Sunday, August 23, 2015
Like a kid in the candy store
Yesterday (yes, I'm late again typing) was a wonderfully relaxing and chill day at the cabin and in Estes Park. We took our time getting up in the morning and getting around. It was nice after having to be out of the hotel at a specific time to have a laid back morning. We did make our way down to Estes Park for a little town tour/gift shopping/lunch. Tom chauffered us down in two groups because that was faster and made more sense than going to get the camper for the short distance. I think we'll use that plan for local trips and just pick up the camper for RMNP trips (like today). Sophie loved shopping (go figure) and Max found a toy store to spend his $10 from Nana. However, I think both kids were most excited about the candy store with its mix of old and new candy. Max picked gummi bears, worms, and Swedish fish and Sophie had a mixed bucket of assorted wrapped candies.
Lunch got mixed reviews from the crowd, it was some Chicago style eatery. After lunch and a little more shopping/river walking, we made our way back to the car. On the way down the kids and I stayed at the cabin for the second trip but on the way back I stayed in town with Sophie and Caitlyn (the two shoparoos) for the return trip. On the first trip Tom took a little bit of a detour and ended up finding an elk herd in a neighborhood. We tried to find them on the second trip but without luck.
Back at the cabin it was hot tub time for the kids...and the grown ups. Hanging out on the deck and looking at the mountains was enough excitement for the evening. Dinner was hot dogs on the grill and it was a great end to a very nice relaxing day. Still looks a little smokey today (moreso yesterday) but hoping that things will clear up tomorrow. Plan for today is Alluvial Fan - I hope it's as captivating for the kids as last time. Going to also look to see what else we should do in the area to make the most of our time outside. Also want to grab Max a Junior Ranger book, go out to lunch, and will be back at the cabin for dinner. I believe we also need to stop at the grocery store today.
Really looking forward to another Rocky Mountain day!
Lunch got mixed reviews from the crowd, it was some Chicago style eatery. After lunch and a little more shopping/river walking, we made our way back to the car. On the way down the kids and I stayed at the cabin for the second trip but on the way back I stayed in town with Sophie and Caitlyn (the two shoparoos) for the return trip. On the first trip Tom took a little bit of a detour and ended up finding an elk herd in a neighborhood. We tried to find them on the second trip but without luck.
Back at the cabin it was hot tub time for the kids...and the grown ups. Hanging out on the deck and looking at the mountains was enough excitement for the evening. Dinner was hot dogs on the grill and it was a great end to a very nice relaxing day. Still looks a little smokey today (moreso yesterday) but hoping that things will clear up tomorrow. Plan for today is Alluvial Fan - I hope it's as captivating for the kids as last time. Going to also look to see what else we should do in the area to make the most of our time outside. Also want to grab Max a Junior Ranger book, go out to lunch, and will be back at the cabin for dinner. I believe we also need to stop at the grocery store today.
Really looking forward to another Rocky Mountain day!
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Wow wow windy
Yesterday (yes, I didn't get around to typing this last night but I'm trying to do it before I get out of bed this morning) was another travel day with a couple of interesting highlights. Tom and Craig started their day earlier by changing the caliper for the brakes. That's a nice bit of piece of mind, especially since we will probably be needing them to avoid falling off a mountain. I took Max down swimming as soon as the pool is open. He's so excited to show off his new skills! The rest of the morning was basic hotel stuff...packing, breakfast, load up.
Our first stop was just up the road to the Mammoth Site Dig. It was a good stop in my book. I'm not sure if the kids were as impressed as I was but they did have moments of "oooh". There was a nice introductory video to explain the geology of the site as well as the early history. Maxton was super excited that it mentioned "Rocky Mountains" in the plate tectonic portion. After the video, we had a guided tour of the dig (which is covered by a giant building). The tour was informative and at the end you were left on your own to wander around the dig site or out into the exhibit hall. I was trying to get Sophie excited about the site so I wanted her to come look at a very clear view of some ribs and legs. She wasn't super impressed though: "Yeah, I know. Papa would love it." Even if they weren't over the moon about the place at least they didn't hate it and at least they saw it. Plus, the kids and I picked up some souvenir t-shirts so that's an added bonus.
Once we finished up at the Site Dig, the main part of our day was the drive south to Fort Collins. The smoke for the northwestern wildfires was with us the whole trip. It wasn't just a haze making the hills and mountains look "smokey" (wait, we're not in Tennessee, are we??) it actually smelled like a campfire outside.
The drive south was interesting...and WINDY! There were a few sections that were worse than others but overall at least we made it through the stretch of eastern Wyoming without camper damage this time. We also saw lots of coal trains on the section that neared the southern edge of the Powder River Basin (where Consumers currently gets a large amount of their coal). Not too much to speak of for wildlife but a few pronghorns here and there. I missed the welcome signs for Wyoming and Colorado. Wyoming because I thought I had a few miles and Colorado because I don't think they had one. I may have to back through old pictures and "borrow" them for this trip's scrapbook.
The end section of our trip consisted of picking up the rental car and grocery shopping. Those tasks done, we took the trip through Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park. I was trying to find evidence of the flood that came through a couple of years ago but I really couldn't tell for sure what may have been flood damage. Once through I made it to Pole Hill Rd. off of 34 (just across from the meadow up the road from the Jellystone we stayed at last time we were here). After letting Tom drive me and the kids up to the cabin, we VERY quickly determined that no, the camper will not be making the trip up. First of all, the "main" road was very bumpy and once you turned off to Alpine View it got narrow, windy, steep, and SCARY. We made it to our address but hesitated at driving down to the house: "Is THAT a driveway??" A lady (local probably) stopped to ask if we were lost and seemed to scoff at our nervousness about the driveway. It is scary pulling in because you can't see the driveway over the top of the hood. Once at the house I had just a minute to enjoy the view and then it was a return trip to the camper so Tom could shuttle more people and some supplies up. I remained behind to empty the camper of supplies and luggage. Once Tom returned we loaded up the car (and by loaded I mean stuffed to the gills) with all our stuff.
The next part of our adventure was finding the house that Rainer said we could park at. Tom had me send an email earlier in the day to get the phone number but the guy didn't reply before Tom's phone charger died. The lighter chargers stopped working in the camper so we didn't have a number but we did have an address from an old email. So we drove to the address (which Google listed as the middle of the road). After scoping out the entire surrounding area for a while (and dodging the mule deer) we headed through town to Plan B which was Elk Meadows. We were very fortunate that they hadn't locked up the storage area yet because then I don't know what we would have done. The downside to Elk Meadows is that we can only access the camper between 8-5 so if there's a time that we want the camper later, maybe we can get in touch with the other guy and just pay for a night there.
Once at the cabin we had nachos (Michelle had already fed the kids and they were playing). After dinner it was time to unpack, get the kids in the hot tub (not very hot...need to check on that today), and then get the beds ready. So I don't really know how the view is...today I'll get a chance to get out on the porch and check things out. So that's it. I guess I had a lot to say about a day that I didn't think we really did much.
Our first stop was just up the road to the Mammoth Site Dig. It was a good stop in my book. I'm not sure if the kids were as impressed as I was but they did have moments of "oooh". There was a nice introductory video to explain the geology of the site as well as the early history. Maxton was super excited that it mentioned "Rocky Mountains" in the plate tectonic portion. After the video, we had a guided tour of the dig (which is covered by a giant building). The tour was informative and at the end you were left on your own to wander around the dig site or out into the exhibit hall. I was trying to get Sophie excited about the site so I wanted her to come look at a very clear view of some ribs and legs. She wasn't super impressed though: "Yeah, I know. Papa would love it." Even if they weren't over the moon about the place at least they didn't hate it and at least they saw it. Plus, the kids and I picked up some souvenir t-shirts so that's an added bonus.
Once we finished up at the Site Dig, the main part of our day was the drive south to Fort Collins. The smoke for the northwestern wildfires was with us the whole trip. It wasn't just a haze making the hills and mountains look "smokey" (wait, we're not in Tennessee, are we??) it actually smelled like a campfire outside.
The drive south was interesting...and WINDY! There were a few sections that were worse than others but overall at least we made it through the stretch of eastern Wyoming without camper damage this time. We also saw lots of coal trains on the section that neared the southern edge of the Powder River Basin (where Consumers currently gets a large amount of their coal). Not too much to speak of for wildlife but a few pronghorns here and there. I missed the welcome signs for Wyoming and Colorado. Wyoming because I thought I had a few miles and Colorado because I don't think they had one. I may have to back through old pictures and "borrow" them for this trip's scrapbook.
The end section of our trip consisted of picking up the rental car and grocery shopping. Those tasks done, we took the trip through Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park. I was trying to find evidence of the flood that came through a couple of years ago but I really couldn't tell for sure what may have been flood damage. Once through I made it to Pole Hill Rd. off of 34 (just across from the meadow up the road from the Jellystone we stayed at last time we were here). After letting Tom drive me and the kids up to the cabin, we VERY quickly determined that no, the camper will not be making the trip up. First of all, the "main" road was very bumpy and once you turned off to Alpine View it got narrow, windy, steep, and SCARY. We made it to our address but hesitated at driving down to the house: "Is THAT a driveway??" A lady (local probably) stopped to ask if we were lost and seemed to scoff at our nervousness about the driveway. It is scary pulling in because you can't see the driveway over the top of the hood. Once at the house I had just a minute to enjoy the view and then it was a return trip to the camper so Tom could shuttle more people and some supplies up. I remained behind to empty the camper of supplies and luggage. Once Tom returned we loaded up the car (and by loaded I mean stuffed to the gills) with all our stuff.
The next part of our adventure was finding the house that Rainer said we could park at. Tom had me send an email earlier in the day to get the phone number but the guy didn't reply before Tom's phone charger died. The lighter chargers stopped working in the camper so we didn't have a number but we did have an address from an old email. So we drove to the address (which Google listed as the middle of the road). After scoping out the entire surrounding area for a while (and dodging the mule deer) we headed through town to Plan B which was Elk Meadows. We were very fortunate that they hadn't locked up the storage area yet because then I don't know what we would have done. The downside to Elk Meadows is that we can only access the camper between 8-5 so if there's a time that we want the camper later, maybe we can get in touch with the other guy and just pay for a night there.
Once at the cabin we had nachos (Michelle had already fed the kids and they were playing). After dinner it was time to unpack, get the kids in the hot tub (not very hot...need to check on that today), and then get the beds ready. So I don't really know how the view is...today I'll get a chance to get out on the porch and check things out. So that's it. I guess I had a lot to say about a day that I didn't think we really did much.
Friday, August 21, 2015
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