would be an ideal place to live except for the winters.

My blood has thinned out over the past 14 years since we moved to the warmer climates and it would take some getting used to the winter time. I think this would be a great place to live for any family or any person but I am definitely afraid of the winter time. I took one look at the snow blower in my brother-in-law’s garage and was very happy to be living in Southern California where it doesn’t snow!!

We stopped at the halfway point which so happened to be Vail, Colorado which was absolutely breathtaking. It was a very warm summer day when we departed my sister’s house but up here in the mountains the air temperature was a perfect 76 degrees. I could see why this is a very popular place to visit in both the winter and summer time. The area was gorgeous and I could see the pride in my brother-in-law’s face as he is a native Coloradan. He is a joy to be around is always giving a back story to the towns we visit in Colorado. He is very proud to be from Colorado and I could see why since the state is very beautiful.

We passed the place where my sponsor spent much of his youth which also happens to be his birthplace. I could see that this town had changed since my sponsor had departed over 30 years as it was complete with outlet shops but the small town feel was still prevalent. I enjoyed our three hour trek to the hot springs pool and when we arrived I was very surprised to see our destination. It was indeed a very large pool which so happens to sit on a natural hot spring. It was a very popular attraction as there were many people in attendance.

My sister once again exhibited extreme generosity paying for our family’s entire admission which was not inexpensive. In fact I thought the prices were very high but my sister wanted to treat us. This was not necessary since my sister has done so much for me and my family over these past three years I couldn’t possibly ask her to do anymore yet here she was doing this out of the goodness of her heart. I am so blessed with an incredible family who has been so generous in every possible way.

Both sisters have been incredible through this entire journey and I could see the look on my older sister’s face as we said goodbye to her last week. This was a look of genuine love for our children and has done so much for them. Now my younger sister continues this genuine love which is unconditional. I never thought much about unconditional love but through the incredible love bestowed upon my family by my mother, mother-in-law, sisters and many others I now understand that this type of love does not come with any conditions. It is pure love of our children and I am eternally grateful.

We made our way into the hot springs pool and I was very impressed. Yes, the price of admission was steep but the children all had a great time. There were several pools with varying temperatures from a very hot pool to a perfectly tempered pool along with water slides for the children. My daughter LOVED the waterslides and is such a daredevil. My son needed some coaxing but after getting into it he too was enamored with the waterslides. I don’t know where my daughter gets her daredevil tendencies from because my wife and I are very conservative when it comes to thrill seeking yet my daughter seemingly will try anything once. I’m not sure how this translates as she gets older but for now it is wonderful to witness.

My son fell in love with the diving board as he kept jumping off it time and time again. My daughter was immersed in the waterslides and I had a great time joining both of them on the waterslides. I also along with my wife enjoyed the hot springs pool. It was indeed a very large pool with mineral water pumped into it at a wonderful temperature. I understand the smell from these types of pools could be overwhelming but the sulfur smell was kept at a minimum.

I had no idea we would stay at the hot springs pool for so long but we weren’t in any hurry. We decided to continue heading west instead of spending the night in this area. I took my sister’s advice and headed into Utah. Since we stayed much longer then anticipated our drive through the most beautiful part of the trip (Interstate 70 along eastern Utah) was made in the dark. I do enjoy this incredible scenery which always makes me feel like I am on another planet because there is so much red rock and incredible landscapes. We did drive through this in darkness but we did make it to our intended destination at a halfway decent hour.

The trip with my sister and my sister’s family came to an end and we said our goodbyes. It was a wonderful three days and she is a wonderful person. I couldn’t have asked for a better three days and my sister certainly treated (in every sense of the word) very well. Thank you so much I love you very much!!!