We arrived in Grand Lake on Friday to find Rocky Mountain National Park closed to all but rangers, residents of Estes Park and emergency help. Obviously that put the kibosh on most of our plans, but it's certainly hard to be too upset given the circumstances. We looked into how we might be of help to the disaster relief effort but learned they are not working with outside crews this early in the game.
Yet this may well be one of the best places where we could be stalled out. We have friends in nearby Fraser at the Timberline Lodge. We have good cell phone reception and blazin' fast wifi for blog catch-ups, website work, (Avodahimages.com got a facelift), and travel writing (I'm earning money!!!). And the piece de resistance: a moose family hangs out here. Awesome.
Big Ol’ Rolling Home Update: We got the tire and rim replaced in Craig on Friday morning fairly quickly then had an uneventful drive here. We are waiting for the new water pump to arrive so Kevin can install it and Monday we moved from a site with water and power to one with full hook-ups. Our new site has us even closer to the best moose action. The cow and her calves like to hang out around the office and playground right across from us. The two bulls don't visit as frequently, but at some point this week I fully expect Bullwinkle and his cohort to show up for S'mores.
So with the park still closed we are planning to go “bag a 14er.” That’s Colorado slang for hiking to the summit of a 14,000 foot peak. We’ve chosen Grey’s with the possible addition of Torrey’s, weather dependent. It’s a worthy bucket list item for all of us, especially the kids. I could sit here awhile longer adding some other random updates and thoughts, but peak bagging requires an early start and an even earlier bedtime so I’m out. Stay tuned for notes from the top!
-Jenni