The Christening of "Quarters One!"

Mom and dad have been waiting for a few years to buy a cabin up at Sportsmen's Paradise, but they're hard to come by. Most of the time people will them on to their family members, and when one does go on the market, often the only way to find out is through word of mouth. Finally, mom and dad were able to get in on a great place for our family. Sportsmen's Paradise is a private mountain community up past Woodland Park, right along the South Platte River. It's a fisherman's dream come true, not to mention nirvana for anyone who loves the beauty of Colorado. This past weekend we went up to the cabin, which we have officially named "Quarters One" to christen it. We had one of the best weekends we've ever had! The cabin is just the right combination of mountain rustic and the luxuries of home. It's a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a full kitchen and satellite TV. From the deck, you can enjoy views of Pike National Forest and listen to the rushing of the river. It's incredible. There was no way to pick just a few pictures, so here are LOTS of pictures of our weekend.

This was early Sunday morning, taken from the river side. The deck looks out onto the river.
The blue sky!
Here is the front entrance of the cabin. It has a fenced yard for the dogs!

When we got there, Riley and Gran relaxed on the hammock!
My boys and I enjoyed a beverage on the deck.

Then it was off to the kiddie pond! There is a special pond for kids 12 and under, which is kept stocked with trout.
RILEY CAUGHT HIS VERY FIRST FISH! Check out this great video! It was so exciting!!!!

The proud fisherman!

All in all, Riley reeled in 3 fish, his limit. They were 10 and 11 inches long, not bad!
Here is fish number 2!

Gran and Carter got some quality time!
Three fish on a string!
Pure Joy.

They were heavy!

Later on, Dad, Steve, Harley and I headed back down to the river to fish ourselves. We were hoping to land the elusive "High Altitude Golden Trout" which likes to hang around under the bridge. That doesn't sound like a real thing, but it is. It's this BRIGHT yellow trout, a big ol' guy who just hung out, mocking us. Steve almost had him on the line, but he jumped off. Don't worry, had we gotten him we would have just taken a picture and thrown him back. But now, he's our own personal Moby Dick!

Harley loved splashing around in the water....down stream of course!

This is the biggest fish that was caught this weekend. I had to throw it back, it was at least 14 inches, and they like those put back since they're breeders.

Dad had a big breeder too!
Steve got his trout catching technique down! The fish were all over, it was like...well...shooting fish in a barrel!
Does it get any better?
We bagged 9 trout on our excursion, and ate them Sunday night. YUM!

Carter had fun!

And so did Riley!
Sunday morning on the deck. There was a slight frost on the ground. A cup of coffee was a great warm up!
Divine intervention?
Frost on the Mullein...I think I spelled that correctly. It was out in the field just beyond the fence.
Our own private section of river.

Aretha posing for a close-up.
This is the good life!
Steve and Riley went out to fish in the morning, and caught some more!
A great walking stick! Look at that sky!
After fishing we took all four of the dogs for a walk down the road.

Below is a really cool looking tree. It looks like the very top of it burned, possibly in the Hayman Fire. Up on the hill you can see a bare area where the Hayman Fire came down, almost to the river.
Our friend, Ric Mungo, the director of Farish, came to visit. He lives in Florissant, which is a few miles away from Sportsmen's Paradise. He's a true outdoorsman!
Wow, what an amazing weekend!! It just doesn't get any better.
Thanks mom and dad!!!