Category: July Fourth

Greetings from our usual perch at 10,200 ft. in Leadville, where we took in today’s Fourth of July parade before heading over to the airport for some tasty free burgers. Here’s a quick donkey-rich gallery I’m posting before we enjoy some of Uncle James’s BBQ brisket.

It’s also fun to go back through fifteen years’ worth of July Fourth posts (!!) here, covering everything from our first visit with Grandma Nack up through Seamus’s inaugural visit. Seeing the dudes morph in size is quite the trip. 😌

We’ve been having a great Fourth of July here in San Jose—missing our traditional Leadville scene a bit, but happy to get to party with Las Madres pals along the Alameda. You can check out a little gallery of photos by mousing over the image below & clicking the little arrow at the right, or by

We enjoyed an action-packed Forth with the lads yesterday—first enjoying a party & parade at our friends’ Lorraine & Brad’s house; then catching a nap (well, trying) to prepare for a late night; rocking a Slip n’ Slide at our friends’ Jake & Shay’s BBQ. Check out a gallery from the festivities!

Back in Leadville this summer, I watched our delighted boys bury their cousin Patrick in pillows, turning him into a “sandwich.” I typed away as the guys played, thinking I’d flesh out these bare notes, but somehow I never got around to posting the photos or story. Now I’m left with just a few semi-random bits plus a rather fun gallery of pics. Enjoy. 🙂

“Revenge of the Sandwich”
“Watch this, people!!”
Watch out for the boney feet
Fried Finny
BBQ sauce truck (Trasher); blood truck (?)

Sometimes a guy just has to be a good bad uncle. 🙂

For years we’ve driven past a large collection of rusting, abandoned mining equipment, along with a bunch of huge rocks that get used in each year’s Boom Days drilling competition. We’d never stopped to explore them, though—until now. On Thursday nephew Patrick joined the Micronaxx & me on a little excursion. Because the gate was locked & marked “Private Road!,” we parked nearby, then swung the “minor miners” across a little stream & scrambled up a 20-foot slope made of loose rock. “Brea-kin’ the law, brea-kin’ the law!!”

At this point if you’d imagine I was thinking of Will Ferrell’s hilarious bit about George W. Bush exploring an abandoned mine shaft, you’d be right. 🙂 Happily we avoided all manner of scrapes, tetanus, lockjaw, cave-ins, lightning strikes, and more. (Seriously, it wasn’t dangerous, or I’d never have taken the guys there; it just seemed a bit rakish & daring.) The four of us hoofed it to avoid some impending rain, and the next day we returned with Mom-O. Here’s a gallery that combines shots from both visits.

Finnegan meets neighbor Finley. 🙂 (Click for larger.)

We’re here in Leadville for another 4th of July with my entire family – my folks, my sister and her family, and our Nack clan of four. We’ve got 10 folks, including 4 rambunctious boy cousins, staying here at the Liggett casa.

We love coming here and celebrating Independence Day – it’s really a scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting: A few blocks of 100-plus-year-old main street decked out in flags and red, white, and blue bunting, a terrific parade featuring the local firemen, park rangers, rescue personnel, Smokey Bear, baton twirlers, bike riders, military veterans, and the 4-H club (complete with live chicken riding on the hood of the 4-H truck!).

We formed our own little parade as we walked down hill towards main street to watch the real deal. The kids came prepared with empty sacks for candy and wide eyes ready for the festivities. Henry was literally jumping up and down with excitement during practically the entire event.

After the parade, we walked up the street to the fire station’s annual cookout, where we investigated the fire pole, toured all the vehicles, and ogled the boots, coats, and helmets. We feasted on hamburgers and chips (Finny wolfed down 2 cheeseburgers!) before heading out to the open house at the Leadville airport. Once there, we saw several vintage planes doing fly-bys, sat inside the life flight helicopter and met the paramedics, and also toured several other small craft on the tarmac. Here’s a photo gallery from the day out.

We all returned, pooped from all the excitement (and lack of oxygen!), and are now taking it real easy while Grandpa gets the homemade peach ice cream base mixed and ready for the freezer. Happy Fourth of July from the high country!

[Just for fun, here’s last year’s gallery.]

Want to get little dudes excited about enduring long trips in planes, planes, and automobiles? Tell them that making ice cream is on the other side!

Apparently Margot’s dad is rather famous for his homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream, and the lads were more than happy to help him whip up a batch–and to “eat the profits” beforehand! Here’s our little gallery.

Who knew that the Colorado ghost town of St. Elmo was a huge chipmunk mecca? Some handfuls of seeds helped us play Gulliver to the “chippies” (“I’m a chippymunk!” declares Hen). Check it out!

Margot bought the guys little marshall badges plus a couple of stuffed chipmunks. “Look at that bushy-tailed menace!!” exclaimed Finn upon seeing his. (Apparently he picked up that phrase from Fireman Sam.) Now the little “Menaces” accompany our guys around, with one sometimes making trips to my chin (where it becomes a “chennace”–chin menace).

After a smooth journey to Colorado, we arrived in Leadville on Sunday evening. The modes of conveyance have been hits: Finn was so jazzed that “We’re going to fly on a Boeing Constrictor!,” and both guys keep talking about “the rental car” that we’ve dubbed “the eep” (see photo for explanation). I was pretty concerned that the altitude here would ruin their sleep, but happily* I was the only one tossing and turning all night. I keep encouraging the boys to drink plenty of liquids, leading to Finn’s rather sickening mountain hydration plan: “I’ll drink some water [saliva] out of Leo [the lion blankie]’s tail!”

Monday featured Leadville’s charming little Fourth of July parade, followed by a tour of the fire station, free barbecue in an aircraft hangar (“Welcome to North America’s highest airport!”), and backyard s’mores. The cousins are playing together beautifully (so cool to see!), and I’ve captured a gallery showing the proceedings.

*It’s all relative, right?

Hi, everyone–greetings from 10,000ft (Leadville, CO). I’m typing fast as we’re scrambling around with the guys, having a ball checking out the Independence Day parade, the fire station, free chow at the tiny airport, and more. Despite Henry’s claims on the plane that “I freakin’ out! I like crying, Dad-O!,” both guys were mobile superstars. Here’s just a quick shot of Finny at the airport.

Okay, Henry is climbing the ottoman, preparing to stage dive onto my computer. Bye! 🙂

Young Mr. Finn had a great time in Leadville with his grandparents (a.k.a. “GPs,” a.k.a. “Jeeps”). My mom brought In Grandma’s Arms, a book the two of them read together several times & that Margot’s mom read to Charlie. Here you can see a gallery (HTML) of some of the good times.

Margot, Finnegan, and I had a terrific time this week in Leadville and Boulder, CO, and Finn proved himself a wonderful traveler. We’re glad to be back at sea level, breathing the thicker (albeit smoky) air and getting the small guy back into his familiar crib.
Among the highlights of the trip, we got to introduce Finn to his cousins Patrick (“The big guy”) and Charlie (“The ‘getting bigger/no longer the baby’ guy”). Here you can check out a gallery (HTML) of the three of them in action–but be warned, you may want to don protective eyewear before glimpsing such cuteness ;-).