Day 4 in Estes Park was another resting (aka no hiking day) for us. Although, I'm not sure getting up at 4:30 in the morning to drive to Sprague Lake and witness the alpen glow can actually be considered "resting". John and I did this same thing on a previous trip, but this time there were some clouds and fog on the mountains, which, in my completely unprofessional opinion, may have negatively affected the alpen glow somewhat.
It was still beautiful...and cold.
Here we are waiting for it.
And here's the peak moment.
Then I went back to the cabin and took a nap while John called in to a meeting at work (yuck) and the other carload of early risers stopped for doughnuts.
As best I can recall, the rest of the day consisted of coffee from Kind Coffee in Estes Park, cinnamon rolls in Glen Haven, looking and shopping at Leah's (also in Glen Haven), visiting the farmer's market back in Estes Park, reading on the cabin porch, and perusing downtown Estes Park stores.
John, on the other hand, departed shortly after we got back from the farmer's market to take another off-roading trip with one member of our party who missed it the first time around. There is plenty of video footage (of poor quality because I think the only camera available is our digital point and shoot), and we are promised that one day there will be an epic video detailing the whole crazy adventure.
On Friday we took a final hike in the national park to the top of Deer Mountain. We saw many flowers and gorgeous mountain views, but no deer.
We must have been walking around the YMCA of the Rockies grounds in the afternoon, and I believe we also made a run to McDonald's for some Dr. Peppers, but I vividly remember returning to the cabin late in the afternoon with John's mom and sister. We came back to discover approximately 10 family members and friends out on the porch talking and playing...while John's dad (the only actual occupant of the cabin home at the time) was inside on his laptop seemingly oblivious to the party taking place on the porch.
Some of the people left, others came back, a couple moved in for the night, John's sister made a fantastic dinner, and we spent the rest of the evening playing with two of the younger members of our large party and packing up our belongings.
Perhaps the funniest moment of the night was witnessing the scene of complete and utter chaos as John's dad sits on a chair in the living room on his laptop, John's sister sits on the sofa in the living room trying to do some schoolwork, I sit next to her doing nothing in particular, two young family friends, J and K, play boisterously on the floor with John's aunt (who is also their aunt), John runs around trying to pack things up, an iPod is blasting either opera music or Sandy Patty from a bedroom in the back of the cabin, and John's mom sits in a chair near the door to the hallway talking on the phone that is tied to the wall by a cord.
Imagine if you will, little J somehow starts bleeding from his knee (I believe it was probably a scab casualty), I tell John to go find a band-aid, I run for some Kleenex, John's aunt ushers J into the bathroom while trying not to get blood everywhere, and everyone is in general chaos all around John's mom who continues having a normal conversation on the phone while John's dad continues working on his laptop.
Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty hilarious.
Somehow we managed to all get packed up, load the cars, sleep a little, and head out by 5 or 5:30 the next morning for the looooooong drive back home.
I believe the only items left behind were a bag of dirty clothes (less laundry to do when you get home) and a wallet (which only enjoyed the cool Colorado weather for another day before being over-nighted back to the triple-digit temperatures we are enjoying in North Texas).
It has now taken me so long to recap our Colorado trip that we are already counting down the days until our next vacation. And it's a big one: Hawaii!!! We've never been and are desperately excited to get away, just the two of us, and leave behind all this heat and the stress and disappointment of everyday, regular life. Bring on the unreality, the snorkeling, and the laying on the beach!
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