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Estes & Rocky Mountain National Park

I made it out to Colorado safe and sound. We missed out on the trout dance because Bobby is on the east coast, but here is hoping we'll get to see it next time. Yesterday we did nothing overly productive except taking a walk around Lorien's neighborhood, went grocery shopping, and played spades (we lost by about 300 points - I think it was only about 1/3 my fault).

This morning we were up and at 'em ready to head out. We took Lorien's Jeep (a fantastic shade of electric but not neon green) out through Estes Park and into Rocky Mountain National Park. It is surprising that we went today because today in 1805 Lewis and Clark saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time. We walked around Bear Lake and then we went up to Alberta Falls. Lorien and I did some very minimal rock type climbing and all of us did about 1.5 miles of easy hiking. We saw elk, deer, and prairie dogs on the journey, but the friendliest creature was definitely the chipmunk that ran up Mom's leg. (I'll add a picture soon.)

I think between the four of us we took 100 pictures, but the most remarkable thing was Dad coming with us to the top of the falls with us. He conquered his fear of heights and deserves some serious kudos. Also of note was filling up the bottles in the water falls. I think it is amazing how fresh real water can taste in comparison to the "spring water" you get in the store. I think they should bottle snow melt water instead, people would feel more refreshed.

We wandered around Estes Park and the little shops after a Mexican lunch along the Big Thompson River. We didn't try any of the specialty cookies or ice cream but it was nice to go in and look at the fossils in the science store (yes, I am a nerd) and just soak up the atmosphere of the small western mountain town. I think I fell asleep in the car on the way home, until it started raining, but we didn't really have to worry about the rain coming in the non-existent back windows because the Jeep is well designed against it.

Now we are back at the house (magnificent by the way) and just hanging out. I loved all the travelling about but hanging out on the couch with my sister, her roommate and my parents and enjoying this almost as much as I am liking watching Lorien's dog Rohan bite his own paw and hop around. All of these things are equally enjoyable. How great is this vacation. Off to go into my second margarita. I love them with the salt! Signing off, love always, ~Heather

Comments

discipleassisi said…
sounds like an awesome time!