Today we left Colorado Springs & journeyed northwards, through Denver & Boulder, to Estes Park, which borders the eastern side of Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s normally a 2 – 2 ½ hour trip, but about 20 miles before we reached the campground the skies darkened dramatically. Soon enough, the rain started, hitting the windshield in fat splats. We decided to pull over at a conveniently placed pull-out next to a pretty field with a large gate reading “Hermits Ranch”. That turned out to be a very smart move because no sooner had we parked the hail began to pummel us. It made a huge racket as it beat down on us. The road runoff looked like a small brook as the road began to turn white & slushy. The field quickly changed from golden green to white. By the time it finished, about 15 minutes later, there was a layer of white mush 2” deep.
Then the sun reappeared. We set off & soon began the descent into Estes Park. Immediately the melted hail that had accumulated on our roof top began to rush off of us. It looked as if someone was aiming a hose at my passenger-side window. I had manuver in my seat for a clearer view of the valley.
After settling into our spot at the campground, Shaun begged to be able to do some fishing. Many of the previous campgrounds had stocked ponds on the property, & Shaun had been itching to try it. At a Wal-Mart stop, I had bought him a kid-friendly rod & reel set, so he was ready. After paying for his one-day fishing permit, he donned his special fishing outfit: khakis, tee-shirt, & an olive-green vest with matching hat. He looked adorable, grinning ear to ear in anticipation of catching “the big one”, a five-pound rainbow trout that had been living in the pond for over a month.
To our great surprise, on his very first cast, Shaun managed to catch…a tree. After buying another bobber & securing a new hook onto the end of his line, Shaun persisted for 1 ½ hours, alas, in vain. Discouraged? Nope. He’s already planning his strategies for next time…a fishing addict has been born!
As if this weren’t enough to fill a day, we were honored to be the guests of the Lewis family, who live in Estes Park, easy walking distance from the campground. The original reason for this trip was to attend the Live & Learn Unschooling Conference in Albuquerque. There is a Yahoo group that attendees can join regarding this annual event (this will be our 3rd conference; 1st was in Peabody, MA, & last year’s was in St. Louis). One of the moms on the list asked who was planning any side trips in conjunction with the conference. I wrote in about our little trip expansion, which led to Cathy Lewis writing back to me privately. First she offered to give us some restaurant suggestions, but as we emailed back & forth, she ended up inviting us all to dinner at their house, plus the use of their clothes washer & dryer! Let me tell you, I’ve never been so excited about the prospect of doing laundry!
We took her up on her extremely generous offer (remember, we’ve never met before), & got to meet her husband Garth & their cute-as-can-be children Quinn, Maggie & Zach, along with Cathy’s sister Becky. We had a great visit complete with grilled hamburgers & homemade sweet potato fries. The kids all got along wonderfully & only stopped playing to eat! Oh, yeah, since I had mentioned in my emails that Phil was flying in to Colorado on my birthday, Cathy decided that we should all celebrate it with make-your-own sundaes!
We driven back to the campground that evening, happy to have met this lovely family. We’re looking forward to seeing them again in Albuquerque!
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