Estes Park

In the middle of July my brother, J, his wife, M, and my nephew, M, along with my parents, came to Colorado and rented a house just outside of Estes Park for a few days.  We were able to visit them for a couple days and have a lot of fun with them.  We were able to do several short walks/hikes, as well as a drive along Trail Ridge Road.  Some of our favorite easy walks were Lily and Bear Lakes and Wild Basin (the falls) and Coyote Crossing.  Here is our photo log, in no particular order, apparently I jumbled them somehow in the process.

 My nephew talking to a rabbit during a rest stop on one of our hikes.

 The Boy, mountain climber.

 Actually not Lily Lake...on the Bear Lake hike.

 Uncle J gave origami lessons to all--here we see a flower and a throwing star--frogs were another popular creature.  We also used this table to play a lot of card games and plot our next adventure.

Best little retro mini golf course in Estes Park.  My brother and sister in law both won free games by scoring a hole in one on the 19th hole.  I really like the alligator. It is called Tiny Town, ironically, the same name (but a different facility) as a tourist trap southwest of Denver.

The view from the balcony.  We sat out here a few times, enjoying the view and the cool breezes.

After another round of mini golf, at another center, Mr IM and the kids did a round of go-carts.  The Boy is too short to go alone, but The Girl got her own car.  She almost lapped her dad--she was pretty excited.

The lake, just down the road from the rental.  We walked down almost every night we were there and looked at native plants, skipped rocks, and looked for wildlife.  One night on the way back we found part of an elk spine, which was either really cool or icky, depending on your point of view.

See our friend?  She surprised Uncle J and The Boy the first evening we were there--bounding out of the grass and across their path.  The last night of our stay we watched her from the balcony for about twenty minutes as she grazed her way across the meadow.

Here are Mr. IM and my brother, trying to figure out how to cook the pizzas.  For future reference, you can't put four pizza in the oven at once.  They were yummy though.

Selfie!

Some more wildlife, from our Trail Ridge Road drive.  Don't worry, I zoomed...other people were that close though...yowsers.

More wildlife--he, he!  This little guy was a show off--we joked he was saying "I'm ready for my close-up"

The Boy, resting.  The Girl was stalking us like an African Cat.  She announced she couldn't walk another step, then followed us at a distance when we told her she could just sit on a bench a wait.

Dinner our last night at the lovely restaurant within walking distance of our rental. Check out that view!

And the food was yummy, too!  The ,Boy is showing off his "wild game burger", while my "wild game meatloaf with garlic potatoes and sweet and sour green beans".

Thanks, family, for the fantastic trip!  We had a great time and are looking forward to next summer's adventure in Alaska!