Estes Park

Mom has had this trip on her mind since we moved to Colorado. She saw the Elk in the "Rutt" on the Internet in downtown in Estes Park and has been dying to see if it is "real" ever since. I'm so glad we did it!

We stayed here...

In this adorable little cabin...
And had this just a few steps from our front door.

We spent lots of time fishing.

And even a little time in the water.

This is what we came up with the first day. It was Caden's very 1st fish and he was so excited. He struggled a little when Grandpa gutted the fish, probably due to lack of explanation, and even cried a little. He is a tender little guy and I'm not sure he knew what happened after the fish was out of the water. After a little explanation he couldn't wait to eat it for dinner.Kamrie wanted to be part of all the fun too, although she wasn't sure how much a part of it ...the next day Grandpa had a fish on the line and let her reel it in. As it came out of the water the "flipping" scared her and she threw the pole and took off.
Kamrie caught a pet butterfly she named "Rosa" and kept it in this cage until she realized it could fit through the spaces.We took a drive through Rocky Mountain National Park and ended up on a really high mountain where we had a picnic and waited in line to use the bathrooms with "everyone else in the State of Colorado," as my dad put it. It was beautiful a beautiful drive and crazy how high it was.Another day of fishing and playing by the river.

Avery fell in love with this little cowboy decoration and loved on it every chance she got.After being out all day the kids loved going back to cabin and making a fire in our real fireplace.We got lucky and planned our trip right around "Elk Fest" a big celebration in Estes Park. They had Native American Dancing...All kinds of cool animals, booths, food, and one of the best parts... a bugling contest which I thought was quite humorous, especially since Avery still bugles from time to time.No this is not just a dog, it is a WOLFF!
And even fun little games for the kids made out of antlersCaden tasting his very first self caught (with a little help from grandpa) fish.And, yes we did find what mom was dreaming of... One night driving through town we saw a crowd of people and found a few herds of elk right in the middle of town, on the golf course. We were able to get super close and just watched them do their thing. One bull even stole another one's pack of women, which usually causes a fight, but this guy gave up easy.

Even more fishing and playing by the cabin...Another herd of Elk on a different golf course this time...complete with golfer and balls flying at them.

We had such a fantastic trip. We are so glad Grandpa and Grandma got to come with us and can't wait to go back again.