This may be the longest stretch in years that I didn't travel! It's been close to four months since the Bisbee, AZ adventure, and time to hit the road again (or the skies, rather) for a trip to CO! Visiting with my good friend Tanya and her family (formerly of CA and in the process of moving), my brother, sister-in-law and nephew, and another new friend as well. Busy long weekend but lots of fun!
Not sure how often I'll be on, but will be sure to provide the highlights of the trip.
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I arrived yesterday around mid-day, and made my way to Louisville, CO, between Boulder and Denver northwest of the city. The kids (Isabelle and Mitchell) are HUGE, and so much bigger since I saw them last May on our camping trip. They're 7 and 8 now and just a blast. We went for a great hike up a big hill in Boulder, where lots of people had the same great idea! It's cool here but really beautiful and warm in the sun. The view of the snow-capped mountains is so beautiful! Not sure about all the snow they get here, and of course the cold temperatures, but April is quite nice!
Today I woke up early and got great snuggles with Isabelle, then we made our way to Estes Park right next to Rocky Mountain National Park. The town is really cute and quaint, at the base of gorgeous snow-capped mountains. The drive wound through the mountains, and we twisted higher and higher until we came to the town. There's a large and beautiful lake, and lots of cute little shops. We got lunch at a mexican cantina then made our way to the farm where we were scheduled to go horseback riding. It was the first time for the kids and they were really excited.
There were two cute little horses, as well as a bunch of larger ones for the 'big' people. Our guide, Jason, was quite adorable and a really nice guy who pointed things out during the ride Not long after we started, a prairie dog ran across our path. I'm not sure if it was the prairie dog or the horse behind Mitchell's horse, but his horse actually reared causing us a few unnerving seconds! Mitch handled it like a pro and hung on well while the guide looped back to calm down the horse. We rode through the woods and had a really fun time enjoying the beautiful mountain views. Then we were walking alongside a small hill and the horse in front of me actually slipped and fell! I've never seen that before. The woman managed to jump out of the stirrups so the horse didn't land on her, and the horse got right up. All were ok though it made for an interesting ride!
We passed the gum tree (self-explanatory), boot hill, where the summer hands retired their boots when the were finished, and grandpa tree, a really old tree that was actually hit by lightening three times. We were told to touch it for good luck, and of course did.
My horse rainey was a beautiful somewhat-spirited red male. He knew the trail well and was great, though really enjoyed having his nose in the next horses's backside, and didn't care much for my pulling back on the reigns to get him to slow up. Every time I did, he stopped but shook his head as if to tell me he was going to follow my direction, but he was NOT going to like it.
Towards the end of the ride we came across at least 50 elk, some were quite close. A couple of the horses spooked a bit when the elk got to around 20 feet away. The elk didn't seem to mind, and just stared at us walking away. The elk were much smaller than I've seen in Arizona and Maine though still quite impressive.
We got down off the horses and the kids were jumping up and down, wanting to go again. We drove around a bit to enjoy the scenery and headed back. We had planned to go into Rocky Mountain National Park, but it was already 3:30 so we'll go another time. We stopped by for some ice cream on the way home (because we were hungry, of course)!
It was a beautiful day and lots of fun. Tomorrow I head down to my brother's to see my nephew, and I heard we're going camping for a couple of days. Should be beautiful in the mountains though BRRRRRR...!!! My thin Arizona blood.. :o)
Sam
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