Time Flies in RMNP!

I have turned the page to this week in my planner, and it's nearly the month's end.  I have about six weeks left, and I'm trying to figure out how I can still do the things I haven't done yet in the remaining time.  But here's a recap of what I have been up to:

• ran my first 5K in the park as part of a challenge to get people to enjoy the park as part of the NPS's 100th birthday celebration,
  
  
  
  
• worked the NPS's free weekend in the park, where there were countless visitors taking advantage of this promotion for the NPS's centennial, and met RMNP's new superintendent, Darla, who came to us from Sagaro National Park in Arizona,
  
• was surprised by two very special friends of Karen's - she met Sarah at Semester @ Sea during her college days, and she and her husband, Brad, are involved in Lifeline - a Christian outreach for college students, utilizing nature's elements for physical and spiritual growth; both Karen and Sarah & Brad are very passionate about sharing faith with young adults,
  
• enjoyed the company of Paula and Phil as we explored Old Fall River Road, and hiked to Bear, Nymph, Dream and Emerald Lakes, but then were pelted by hail while enjoying our snack of Palisade peaches and monster cookies; later we dined on pizza and local beverages on our balcony with several of the mature Xanterra family,

  

  Nymph Lake

  

  Dream Lake

  

  back @ Bear Lake after hail

  

  surprise visitor about 10 feet away from us @ Nymph Lake

  

  Chasm Falls

• toured the Estes Park Museum on one of the rainy days, learning more about the history of this majestic area - Joel Estes first came here in 1859, and Stanley arrived in 1901,
  
• lounged on my balcony sipping cocktails with friends, waiting for the Jupiter/Venus appulse, but ended up being too cloudy - oh, well,
• hiked around Lily Lake and Lake Estes (discovered a new wildflower, Rocky Mountain Beeplant), where I witnessed two pairs of eagles, bald and golden, face off against each other, one golden eating a fish
  
  
  
  
• was reunited with one of my 2015 summer friends, Ali from Augustana - Sioux Falls, who was touring Colorado after her research project,
  
• attended a "Spirituality of John Denver" concert @ the YMCA of the Rockies with some of my Xanterra family, Mark being a John Denver "disciple"; John Denver's look alike, Cowboy Brad, performs weekly in Estes Park, but this night, he shared some of Denver's tributes to nature, minority groups, and spirituality,
  
• have experienced a wide array of weather @ Trail Ridge Store, and have driven home in some "not so visible" weather conditions - rain, sleet, hail, snow, and complete fog/clouds,
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• made my first Moscow mules in copper mugs,
  
•  had our annual summer visit by Jack, my co-worker's grandson, and we play baseball and our newest adventure, "Kan Jam."  If you haven't played it, come over in late October and we'll battle each other in this outdoor game,
  

  

  the ball game was so intense that we split the ball!

  
  
  
• have said good-bye to four college students,
• witnessed my first emergency evacuation at 12,000 feet,
  
• attended an Artist-in-Residence seminar, featuring a NJ photographer who specializes in long exposure photography of water, and does submerged photography; am attending the second half this Wednesday,
• saw the Pleiades Meteor Show from my balcony,
• hiked the Deer Mountain Trail down to Upper Beaver Meadows and then took the hiker shuttle to Bear Lake, and then to Glacial Gorge (it was all downhill, and was my first hike since my injury),
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• witnessed a gorgeous sunrise @ 12,000 feet, then continued onto the west side of the park, seeing two cow moose, drove north out of the park to new territory, encountering ranch country.  Nearing the northern boundary of Colorado, I drove along Cache LaRoudre Scenic Byway, touring State Forest State Park, going over the Continental Divide @ Cameron Pass, went on a scavenger hunt to find Pingree Park (an outdoor CSU campus), then onto the National Wilderness Area and Poudre Canyon.  My last stop along that road was the historic Arrowhead Lodge that welcomed vacationers from the 1930s - 1980s before being converted to a visitor center,
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• have witnessed my first close-up of the elusive Bullwinkle, and
  
• enjoyed marmots, pikas, ptarmigans, pronghorn antelopes, hummingbirds, llamas, goats, bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk and moose!!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Enjoy all that your Indian Summer/autumn has to offer!  

See you soon!

Amy