Summer of 2013 our plans were to head to Estes Park, CO and visit our son Sean and Rocky mountain National Park. After packing the camper and getting our house/Pet Sitters all set (Thanks Mom Mom & Pop Pop) we departed West on Sunday July 7, 2013 to visit our son Sean, who was working at the YMCA of The Rockies in Estes Park, CO (Home of Rocky Mountain National Park). Sean had graduated from undergraduate school at Springfield College and asked us to drop him off at the airport on the way home from graduation that Spring as he had made good on his long time promise that as soon as he graduated he was moving to Colorado. He had wasted no time in fulfilling that commitment and flew out the evening after graduation.

Sean had fallen in love with the West when we took our cross country trip back in 2001 and then again when he and I visited in 2010. He had taken a position to work the High Ropes Course & Zip Line that summer at the YMCA.  He also already had his best friend from high school (Geoff) working there at Rocky Mountain Conservancy. Geoff was genuinely another member of the family given how much time he and Sean spent together growing up and how many years he had already worked for BEAR Sports.

Rte 80 Ohio -Service Area Camping

We made good time the first day of travel and camped at a  Rte 80 Service station in Ohio the first

RV Hall of Fame

night. At $20.00 theses rest areas are very RV friendly and convenient. We will use these again in future for sure. When we had arrived we were all by ourself though when we awoke the next mooring every spot was filled with an RV. I guess the secret is out at the convenience of these Ohio RV rest areas.

We drove all morning and then decided to take a break around mid-day to stretch our legs at the RV Hall of Fame in Indiana. It was fun to see the progression of RV’s from 1900 to present day in the museum. We continued on and got to Des Moines , IA right at the evening rush hour. We considered a small detour to look at the “Bridges of Madison County” though given the late time of the day we would have to put that stop off for some future visit. We were spending considerable time trying to find a place to camp for the night though we just couldn’t find anything convenient. We ultimately ended up at a campground in Neola, IA right off Rte 80. The ride in was a little remote and we passed through the corn fields and by many herds of cows to end up at a very nice spot for the evening. The campground had some hot showers which was just the ticket we were looking for. The next morning we woke to the sound of roosters crowing and cow’s moo..ing…. We got a later start than we wanted at 8:15 and decided to make a big push to try to get to Estes Park before dark We had a long drive  with the balancef Iowa, then Nebraska and finally Colorado. The drive through the pass to Estes was very exciting and really built our anticpation.
We arrived at Estes Park at 5:30 pm to set-up at Manor RV Park. A great choice for our stay in Estes Park. While we didn’t get a site on the river though it was quiet, clean, and everyone was very friendly.

After setting up we drove up to meet Sean at the Y about 10 minutes north of where we were camping. Sean  suggested  “Wapita Pub” for dinner and a beverage and Geoff met us there as well. After our meal and beverage Joanne and I were exhausted and headed back to the campground to get some sleep.

The next day we woke early, like we usually do,  and Joanne opened the door to the RV and all I heard was a gasp. She was so excited and waving franticly for me to come and look. About 15 feet from our camper was the biggest elk I had ever seen sitting on the ground with 2 females next to him. When I say big, you really have no idea. This Elk was a beast. He didn’t seem bothered by us at all and we decided to grab a few pictures

We quietly sat at our picnic table for about an hour, having our morning cup tea,  only about 10 feet from where he was. After about an hour he stood up and walked by the end of our table, followed by his female friends and went up the mountain. WELCOME to COLORADO!

Since Sean had to work that day we went for a nature tour of Lily Lake, which Geoff recommended as his friend Ricardo was the guide. It was an easy 1.5 hour hike that introduced us to the animals, flora, and mountains of Rocky Mountain NP. Next we headed to downtown Estes Park for a tour of the shops and local fare. A lunch at Poppy’s right along the Big Thompson that meaders right through downtown was perfect.

We went back to the camper to relax before Sean would come for dinner. Our daughter Caitlin was flying in this evening as well. Please note between the long days of driving and the altitude adjustments we were really dragging. Sean had warned us about the altitude adjustment and everyone said you need to drink plenty of water. This was not an over exaggeration. The altitude in this area really take some getting use too.

The next day Sean was off and after a pancake breakfast we packed a bag lunch for our planned drive up Trail Ridge Road through RNP. The views, hikes, and wildlife were nothing less than spectacular this day. Sean drove for most of the day so Mike got to enjoy the scenery which was a welcome change for him. We had grilled pizza for dinner at the campsite and Geoff joined us as well.

7/12 is our wedding Anniversary .  Sean had to work so we got to have Caitlin all day to ourselves.  We decided to take the tourist Aerial Tram today ($12.00) and all agreed the the views of the mountains and Estes Park below were worth it. Dinner was at Momma Rosa’s downtown Estes ,which was great,  and it was exciting to have both our kids ( Sean & Caitlin) to celebrate with.

Aerial Tram View

Estes Park Lake – Aerial Tram View

Caitlin Loving the ride

Joanne’s frist run-screamig all -the-way down!

7/13 Sean had us all set -up to do zip-lining at the YMCA. We had to make sure Joanne did’t over think the zip lining as she could have easily backed-out. Sean did and outstanding job of orientating our group and teaching us all the safety rules and strategies to enjoy the zip line for the day. It was a 1/2 mile hike to the Zip line tower and then a 31′ climb up to the staging platform. 2 people can zip at the the same time, on adjacent lines with each traveling about 800 linear feet through the valley. Joanne went first screaming all the way . Each of us hiked back to that platform several times to venture the zip again and again. It was a lot of  fun! After we finished zip-lining Sean still had to finish out the day so we met up with Geoff who took us on a hike to Emerald Lake. It was about 3.5 miles round trip with a fair amount of elevation change though the biggest challenge was the rain. It poured on us for the entire ascent though backed off on the return, The altitude wasn’t as bad so we must be starting to acclimate. Beautiful view of the lake at the top!

The day wasn’t over yet. Picking up Sean after work we were on to our evening festivities which included a visit to the rodeo in town,. It started pouring just as we sat down though we were covered from it. Unfortunately the cowboys quickly became a muddy mess with the show. The show was terrific and before it was over, and the sun had set ,we were privy to the prettiest double rainbow we had ever seen.  Time for bed after after another exhausting day!

7/14 Sean had another adventure planned for us. We were going to take on the Poudre River and Whitewater rafting. He promised it was going to be an exciting day, we just didn’t know how exciting! Our orientation completed we were off to load in the rafts,  with our guide Caroline. We pushed off and immediately were into the rapids of the Poudre. We weren’t into the trip 15 minutes when we hit the first turn and challenge with a maneuver called the “widow maker” This turned out to be no joke.

This is the first maneuver just before we all went in!

Although in hindsight we can reflect and laugh about these opening moments of that raft trip it was that first maneuver that forced the entire boat to capsize with Mike and Sean being swept down the rapids. Caitlin had Joanne by the collar while she tried to hang onto the rope of the raft. All 8 of us in the raft ended up in the water and it was pretty scary to say the least. Fortunately,  everyone was finally able to get into the raft except Mike & Sean who were long gone down the rapids. Unbeknownst to Joanne,  Sean was saved in the calm after the first set of rapids but Mike was not not so  lucky. No one could get to him and he was off down the next set of Class 4’s on his back. To make a long story short,  Mike was finally saved just before he was sucked into the 3rd set of rapids which if you asked him probably would not have ended well. About 30 minutes later the raft he had started in,  with the rest of the family,  found him laying on the shoreline still trying to catch his breath and collect his thoughts. Since the 1/2 day excursion still had another 3rd to go before completion they got Mike back into the raft and we proceeded to make our way down the balance of the trip. Mike has reflected many times since that day that the rapids experience was a defining moment and the only time in his life he really thought he might not make it. He has said,  the most calming thoughts he can remember came over him that day while in those second set of rapids as it was one of those times in life you can’t fight it and you just need to go with the flow. Fortunately it flowed in his favor that day.  I guess all of us ended up with more adventure and a stories than we had anticipated and will each remember the rest of our lives.

After Getting home and cleaning up from the Poudre we decided to take a ride to Boulder for dinner before Cait’s departure for the airport back to Boston.

7/16 Our last day in Colorado wasn’t going to be boring . Even though Caitlin had left, being the family planner, she had already scheduled our day which included a visit to Fort Collins and the New Belgium Brewery Tour. If you like brewery tours then this has to be on your list. We had our first “Fat Tire ” that day and then ended the trip with the ride down the circular slide. You’ll have to go yourself to understand.

The other thing we did this last day is help Sean purchase a 1988 Toyota 4 runner that he had found on Craigslist. This ended taking us longer than we thought though Sean was most appreciative for our help since he had no transportation in Estes before getting this vehicle

Sean’s new Colorado ride — 1988 4 Runner

7/18 We said our goodbyes to Sean and departed for the 2200 mike drive back home to CT. The entire trip took us 2 weeks and we wish we could have stayed longer and stretched it out.  No rest for the weary, for sure, as we we had to get back because we had another trip planned,with our good friends from home, to their family’s Bermuda cottage. We were scheduled to leave for Bermuda for 8 days and staying  at Wharf Cottage in Somerset, Bermuda. That’s another blog entry for sure.

Colorado was beautiful and we hope to spend more time in the future at a much slower pace. I’m sure Sean will be their in the future and Caitlin no doubt will join us again for another chapter on our Revolutionary Journey…