Dove Creek Colorado

When Darren was 2 years old his dad, Ronald Dean, was riding his motorcycle and was hit by a drunk driver and killed.  At the time his mom was mom was pregnant with Erica, and his brother, Corey, was 4.  I can't imagine the hard time that followed.  Not only hard for Darren, Corey and his mom, but also Ronnie's mom, dad, brothers and sister.  Which is why Dove Creek is a special place for us.  That's where his dad was from- a little town just over the boarder from Monticello in Colorado called Dove Creek.  Darren's Gran, and the rest of his aunt's and uncles still live there.  They are a tight family.  We love to go be a part of it. When we go I can still feel a part of Gran's heart is missing, longing for her son, Ronnie.  All of Ronnie's kids hold a special place in Gran's heart because they reminds her of her son.  A little piece of him lives on through his children.  Ronnie's brothers and sisters also miss him dearly.  We love to hear stories about him and how much Darren reminds them of him.   And so, when we came out West, one of the first things we did was visit Gran.  She is getting older and her memory is going, but she is just as funny and feisty as ever.   Her house is always full of delicious food. It's hard to stay there without feeling a little bit heavier and slower than when you arrived.  Erica was able to come with us, and her husband Mike met us down there.  We stayed only a couple of days- but we had a great time.   

I love road trips, and I love the West.  Aren't these road signs just nostalgic?

We took a day and went out to the old farm where Darren's great grandparents homesteaded.  This is the junk pile we did our shooting at.

Uncle Mulligan helping the kids shoot a 22. They loved it! Now Paul wants a gun for his birthday.

Ellie's turn!

My turn- I love shooting! I actually have my concealed weapons permit.

Here is the 2nd home his great grand parents lived in.

And here is their first one.  A little 10 x 12 one room cabin.  I can hardly imagine living in that for years. On the left is Darren's uncle Mike- Notice how much Darren and him look alike?!

Here is the pig pen that they had their pigs in.  It's so crazy to think about the life they lived.

This is where the old well is.  Covered up- but they said there is still water down there!

The next day we visited one of Gran's cousins house-or some sort of relative.  Her husband is a geologist and has an amazing rock and dinosaur bone collection.  It was really cool.  Darren really likes that stuff.  When we left he gave Paul a big ol' dinosaur bone worth about $150! 

One day we also went to some Indian ruins.  I didn't get many pictures- but the kids had a great time running all around.

After a couple of days we were ready to head to Arches, and then to Utah, Idaho and Oregon.  We had a great time but were very looking forward to the next step in life.