BRECKENRIDGE...THIS YEAR's ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

Maybe John Denver was onto something when he sang about "Rocky Mountain High, Colorado."  I could relate to his sentiments of the peacefulness and the beauty of the Rockies this past week when I was on vacation in Breckenridge.  It was a 6-day family get-together at a large house we found on VRBO.

We enjoyed day hikes every day.

Sunday, we hiked Spruce Creek.

Along the Trail with the family !

Me and my sibs - Mary, Anne, Eileen and Paul

The soothing sound of the water flow.

Our toughest hike was the next day, Monday, when we decided to park at the Ski Resort, Lot #9, and hike up the Black Diamond Runs that are popular with skiers in the wintertime when they are covered with snow.  Believe me, the trails were steep!

Nell scampers uphill, followed by Anne.

I have one eye on my footing as I ascend, the other eye on the flowers.

A home-made wreath of yellow flowers that Gerry is forced to wear

Jose is "the Man."  Yep, he did Crystals and Grits and is proud of it.

We took two hikes on Tuesday, both of them started at Boreas Pass.  This was my favorite day of hiking.  We embarked on a 3 mile hike along Black Powder Pass Trail.  Then we did a shorter, 1 1/2 mile hike in the opposite direction.

Loving this vista from the trail

A friendly pica peeks out from the rocks

Wow!  The brilliant purple flowers caught my eye

My niece Nell is on top of the world! 

Eileen and Jose, my sister and brother-in-law from VA are thrilled to be here. 

My brother Paul and Jose share a moment.

My sisters and Nell scamper across the flower meadow.

We hiked Wednesday at Blue Lake and Thursday on trails near Hoosier Pass.

On the rocky scramble near Blue Lake

Pretty flowers on our final day of hiking, near Hoosier Pass

The clouds roll in on the Hoosier Pass Hike, but we managed to stay one step ahead of the rain. 

And let me not forget to mention that there was a game room in the Breckenridge house.  My 83 year old mom is quite the master at ping-pong!

Indoor Fun!

A group photo on our final day.  Too bad we didn't think of this earlier in the week when my nephews and niece, Stephen and Dylan and Nell, were here...

On couch are Uncle Neil, Aunt Ann and Mom.
Jose, Laura, (front left sitting) Eileen, Paul, Anne, John, Mary, Gerry (back row standing)