The "Hills" are Alive!

July 16, 2015

The hills are alive with wildflowers - so gorgeous!  Celebrated this morning with a phone call to Norry, my brother, as it's his 65th birthday!  Great to catch up with family.

Here's a quick update of what's been happening in my adventuring:

• learned about the hiking the Historic Dawson Gold Rush - Chilkoot Trail in Alaska (our family visited Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Site in Seattle a few years ago)
• ventured through Devil's Gulch that was devastated by the flood of Sept. '13
  
• indulged in one of the infamous cinnamon rolls at Glen Haven General Store (the town of Glen Haven was almost totally destroyed in the flood)
  
• toured Loveland's Bensen Sculpture Gardens
  
  
• sampled four breweries in Loveland
  
• checked out some electrical transformer boxes that had been painted for city art (reminds me of our family's search for "Peanuts on  Parade" in St. Paul
  
• shared wine and craft beers with friends,
• delighted in chocolates given to me by my Taiwanese friends,
• hiked around Sprague Lake, enjoying elk and the alpenglow in the mountains,
  
  
• drove up Old Fall River Road, enjoying the abundant wildflowers, explored Chasm Falls, daydreamed aside an old ranger cabin and then getting startled by mule deer drinking in a nearby creek,
  
  
  
  
• hiked up Chapin Pass Trail, taking in a 360 degree panaromic view of the mountains, while enjoying the marmots,
  
  
  
  
• worshipped at the YMCA of the Rockies, with an illusionist giving the wonderful message,
  
• visited Holzwarth Historic Site that is a preserved homesteading site.  Mr. Holzwarth, a Denver saloon owner moved here during the years of Prohibition and built a trout lodge that kept expanding for 50+ years, entertaining guests from near and far,
  
  
  
• basked in the beauty of Grand Lake at the southwest corner of RMNP, while reading and enjoying an expresso,
  
• witnessed moose (three cows and a calf) meander along the narrow Colorado River, nibbling the lush grasses of the meadow and the young willows,
  
  
• appreciated the friendliness of a couple of bluebirds at an elevation of 12,000 feet,
  
• discovered my first PIKA!,
  
• read and journalled on the shores of Lake Estes, toasting the backs of my legs - OUCH!
• met, greeted, have done swivel hips in manuveuring around guests and helped travelers five days a week @ Trail Ridge Store, and have become frustrated when our satellite system goes out, crashing our registers, and
• celebrated with my co-workers with a prime rib dinner.

Enjoy your summer with family and friends!  Missing Wisconsin and everyone!
Colorado Amy

IT'S JULY ALREADY!

I can't believe the calendar flipped its pages to July.  The weather has been warm here, and the skies have opened up and brought lightning bolts, thunder and rain too often.  The July 4th celebrations have come and gone, and the human population has swelled in Rocky Mountain National Park as has the elk and moose offspring.  The wildflowers continue to pop out EVERYWHERE - it's absolutely breath-taking!

Here are a few of the note-worthy happenings since my last correspondence:

• took three friends to Boulder's Target (just can't stay away from my employer), driving past my first canibas (marijuana) store,
• played scrabble with some astute competitors,
• saw the remnants of the midsummer Scandinavian Festival held in Estes Park, as I worked beyond operating hours,

  

  Oh, how I miss this!

  
  
  
  
  
• went to a tribute to RMNP's Search and Rescue where the survivor shared his ordeal of having an ice axe pierce him in a major artery while attempting to glissade (slide on snow/ice) and climb Long's Peak (our highest peak in the park @ 14,??? feet)
• attended a centennial artist in residence program in which a percussionist storyteller was commissioned to create a work for the park (check out Cory Hills on youtube - it's kind of like "Peter and the Wolf" where instruments represent characters, except he uses percussion instruments),
• adventured to Fort Collins and toured CSU's Trial Annuals Gardens (1200 varieties), sample brewskis @ Snowbank Brewery, dined outdoors at Lucille's Creole Cafe (that Karen recommended) and ate a Po'Boy, had potato salad (with fresh green beans in it) and sampled Skinny Dip beer from New Belgium Brewery,
  
  
  
• found Horsetooth Reservoir amidst the sandstone cliffs,
  
  
• observed bighorn sheep, toured through Big Thompson Canyon that suffered devastation in the flood of Sept. '13 where some homes had red Xs on them with the date of the flood, and others where foundations were swept away and the structures were just hanging there,
  
• hiked with two Taiwanese friends around Lily Lake while a thunderstorm was approaching,
• learned about boreal toads and the fungus
  called Bd that invades their skins, and is causing their endangerment in RMNP,
• witnessed the Estes Park's fireworks on the 4th of July with many rowdy colleagues that were much younger than me,
  
• listened to an adventurous couple who traveled a portion of the Chilkoot Trail that stampeders traveled along during Alaska's Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890s (my family learned about the Klondike Gold Rush at a national park in Seattle),
• enjoying the fabulous wildflower show in the area, and
  
• have endured many rainstorms with lightning and thunder, but delighted by blue skies most mornings.

  

  Long's Peak

  

I hope your summer is filled with family and friends.  Thank you for the correspondence that I have received from so many of you.  God's blessings to all!

Love,

Amy