Rest of Day One and Day Two
I was going to tell you every little detail about our trip...now I have decided to let Michael tell you a little about what he did on our trip...
Michael was so excited that we had to push on up the mountain. We came across a stream that was so pretty and sounded even better. There was rushing water that you could hear from a block away and then once we got closer, the water was cascading under a blanket of ice and snow. How was that for painting a picture in your mind? Can't you just feel the cold on your cheeks? Then it was on up the mountain. We shortly discovered that tennis shoes weren't the best attire when trying to climb an icy mountain. We opted to stop and let Michael eat a little snow. He decided that Cassie and Ellis needed a little snowball. They were waiting in the parking lot...Alaire had to eat and Ellis was taking a little snooze. The snowball made it all the way back to the parking lot. He thought he might be able to bring some back to Cincinnati, but that was a no go. Our trip would not be complete with out Micheal making his snow angels. He makes leaf angels, dirt and sand angels...so why not make a snow angle when you have the chance.
We broke the rules just a little bit and crossed the little fence that was there but everyone that passed just grinned and kept on walking. We are such rebels. I know, my kids are saying "I can't believe that Mom broke a rule." Sometimes a Mom's got to do what a Mom's go to do...that's all I can say.After the snow angels, I thought it would be fun to have a little snowball fight between Michael and Ellis. Michael was being so careful and Ellis was loving every minute of it until Ellis zigged when he should have zagged and he got hit with a snowball right above his ear. That was the end of the fun in the snow. Everyone recovered nicely and then we were off again.I don't think you want to see the huge tears that fell, so I will spare you! I was hoping that we would be able to see some wildlife in the Park and boy did we! We say the biggest bird I think I have ever seen. We checked out a bird book at REI and found it to be a Magpie. Really pretty black and white. The the entire day I know this one bird followed us every time we got out of the car. I think he thought we were going to feed him. It turned out to be a steller jay. A real pretty royal blue and shiny black. I know we are geeks. Then we hit the jack pot!
On the way out of the National Park we ran onto a huge herd of elk. They were grazing in a valley and they were huge. The picture doesn't do them justice. I wish I could have gotten a close shot of the biggest one but he was hunkered down in the grass pretty far away. We were so close to the rest of the heard that you could see where they were rubbing the velvet off their antlers and you could heard then snorting. Two put on a short show or something that animals do when they are trying to get the attention of all the available young females...if you get my drift...what to keep it G rated here. Then right down the road after we turned around to have another look we almost hit a deer. There was a small herd of deer grazing across the road from the elk. It was so awesome.
(Maybe I should have been a naturalist?) I can't remember how long it had been since we traveled 28 hours in a bus with about 50 youth from Ohio to the National Youth Convention in Estes Park, Co...YMCA of the Rockies to be exact...but it was awhile ago. Cassie drove us to the YMCA and we got to see the porch where Mark would stop any kid and make them play Simon Says, where we ate, where we slept and where we had campfires. I still can remember sitting on the porch and watching Bryce try to out smart the prairie dogs. He laid on his stomach for hours waiting for one to emerge from it's den. I went in and got some info (for Uncle Terry)and the place smelled great. That old log cabin smell mixed with a turkey baking in the oven on Thanksgiving Day. I didn't want to leave. It smelled and felt so good. When I got back to the car, Cassie and Mark wanted me to look at a statue that backed up to the mountains...Long's Peak to be exact. Can you tell what it represents?
It took me awhile and I probably wouldn't have gotten it had Mark not starting humming the tune. We had to head back down the mountain because Michael was turning a little green. His asthma was acting up and to had to it he had a cold. I should have known it was going to be a long night. But again, that is another story for another day. When we got home we had time for a little landscaping, edging and dead heading flowers before our dinner from church was served. Boy, do the people of their church know how to cook. We had some great meals...things I have never tried before. So that raps up day two. Join us tomorrow for a recap of day three and pumpkin carving.
Michael was so excited that we had to push on up the mountain. We came across a stream that was so pretty and sounded even better. There was rushing water that you could hear from a block away and then once we got closer, the water was cascading under a blanket of ice and snow. How was that for painting a picture in your mind? Can't you just feel the cold on your cheeks? Then it was on up the mountain. We shortly discovered that tennis shoes weren't the best attire when trying to climb an icy mountain. We opted to stop and let Michael eat a little snow. He decided that Cassie and Ellis needed a little snowball. They were waiting in the parking lot...Alaire had to eat and Ellis was taking a little snooze. The snowball made it all the way back to the parking lot. He thought he might be able to bring some back to Cincinnati, but that was a no go. Our trip would not be complete with out Micheal making his snow angels. He makes leaf angels, dirt and sand angels...so why not make a snow angle when you have the chance.
We broke the rules just a little bit and crossed the little fence that was there but everyone that passed just grinned and kept on walking. We are such rebels. I know, my kids are saying "I can't believe that Mom broke a rule." Sometimes a Mom's got to do what a Mom's go to do...that's all I can say.After the snow angels, I thought it would be fun to have a little snowball fight between Michael and Ellis. Michael was being so careful and Ellis was loving every minute of it until Ellis zigged when he should have zagged and he got hit with a snowball right above his ear. That was the end of the fun in the snow. Everyone recovered nicely and then we were off again.I don't think you want to see the huge tears that fell, so I will spare you! I was hoping that we would be able to see some wildlife in the Park and boy did we! We say the biggest bird I think I have ever seen. We checked out a bird book at REI and found it to be a Magpie. Really pretty black and white. The the entire day I know this one bird followed us every time we got out of the car. I think he thought we were going to feed him. It turned out to be a steller jay. A real pretty royal blue and shiny black. I know we are geeks. Then we hit the jack pot!
On the way out of the National Park we ran onto a huge herd of elk. They were grazing in a valley and they were huge. The picture doesn't do them justice. I wish I could have gotten a close shot of the biggest one but he was hunkered down in the grass pretty far away. We were so close to the rest of the heard that you could see where they were rubbing the velvet off their antlers and you could heard then snorting. Two put on a short show or something that animals do when they are trying to get the attention of all the available young females...if you get my drift...what to keep it G rated here. Then right down the road after we turned around to have another look we almost hit a deer. There was a small herd of deer grazing across the road from the elk. It was so awesome.
(Maybe I should have been a naturalist?) I can't remember how long it had been since we traveled 28 hours in a bus with about 50 youth from Ohio to the National Youth Convention in Estes Park, Co...YMCA of the Rockies to be exact...but it was awhile ago. Cassie drove us to the YMCA and we got to see the porch where Mark would stop any kid and make them play Simon Says, where we ate, where we slept and where we had campfires. I still can remember sitting on the porch and watching Bryce try to out smart the prairie dogs. He laid on his stomach for hours waiting for one to emerge from it's den. I went in and got some info (for Uncle Terry)and the place smelled great. That old log cabin smell mixed with a turkey baking in the oven on Thanksgiving Day. I didn't want to leave. It smelled and felt so good. When I got back to the car, Cassie and Mark wanted me to look at a statue that backed up to the mountains...Long's Peak to be exact. Can you tell what it represents?
It took me awhile and I probably wouldn't have gotten it had Mark not starting humming the tune. We had to head back down the mountain because Michael was turning a little green. His asthma was acting up and to had to it he had a cold. I should have known it was going to be a long night. But again, that is another story for another day. When we got home we had time for a little landscaping, edging and dead heading flowers before our dinner from church was served. Boy, do the people of their church know how to cook. We had some great meals...things I have never tried before. So that raps up day two. Join us tomorrow for a recap of day three and pumpkin carving.
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