Things we want to share...
Friday, July 2
On Friday we walked around Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park before we hiked up to treeline. It was a long, arduous hike with some incredible views! We would have gone further except we were out of time and water.
After the hike we went to Fort Collins to enjoy a couple of breweries. On the way home, we saw a double rainbow while filling the car! It wasn't as cool as this double rainbow, nor did it make us feel as smart as this rainbow, but it was cool, nonetheless. On the rest of the way home we watched the sun set behind the mountains and then saw an elk eating someone's lilacs! I love Colorado!Saturday, July 3
Sadly, Saturday was our day to pack up and go home. We had a great week and a long road in front of us. I love the Colorado weather, where you can see it raining on your neighbor but not on you! It leads to a lot of rainbows, which seem to be a somewhat rare occasion in Missouri. I'd like to thank my in-laws for such an amazing trip! I hope you all enjoyed the pictures, and until next time...
!arrivederci!
Rest of Tuesday's Pictures
Wednesday, June 30
Wednesday morning we rode the Estes Park Tram to get a nice view of Estes Park and Lake Estes. At the top we were able to buy peanuts and feed the chipmunks. I tried to get Kyle to feed the fat little critters, but as soon as the chipmunk would get close he'd flinch and drop his peanut!
After the Tram we did a little shopping in Estes Park before Dave's cousins came for a visit from Colorado Springs. We had a nice visit at a winery in Estes Park, then had a nice Italian dinner before they went back home. It was a very nice, somewhat relaxing day!
Thursday, July 1
Thursday was the most exciting day of our vacation in Colorado! We left the little ones with Dave and Teresa while the rest of us drove a couple of hours to go whitewater rafting! The only two experienced rafters in our group were Justin and Josh, so the other 4 of us got to experience the excitement for the first time this day. It was a very fun and thrilling ride! We had one Class IV rapid, but I don't think it was as exciting as the Class II's and III's that we had. By the end of the 12 mile trip we were all laughing, soaked and frozen! We went through and got some Chai Tea Lattes and Hot Chocolates at Starbucks on our way back to the cabins, where we promptly jumped in the hot tub!
Rest of Monday's Pictures
Tuesday, June 29
On Tuesday we decided to do something not very strenuous, so we drove on Trail Ridge Road up to the Visitor Center and back. Trail Ridge Road is the highest paved road in the nation (12,183ft at the highest point), and it has some striking views! There really aren't words to describe the experience - the best I can do is show pictures. Fortunately, I was pretty much over my altitude sickness by this time - I was just a little light headed.
After Trail Ridge Road, we wandered to Estes Park and did a little shopping before heading for dinner and back to the cabins.
Once again, I had too many pictures to upload to this post, so there will be more Tuesday pictures on the next one. After the first few days, the picture-taking rate slowed down drastically, so hopefully there won't be too many more pages about this trip :)
Monday, June 28
We stayed at River Spruce in Estes Park, Co. The cabins here are right next to the river and really in a peaceful setting. Justin's parents had a large cabin right next to ours, and they had a deck with a hot tub right on the mountain stream. Each cabin had a hummingbird feeder that the birds (and raccoons) frequented, and you could see Rocky Mountain National Park from the road right in front of the cabin. It was really a great setting!
Like an idiot, I woke up bright and early on Monday morning to go for a 1.4 mile run. It seemed like a good idea at the time until I developed altitude sickness later in the afternoon. After my run and before the stomach ache set in we took our first trip to Rocky Mountain National Park for a stroll around Sprague Lake. This was my first trip to this part of Colorado, and it was breathtaking! The mountains were majestic and the wildlife was plentiful. I could not stop staring at all of the scenery. I took 102 pictures in one day! (I promise I won't upload that many from this day). The weather was perfect, and the scenery was incredible! It was a great start to a wonderful vacation!
I did, however, try to upload too many pictures for this post. The rest of Monday's pictures will be on the next post.
We just got back from an incredible vacation in Estes Park, Colorado. We went with Justin's parents, 3 of his siblings and a friend. We left on Friday, June 25 and returned on Sunday, July 4. This is the first of a few separate posts of our vacation so I can get all of the pictures in!
Friday, June 25
We drove to Topeka, KS. We did not plan to go very far the first day, which was nice. We all enjoyed the pool at the hotel, especially Kyle! Here is a picture of Justin, Kyle and Tyler all ready to hit the pool!
Saturday, June 26
We drove a little further this day. One of our planned stops was in Dodge City, KS to see the Old West. On the way there, Justin and I took a quick side trip to see a little fort, and then we allowed our navigation system to guide us through 5 miles of gravel road to get back on track to the main road. Gotta love the giant combines that take up the whole road. But, I digress. At Dodge City, Kyle learned to be a cowboy! He even got to help herd the "cattle" (in the picture is Michelle, Hannah, Teresa and Dave) around. After Dodge City, we drove to Lamar, CO where we picked up Justin's brother, Andrew from the train station on his way back from Philmont. We utilized the pool at the hotel that night (which Kyle thoroughly enjoyed again), and it didn't take long for Tyler to pass out after 2 days of driving!
Sunday, June 27
On Sunday we put Kyle in the car with Justin's family to make room for Josh when we picked him up from the airport that night. To kill time, Justin and I drove around the Lariat Loop near Denver. The Lariat Loop went through Red Rocks Park that had the neatest rock formations and a pretty cool amphitheater. They were having a concert and you can see all the people crowded in the amphitheater in the picture below. There were also some awesome views of the mountains, downtown Denver and the Coors Brewery.
Once we got done driving the Lariat Loop, we went to Boulder and ate at a Nepali Restaurant called Nomaste. We got a gift certificate for cheap on Restaurant.com and decided to give it a try. It was a pretty decent little hole in the wall with good food. It was our first time trying Nepali food, and we both liked it. After dinner, we drove through downtown Denver, just turning down random streets. We happened upon a Hard Rock Cafe where Justin bought a guitar pin before we drove on to the airport to pick up Josh. We finally made it to River Spruce Cabins in Estes Park a little after midnight!
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