Saturday, July 26, 2008

On Saturday morning I got up early, although it did not feel early to me. I wonder if this is the "time difference" thing that Trekker told me about. Anyway, Daddy and Mommy packed up what seemed like the entire room and we left. We drove through Boulder and stopped at Estes Park, the last city before the entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park. I slept most of the drive because I was tired from getting up early. I am still like I was from the beginning when Mommy and I used to walk when she was home with me, so I woke up when the car stopped at the visitors' center. After a quick stop we were off, up the mountain indeed! We drove up the curvy mountain road (called Trail Ridge Road) to 12,000 feet! That is really high for those of you who do not know, literally in the clouds. We stopped there for our first hike. We had such a good time. Daddy and Mommy love to hike. I heard them talking (before I fell asleep again) about how much they love to hike and why. They love it because it's peaceful. Even though there were other people on the trail, they had a sense that we were alone. They love the majesty of the mountains. They see God in the beauty and perfectness of how everything comes together. They love the contrast of walking in nature to our everyday lives. Of course they always love a good workout too! And they love to share it all with each other and now with me. They were saying that they hope I will enjoy and appreciate the outdoors as I get older so we can continue to hike and play as I grow up.

We ate lunch we packed after our hike and continued up the mountain to its highest point (12,090 feet!). Around every corner there was another beautiful snow-capped peak or a deep, green valley. Of course I saw this all looking out the back window because I have to face backwards in the car seat still. At the rate I am growing (10th percentile in weight), I will be 4 feet tall before I can turn around in my seat! It was still pretty, though. We were headed to the other side of the mountain to a place called Grand Lake where our friend Megan's parents have a store and a house. All was going well until we ran into a traffic jam. Apparently they were working on the road and a construction truck broke down in the middle of crossing it. They finally got it going but we were there long enough to get out of the car and hang out for awhile. Grand Lake is a beautiful place and Megan's parents (Beth and Jay) are really great. We went to their house where I got to crawl all around. This is what I do at school every day, not spend my time driving around. We walked to the lake and got some ice cream. Yes, Mommy and I shared it, Daddy did not have any. There were rain clouds all around (literally, we could see the rain coming out of the clouds like a shower!). It didn't rain on us but we figured it was time to go because I was getting tired and needed a good car ride nap. We drove the south side of the park and when through a couple of famous ski resort towns like Granby and Winter Park. The funniest thing happened on the way. Daddy stopped to let a couple cross the street and realized that they were on the elevator with us in the Denver airport. What are the chances of that happening? My ears popped coming down the mountain (funny because they did not pop coming down from the airplane) and I cried and cried. Mommy frantically tried to find a way for us to go on the map and Daddy looked for an exit we could get off. Finally I went back to sleep, Mommy found our way and Daddy followed the directions to get us home.

That night we went to a "micro brewery" which means small brewery with beer with fancy names. It was called CB Pots and it too was just a walking distance from our hotel. It was pretty good but after a day in the car, this girl was ready to crawl! Daddy and Mommy ate quickly and we were on our way. We took a stroll through the open air mall (also near our hotel) and then headed home for the night..