Agreed…so likely a muskrat.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
ONE if by Land, TWO if by Sea - A Combo Summer Trip Report
- Thread starter HouCuseChickie
- Start date
Agreed…so likely a muskrat.
cgersic
Well-Known Member
Being above timberline is one of the most serene experiences you can ever have. I have vertigo, so growing up in the Rockies wasn't ideal, and every time we went over Trail Ridge, I would either have to be in the front seat with my hand out the window (for the cool air blowing on it) or laying in the backseat feeling sick. I have 3 older sisters, so guess which one happened more often? 
I laughed when I saw you had posted videos because if I were to watch them, I can promise I would get that same feeling. But I love it up there. And the marmots are such a bonus! Love this stuff, keep it coming!
I laughed when I saw you had posted videos because if I were to watch them, I can promise I would get that same feeling. But I love it up there. And the marmots are such a bonus! Love this stuff, keep it coming!
Being above timberline is one of the most serene experiences you can ever have. I have vertigo, so growing up in the Rockies wasn't ideal, and every time we went over Trail Ridge, I would either have to be in the front seat with my hand out the window (for the cool air blowing on it) or laying in the backseat feeling sick. I have 3 older sisters, so guess which one happened more often?
I couldn’t agree more. The first time I experienced it, it was like I was on top of the world. When you see it from afar, it’s impressive looking but sort of cold. To get up there and see it’s teeming with life was a real revelation. I’ll be getting into it in my next post, but it saddens me that most in our group never bothered to go up there. We do love our marmots
which will also come up.
July 1st-
We had a midday start, so that meant very little time for fun. Booooo!!! We did sleep in a little and hit up ihop for some breakfast. I’ve had a long-standing obsession with ihop’s chocolate chocolate chip pancakes, but every location seems to do them a bit differently. It also hasn’t been the same since they nixed the boysenberry syrup. These were about a 5 out of 10. Lots of chocolate in the pancake mix, but barely any chocolate chips and waaaaay too much chocolate syrup.
Games were in Greeley again today, but times were all over the place. We also had storms moving in and out. We had a nice rainbow for some of it…
Rainbows are pretty and all, but as we got closer to early evening, things started to look ugly.
So my healthy fear of lightning was totally kicking in. We were getting near the end of our game though and a lot of people wanted to finish up…including David. Game play went into weather delay for lightning less than 5 minutes after I took the video. David wanted to wait it out at the field, but I don’t like sitting in metal structures in a lightning storm. Sam’s boot also couldn’t get wet. So we all went to the car to wait. The weather came in fast and produced a pretty incredible dirt storm from the field dirt before any rain even fell…
I had screenshots of the radar before running to the car and apparently that mess you see over Fort Collins produced some tornadic activity.
And about 25 minutes in, someone needed a bathroom. Soooo I drove to a King Soopers around the corner. Of course it started to pour right as I pulled up. We made it back to the field, but we didn’t have high hopes with the amount of standing water on the roads.
While we were waiting, Sam told us that she had been chatting with one of the coaches about RMNP and they saw one elk…that’s it. They had no idea what a marmot was and acted like she was nuts when she showed them a picture and told them about everything we saw. Like we’re liars? It sounds like none of them went beyond Bear Lake, simply because some lady in a restaurant said it’s too scary to drive Trail Ridge Rd. They also didn’t want to stay too long because those parents had a bar crawl in Fort Collins they were trying to do. I was just floored and a bit offended. Oh well, we had great park time.
The games were eventually called off. We played enough for ours to count, so we wouldn’t have any game stuff until 5pm the next day. In light of our free evening and generous next day schedule, the parents wanted to have a party downstairs. We gathered in the breakfast area, but were moved to a conference room due to the group’s size.
It started out fun, but things would later get ugly with David and some of the coaches. It was all of these issues we’ve been having with this team for months. He got all of the information we needed to know that this was not something we want to be part of, but he just had to push. On one hand, it was interesting to hear their hypocrisy and contradictions confirmed, but I had to intervene and tell him that you’ve confirmed all we need to know and the rest is a discussion for home. Whew!
We finished our drinks, got ready for bed, and planned out some more Colorado fun before softball resumed. No more national park time, but still fun
We had a midday start, so that meant very little time for fun. Booooo!!! We did sleep in a little and hit up ihop for some breakfast. I’ve had a long-standing obsession with ihop’s chocolate chocolate chip pancakes, but every location seems to do them a bit differently. It also hasn’t been the same since they nixed the boysenberry syrup. These were about a 5 out of 10. Lots of chocolate in the pancake mix, but barely any chocolate chips and waaaaay too much chocolate syrup.
Games were in Greeley again today, but times were all over the place. We also had storms moving in and out. We had a nice rainbow for some of it…
Rainbows are pretty and all, but as we got closer to early evening, things started to look ugly.
So my healthy fear of lightning was totally kicking in. We were getting near the end of our game though and a lot of people wanted to finish up…including David. Game play went into weather delay for lightning less than 5 minutes after I took the video. David wanted to wait it out at the field, but I don’t like sitting in metal structures in a lightning storm. Sam’s boot also couldn’t get wet. So we all went to the car to wait. The weather came in fast and produced a pretty incredible dirt storm from the field dirt before any rain even fell…
I had screenshots of the radar before running to the car and apparently that mess you see over Fort Collins produced some tornadic activity.
And about 25 minutes in, someone needed a bathroom. Soooo I drove to a King Soopers around the corner. Of course it started to pour right as I pulled up. We made it back to the field, but we didn’t have high hopes with the amount of standing water on the roads.
While we were waiting, Sam told us that she had been chatting with one of the coaches about RMNP and they saw one elk…that’s it. They had no idea what a marmot was and acted like she was nuts when she showed them a picture and told them about everything we saw. Like we’re liars? It sounds like none of them went beyond Bear Lake, simply because some lady in a restaurant said it’s too scary to drive Trail Ridge Rd. They also didn’t want to stay too long because those parents had a bar crawl in Fort Collins they were trying to do. I was just floored and a bit offended. Oh well, we had great park time.
The games were eventually called off. We played enough for ours to count, so we wouldn’t have any game stuff until 5pm the next day. In light of our free evening and generous next day schedule, the parents wanted to have a party downstairs. We gathered in the breakfast area, but were moved to a conference room due to the group’s size.
It started out fun, but things would later get ugly with David and some of the coaches. It was all of these issues we’ve been having with this team for months. He got all of the information we needed to know that this was not something we want to be part of, but he just had to push. On one hand, it was interesting to hear their hypocrisy and contradictions confirmed, but I had to intervene and tell him that you’ve confirmed all we need to know and the rest is a discussion for home. Whew!
We finished our drinks, got ready for bed, and planned out some more Colorado fun before softball resumed. No more national park time, but still fun
Last edited:
July 2nd-
We didn’t have to be anywhere until something like 5 or 5:30 and we were at fields in Loveland, so we had the better part of a day to enjoy Colorado.
First order of business was breakfast. Le Peep is one of David’s favorites and we saw there were several in the Denver area, so that was the first stop.
I am not quite as obsessed, but it’s usually very consistent. Today was no exception.
So, now that we were fed and it was still morning...we had to decide what to do with the rest of the day. Kendall was still cranky about no taffy or ice cream in Estes Park, but not everyone was really sold on that idea. Spoiler- we would eventually make it there, but I had this urge to go by the Windy Saddle Park/Lookout Mountain Preserve area just west of Golden. The Le Peep we'd gone to was in Longmont, so we had the option of hitting the interstate and going through Denver, or we could head west and go along the foothills, starting in Boulder. We opted for the latter.
I was driving, so no pictures beyond that light...but I'm pretty positive we saw a Golden Eagle when driving by the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge has an animal spotting page and they had a couple of Golden Eagles officially reported in June. We also saw a nice assortments of hawks and smaller birds, and the hawks served as a pretty good size comparison to what we thought was an eagle.
We decided to head straight for the preserve. With Sam’s boot, there wasn’t much we could do there. Still, it’s pretty.
We had inquired about touring the adjacent mansion, but it was closed again…this time, for a wedding. So, we looked around a little…
There wasn’t much to see…even the video loop of animal sightings was the same as 2019…so we decided to move on. Hey, it was at least a stop with nice clean bathrooms!
We didn’t have to be anywhere until something like 5 or 5:30 and we were at fields in Loveland, so we had the better part of a day to enjoy Colorado.
First order of business was breakfast. Le Peep is one of David’s favorites and we saw there were several in the Denver area, so that was the first stop.
I am not quite as obsessed, but it’s usually very consistent. Today was no exception.
So, now that we were fed and it was still morning...we had to decide what to do with the rest of the day. Kendall was still cranky about no taffy or ice cream in Estes Park, but not everyone was really sold on that idea. Spoiler- we would eventually make it there, but I had this urge to go by the Windy Saddle Park/Lookout Mountain Preserve area just west of Golden. The Le Peep we'd gone to was in Longmont, so we had the option of hitting the interstate and going through Denver, or we could head west and go along the foothills, starting in Boulder. We opted for the latter.
I was driving, so no pictures beyond that light...but I'm pretty positive we saw a Golden Eagle when driving by the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge has an animal spotting page and they had a couple of Golden Eagles officially reported in June. We also saw a nice assortments of hawks and smaller birds, and the hawks served as a pretty good size comparison to what we thought was an eagle.
We decided to head straight for the preserve. With Sam’s boot, there wasn’t much we could do there. Still, it’s pretty.
We had inquired about touring the adjacent mansion, but it was closed again…this time, for a wedding. So, we looked around a little…
There wasn’t much to see…even the video loop of animal sightings was the same as 2019…so we decided to move on. Hey, it was at least a stop with nice clean bathrooms!
So, normal people would probably just pick something else to do between Golden/Denver and Loveland, but we really did want to take Kendall back to Estes Park for treats. She had also put in a request to pop into the Stanley. So, we hopped back on the road. We stopped at the most ridiculous tourist trap gas station along the way. I would have taken pics of their takes on Mater, Lightning McQueen, and the Ghostbusters car...but I was too busy being angry about gas prices. I know gas has been pricey all over and I was paying for middle grade in CO because of my vehicle's octane requirements, but I think I paid something like $6.50 a gallon and I was mad. My navigator hasn't gotten the hang of comparing gas prices on the road and didn't see I could have paid $5.07 a gallon just a mile away. Oh well...it was his turn to drive so I could take pics. After hitting a lot of traffic in Boulder, we made it to Lyons and were on our way to Estes Park by way of rte 36. This was oddly exciting to me because I've only driven this way once and I was behind the wheel. So, now I got to take lots of pics on our drive into Estes Park...
Coming into view…The Stanley!
So, we pulled up to the Stanley…
…and immediately noticed the pay to park signs. It was only $10, but we weren’t planning on much time there. I just couldn’t justify it for a quick in and out, especially since we were also planning to walk a bit in Estes Park (that also costs). So, we made a crazy u-turn in a delivery entrance and started to head to the town center. Kendall was livid! In hindsight, maybe I was being ridiculous, but I just didn’t want to pay for the pop in.
So we drove into town…
…and parked near the town hall. Hey…it’s got clean air conditioner bathrooms and pretty flowers.
We made the quick walk to the Sugar Shack…
Unfortunately, something had changed and Kendall wasn’t able to eat anything here. She was now ready to explode. They did make another suggestion, so we headed around the corner and down the street.
So we get to this place they recommended. It’s tiny, it’s barely air conditioned, but it did have some more unique flavors. Unfortunately, Kendall still couldn’t eat anything in the ice cream case…but we did find her some pre packaged taffy and gummy bears. What was crazy was the limited taffy flavors. Most places have 30+. I think lemon was the best she could find. I was able to do a combo…huckleberry and lemon chiffon. Soooo good!!!
I explored a couple of shops and took some video while I was waiting on everyone else to finish.
After that, it was time to head back to the car. I still love that you can cross on the diagonal in Estes Park.
More pretty flowers!!!
…and immediately noticed the pay to park signs. It was only $10, but we weren’t planning on much time there. I just couldn’t justify it for a quick in and out, especially since we were also planning to walk a bit in Estes Park (that also costs). So, we made a crazy u-turn in a delivery entrance and started to head to the town center. Kendall was livid! In hindsight, maybe I was being ridiculous, but I just didn’t want to pay for the pop in.
So we drove into town…
…and parked near the town hall. Hey…it’s got clean air conditioner bathrooms and pretty flowers.
We made the quick walk to the Sugar Shack…
Unfortunately, something had changed and Kendall wasn’t able to eat anything here. She was now ready to explode. They did make another suggestion, so we headed around the corner and down the street.
So we get to this place they recommended. It’s tiny, it’s barely air conditioned, but it did have some more unique flavors. Unfortunately, Kendall still couldn’t eat anything in the ice cream case…but we did find her some pre packaged taffy and gummy bears. What was crazy was the limited taffy flavors. Most places have 30+. I think lemon was the best she could find. I was able to do a combo…huckleberry and lemon chiffon. Soooo good!!!
I explored a couple of shops and took some video while I was waiting on everyone else to finish.
After that, it was time to head back to the car. I still love that you can cross on the diagonal in Estes Park.
More pretty flowers!!!
Now for the scenic drive back to Loveland…
There’s a canyon portion of this drive that’s really stunning.
Things get kind of red and less dramatic as you approach the Loveland area. Pretty…just not like the earlier parts of the drive.
The rest of the day was pretty much softball and sunset. The games didn’t go well, but I was at least able to feed everyone and get some pretty skies with the mountains on our last day.
At the end of it all, we headed back to the hotel to pack up. Other families were staying through the 4th, but we just wanted to get home. We’d talked about stopping along the way to enjoy the 4th in another town or city, but in the moment…it didn’t seem appealing. So, the plan was to hit the road early to head home.
At the end of it all, we headed back to the hotel to pack up. Other families were staying through the 4th, but we just wanted to get home. We’d talked about stopping along the way to enjoy the 4th in another town or city, but in the moment…it didn’t seem appealing. So, the plan was to hit the road early to head home.
July 3rd-
I was kind of relieved to be heading home. Part was wanting to be away from the toxic people and part was Sam’s arm. We started the trip finishing up treatment on a skin infection on Kendall’s leg. Sam had since developed something similar on her arm. I had meds for her, which helped it from getting out of control, but I wanted to get her home to have a doctor handle the drainage. Yuck…I know.
We hit the road early…waving good bye to the mountains pretty early in the journey.
I looked for them every time we got to a hill or overpass and was sad when I could no longer see them. In hindsight, I regret taking this route. It’s only about 10-20 minutes shorter than the route we took to get there (not pictured), but it was so flat and dull…and stinky! Somewhere, not too far from the CO/OK border, we passed some stockyards. It took a crazy amount of driving to rid the car of that stench.
We hit Wichita Falls in TX around dinner time and opted for a Texas favorite.
We had fireworks at various points along the way home. We made it back before midnight, which is decent since we lost an hour going from mountain to central time.
Coming up…18 days until the next trip = craziness.
I was kind of relieved to be heading home. Part was wanting to be away from the toxic people and part was Sam’s arm. We started the trip finishing up treatment on a skin infection on Kendall’s leg. Sam had since developed something similar on her arm. I had meds for her, which helped it from getting out of control, but I wanted to get her home to have a doctor handle the drainage. Yuck…I know.
We hit the road early…waving good bye to the mountains pretty early in the journey.
I looked for them every time we got to a hill or overpass and was sad when I could no longer see them. In hindsight, I regret taking this route. It’s only about 10-20 minutes shorter than the route we took to get there (not pictured), but it was so flat and dull…and stinky! Somewhere, not too far from the CO/OK border, we passed some stockyards. It took a crazy amount of driving to rid the car of that stench.
We hit Wichita Falls in TX around dinner time and opted for a Texas favorite.
We had fireworks at various points along the way home. We made it back before midnight, which is decent since we lost an hour going from mountain to central time.
Coming up…18 days until the next trip = craziness.
MinnieM123
Premium Member
As for the parking fee, I understand what you're saying. Stuff like that is just frustrating, and it's not good for their business. I wouldn't be surprised is others also didn't stop there. (Which is crazy, because I'm assuming they probably have a restaurant inside and could bring in bigger bucks, than just the stupid $10 parking fee. )
Anyway, it's too bad you didn't get to see the inside of the Stanley, as it's amazing. As you probably know, it's the hotel that was used to film the "Shining" with Jack Nichoson, years ago. (I haven't been to the hotel, but I know people who have visited it.)
I probably should have mentioned that we visited the Stanley in 2019. I know there was a parking fee at the time, but it was waived for us because we were booked in one of the hotel tours. It's a beautiful hotel and we were hoping to see how the hedge maze had grown in the last 3 years (a newer edition to pay tribute to the first film), but for a 10-20 minute pop in...I'll settle for looking at other people's pictures. I recall it being later in our tour when they got into Stephen King's stay at the hotel and the history/personal experiences that inspired him to write the book. Kendall also had her own brush with the paranormal in one of the more haunted parts of the hotel grounds. If we'd had more time, I probably would have paid, because it also has a really nice bar area that serves a mean "Red-Rum Punch!"
Whiskey Bar
The Whiskey Bar & Lounge features lunch and dinner as well as fine beverage selections, a historic cocktail menu and Colorado's largest selection of whiskeys and single malt scotches. The wine program will awaken your inner sommelier, and the Stanley Sele
www.stanleyhotel.com
cgersic
Well-Known Member
Man, you are truly giving me the Colorado itch to head home! Estes Park has always been a family favorite as well as the Sugar Shack. They used to have candies called cinnamon chews (similar to taffy, but a little firmer with cinnamon oil mixed in and dusted with powdered sugar so they didn't stick together. I can't tell you the amount of disappointment when we went there after being sold to a different owner and they didn't have it any more. You can tell Kendall I feel her pain. 
So sorry to see this ending!!
So sorry to see this ending!!
We drove through some of Kansas for our big road trip last summer (route below). The only stink I recall was in Topeka, when passing the Frito Lay plant. It made us rethink chips
Sometimes time of year and wind direction can be a factor. When we drove through Amarillo in 2020, we encountered two areas with the most awful stench from the nearby tanneries. I have never smelled anything like it...nor do I want to again! We were shocked that there was no funk when we drove through for this trip.
Man, you are truly giving me the Colorado itch to head home! Estes Park has always been a family favorite as well as the Sugar Shack. They used to have candies called cinnamon chews (similar to taffy, but a little firmer with cinnamon oil mixed in and dusted with powdered sugar so they didn't stick together. I can't tell you the amount of disappointment when we went there after being sold to a different owner and they didn't have it any more. You can tell Kendall I feel her pain.
That's too bad about the cinnamon chews! I will say that it is still an amazing place for goodies. I know we got stuff there in 2019, which makes me wonder if ownership has changed again. It's not quite the same, but at least it's only the Colorado portion that's over. We still have the full cruise to get through. LOL
cgersic
Well-Known Member
Thank goodness it's not over, but I'm sorry to see this part end! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!