Road Trip to CA, Part 1: Cedaredge, CO

In mid-October we rented a car to make the trek out to southern California to visit Jeff's family.  We took a few days to get there, and spent some time with our siblings along the way.

 

Our first stop was to Cedaredge, CO - about a 5 hour drive into the mountains from our house.  Cedaredge is where my paternal grandparents were born and raised.  They built a beautiful home next to a creek many years ago.  They have about 7 acres (I think...) and a bing cherry orchard.  My grandfather passed away last year, and my grandmother currently lives closer to family, in Loveland. 

 

My oldest brother, Zack, and his family moved from Michigan to the Cedaredge homestead this past September.  Of course, we had to stop and see my brother and also get in some quality time at one of the most beautiful places around.

 

The morning after we arrived we drove up to Lands End.  I've been to Lands End many-a-time, but it never gets old.

This was Jeff and Austin's first time to Lands End.

 

Other than the views, the best part of Lands End is feeding the chipmunks.  There were only a couple of brave and hungry little critters out this day. 

 Austin having a staring contest with the chipmunk.

We brought up freshly harvested walnuts from a tree on the Cedaredge property.

After Lands End we headed back down the mesa and stopped to see my Great-grandfather's cabin off of Alexander Lake.  It's recently been added on to (new wood to the right) but we couldn't get inside.  {Maybe now that Zack's family is in the area we can get access to a key again...} When I was a kid we used to come up for a day and fish on the lake, hike and play games in the cabin. 

Zack and Jeff

 Alexander Lake

The cabin from the lake shore.

 After our morning trip up to Lands End and the cabin we stopped for some lunch and came home.
Uncle Zack got out the mini John Deer for Austin to drive around - He loved it.

It took some concentration for him to figure out how to press down the pedal and steer at the same time...

Pretty soon Zack started chasing Austin around in the Gator (or "Big Motor" as Austin called it)

Austin loved taking a turn at steering the "big motor"

 Before it got too dark we went to the cemetery to visit my Granddad's grave.

And to finish our fun-filled day we picked up some pizza at a local pizzeria and watched Despicable Me.
Thanks Zack for letting us come hang with you for a day!