Home.

We left a week ago.  Amazing.  Here it feels like we never left!  The mountains seem so distant, and yet I can almost hear the pines whisper and feel the cool mountain air on my face.  We bombed home from Estes Park yesterday, leaving almost exactly 24 hours ago.  The kids are road warriors; they traveled so well.  11 hours drive time from Coffee on the Rocks to our front door.  That is worth it to make the trip at least once a year.  The best thing is the memories, and there are a ton!  For now, a final picture...

Day 6, I think?

Occurred to me today that I'm not entirely sure what day of the week it is, let alone what the number of the day is!  Turns out our anniversary is on Sunday...would not have forgotten, but in the midst of vacation, dates tend to slip in light of having so much fun!  Up early today to study a bit before the crew was up; a great breakfast at the Y, and then a short hike into Glacier Basin along Glacier Creek.  Making it a short hike today was a good move, and the kids were ready to be done with dirt by 10 am.  We ended up cutting it short and spending a few hours doing crafts at the Y instead.  This afternoon we spent a few hours downtown shopping in Estes Park; stopped for a celebratory beverage at the EP Brewery, and then back to the Y for dinner (steak, salmon, chicken!).  We loaded up and drove up to Sprague Lake to fish a bit and watch the sun set; turns out there has been a young bull moose at the lake the past 4 nights; unfortunately, he did not make an appearance while we were there!  But, it is SUPER exciting that they are starting to see more and more moose on the Estes Park side of RMNP!  I'm whipped; cannot imagine how tired the rest of the family must truly be; but we have had one of the best vacations in our lives!  The kids were trying to talk us into staying another night, and even packing up and moving out here...twist my arm, I suppose...but as I type, my thoughts drift to home, my own house, our bed, our friends and family, and our dog who we miss like crazy!  The truck is mostly loaded, and after an early breakfast and maybe a quick stop at Coffee on the Rocks, we'll be headed east!  Seems like SO long since we left, and this time next week it will seem like the cool mountain air was a lifetime ago.  Here are a few pics from yesterday and from today; we'll see you all soon!  Thanks for coming on vacation with us...

Moose cow and calf near Grand Lake

At Rock Cut on Trail Ridge Road

Family Christmas Card?

Alpine tundra

Resident at the YMCA!

The summit of Bible Point

Sprague Lake

Beautiful end to a beautiful day

Happy @ the Alluvial Fan

Day 5: Up and over

We were up and out by 8:30 am this morning, saying goodbye to Summit County and all the fun and high mountain fun we had in Frisco!  The sky was bluebird and the air cold; we had an enjoyable drive over the Divide and again over Berthoud Pass, through Winter Park and Grand Lake, finally, into Rocky Mountain National Park.  We had no more than driven past the sign for the park than Kari and I both spotted what appeared to be a moose off the road in the willows.  Sure enough, there was a cow and a calf munching away on the underbrush, quite a way off the road but very obvious.  Not a bad start!  We spent a few moments photoing, and then headed off further in.  A small herd of elk and 10 minutes up the road, a bunch of cars pulled off indicated something else of interest.  it was another mama and calf moose, eating along the stream.  We stayed a bit, and got to see both up close as they came up out of the river and crossed the road 75 yards to the south of us!  They are not small animals...We continued up Trail Ridge Road, making the Alpine Visitor Center and the top of the world in time for a rainstorm.  We ate a picnic at the gift shop, wasted some time, and continued on.  A short hike at Rock Cut, more elk, and finally to the YMCA camp in Estes Park.  So great to be back here...such a peaceful place!  We checked in, threw some water in a pack, and headed up Bible Point, a short hike that leads up to a spot where there is a cross and mailbox for prayers.  We met a guy from Des Moines at the summit (big shock; we've met more Iowans than Coloradans out here!), and then boogied on down ahead of more rain.  A great meal at the camp, and we headed up to the Alluvial Fan for some rock hopping and pictures.  Then, Moraine Park to end the night with another herd of 40+ elk, mostly cows and calves.  Pretty great day of wildlife and scenery!  We have had some great prayers as a family; we were pretty wrung out by tonight, and the kids literally passed out once put to bed.  We are planning an 'easier' day tomorrow; eyeballing Lily Mountain, which would be an easy summit for us, or maybe some lakes and waterfalls that would make for a nice morning.  The kids have been amazing, and I can honestly say this is the most relaxed I've been in some time! Can't wait to sleep and get after it tomorrow...hoping for one more blessed Colorado clear air blue sky day!

Day 4 Rain, McCullogh Gulch, and Breckenridge time

Brent woke up and went for a run as usual and when he returned, it started raining. Not how we wanted to start our last big hiking day in Breckenridge.  We ate breakfast and decided to head out and decided we could always shop the downtown area and hike later. We arrived in Breckenridge to sunny skies so we drove out of town to head to the trail head (right next to Quandary Peak) of McCullogh Gulch.  We drove up and through this windy road with a drop off on the side all the way down the mountain. We loaded up the backpacks and camelbaks and were off on a journey we heard was the hike to do, if it was " the only hike you ever did in Summit County."  There was a reason for that- it was a breaktaking hike from the moment we started up the trail.  Huge boulders to climb on all around and wildflowers galore.  The path was very steep and ended up being VERY muddy as well.  We hiked past an old mining town that was just ruins and up and up the boulders and roots and rocks!!! Amazing.  The kids were troopers even though Emy fell 100 times and Brady slipped and slid all over as his body was a tad out of control (surprise surprise). We hiked for an hour or so and made it to the Falls- I was in awe and speechless. Actually teared up at God's amazing creation and might in the powerful falls that went down in 2 huge falls down the mountain side- We sat and watched and had a snack and rested as it was a pretty strenuous hike- We started back and got to the trail sign again that pointed UP again. We talked with two ladies who said it was totally worth it to hike to The Lake- I was all for it while kids were not, but  we talked them into it as it wasn't supposed to be too far up- it was a ways and STRAIGHT up again. I finally walked up the last part while Brent and kids waited down a ways and I made it to the lake- oh my!! There was snow still up there- almost 12,000 feet. I turned around and there was Brady. I told him to walk through the last boulder field and he was like , "this was SOOOO worth it." It was his favorite part of the day- Brent and girls made it up then and we put our feet in ICY cold lake water for a few minutes until we heard the rumbles of thunder. We started back down slipping and sliding a bit but made it down with only sprinkles for the last 5 min. The most break-taking hike we have done!!!! God is good! Pure joy! Then to the town for lunch at Downstairs at Eric's and shopping a bit in the rain.  Cold. 52 degrees. Back to the condo where the hot tub was just what the Dr ordered on our tired legs.  A short bit of fly-fishing in Silverthorne. Supper of leftovers at the condo and teaching kids to play poker was a night to remember! Joy, but rest is now!!!

Day 3: Mt. Royal, Rainbow Lake, and points therein

Planned to hike to Rainbow Lake, an easy hike to a small lake above Frisco this morning.  We followed the directions I found on Backpacker.com; started at the Mt. Royal trailhead and went up the hill.  And up.  And more up.  They were not kidding when they said that this trail was steep; we hiked a mile or so to Masontown, an old mining ruin that had been leveled by an avalanche.  We went a bit further up, were told that we needed to go back down to Rainbow Lake, and ended up walking another 45 min until, low and behold, the lake appeared through the trees!  Kari's directional sense saved the day on this one!  Great views, a beautiful lake, and the kids all did great today.  We did lunch on the banks of the Blue River in Silverthorne, shopped a bit, grabbed some ice cream and coffee at Abbey's in Frisco, and then home for chicken and noodles at the condo.  The sun was out, so we went down to the reservoir to fish and play before sundown; the rain moved back in at dusk with some great lightening!  Kristyn and I fished a bit, the kids and Kari played at the park.  Another lovely day here in Colorado!  Emy prayed that we would have a great day and that Jesus would keep the rain away while we were hiking; the forecast was for rain around Noon, and we didn't see a drop until we were done for the day.  Pretty dang amazing. Here are some pics:

Mt. Royal trailhead

Mt. Royal

Rainbow Lake...finally!

The Intrepid Adventurers

Lunch on the Blue River

Abbey's Coffee and our Pop Star

End of the night with storms moving in

Day 2: Paxton, Golden, and Frisco

We had a CRAZY storm roll through Paxton last night; I was dozing and Kari was online, and sometime around 11:00 the lightening that had been flashing to the west for a few hours moved over us.  An hour later and lots of wind and rain being blown through the cracks in the room door...Oh my!  We woke up to partly cloudy and humid.  On the road by 8:15, in Golden by 11:30.  We ate our lunch down by Clear Creek as it runs through town, walked along the banks a bit, then to the Coors Brewery! 

The kids were asking to go, I swear!!  It was impressive as always, and Kari REALLY tried to like beer but couldn't quite make it to the bottom of her Blue Moon.  After Coors, we went to a place called Heritage Park, home to a crazy human maze and the longest Alpine Slide in Colorado.  Super fun!  We also did an Old West Saloon photo; Brady and I were outlaws, and the girls, well...the kind of girls that an outlaw might like!  Too much fun!  After all this, it was up and over the Divide to Frisco; we drove in rain and have had rain all evening.  Hoping for a clear day (at least part) to hike tomorrow morning and enjoy the beauty of this place.  We all smile when we see the mountains and are so thankful that God has given them to us to remind us of His presence and goodness...here are a few more pics from our day today!

from the top of the Heritage Hill slide

Bitter Beer? 

Here we go!

Up (and down) to Frisco

Day 1 Aug 1, 2010 Des Moines to Paxton, NE

Joy!

Spoke at Zion this morning, think it went well!  Romans 8:1-2…all about choosing to live free from condemnation and living with JOY – looking for it around us all the time.  Kari drove the first 4 hours, I studied and snoozed after the early morning.  I took over in Grand Island, and we rolled into Paxton around 5:30 MTN time.  We checked into the Day’s Inn (a bit sketchy, but it will suffice) and then over to Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse for dinner.  The Chili Mac Burger was outstanding…we ate like we’d never seen food before!  Then back for showers, some TV, and rest.  Funny thing – the word for the week is joy – we are looking for it all around us on this trip.  Brady, as we sat down at our table at Ole’s, noticed the word JOY written in the Polar Bear table marker.  I guess He is moving around us to bring us into a deeper awareness of Him, His working, and the joy available to us!