Continuing our trip South......

     After several 6 hour driving days, it was nice to settle in Montrose, Colorado at my sister's house for a few days and spend time with their family as well as my brother and family. There was tanks to flush and loads of laundry but there was still plenty of time to hang out!

     One evening we threw together some picnic food and headed for the mountains. We went down through Ouray and up Red Mountain Pass then turned off on a very bumpy road. The leaves were very close to peak and the colors were stunning!

The Million Dollar Highway

Love how rugged and wild it is!

Roasting hot dogs wrapped in bacon.

And huge marshmallows.

There was a massive pile of dirt that the children climbed over and over.

My nephew Alex zips around on his dirt bike so fast it's hilarious and terrifying!

Naturally, the girls fought over who could play with Austin the most.

Alex and Michael picked some apples for an appetizer.

Austin kept looking at the girls like he couldn't believe his luck-2 girls doting on him 😂

One afternoon we went to the park.

Any monkey bar type things are a hit for this guy!

Racing down the slide.

A raft swing!

Brian's had so many rabbits they turned a bunch loose. Makayla was sure we needed one.

Our truck got detailed inside and out and shone like never before!

Emily and Nakita always play dress-up.

The tea party included lots of giggles-and spilled tea!

Favorite cousin!

Austin has the cutest mischievous grin I've ever seen!

Brian teaches them to be ornery  😉

Candyland!

Sunday afternoon we the road again.

We were blessed with beautiful weather and gorgeous scenery again.

We spent the night at friends in Cortez and had a great time.

The children were thrilled to play with the puppies and on the trampoline .

One of our tires had a slow leak so Eldon tried to plug it and put the spare on.......

Monday morning Jennifer served us a delicious breakfast before we headed out. Even better was the conversation and fellowship we shared.

The children played hard all morning until we left.

Grover and Ethan were so cute together! 

     We were an hour from Albuquerque when we heard a very pop and saw rubber flying. Thankfully, Eldon was able to immediately pull over. It was the spare that blew so we put on the tire he had patched and were on the road again in less then 15 minutes. We had exactly 30 minutes left when another rig passed us and waved around and let us know we had a flat tire. So we pulled over and Eldon called a friend who was already at the fiesta campground with several other families. Within 40 minutes Johnny had found a spare and brought it to us. It only took the guys a couple minutes to put it on and we were on the road again! 

     So today Eldon shopped around and we now have 6 new tires on our rig. Like any rally, as soon as 1 guy is doing a project, others show up and offer tools, advice, or companionship ❤. We are so thankful to God for his timing in all this. There are many very desolate places out west to get stranded in but this was as good as it gets! Also, blow-outs often cause much worse damage then simply bending a little metal. When we had the flat, it was hot but had not burst into flames yet, anther horror story we've heard. And of course, we're thankful for people who are willing to loan tires and tools to a complete stranger as well as drop everything and run to our rescue!