day 5: estes park.

One of the best surprises of our trip is that the church gave us gifts before we left: a fun U.S.A. travel journal, and this pack of envelopes. There’s a card and gift from a person or family for every single day we’re gone.

We’re overwhelmed and humbled by this creative gift of love from our church family. We gather around in the morning to open our “card for the day,” and I cry at each one. Thank you more than words can express for your words of encouragement, generosity in giving us money and gift cards for special treats along the way, and for celebrating this trip with us. It makes it so much richer.

We feel very loved.

 

Bear, Green, and Emerald Lakes, Rocky Mt. National Park

 

 

We jumped up yesterday morning and left the cabin by 8:00 to hit the park before it got too full. We were all worn out, bleary-eyed, and a bit grouchy from travel and too little sleep. We parked in an extension parking lot and took a shuttle to the Bear Lake trail head, because the Bear Lake lot was already full.

Once we hit the fresh air of the trail, our heads cleared and everyone felt better. The trail around Bear Lake is less than a mile, and lovely.

 

 

 

 

The hike up to Emerald Lake is one of the hardest hikes of our whole trip. Including Bear Lake, it’s 4 miles total, but it is a tough four miles. It’s a rigorous hike, especially for kids, with an elevation of 10,110 feet.

I told David that hiking here is nothing like hiking in South Carolina; the Rocky Mountains are way more difficult, but also vastly more rewarding. There’s something to astonish around every bend.

 

 

 

We’ve seen more wildlife than we even hoped for (and yes, we promise not to offer them crumbs again).

The moment we pulled up to the Estes Park sign on our first day, Gabe correctly identified a brilliant blue Stellar’s Jay from his study of our Nature Anatomy book at home. The kids’ Junior Ranger booklets are also very helpful in knowing what to look out for. On our hikes we’ve spotted mountain bluebirds and black-billed magpies, ground squirrels and chipmunks.

We’ve seen flocks of wild turkey and dusky grouse. And of course, the majestic elk. There are no TV’s in the cabins here, and so what do people do for entertainment? Congregate outside to elk-watch, of course. A herd gathered in the open field at the Y tonight. After being in New York City this summer and seeing people glued to their phone screens as far as the eye could see, this week has felt unique because all around us people are drinking in nature and wildlife.

Of course the argument can be made that it’s much prettier here. But I think there is nature for the drinking-in anywhere I am, if I have eyes to see. I’m resolved to go home and be on the look-out.

 

 

 

 

We were so proud of all four kids for tackling this hike. The altitude affects Judah more than the rest of us, but still, he did it.

I loved watching each of them push themselves beyond what they thought they could accomplish, and see the rewards of their hard, tiring work. If we hadn’t kept winding our way, out of breath, up, up to the top, we wouldn’t have spotted cutthroat trout in the deep, jewel-toned Green Lake, or sat on the shore of little Emerald Lake, tucked away at the top of the mountain, “exactly like a hidden basin,” as Judah said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were lots and lots of people on this hike, which I worked hard to keep out of my photos!

We enjoyed seeing people of all different ages and stages of life, hiking in groups, as couples, or on their own. The most romantic sight we encountered was a frail-looking elderly couple begin to make their way up the trail, slowly taking turns helping one another. I have no idea if they ever made it to Emerald Lake, but it was inspiring to see them try. David said, “Let’s be exactly like that.”

 

 

 

 

With dust-coated shoes and aching limbs, we climbed into the shuttle, and then made our way back to the cabin by 1:30 for a late lunch, and to crash for the rest of the day and do a couple loads of laundry at the YMCA laundromat. There’s nothing like stepping into that steaming hot shower after a big hike.