Well, you know fall is here when the kids in my class carve their jack-0-lanterns! Yesterday was carving day. Mrs. Mullink can't stand the smell of pumpkins so naturally I had to let another student carve theirs today so we'd get a double dose of the smell!

Colorado 2009

I also travelled to Colorado a few days after returning from South Dakota. It was nuts but a lot of fun. I went white water rafting. The water was frigid! The scenery was beautiful. We rafted at about 9,500 feet up through a canyon. The rock formations were just unbelievable. I also saw the largest herd of buffalo in the state of Colorado. We went to Pike's Peak which was one of scariest drives of my life. We were lucky enough for a storm to have left so we could drive to the summit. But, another storm blew in while we were there. Within 15 minutes of us arriving, we were advised to leave ASAP. We walked out and saw nothing but clouds surrounding us! Needless to say, it was an uneasy drive down the first few thousand feet. We could see maybe 2 feet in front of us and that's not good on a road with sharp curves and no guard rails! I also drove through Independence Pass to Aspen. Aspen is gorgeous. I'd love to go back some day. We rode a gondola to a ski lodge at about 12,000 feet. Just our luck, a storm blew in so we were trapped up there for over an hour. We decided to eat at this beautiful lodge looking out onto the Elk Mountains. The altitude plays havoc with the weather. It was raining on top of the mountain while the sun was shining brightly below in Aspen!

Well, it was a fun filled summer for 2009! I headed out to South Dakota to the Black Hills and to see the Badlands. We went four wheeling in the Hills up to the top. The views were amazing. We spent an afternoon at Mount Rushmore. I don't understand how this piece of history was achieved in its time. I highly recommend for everyone to make the drive out if they can. We filled our 5 days stay with enough fun to last a lifetime! Spearfish Canyon was an awesome evening drive one evening. We saw 2 waterfalls. This time while in the creek, I actually stayed upright!