Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Farrell Family Summer Vacation 2012!

Well, we planned on going to Disneyland. And sadly, it didn't happen. SO, instead we decided to stay in the beautiful state of Colorado and go to Estes Park! We all had a great time and enjoyed our week or relaxation!

First, we went up to Jellystone Camp Ground in Estes.  It's this adorable Yogi Bear themed camp ground with tons of activities and such! Here are the pics we took while there:

This was the view we had when we went on our first little hike

Gorgeous, isn't it??

Ella with Boo Boo bear. Or as she called him, "Boobie Bear." haha!

Ella and I with Yogi Bear.  Ella called him "Pogi Bear." haha!

A view of the play set and the mountains

A mustache I got from the game room haha

There were these tiny chipmunk holes everywhere!

One of our many chipmunk visitors.  I think we named this one "Charles!"

We decided on our last night at Jellystone to go into Estes further and get some dinner on the main street!




Here's Kian imitating "Tony" and Tony's Pizza. Which has gluten free crust by the way!





After we were done camping, we drove to our cabin that we rented between Loveland and Estes.  It was such a cute little place.  We had a lot of fun.  And it was nice not to have to sleep in a sleeping bag any more!  Here are the pictures we took there: 
A view of the front yard



Our little cabin!

Kian and Ella having fun on the swing set!





The river right by our cabin






We spent a lot of time in Estes on main street eating and doing some shopping!!
This was an adorable little cafe by a lake that we stopped at!









This was THE BEST ice cream on the planet! Laura's rocky road!

Main Street








Some very fun pics we took at FunCity!









Coolest slide EVER



I think my favorite part of the vacation was going to The Stanley Hotel!  I am a HUGE ghost hunters nerd and love all things paranormal, so this was a real treat for me!  My Mom and I went on a ghost and history tour and got to hear all of the ghost stories and cool history that surrounds the Stanley.  If only we could have stayed there! Here are the pictures I took there:








McGregor Ball Room




haunted luggage haha jk


The old-time elevator

This picture makes me look massive. But the staircase was really cool.



Room 217 - The room that Steven King stayed in while he wrote The Shining.  Also, while filming Dumb and Dumber, Jim Carrey was checked into this room, but after 3 hours, he demanded he be moved to another room.  When no other rooms were available, he stayed at a local Days Inn.  He has never said what happened in that room. but he refused to be in the hotel unless he was filming. Interesting, huh?! :)

 Steven King had a dream that this faucet was attached to a hose and the hose came alive and was chasing his son down the hallway.





Room 401.  Another haunted room!  It is said that many women feel their hair being touched when they enter the closet.




The children's play room.  Before the new additions to the Stanley, this room was the final room at the end of the hall.  Back when the hotel was new, they used this room as a play room.  Many employees leave candy here for the children.  Once, a boy on one of these tours took a piece of candy he found underneath the couch and kept tripping in the hallway.  He said he felt like someone had put their leg out in front of him and tripped him.  Moral of the story: don't take the candy from the couch!




The tiny tunnel in the employee passageway.  If you've seen the Stanley Ghost Hunters episode, this was where they heard loud voices.






The Music Hall.  The most haunted building on the property.  We didn't get to tour it because there is a separate tour for the Concert Hall!





My second favorite part of the trip was visiting the alluvial fan at Rocky Mountain National Park!  I am not normally a hiker, but I LOVED hiking these rocks!  If you are ever in the area you simply must visit!  It's a ton of fun, and completely gorgeous too!

Sisters <3 p="p">
















Keek!

Ells!









Sitting at the top!






gorgeous


Just chillin'


Afterward, we ate lunch and then proceeded to drive up Old Fall River Road to the top to the visitor's center.  The views along the way were UNBELIEVABLE.  It was like a different world.  I kid you not.  It was remarkable.  And the change in climate was pretty cool to experience too!








A marmot that refused to move.



Seriously, some of the land nearer the top looked like Ireland.  It was really cool!

Elk!!










I wanted to live up here.  But not in winter!

All in all our vacation was pretty darn awesome! :) And I'm thankful that we were all safe and healthy the whole time! :)












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