Still catching up on the adventures, this was from two weeks back from today (Sunday the 11th)

After having disappointing weather on our previous trip, we a break and the sun came out and it warmed up. My friend was still visiting and so was my granddaughter, so of course we took the dog too. I plugged our destination into the robot, promising treats and a viewing 2001 A Space Odyssey, and we were off to Estes Park Colorado.

I had driven through Estes Park, but never explored the area. Having my friend with me was a perfect excuse to have an adventure together.

The drive is always so beautiful and the sing along to 70s and 80s hits made smile. Once upon a time, it was just my friend and I doing the radio concerts, then it was us and 4 kiddos, now we are grannies, excuse me, Nana and Mhamó on a mini roadtrip with my grandbaby. This time the baby was correcting us on song lyrics, thank you Trolls movies.

We stopped at the pretty sign that lets you know we arrived and there were people feeding tiny chipmunks and the baby promptly asked to feed them too. We crunched up a little cracker. Before anyone gets upset, I know it creates animals dependency on humans, but that seems to have been bred into them here. And there is chances of catching something as well, but everyone was fine and the baby had a sweet memory.

The view looking down into Estes Park is breath taking and so is Estes Lake. It was a beautiful day, about 40 degrees, lots of sun. We tried to enter the Rocky Mountain National Forest, but I had the wrong kind of pass. So we did some other exploring, like the beautiful grounds of the Stanley Hotel and fining some elk having a family reunion.

We found a lovely park to have lunch and people watch, and let let a little girl run for a bit.

Of course, we were surrounded by incredible mountains covered in snow. In a matter of 10 minutes, we went from sunshine, to rain, to sleet, to snow, to sunshine. we saw this old wagon, without the covering, just the frame and I thought about those women who rode with their husbands and children to make the trek west, and it was done without stories on cassettes, no magic pen game, no dvd player, no tablet with headphones, not even a coloring book and crayons. She would not have been able to say, “Everyone look out their own window!” those pioneer women were bonified super hero’s!

We had a lovely day enjoying the countryside and made it back home tuckered out but laughing the memory of he baby elk getting a snack from the Mommy elk, or the tiny chipmunks, or the crabby lady in the ranger booth who reminded me a little of John Candy in “National Lampoon’s Vacation”.

The goal is 60 new things before I turn 60 and I have 46 more to go and I can’t wait!