Camping in Estes

Over the weekend that Auntie Em was here we took the kids for their first camping adventure. We tent camped in a spot just out side of Rocky Mountain National Park. We picked Trevor up from work on our way up the mountain, had dinner in the park, set up our tent, played goofy golf, made smores, "slept", back into the park for a hike, then hit downtown Estes for lunch and my dark chocolate covered pretzels. The pictures are completely out of order and I don't have the patience to fix them so I'll give a brief explanation at each one.

This first one is from our "hike" around Sprauge Lake. It was a really easy (wheelchair accessible) trail around a gorgeous lake. The kids threw rocks in the water and climbed every big boulder they could find. They even got to take their new camelbacks that Auntie Em bought for them. On our way out of town we stopped in a store that had little patches for every named trail in RMNP. We got one for each trail that they have done and I have sewn them on their camelbacks. They can't wait for Aunt Sarah and Oma and Opa to come so we can go up again and hike for another patch.



This is the campsite right next to ours. Emmy and I had taken the kids to the bathroom in the morning and we were heading up the hill for a walk around camp to give Trevor some extra sleep when Ellis said, "Auntie Em, look down there!!" We had been on the lookout for any wild animals because Emmy said she wanted to see something she had never seen before. Ellis delivered on this one. We walked back down the hill and saw a herd of 15-20 Elk checking out camp. They were attempting to get the food inside the tent and kept licking the outside.



We see Elk nearly every time we are in RMNP but this was as close as I have ever gotten. That is actually our tent in this picture and Trevor was inside of it sleeping! I kept think, "Oh Trevor please just keep on sleeping."









This was Ellis favorite part of the trip. He and Auntie Em hiked up a little ahead of us and climbed the back side of this huge boulder. He called it their hideout and kept asking her to find more.














One of the views along the hike. That peak is actually part of the Continental Divide (according to the sign Emmy and I read.) We made our dad proud!!














Our bedtime snack. I grabbed the wrong bag of marshmallows on the way out the door so they were very sticky and stale but no one seemed to mind.








Goofy golf was funny to say the lease. I think Alaire scored a 6 on every hole but every time she got her ball in she came running to say she got a hole in one!














Setting up the tent would have been a good episode on a reality show! Ellis and Alaire were running around with excitement and Trevor, Em, and I couldn't get it done fast enough.










We did a great job setting up the actual tent it was just the rain flap that gave us a little trouble.











These two were quite the pair! Emmy was rigging the ties while Trevor pounded the stakes in with rocks. Had we known we should have picked up all of the rocks before we put the tent down we could have put the kids to work!

In the morning when we awoke I said, "well the kids slept like rocks and I slept on rocks!








Ellis' first two holes were both hole in ones. If only Pappy had been there he would be rich! On family vacations growing up my dad always paid us and our cousins a dollar for every hole in one we got.















We made dinner before we went up the mountain and then drove straight into the park to find a picnic table.








We had a great spot right by a stream. The kids stuck their feet in the water and tried to talk us into it too.

This was probably my favorite day while Auntie Em was here.