wessler family camping // durango

our highly anticipated camping trip to watch "the bike races" as logan affectionately calls them has come and gone. it's always a little sad when something you look forward to for so long is over. good thing we've got lots of pictures and memories to ease the sadness! last year dave and my father-in-law, pete, took logan for a couple of days camping to watch the usa pro cycling challenge. it was a big hit and as soon as the trip was over they began planning for this year. and lucky for emma, kathy and i, they allowed the girls to come this time! we left friday around nap time to drive the 6 hours to durango where we would spend a few days and we had high hopes when shortly into our drive this happened:

but that little bit of peace and quiet only lasted for about 30 minutes, after which these kids would have nothing to do with napping (even emma who was fighting sleep. i don't know why she didn't just give into it). i couldn't believe it. and it didn't take long for logan to start asking "are we there yet?" so we did our best to entertain with toys, books and of course snacks. and for the last 40 minutes of the trip when the kids had just about had it (and we'd just about had it with whining), we pulled out the dvd player and they watched a couple of episodes of yo gabba gabba, which is heaven for these two!

dave and i also joked how our road trippin' tunes have changed. we listened to a lot of the mickey mouse clubhouse pandora station! but i have to admit, i dig the covers that alvin and chipmunks do! we were jammin' to their version of "party rock." but i have to agree with dave that even if the music isn't quite as good these days, our road trip companions have only gotten better with time. there is something about looking in the back seat and seeing those two kids and knowing they are ours that is incredible! and going on a road trip just seems like the quintessential family thing to do in the summer! and boy is the drive to durango absolutely gorgeous!  

logan's view from the back seat

emma wanted every blanket and stuffed animal in the car on her

pete and kathy arrived a couple of hours before us and had gotten the camper all set up (they rock!). we arrived and the kids explored a bit before bed time. the next morning the kids enjoyed breakfast...and some of the yummy snacks gammy brought. nothing like gushers and granola bars for breakfast!

we headed to fort lewis campus (dave's alma mater) to check out the start festival. dave was so happy to be back up on campus. i loved the festival! it was one of my favorite parts of our trip.

they had an adventure zone set up for kids to ride strider bikes and logan could not get enough of it. he kept asking to go back to the "bicycle area" and we went back 3 times for him to ride. it was soo cute to watch. and let it be known that logan prefers the pink strider bike (that's what he chose for times #2 and #3).

durango has a big cycling history and has hosted a bunch of bike races over the years and they had cool banners displayed from past races (the one below was stolen in 1990 and found just a few years ago hanging in some town in europe! someone recognized it and brought it back home).

so beautiful! no wonder dave loved living and going to school here.

s'mores! 

dave doesn't really like s'mores so we have a good system going: he roasts the marshmallow and i eat the s'more. it pretty much rocks (notice my chocolate getting nice and melted on the grate in the background...i know how to put together a primo s'more...and dave roasts a primo marshmallow).

classic kathy. she doesn't like getting her picture taken. although a different hand gesture might actually be more classic kathy! ;)

logan decided he would rather have cheez-its instead of s'mores. he definitely doesn't get that from me.

i couldn't get enough of these two in their cute camp chairs

our grill master. we ate good on this trip thanks to pete and kathy!

logan didn't want to go to bed one night and instead filled emma's porta-crib with whatever he could find. this was after dave had removed a ton. good thing we could hear her crying and knew something was up.

his first time riding a school bus on the way to the race!

the usa pro cycling challenge started in durango on main street (the race lasts 7 days). the cyclists did a few "parade" loops so everyone could see them before the race officially started and they flew by. it is incredible how fast they go!

we're all sporting our race t-shirts (or tutu)

kathy bought emma this tutu at the start festival and emma loved it! she strutted around and loved to spin in circles. everyone was dying over her (not that we can blame them)!

these are the diamond belle saloon girls, waitresses at a local restaurant. we thought emma (in her tutu) would look cute with them. she didn't think so.

bless the ergo. this tired girl slept through most of the start.

the kids were totally wiped out (ahem, that's what happens when you won't nap). after the race, we also ran into dave (and his sisters) 5th grade teacher who retired and moved to durango! what are the chances?!