Here's the last two weeks in review:
- was surprised by former student, athlete and my daughter's babysitter, Angie Fowler Hall and her son, husband and brother-in-laws @ Trail Ridge Store,
- attended a Night Sky Festival in RMNP,
- traveled along Peak to Peak Highway enroute to Denver,
- went to Golden Gate Canyon State Park, but rained before seeing the main attraction,
- maneuvuered through the windy Clear Creek Canyon (look closely to kayaker in the river)
- received a hair cut, sampled brews at a taproom and brewery, walked around Coor's Field, and strolled around Sloan Lake in Denver
- picked up Kirsten @ Denver Airport, and drove to Manitou Springs/Colorado Springs to embrace the uniqueness of the Garden of the Gods (took a Geotrekker mission, going back into the past a billion years)
- endured the grueling 19-mile journey up to Pike's Peak
- admired from Flatirons near Boulder, and relished the stuffed shells I ate @ Pasta Jay's on Pearl Street,
- took advantage of the hiker shuttles that Rocky Mountain National Park has, and hiked Bear Lake, Lake Helene, Odessa Lake, Fern Lake, Fern Falls and The Pool with Kirsten - 11 miles - and admired all the fields of wildflowers,
- witnessed the force of water @ Alluvial Fan,
- watched three bighorn rams, marmots, elk and pikas along Trail Ridge Road,
- hiked Timber Lake Trail with Kirsten, Breanna Draxler and her friend, Theo, halfway to Timber Lake, snacked, and then left them as they had to go through a landslide of trees to get to their backcountry camping site,
- heard wild stories of Kirsten's, Breanna's and Theo's from their mountain experiences,
- dined on burgers, fries and beer @ Estes Park Brewery,
- experienced a Grammy winning Christian musical group, "For King and Country," with friends I met through Karen's UW-EC Blugolds softball team,
- learned about 300 generations of Native American activity within RMNP,
- hiked with colleagues to Bierstadt Lake, picnicking with the Rockies as our backdrop,
- left at 4:30 a.m. with five international colleagues to view the blue moon setting in the mountains and the sun rising,
- weaved my way through our guests @ Trail Ridge Store in the height of tourist season, accommodating their requests, and
- enjoyed ice cream @ one of many Estes Park's shops.
Here's hoping that you have grilled brats, corn on the cob, strawberries/raspberries/blueberries, a few cold beers & glasses of wine, and some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with family and friends, as that's a few of the things I am mising this summer!
A Colorado wave "goodbye, and see you in a couple of months!"
Amy
