day 6 and 7: estes park, trail ridge road.

On our last full day in Estes Park, the kids and I wanted nothing more than to laze around and enjoy the YMCA camp, so we sent David on another hike in Rocky Mt. National Park alone, and we had an Uno tournament, then explored the walking paths and threw rocks in the creek.

Our family stayed for 4 nights in the cabin, but if you wanted to do your whole vacation here, I’d say it’s well worth the long drive (from Columbia, at least). You could easily stay 7 nights and not get bored, and we saved money by staying in a two-bedroom. There are lots of activities for families and kids at the camp that we never even took advantage of because we were focused on the park, like a climbing wall, roller skating rink, and archery.

Judah and Amelie loved the freedom to walk around the Y without grown-ups, and went to the game room or to play mini golf together several times. They even got trapped by elk at the mini golf course the last night, which they were both nerve-wracked and thrilled by.

There were lots of people around, and a couple of large school or camp groups, but the Y never felt crowded because it’s so spacious. We loved it.

 

 

David set out in the park for a hike to Mills Lake, but then had a magical day in which he kept running into hikers who sent him on hidden, longer trails. He hiked 13 miles in all, up to Frozen Lake above the treeline and beyond the trail, with a couple of guys he met, and returned to us happy and rested.

 

 

When he pulled up at the cabin, I set out alone into Estes Park in search of coffee and a quiet place to read my book.

If you asked me the most difficult part of a long trip, it’s lack of alone time.

David and I are both introverts, and by the end of the first week away, with crowded quarters in the van and cabin, the constant people (namely, our children and even one another), was wearing on both of us.

So we’re trying to find moments here and there to give each other some alone time.

Estes Park is a beautiful little town with a river running along it, lots of fun shops, and great food.

As we drove into town on our first evening, I noticed that one of the highest-rated restaurants on Trip Advisor was Himalayan Curry & Kebab. David and I bought the kids ice cream, and then made our way across the street. I ordered a chicken biryani to go, with naan and raita, and the two of us sat right down at a sidewalk bench and devoured the whole thing. It was so spicy that our eyes watered and noses ran and it was the best Indian food we’ve tasted since we lived in Bangalore.

It may actually have been so delicious that we stopped there the next night for an order of velvety chicken tikka to split, and agreed that it was better than dessert.

So it was no surprise that when I set out in search of coffee, I had no trouble finding a lovely coffee shop down an alley, Inkwell & Brew.

 

 

I sat on the shaded patio with my book and a foamy-sweet cafe au lait for an hour, and felt utterly restored.

If you’re curious, I’m loving every page of this book. Sarah Clarkson says everything that I want to say about a reading life, only better. She’s very intelligent and also wise and inspiring. If you’re a reader at all, you should purchase it pronto (and if not, perhaps it will entice you to begin).

 

Horseback riding, Estes Park

 

 

We surprised the kids with an hour-long mountain horseback ride late Saturday afternoon.

It was one of the best moments of our stay in Estes Park. None of the kids have ridden before (the horse rides at Riverbanks Zoo do not count), and the younger three were all nervous and excited. Judah wasn’t at all happy about the ride — we had to bribe him with the promise of a pizza dinner.

But he told us that he was surprised by how much he liked it, and it turned out to be our collective favorite memory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trail Ridge Road

 

 

On Sunday, we had a 7-hour drive to Moab, Utah, and so we loaded up and set out first thing.

The Trail Ridge Road is a 40-mile road that runs through Rocky Mountain National Park, which gives you a feel of the size of the park. The entire time we were in Estes Park, we stayed near the eastern entrance, so it was perfect that our journey to Utah took us along the whole road.

This is a must-see, even if you aren’t road-tripping westward afterward.

The drive winds up, up, up, to an elevation of 12,090 feet (that’s over two miles above sea level), through different ecosystems, which the kids were able to identify with their Junior Ranger books.  There’s  a short hike in the mountain tundra at the highest point.

The views are spectacular. And I’m going to tell you how to enjoy them.

First, you definitely want cold-weather clothes. It’s at this point that I want to take the time to thank those of you who loaned my children heavy winter coats. We only needed them for 45 minutes of our entire trip, but we needed them in those 45 minutes; it was ice-cold in the wind (which reaches over one hundred miles per hour in the winter … too cold even for snow to stick on the mountains).

Of course I hadn’t thought this through very well, and while the winter coats were within easy reach, the duffel bag of pants and fleeces were  stowed at the very bottom of our van’s fully-packed trunk. So wearing shorts and a t’shirt,with wind whipping around me, I proceeded to unload the trunk and dig around to pull out sweats or jeans for everyone. When David returned from the trail head restroom he was not pleased to discover the mess I’d made of his well-organized packing.

Moral of the story: don’t be like me. Keep the jeans at the top (or better yet, just wear them).

If your ears are at all sensitive to the wind, you should also pack a hat. Before you start the journey, fill up your well-insulated travel mugs with coffee, tea, or hot cocoa. It tastes extra-good when you climb back into your vehicle after the walk.

Finally a pack of those Grab-n-Go pocket hand-warmers are not essential, but sure feel nice when you’re buffeted along that windy, rocky path.

 

 

Full confession: the kids and I have not even looked at homeschooling books so far on this trip, but a quick Classical Conversations shout-out: We studied the 7 biomes a couple of years ago in Cycle 2, which was one of Gabe’s favorite units. He was enamored with the different biomes we experienced during the week in Rocky Mountain National Park, but actually getting to walk in the tundra was his very favorite.

 

 

 

 

Who can imagine beauty so fine in so savage a place, but gardens are blooming in all sorts of nooks and hollows.

– John Muir

 

 

 

For some reason, I love this family photo.

We are cold and windswept and all of us quaking a bit at another long day of driving ahead, and I haven’t washed my hair in this morning, and Judah’s grouchy about the wilderness hike, and Noah is all squinty-eyed like he gets in the bright sun.

It just feels real. This is us, on our road trip. Not all artsy shots or entirely happy faces, but we’re together, and off again exploring God’s great big world.