Karen & James Come to Visit!

Where has time gone?  The calendar has flipped to July, and we've celebrated our country's Fourth of July!!  Temperatures have been steadily rising in Colorado, and the wind gusts are relentless!  But here's what's been happening in/around Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park:

• enjoying sunsets/sunrises/clouds in the Rockies,
  
  
  
• marveling at the elk wandering up to the tundra for the summer,
  
  
   
• having pizza and beer/wine outings with friends/co-workers,
• attending Scandinavian Midsummer Festival in Estes Park, enjoying music and dancing, tasting Swedish meatballs with lingonberries and lefse, and visiting Viking replicas, wood carvings and rosemaling displays.  I bought a raffle ticket and won a Swedish manglebord that was delivered by a Luther grad, who college roommate's mom is my cousin's daughter's mother-in-law, 
  
  
  
  
  
• experiencing fabulous thought-provoking services at Rocky Mountain Church near Mary's Lake, learning new worship songs and new perspectives on scripture,
• hiking six miles on a new trail for me - Cub Lake to The Pool, and returning on the Fern Lake Trail, admiring countless wildflowers,
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• finishing my second novel since leaving Wisconsin,
• learning about Chile from a couple that shared their month-long journey,
  
• driving my colleagues to the top while one of our van drivers was recuperating from surgery,
• hugging Karen and James upon their arrival to Estes Park, and then ...
• brunch with mimosas to begin our day,
  
  
  
• a drive up Old Fall River Road, a one-way, gravel, switch-back laden road built in the 1920s by convicts,
  
• a stop at Chasm Falls, that ended in a MARRIAGE PROPOSAL by James to Karen,
  
• a stroll through a wildflower-filled meadow below my store,
  
  
  
  
  

  

  that's where I work!

• a hike up Chapin Pass that gave us an absolute fabulous view
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• a sighting of a cow moose with her calf,
  
• bull elk on the tundra,
  
• patio dining at Mary's Lake Lodge,
• a 5:00 a.m. rising to enter RMNP, and to be greeted by a bear cub,
  
• an 11+ mile hike to six alpine lakes:  Bear, Nymph, Dream, Emerald, Hiayaha, and The Loch, ending at Alberta Falls,

  

  Bear Lake

  

  Nymph Lake

  
  

  

  Dream Lake

  
  

  

  Emerald Lake Trail view

  
  

  

  Emerald Lake

  
  

  

  Lake Hiayaha

  
  

  

  Lake Hiayaha Trail view

  
  

  

  The Loch

  
  

  

  Loch Vale Trail view

  
  

  

  The Loch

  
  

  

  Alberta Falls

• a visit to Dancing Pines Tasting Room, sampling whiskey, vodka, and others, and
• pure pleasure getting to spend time with Karen and James!!
  
  
  
• playing baseball and hockey with Jack, a five-year old grandson of my colleagues,
• eating smores around a campfire with friends,
  
• indulging in my first Moscow Mule at the historic Mary's Lake Lodge,
• sleeping in the sun to catch up on some sleep,
• hiking around Lily Lake, enjoying more wildflowers,
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• shopping at Target,
• getting my hair cut, 
• visiting three breweries in Longmont:  Pumphouse Brewery, Wibby Brewing and Lefthand Brewery, and
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• watching the MBL' All Star Game.  

May your week ahead be filled with wonderful adventures with the people you love!

Missing all of you!

Amy