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Published: August 6th 2014
The week following Tamara's wedding we intended to unwind by hiking with our other daughter Rosanna who would be with us until 6 August. Our plans were stymied by constant rain from Sunday, 27 July to Friday, 1 August...a rare event in Colorado where the summer monsoons pass through in a matter of hours most afternoons. With the promise of a bright sunny day on Saturday, 2 August, we made plans to hike in Rocky Mountain National Park and then spend the night in Fort Collins. Linda, Rosanna, Liam and I would go Saturday and Tamara (who had a previous commitment) and Cecily would drive up to Fort Collins on Sunday. She had a job interview for a teaching position early Monday morning (she got the job). Tamara, Ryan, Liam and Cecily would then spend Sunday together while the rest of us returned to Woodland Park.
2 August 2014 Saturday. As forecast the day was perfect. We headed to Estes Park, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, arriving there in time for lunch. As the traffic was terrible going through town we decided to eat at the historic Stanley Hotel. The hotel is famous for its resident ghosts and
the setting for the movies "The Shining" and "Dumb and Dumberer," the second being a truly dumb movie not worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as "The Shinning." I then realized that coincidentally August 2 was the anniversary of my Dad's passing away (see
One wedding and a funeral), and today we would unintentionally be revisiting the locations of my Dad's last day. Coincidentally, my grandfather also passed away on 2 August. Rosanna was a bit concerned whether today would be my last day! She made sure that I didn't do anything too dangerous the rest of the day. Rosanna graciously treated us to lunch, fearing the cost may have put me into shock.
Following lunch I took the back roads to avoid the heavy traffic and, waving my Senior Pass, entered Rocky Mountain National Park. We took the Trail Ridge Road to the Continental Divide. Rosanna, Liam and I hiked trough a field of rocks to a patch of snow where Liam had a great time making snowballs...not quite the snowman he wanted. The flat rocks were unstable so having a walking stick was a bone saver if not a life saver, much to Rosanna's relief. As it was difficult
to walk very far, we decided to return to lower elevations and hike around Bear Lake. On the way down we passed a herd of elk grazing in the high meadows. In winter they would also return to lower elevations.
As we approached Bear Lake signs stated that the parking lot was full and recommended taking the shuttle. As it appeared that more cars were coming from that direction than going to it, I decided to take my chances. We arrived at the trail head parking lot just as a ranger was taking the "Full" sign down. We gathered our walking sticks and water, then proceeded to hike the kilometer around the lake (Liam: "That wasn't a hike. It was a walk."). We stopped occasionally for Liam to dip into the water, and to take pictures including a rock where we had posed for the last family picture with my Dad. Rosanna wanted to know what I was feeling. As it had been 26 years since that day, I had pretty much come to terms with those events. Perhaps I'm not a sensitive person with deep emotions, but I have to admit the coincidences of the day were a
bit unsettling.
We then left the park to drive to Fort Collins. The drive along the Big Thompson River gorge to the high plains was a fantastic display of geology. One can't live out West long before wanting to know as much as possible about that science as evidence of the clash of tectonic plates and the resulting upheavals are everywhere. There was also evidence of the floods from last year and this year when 20 times the normal flow flushed through these gorges and ravines wiped out small towns in their path.
We got to Fort Collins about 6 pm and after checking into our hotel we went to an Indian restaurant for dinner. The food was great but much more expensive than the one we go to in Colorado Springs. After dinner we drove around the town and then returned to the hotel where Rosanna, Liam and I used the pool. Rosanna played with Liam while I lounged in the hot tub...but not too long as it was really hot! No need to tempt fate with a heat stroke.
3 August 2014 Sunday. I survived 2 August to live another day, and another anniversary...this one
good. I retired on 3 August 2005. Now that's worth celebrating! We moved to Colorado on 18 August 2005. I can't believe we have lived here nine years already!
Rosanna complained that she didn't sleep very well...something about Linda snoring. Liam woke up saying "I've had enough sleep. Time to get up." It was 9 am. Tamara called shortly after saying that she was 10 minutes away. She had left Woodland Park at 7:15 am and was going to arrive in Fort Collins at 9:15 am...two hours to do a three hour trip. She did admit to driving 90 mph at times. Liam was happy to see his Mom and Cecily loved seeing us again.
We had brunch at a nearby restaurant where Ryan joined us. After brunch Linda, Rosanna, and I proceeded to Boulder where progress was impeded by an full Iron-man race. We then bought groceries from Trader Joe's (one is supposed to open in Colorado Springs on 3 October 2014. Hurrah!) and checked out neighborhoods in case Evan got a job in the area. The we headed home via Denver where Rosanna wanted to check out the Cherry Creek neighborhood. Rosanna is really sick of
living in the Washington DC area. If they do move to Colorado, she decided she would prefer to live near Boulder. We arrived home about 5 pm to be received by a delighted dog, Bonnie, who was concerned whether someone would feed her. I did.
5 August 2014 Tuesday. For Rosanna's last full day here we took Liam to Santa's Workshop, a local amusement park. The first and last time I had visited there was in 1965 (see
Around the World - Take Three). He had a great time, so planning a Disney World trip for the whole family is in the works.
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
Growing Up
Wonderful to hear of your family filling you with joy and adding grandchildren for you to be Santa. Let's face it Bob...Santa lives in the North Pole and Bob Santa is alive and well in Colorado...enjoying anniversaries and looking forward to the next one. Hiking? Really?