Family Affair 2012- I am not a tourist.

Greetings once again from Colorful Colorado,

I was just scrolling through my entries from last summer and reminiscing about where we'd been and what we'd done. It seems like an eternity since then. I also noted that I hadn't written anything since last year. We've been on a major trip since then--a Bahaman cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary. There was internet access on the ship but at $2.00/minute I wasn't about to write in my blog.

Our journey to this day has been almost a year in the making. Meghan and I started talking about going to Estes Park together last summer. We tossed the idea of a family reunion back and forth but after throwing out a few feelers decided that would probably result in major headache. We decided to just keep it simple. Too many things have happened since last fall and I kept putting the planning off until March. By then our favorite spot, River Spruce was all booked. Meghan, Jeremy and I started looking at VRBO's. Like Goldilocks, some were to small, some were too big, some (most) were too expensive and some had TERRIBLE reviews. This one was just right. We are renting a lovely 3 bedroom, two story home facing Long's Peak. The view out the back door and up is magnificent. There is a comfortable deck complete with table and padded chairs. I'm sure we will eat a few meals out there this week. The Griffith's have their own floor and we have a bedroom and bath on the first floor. Oh, I forgot to mention that the view in front is of Elk Meadows RV park. Not so beautiful so I don't look out there.

Ken and I have had very mixed emotions about taking this vacation. As most of you know, Ken's dad Roy is very ill. We hated to leave and didn't make our decision to go until the day before we were supposed to leave. I think Ken needs this time to relax and think about other less stressful things for a few days. Fate seemed against us last week when several homes burned just across the road during a brief wild fire. Then the Colorado Springs fires began and just a few days ago a fire started near Boulder. We weren't sure what we'd find in Colorado.

We left Maize Friday morning and met the Griffith's in Salina. Ate breakfast and then, in what threatened to be a repeat performance of Ireland and last year, I started to get queasy. I made the mistake of dozing off after we ate. Then, the wind was blowing just enough that the car would move back and forth a little. Fortunately, we found a truck stop fairly quickly and I bought some Dramamine and was just fine after that. We got to Denver around 2:30. Checked in to our rooms, caught a little shut eye and then Ken and I drove to Coors Stadium where we watched the Rox beat the Padres 11-2. The Royals won that night as well so all was good in the world. I hate it that I am now a little fan of MLB and especially of the Royals. I think it blows my sports snob image.

Saturday we took a Titanic themed tour of Molly Brown's house and ate lunch at my favorite place-the Old Spaghetti Factory. Walked to 16th street and caught the bus to Hard Rock cafe to buy a t-shirt, pint glass and hat. Then road the bus the other way so Meghan and Jeremy could visit The Tattered Cover bookstore for the first time. I love that store. The children's section is just how I would have it be were I to own a bookstore. We then drove up to Estes and found our cabin. Ate dinner at Ed's Cantina where Meghan, Ken and I consumed two industrial strength Margaritas. Our designated driver Jeremy then took us to Safeway where we spent a lovely half-hour shopping for groceries one and a half sheets to the wind (another Margarita and we would have all been 3 sheets).

Today was a slow day. Ken and I slept in while the Griffith's went to Mass. I made brunch and then we headed out to the Alluvial Fan. For those of you not familiar with it's history, the Alluvial Fan was created when the dam at Lawn Lake burst on July 15, 1982. The water was so forceful that boulders the size of houses came roaring down the river canyon creating what is now a rock formation called the Alluvial Fan. It is interesting to see how much the landscape has changed in the past 30 years since the dam burst. In 2009 the NPS decided that there were too many elk in RMNP. At that time there were about 2000 elk and they were decimating the Aspen growth. If the Aspen were to become completely depleted, it would affect the entire ecosystem of the park. In an effort to thin out the elk population, fences have been erected in areas where Aspen were trying to grow thus moving the elk population to other areas around RMNP. It has been a successful endeavor. After the Lawn Lake flood a small lake formed due to the boulders and rock that were washed into Horseshoe Park. Over the years the water became stagnant. Once the NPS fenced the area off, Aspen and other plants have taken over and the area is quite beautiful. We learned all of this from a Ranger talk that we just happened to walk up on. We also learned how to know if an elk is angry, threatened or amourous. You'll just have to learn that on your own.

We ate dinner at the Estes Park Brewery. Great beer, lousy food. Then grandma was a party pooper and had the youngun's bring me back to the house while grandpa and the Griffiths went to play put-put down the road. I had a great two hours of solitude to read and rest.

We have not been bothered by the smoke or air quality at all. The air was hazy in Denver and we didn't see the mountains until we were in Denver and sometimes not even then. It may be due to smoke but I've seen it this way when there weren't fires in the area. The thing that is bothering me more is the heat and the low humidity. It is HOT for Estes. It wouldn't be hot in Kansas but here, upper 80's seems very warm and "it's a dry heat". With the dry conditions there will probably be no fireworks on the fourth either. The grass isn't green and there is very little snow on the peaks. Fall River Road (one-way, one-lane road to the top of Trail Ridge) is already open and it doesn't usually open until July 4. Additionally, the place is overrun with tourists. I am not a tourist. You aren't a tourist after you've been coming here for 36 years. I asked the ranger why so many people were at the Alluvial Fan. He thinks it's because Bear Lake road is closed for reconstruction. The only way to get there is by shuttle bus and most people won't take the shuttle. So, in my mind, this is the year to go to Bear Lake. No tourists!

On a funny note, Andy informed me that I was saying a naughty word when I was telling him about the "dam"! He said he could not say that name because it had a dirty word in it. I don't think I ever convinced him it wasn't.

More later,
Love
Laura