Home Again

We left the Estes Park cabin around 9 a.m., as planned. Google Maps took us on a rather strange route around the Denver area. For a while, we thought it might be getting us lost on unpopulated county roads. But lo and behold, we encountered I-76 and began motoring eastward. The number of trucks on the interstate was rather astounding. It was like a train going east. Maybe we should still have railroads?

We spent the night in Lincoln with a college friend who is having some serious health issues. It was good to see him, and his wife was very gracious as a hostess. We realize that we are getting to the age where we could begin losing friends.

Having already lost parents, we stopped in Des Moines to inquire about arrangements for interment of their ashes this fall. Not a happy task, but finishing what needs to be done according to their wishes.

A brief but torrential downpour gave us a free car wash just south of the Twin Cities. Minneapolis was in full rush hour mode as we entered the city. Perhaps some were extending the holiday weekend by leaving town a day early, or perhaps it's just like that everyday and we don't see it because we aren't commuting.

But, we finally arrived home to find everything in order. Even the garden plants had survived and thrived with the rain that had come in our absence. We are now out of "severe drought" and up into the "moderate drought" category after the second driest June on record.

Sprague Lake

Armed with our timed entry passes, eight of us (minus still ailing Corbin and his dad) entered Rocky Mountain National Park at the Beaver Meadows gate and drove down Bear Lake Road as far as the Sprague Lake parking area.

As we started walking the flat trail around the lake, we almost immediately spotted a cow moose cavorting in the water near the opposite shore. She was joined a short time later by her calf. Although there were quite a few people around the lake on the trail, everyone pretty much came to a halt while the moose were in the water. It was quite a show!

We departed the trail around the lake and set out on a trail through the woods toward Glacier Basin. This walk offered opportunities for exploring rocks and sticks and animal droppings. We stopped for a snack at the Glacier Basin Campground, then turned around and walked the trail in reverse.

After lunch at Sprague Lake, we loaded up and drove back up Bear Lake Road to the Moraine Park Discovery Center. This was a nice set of exhibits for kids, and a souvenir shop that is also designed to be irresistible to youngsters.

After discoveries were made and purchases were completed, we walked the short trail around the Center before heading home so that the little ones could rest. No naps were taken, however.

Dinner was leftovers, but we ate very well and cleaned out the refrigerator before tomorrow's departure. Cleaning -- or at least picking up and packing -- was the evening activity until the kids went to bed. Then the adults sat on the deck talking until bedtime came for them, as well.

Trail Ridge Road

Eight of our group of ten set out in two vehicles to drive Trail Ridge Road, the high-altitude route across the Continental Divide. We stopped several places along the way to see the breathtaking scenery and or wildlife.

At "Many Parks Curve" we pulled over to take in the view, but were surprised to see a truck carrying a couple of llamas -- definitely not native species!

The panoramic view at Rainbow Curve was amazing.

At the Tundra Communities Trailhead, the wind was blowing so hard that it was sometimes difficult to stand up. All but four of us turned back, but little Clara and her parents went with Grandpa all the way to the end of the trail. There were very few little ones who toughed it out, and we were proud of her.

We finally drove over the Trail Ridge Road summit and reached the Alpine Visitors Center, where we ate our lunch. Elk were hanging out here in large numbers.

We drove on a few miles farther to get to the Continental Divide. On the way back, we saw a young bull elk driving off a coyote that was stalking the herd. Then we headed back to our VRBO in hopes that the little ones would sleep. Our hopes were disappointed.

Several of us walked down the hill to a very nice local brewery and enjoyed their products on a nice patio. Then we walked back up the hill for a dinner of take-and-bake pizza.

An evening "adventure walk" in the neighborhood yielded no elk sightings, which is rare for our time here.

Bear Lake

Older grandson, Corbin, stayed home with dad for a rest day, after an evening in the ER getting re-hydrated from an infection of some sort. He perplexed the doctor, because he tested negative for everything they could think of to test for.

We managed to snag timed entry passes for the Bear Lake corridor for today. Even with timed entry, our vehicles sat in line for awhile to get through the gate. And the parking lot at Bear Lake was already full before 9 a.m. But we could park at a "park and ride" lot and take a bus to the trailhead. It was a very efficient system.

Bear Lake is pretty, but it's a flat, accessible trail. So, it was quite crowded. It was a little less so as we hiked up the hill toward the next lake in the chain, Nymph Lake. Nevertheless, we met a lot of people coming back down, and were passed by some going up faster.

Youngest grandson, Mac, age 5, has a lot of energy and not a lot of experience watching where he walked on a rough and rocky trail. It became the Trail of Tears for him, as skinned knees got skinned again and again. He was a slow learner when it came to no running on the trail.

It was a fairly strenuous uphill hike for the younger kids, but their energy was great. From Nymph Lake we continued on to Dream Lake. Again, the trail and lakefront were crowded, but we still found a good spot to eat our lunch sandwiches.

Downhill was easier, but that encouraged running, which led to more skinned knees. But we made it to the bottom and got the bus right away back to the parking lot. We had some tired kids and sleepy adults, as well.

As Matt backed his Tesla into the driveway, he was startled to see an elk, standing under the deck, looking into the driver's side window. The elk was pretty comfortable there, and it took some encouragement to get him or her to move on.

After nap time, we drove into Estes Park and walked the river trail a bit. There was a Scandinavian Midsummer Festival over the weekend, that was just wrapping up, but it didn't have a lot to offer for kids. We returned to the VRBO for dinner, and a game night.

Lily Lake & Alluvian Fan

A cool and windy Saturday, we decided to stay fairly close to town and our vacation rental. Lily Lake is one of the easiest and flattest of hiking trails in Rocky Mountain National Park, and only about 15 minutes drive from our temporary home.

Our grandchildren, ages 10, 8, and two 5 year olds, remained on the easy trail for about 100 yards, and then darted uphill into the rocks and trees, to do some exploring.

After their return, we probably walked another couple hundred yards before deviating again onto a side trail that led to a spectacular view point.

Finishing at Lily Lake, we drove back to town, and then on through to the Fall River Visitors Center. After a brief briefing from a Park Service volunteer, we continued on through the Fall River entrance gate into the park.

Along Trail Ridge Road, we got a good look at a cow moose and her calf cavorting in the marsh near the highway.

At Hidden Valley Ranger Station, our grandchildren (along with a group of other children) were sworn in as "Junior Rangers." We enjoyed our picnic lunch and walked a short nature loop along Hidden Valley Creek.

We then drove to the Alluvian Fan -- a large deposit of rocks and sand that washed down the mountain in a flood in 1982. It was a wonderful rock scramble location for the kids.

By 2 p.m. the younger kids (and the adults) were showing signs of fatigue, so we returned to the VRBO for some R&R.

Grandson Corbin has been suffering from a kidney infection and had seen the doctor and gotten medication prior to leaving home. But things kept getting worse, so his parents took him to the local ER.

The rest of us took an evening drive inside the national park, and saw prairie dogs and elk, including a very young elk calf with its mother.

Exhausted from a full day of activity, bedtime came early for nearly all.

Fifty Years

After driving as far as Kearny, Nebraska yesterday, we arrived this afternoon in Estes Park, Colorado. We have a VRBO house rented here that sleeps ten people (actually eight comfortably) and that will work fine for us, and for our two daughters and their families to join us.

We are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary today. We got married in our (very) early 20s. Mary had just graduated from college. I still had one semester left to finish. Looking back, it is astounding that we were so young, so naive. Who, at that tender age, can even contemplate fifty years?

We grilled pork loins on the gas grill of our rental, and ate on picnic tables on the deck, overlooking Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains, surrounded by our grandchildren. It was a great anniversary dinner.

After the meal, we drove a short distance into town and took a little walk on the paved trail along the shore of Lake Estes. A family of ducks and an adolescent male elk gave us some excitement.