Which brings us to our current topic. Colorado. A state I had never visited before earlier this month. ACEP's annual meeting (American College of Emergeny Physicians) was in Denver this past week. So D and I took advantage and headed out the previous weekend for some hiking and camping in Rocky Mountain National Park.
We had both never been that way and were quite excited about what we might discover!
Thursday night, we dashed to the airport, weaving through the cleveland traffic, making our plane with about 5 minutes to spare. After a cramped plane ride, we landed in the mile high city. We headed to a nearby hotel and promptly passed out. We had both had a very busy week in the hospital.
Upon awakening, our car was dusted with a layer of white snow (first of the season!) which was an omen of what was to come. (COLD!) We brushed it off, grabbed coffees at Caribou and headed up 36 towards Boulder.
First stop was a DELICIOUS brunch at Snooze! a boulder establishment that knows how to do breakfast very well. I'd never been to Boulder, and was only there for a few hours, but I liked what I saw and would love to go back and visit again. There was just a good vibe to the city overall, amongst both college students and the residents of the town.
We stocked up on camping fuel and a few other items at REI and headed up north to Estes Park. The drive was spectacular through the fields and farms. Stunningly beautiful, especially the section between Lyons and Estes Park itself. Hard to believe that Cleveland's in the same country...
We arrived in the town of Estes Park, which is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park at about noon and were both blown away by the beauty of the mountains in the distance. I'm not sure what it is, but the sight of mountains like the Rockies, or Sierras, has always brought me immense peace. Maybe it's the grandeur, the serenity, the constancy, the sense that no matter what happens on a daily basis life and the world continue onwards...And each mountain range and National Park have a different feel. Bryce, intimate. Zion, impressive and yet foreboding, Grand Tetons, majestic.
We found our campsite at the Moraine Campground and set up our tent before changing into hiking clothes (lots of SmartWool layers) for an afternoon hike in the park. We tackled the Cub Lake Trail whose trailhead was just a mile from our campsite. It was a relatively easy out and back through some golden Aspen. We saw a few other hikers, but it seemed that the cold weather kept most away. The end point is Cub Lake, which is a relatively small lake nestled amongst aspen and pine trees. The seaon's end of lily pads speckled the surface. We didn't linger there long, but enjoyed our brief stay. Were we really in Cleveland only the day before?
We turned around and headed back to our rental car. (A Toyota Camry, which was a great improvement over the tiny Fiat I had reserved for our Idaho trip this past June). At the campsite it was probably around 28 degrees, although it felt like negative ten. At least to me, whose hands and feet turn to ice at the slightest *hint* of chill. D's my hero, though, and build a roaring fire while I stayed warm in the car. Hooray for car camping! Fire build, we proceeded to dine on noodle soup grilled burgers and - of course - smores. D has an awesome pic of me with a chocolate explosion all over my face. Whatever. There was a huge SMILE there too. Nothin' like camping to make you feel like a little kid again. And I didn't even camp when I was little. How'd you like that irony.
Anyway, we got into out sleeping bags relatively early and read our Kindle's and promptly fell asleep. Luckily I did NOT have to pee at any point during the night, and made it through til our 23 degree daybreak. I awoke ready for another day of hiking in a national park!
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