2021 Family Vacation

We weren’t sure if we would even be able to go on vacation. With our family’s schedule, we just weren’t sure how we were going to make it work. But suddenly, all the pieces seemed to fall together. Two weeks later, we were heading out on our 2021 family vacation! Our destination: Durango, Colorado.

We started out after a youth event on Sunday. We drove to Roswell, New Mexico the first day and spent the night there. Then the next morning, true to our normal vacation routine, we were up really early and ready to head out!

Family Vacation

In Durango, we spent a lot of time walking in the downtown areas. There were some really neat shops, and we enjoyed exploring and browsing. Our days were normally spent doing something active, while our evenings were generally pretty relaxed. We visited a lot of coffee shops, tried some new things, and enjoyed the cooler weather. At one point, we got caught in a rain squall and had to take cover under a bridge. We also visited a couple of other small cities in the area including Silverton and Ouray. We were able to be spontaneous, and it was great!

Our Vacation in Pictures

Coming from West Texas, we enjoyed the view of mountains and greenery,

While in Colorado, Durango, we enjoyed walking along the Animas River. It was absolutely beautiful!

At Lake Nighthorse, we tried out paddle-boarding for the first time! It was so much fun! I would highly recommend it! The feeling of being on top of the water, surrounded by mountains, is amazing!

We got caught in the rain on another walk along the Animas River.

After getting caught in the rain, we got some coffee and played card games in our hotel room. (Did I mention that we tried out three different coffee shops while we were on vacation?)

One of the highlights of our trip was going to Ouray, CO. There, we went on the Via Ferrata, which is like rock climbing for people who have no training in rock climbing. While I would never actually rock climb, this was a perfect way to get the experience! And our guides were a lot of fun!

Then we headed to Cascade Falls which was absolutely beautiful! We even were able to walk behind the falls!

On our trip back home, we noticed a sign advertising Chimney Rock, so we made a small detour and hiked a short ways up to see Chimney Rock. And boy was it an amazing view!

Our last stop was Santa Fe, New Mexico. We spent the night there, and in the morning, we spent some time exploring the historic downtown area. It was very different than the downtown areas in Durango that we had just seen. Dad and I got up early in the morning so we could catch the city as it was waking up. Later on, the others joined us to walk around a bit more.