Colorado Cabin

Here is Karen & Marilyn's cabin in the woods! It is too cute...(I have
photos to share later of inside) and I was floored at the
transformation! I hope I can find "before" pics. They did an amazing
job of renovating.

Wildlife

This photo was taken for Uncle Mark! Lunch in Walden at the Moose Cafe.

Technical Issues

Ok. So I've taken too many pictures and slowed the laptop to a crawl.
I'll have to post more photos when I get home & can move them to an
external hard drive. I'm guessing 500-700 photos per day...I think 13
days worth?

Here's a "do for" photo I took with iPhone from a napping position
with Soso while Steve fished. It was a hike to get to it, but worth
it! He caught 7 green back cutthroat trout. We also saw beautiful
waterfalls between the lakes...& snow!

Day 8-Over the Mountain

We pulled into our camp at way past

dark thirty on a stormy night.

It was a nice surprise to see the view in the morning.

Steve cleaned a layer of dust off the Jeep.
We were surrounded by mountains and a beautiful lake.
Our bus. The sad part...you could tell where
the trees had to be clear cut from the pine beetle.
It's hard to grasp when you see all the dead, cut, or
dying trees that a little bug did it.
Colorado has been hit hard.
The brown trees are the ones that are affected.
We are towing the Jeep as we head into
Rocky Mountain National Park.
That makes for sixty plus feet of us in length.
Here Steve studies the map.
We entered on the west side of the park and just had
to take that road over the mountain...
the one with all the switch backs and curves.
Nothing to it.
It started off flat with construction on a tight road.

First animal inside the park!
An Elk!
Ok, so there were twenty cars,

we knew to look.
I'm having Yellowstone flashbacks.

Sad.

"Timberline" campground.
Beetle got the trees...so not so much timber.

YEA! One lane and a curve going uphill.
I felt like we were on an extreme test track for Wanderlodge.

Still one lane...at least it was on the inside this time.

Louie was stressed out.
Kept jumping from one spot to the next.

Soso just played with Moose and Mickey.

I think she liked us chanting,

"I think I can, I think I can!"

Went over continental divide.

This is where we are so high that the trees don't

grow...Alpine.

Self-timer with Louie as we cross the mountain.
He was on point for something.

The road felt really tight...
stress...

the right side was straight down to forever...
breath holding type deal.
Lots of beautiful snow up here.

This was an interesting moment...
The RV coming up was going to reach the tight turn
at the same moment.
Steve handled it like a champ.

I'm thinking this guy is...riding up on a bike...

good for him.

Glad not me.

I call this threading the needle...

When we reached the east side of the mountain,
there were storms building.

Nice thing about the park...up close to the animals.
No fences.

We made it over in the bus-

no break downs, overheats.
Not saying I ever...ever want to do that again.

Since we were laughed at at the campgrounds inside the park...
"No reservations?! HA! HA! HA!"
(That's how I heard it between the "I'm sorry" anyway

SIX months before you have to make reservations...)
We ended up right outside in Estes Park, CO.
It's the Gatlinburg of the Rockies...
we can handle one day of that noise and crowd.

It is cute with a main drag of shops to shop.

After we checked into the KOA,

we went back into the park.

Elk in your face.

A happy little Clark's Nutcracker

at an overlook stop.
(I love the click heals stop action I have going here)

Huge score for me-

marmot!

We drove all the way back to the top in the Jeep.
Trying to have dinner at the little cafe...that closed at 5pm.
Write that down.
So, we headed back down and enjoyed the views.

Goal to reach the bottom before dark-we made it!

Group shot
(Steve is freezing here. Soso & I have jackets on...)

Majestic sunset.

Day 7, fish and move again!

Sunrise on North Delaney Butte Lake,

our side yard.
Pelicans
Yes...in the mountain lakes-weird.

Sophia and I went to town.

She had her two "must haves"
with her for Jeep ride nap time-Mickey M
& the new moose Grandma K got for her.

(Sorry Kevin)

Steve fished...& figured out how to catch the big boys.

In the early evening,

we said good-bye to Delaney Butte,

the mosquitoes,
the big trout,
the birds,
and the breath taking vistas.

Good-bye to Walden, Colorado too.

If you ever get a chance to head out west...
it's a cute little town,

with fabulous surround sound mountains.

It really was the "moose viewing capital" of Colorado!

On the way to Rocky Mountain National Park,

we saw storms all around us.
This was a beautiful rainbow ahead.

Amazing huge storms in the distance.

This is the only shot of probably 100 easy where

I actually caught the lightning.
It was popping non-stop too!

Day 6 - Father's Day

As a surprise for Father's Day-Soso and I went

into Walden and rented waders, boots, fins, and

belly boat for Steve.

We also hooked him up with some flies and a new

backpack Orvis fly fishing rod to stash under the seat...

in case of emergency fishing needs.

Airing up the boat

Styling like he's a native...with rental gear.

Ready to hit the water!

He looked like he was having fun out there.
Except for an occasional leg cramp!
He caught a bunch of fish...no photos available.

Sophia and I headed back into town and could

see the storms roll in on Steve.
He said the wind was horrible and it sleeted!

Our campsite on the lake...amazing view out of every window.

Louie had a blast tearing up the sand!
He never saw a chase-able prairie dog.
I'm not sure if that was good or bad...

For my bird IDing challenged friends an easy one.
YES!

It's a yellow-headed blackbird!

Steve always gets insight to the fishing from
natural clues.

Too hard to call...
but a cool pose.

New to me!
An American Avocet!
I like the curved up bill on this joker.

Wildflowers

Prairie dog right before heading into his hole.

The afternoon storms that came across the mountains.
They were beautiful and brutal with lightning.

That night we watched a movie.

Sophia and Steve had a perfect ending to their first

father's day by falling asleep on the couch!

Not much has changed in 8 months :)

Except the sizes?

Sunset over the mountains

Not sure if this was the same day or not,

but I liked the photo!