Sunday, March 05, 2006
Majestic Mountains
We're on the road again.... I guess I'm a pushover for song titles. It wasn't until Thursday night when Kara and Ross mentioned that "I Wonder as I Wander" is the name of a hymn--that I realized it. Now, as I blog--that song is going through my head. And many times I'm thinking of "On the Road Again" while we are traveling.
So we're in Colorado where it's a beautiful day—the sun in shinning and the temp hit 70 degrees yesterday (Of course I was inside all day—but today we can play outside!!)
We left home Thurs at 3:45 pm and flew to the cities. Since we had a 4-hour layover there, Ross and Kara picked us up and we went out to PF Changs--one of my favorites! We got into Denver at 11 pm (midnight our time), got our car, went to our hotel and went straight to bed.
Friday morning, we drove up to Estys Park and wandered around there—it’s such a neat place. The last time we were there a couple years ago, we went to the Stanley Hotel and looked it over. It is just gorgeous! Was made by the men who invented the Stanley Steamer (an early automobile). One of the ballrooms in the Hotel is where part of “The Shining” was filmed (that’s a scary Stephen King movie).
When we were here before, it was over Thanksgiving and Kevin and Carla were living in Denver. Scott, Stacy, Dylan, Sandy and Kara all came out--so we had a big group that went up to Estys Park. I remember Kevin looking at the ballroom and said it really gave him the creeps. Then we wandered over to another room on the other side and were admiring the wall coverings and furnishings. Kevin and I were the only ones in the room, when all of a sudden, a door slammed shut. We about jumped out of our skins! We also had to check out the Chocolate Shop--they have these huge carmel apples that are covered will all kinds of candy.
This visit, we walked around in their park (had to watch out that we didn’t step in elk doo doo). It was so nice out that we just basked in the sunshine (and came away with a bit of a sunburn).
Then we went into Rocky Mountain National Park. It is so beautiful with the mountains covered with snow and the roads winding up. We drove up one of the roads that is really high, although part-way up it was closed for the winter. I think it was around 9500 ft. We walked around there a bit (slowly—because there’s no air to breath). Of course, the beautiful scenery takes away your breath also. I love the mountains!
We saw another herd of elk, but didn’t see any big horn sheep. When we left the Park, we took a winding road that goes through a deep canyon. The mountains were straight up on both sides of us in some places. It really makes you feel miniscule. I always get kind of philosophical—thinking about what a tiny speck we are in the larger scheme of things.
The convention I was attending started Friday night. That night there was a dance with a Greek Gods theme, so I toga’ed up and partied with college students. The only thing missing was a keg (thank God). We had LOUD music, spinning lights, lots of dancing, and some really great togas—mine was a sheet from the hotel.
The convention continued on Saturday until 4 pm. Then we met up with my cousin and his wife and went out to eat with the two of them, six of their kids and in-laws, plus six grandkids—it was quite a crowd and the kids are all under 9 years old. One little guy was not happy—kept crying. I felt bad for some of the people around us.
We are going over to their place today and stay there tonight, because we don’t leave until 4:30 pm on Monday--so we'll have time to see some more sights!
