Rocky Mountain National Park

 RMNP has been on my bucket list for YEARS!!  Yes, we go to Estes Park to celebrate Christmas every year BUT that's in the middle of winter and not the best time to go there!  Last year we had planned to go up there to see the leaves but it just never happened!

So when we were planning our 5 day stay between Denver and Ft. Collins, I figured that Friday would be the perfect day to go since Jill and Robby would both be working!  I immediately checked the "Timed Permit" rules as I had to idea if we could even get in!  But I was glad to read that if you enter the park BEFORE 9:00am or AFTER 3:00pm you don't need a timed entry - that was a relief since the timed entries for our day had been taken a month ago!  BUT they would release a few more the night before at 7:00pm - I wasn't too concerned about going in early as we were planning on leaving Jill's about 6:30 anyways and it was just an hour to get there - BUT I really did want to get a timed entry for one of the best roads in the park which is Bear Lake Road!    This road has a couple of lakes and more leaves to see!

Luckily we were back from the ball game by that time so I got set up on Jill's computer - we could see there were 38 permits that were going to be released right at 7:00 so I was ready - and at 7:00 I clicked the button to get the permit and they were all gone already - WOW - apparently they clicked their computers a 1/2 second before I did!!  Oh well, at least we would get to see the rest of the park!

We headed out on time and stopped in Loveland at Scooters for breakfast sandwiches and coffee to go with a picnic lunch packed in the back!

Entry was easy - we have the "free" senior park pass so it didn't cost anything to get in which was nice!

Right away, we saw a herd of elk - a LOT of people were stopped looking at them so we pulled to the side and got out!  Not a new sight to us but I'm sure visitors that have never seen elk were thrilled to see them!  There was a bull there also who I captured after we went a ways further!

One of the beautiful views as we climbed in elevation!

Here's the bull elk - and we even got to hear him bugle !

We did go to Trail Ridge Road and this one way road turned to gravel soon after we got on it!

Outstanding views when we got high enough to see this grove of orange aspens! 

On the way down we stopped at Lake Irene and walked down to it!  Very pretty!

We had a picnic at the stop for this lake as they had picnic tables available!  It was cool out so we had worn our sweatshirts most of the time!

On the way out of the park, we stopped at one of the Visitor Centers and I got my Christmas ornament of the park!   And my thoughts on the park:  It IS a beautiful national park but I do have to admit that the views and things we saw were no different that what we see everytime we ATV in the mountains!  Once again, I'm sure the out of state visitors are absolutely enthralled to see these sights because they don't see them on a daily basis like we do - we are so blessed to live in the mountains!

As soon as we got out of the park, we called Eric Lass (son of our good friends Dick and Jane) as him and his partner Jessi run a horseback riding company - Jessi's family has been doing this for 50 years!!  They are based in eastern Iowa where the horses are during the winter and they haul them out here late spring when the tourist season starts!  And lucky for them, their place is right on the edge of RMNP so the trails they use are all in the park!  We enjoyed seeing their home in Estes Park AND the riding stables!

Then it was back to Ft. Collins - Jill prepared yummy tacos for dinner and we all enjoyed the evening - Jill, Aleah and I actually ran out later to DQ to get treats for everyone!

Ft. Collins Bound

 We headed up to Ft. Collins mid morning on Thursday - Jill was working at her school and Robby was busy with computer things - I had brought up Glenn and I's new iphones and a bag with all the new cords and car cords and cases and glass shields - I was SO GLAD that Robby was going to download our new phones and teach me anything new I needed to know!

As soon as Jill got home, we headed to Aleahs' softball game with Glenn and Robby following us also as Robby had a delivery after the game!

Aleah made the varsity team at her high school - so proud of her!!  The team is mostly seniors and the coach only picked 2 new girls to the varsity team and Aleah was one of them - she doesn't get a lot of play time but she sure will next year!

During the first few innings, Aleah would run the bases for someone as needed!

But the team was really doing well and quite a ways ahead so the last inning, the extra players got to play the entire inning!  And Aleah even got a hit when she was up to bat!

It was a fun game to watch, especially when Aleah got to play!!  She's all smiles after the game!

Jill and I picked up Chinese for dinner that night - and around 9:30 that evening, Robby said he was ready to do the phones!!!  However, by the time he was all finished and I knew what I needed to know, it was 11:30 so a short night for me!

Glenn and I were up at the crack of dawn to get ready Friday to go to Rocky Mtn. National Park!! (Next blog)

The next 2 pictures are from early Saturday morning - Aleah had another softball game and Parker had a wrestling tournament that we were all going to!

I can hardly believe how TALL Parker is getting!!  And he's sure not done growing yet!!

Denver Botanical Gardens

 Since Gary and Jessi both worked on Wednesday, Glenn and I decided to go to the Botanical Gardens!  We always enjoy seeing all the plants and flowers and this year was no different!

I was 1/2 expecting to see a few fall displays but that wasn't to be........

The orchids were beautiful and in full bloom!

Oh gosh, don't die of shock - a picture of me!!!!

The Japanese Gardens are always my favorite!

And the pond was absolutely beautiful that day!

Now this NEVER happens - 2 pics of me in the same blog!!!

And last but not least - a gorgeous flower bed!

It was a great day for walking around and seeing everything - we even ate lunch at one of the cafes there and had a nice meal!  

September - Denver

 I'm not sure what happened to the first two weeks of September but my favorite month just flew by - I guess when I look back at the calendar, it included a 4-H Foundation picnic, a couple of massages, coffee with a good friend in Co. Springs, Food Pantry, the annual POA Meeting  and also picking up Joleen from the Co. Springs airport for a 4 night stay at our house and returning her to the airport!  Anyway, the first couple of weeks flew by!

And then we headed to Denver for a 2 night stay before we headed to Ft. Collins!  It sure seemed strange not having Evan around at the house!  But he is enjoying college and that's whats important!  Gwyn got home from school early on Tuesday after we arrived so I had fun playing games with her!

After Jessi got home, we ate an early dinner before heading to Kenzie's volleyball game - a double header with JV and Varsity!  Kenzie plays most all the time on JV (and is also captain of the team) and it's exciting to watch her play and serve!

I love the handheld picture of Kenzie that Jessi would wave when Kenzie got an ace serve or a fantastic play!!  

Unfortunately the JV lost - Kenzie suits up for Varsity but didn't get to play that night - Varsity won though and it was a fun game to watch!  We also enjoyed watching the Eagle Crest Dance Team - wow are they good!

Wednesday we headed to the Denver Botanical Gardens (next blog).  Late afternoon we did take Gwyn to her softball practice as we didn't get to see her play a game!  It was SO cold and windy at her practice!!  Jessi joined us there and we watched Gwyn for a while till the coach finally called practice as it was lightning out - and yes, it did rain on the way home!  I rode with Jessi and Gwyn rode with Papa!  We got home WAY before they did and I was starting to worry since it had gotten dark and the practice was across town.......but the two of them finally made it home as Papa had taken a wrong turn in the downpour!!  Here's a pic of Gwyn at another game!

A picture after dinner that evening - Jessi and I had fun catching up!

I was SO disappointed when Jessi told me that our regular coffee spot was closing down that Sunday - apparently the people just rented the building and the owners were going to build a gas station there!  We did go have coffee ONE LAST TIME there on Thursday morning before we headed to Ft. Collins!

August Photo Dump

 IT'S SEPTEMBER - MY FAVORITE MONTH OF THE YEAR!  So time to wrap up August!

This little bear has made the rounds this summer - here he is over by the mailboxes, but loves to hang out on our neighbors' deck!!

We got a new hot tub cover!!  FINALLY!!!  Our old one was just getting to be ridiculously heavy and not doing its' job - it seemed to take forever to finally get one ordered and then to receive it 6 weeks later!  But it is SO NICE and well worth the money!

I love watching the little fawns walk by - they are hard to catch on a photo though!

August is peach season - Palisade peaches  - and they were extra good this year!  I froze about 8 bags for peach crisp and we ate a lot!!  It was an excellent year for them along with the Olathe sweet corn and the Rocky Ford cantaloupe!

Glenn is tackling redoing the cement out front and the borders where the solar lights are - for some reason, most of it cracked and crumbled and it really did look bad!  It's a LONG process though - hard, heavy work mixing the cement himself AND almost 2 weeks of daily rain put a huge damper in the process!  He is hoping to finish up this week!

The Smiths invitied us over for dinner one evening - Hez made shrimp scampi for us since he found out it was my favorite!  He IS an excellent cook!

As I was sitting on the front porch, I noticed this spider - and what a beautiful web he had - just had to take a photo!

Glenn's flowers on the front porch look nice and healthy this year!

We went to the Springs one day and I believe this person just didn't park correctly!!  HA!

Gary and Evan went motorcycle riding on Labor Day - they stopped over at the Smiths for dinner and then came over, along with Hez, for dessert and lots of talking!!  We were so glad they came!

And that's a wrap for August!!  

Coffee Tasting

 Beth and I usually go out for coffee at least once a month - and because she's outside of Divide we end up going to Lake George OR Dawn of Hope which is by our place.  But we wanted to head to the cemetery to see Arlyne's headstone so it was Woodland Park this time!

Just inside of town my tire light came on and the one tire pressure wouldn't show so we pulled into Big O and a guy checked the tire, added just a little bit of air and we were on our way!  I was glad it wasn't a tire problem again.....

Arlyne's headstone is absolutely beautiful!

We had heard there was a new coffee place in town - but also read it was a "European" type coffee place so they didn't have the lattes and cappuccinos, etc.  But we're adventurous so decided to stop in and see what it was like!

CUTE PLACE!  And the 2 guys working there were nice as can be - they started telling us all about their coffee that they roast there and asked if we would do a free coffee tasting to see which one we liked!  Of course!

We tried 3 different kinds and liked the last one best, which was from Costa Rica - that brought back memories of when Glenn and I were there with Cindy and Rene and we did a coffee tour and tasting!

Even though we didn't end up buying coffee there, it was a fun experience and we will go back to just drink a regular cup of coffee with great looking cookies that were home baked!

We walked on down to the other coffee place and had our coffee along with free donuts!!  YAY!

And just had to take pictures beside these beautiful flowers that grace main street!

Camping at Poncha Springs

 Time to camp again - YAY!  I told Glenn to pick a spot so he chose past Poncha Springs to a place we've camped several times!  It's a great spot because there's a lot of ATVing of different routes to do!

We left early on the Tuesday of Labor Day Weekend - hoping to spend 3 nights and get home before the horrible traffic would start on Friday - but did end up only spending 2 nights, although we did ATV on Thursday before heading home!

Every time we drive past this hardware store at the light at Poncha Springs, I always love to see all the colors of chairs they have setting out!  This time I snapped a picture!

There were a LOT of campers surprisingly enough - but I do believe some of them were just brought out and set up with a couple of chairs outside, all ready for the Labor Day Weekend because they looked deserted!   As we all know here in Colorado, it's one of the MAJOR camping weekends and even though it's wilderness camping, there are only SO many spots!

We found a spot - it's not my favorite one which is on top of a hill, BUT there was a NO CAMPFIRE in that section and Glenn wanted to be on this particular road which was in another national forest that DIDN'T have a campfire ban!  We were lucky to grab it!

It started raining about the time we got set up, so Glenn napped and I read and then we went for a ride before dinner - still cool and rainy looking out!

It poured hard during the night - but we woke up to sunshine and had a full day planned to ATV!  We headed over to Marshall Pass, one of my favorite spots and took the side road that has lots of aspens on it!  Check out the yellow leaves in the middle of the picture - yes, fall is about to arrive!

I LOVE this ride through the aspens - this particular area has the really white trees !

It was nice and sunny with a lot of billowing clouds!

This was our campsite and Glenn was happy to be able to build his campfire!

The next day we headed to Bonanza - everytime we drive into this little tiny town, we marvel at the antlers on this building so this time I snapped a picture (although it sure isn't centered because we were on the ATV and I couldn't get my camera out fast enough!)

Amazing views - I never tire of this!  And note all of the dead trees - there are sure a lot of them!

We packed up and headed home later that afternoon after an excellent camping trip!