Tuesday- From my parent's we headed north to Rocky Mountain National Park. We secured a backcountry permit for the Rabbit Ears campsite along Cow Creek, an area of the park we had not yet seen. The walk was short, under two miles, and refreshingly flat. We made good time and set up camp.
We spent the rest of our afternoon playing, climbing the Rabbit Ears and taking care of camp chores. Jen, Sabrina and Zane slept in the tent while Monique, Wyatt, Colter and I slept under the stars. We enjoyed listening to the bugle of a bull elk outside of our camp.
Wednesday- We awoke to frost coating our sleeping bags and the thermometer reading 30 degrees. The mood of the kids improved as the sun warmed the air. We headed back to the trailhead and drove to the YMCA camp where we had a cabin reserved.
My parents arrived later that afternoon and we all drove back into the park and spent the afternoon walking around Sprague Lake.
Thursday- Sabrina had been wanting to ride horses, but we couldn't figure out how to coordinate that with all of the kids. We instead did pony rides. I'm not sure the kids really noticed the difference.
We ate lunch in Endo Valley before heading back to the campsite. That afternoon my parents watched the kids while Jen and I headed back into the park for a quick overnighter. We made it to the trailhead around 3:00 and began the trek up to Spruce Lake. The colors were beautiful and the day was sunny and clear.
We set up the tent and enjoyed the quiet of no kids. It was our first backpacking trip without the kids in more than five years and our first night without them in a year and a half.
Friday- We awoke to a balmy temperature of 44 degrees. We cooked breakfast and headed back down, stopping to see Fern Lake on our way out.
Friday afternoon we headed up to the Alpine Visitor Center by way of Old Fall Creek Road. We walked around "Heart Attack Hill" as cold winds blew storms past us. We headed down Trail Ridge Road to get back to the cabin.
Saturday- Colter and I had stayed up Friday night listening to the sounds of the elk rut. The following morning we walked out the door of the cabin to the sites and sounds of bulls defending their harems. The kids enjoyed the show and we even stalked some up a ridge from us. The kids practiced their bugles, but the old bulls didn't seem too impressed.
We checked out of the cabin and drove up to Hidden Valley for one last look at the aspen. From there it was back to Denver and then Dimmitt on Sunday.
1 comments:
Bravo to you for inspiring a sense of adventure in your little ones.
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