It’s time for a picture update. I still haven’t posted any from when the Kluthes (Travis’ mom, dad, and little bro) were out here visiting. So here’s the scoop:
Travis and his dad got up for hunting at 4:30 every morning. They left the condo we were staying at by 5:30, to get out to their spot by sunrise, which was around 7:00. They stayed out all day until sunset, which was also around 7:00. So for Saturday and Sunday, I hung out with Beth and Matthew.
On Saturday, we drove to Estes Park via Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park. If you don’t know anything about Trail Ridge Road, let me tell you: the road is intense. There are long stretches of road where there is literally only about a foot separating your car from a sheer dropoff. And there is no guardrail. The road’s highest point is 12,183 feet above sea level. So you are up there.
The beauty of nature, though, is undeniable. Here are some pics from our drive:
The mountains--the red trees are ones that have been eaten (and killed) by the Pine Beetle. 😦
If you can't tell, we are absolutely FREEZING in this pic--it was only about 35 degrees out there and WINDY.
These clouds were so cool--we actually went under them on the way down the mountain.
Due to that, the road is usually only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Weather changes fast at such a high elevation and there can be snow as early as September. I was actually surprised the day we drove on it (October 11th) that it was still open.
My surprise was understandable, since they ended up closing the road due to a snowstorm before we had driven back. 🙂 So instead of a 61-mile drive back to Granby, we had a 125-mile drive around the mountains, up through Winter Park. We did a lot of driving that day!!
Sunday morning, we woke up to this:
A light dusting of snow across the hills
It got into the 50s that day so the snow started to melt pretty quickly.
The red circle shows where our condo was
We decided to go horseback riding. Matthew thought maybe he wanted to go for 2 hours but we opted for 1. We chose wisely–we were still really sore afterward.
Matthew, me and Beth on our faithful steeds
Matthew's horse was named Footloose and he pooped a LOT!
Beth's horse was named either Mare or Mayor (I couldn't tell which). Mayor tripped once and Beth almost fell over--almost.
My lovely horse was named Cupcake and she always wanted to go faster than the horse in front of her.
Monday morning, I had to go back to work 😦 so I got myself a triple-shot grande pumpkin spice latte from Starbuck’s and hit the road. Travis and his family stayed up in Granby until Wednesday afternoon. After 4 1/2 full days of hunting, the guys still hadn’t seen one elk. Poor guys… We toured the Coors brewery on Thursday after work and then Travis’ family headed home on Friday.
That’s all I have to say about that.
Lately, Travis has been obsessed with birdfeeders. I bought him a little birdbook while we were in Rocky Mountain National Park, since he had been talking about wanting one for months. This is the birdfeeder we first got:
Our little birdfeeder
Then Travis decided that he wanted to build another one for bigger birds. Only problem is, squirrels can easily get into it. Like this:
Big, fat squirrel eating our birdseed!
Travis took action and put flashing on the bottom of the feeder’s post but the squirrels could still climb on it…so thus far, Travis has been losing the battle against the squirrels. But not for long…Travis has a few more tricks up his sleeve. He will have to be very clever, though, since the squirrels can perform acrobatic feats:
Like hanging upside down on a birdfeeder and eating seed through a tiny hole.
They are very persistent!!
Last night, Travis and I had dinner with our friends, Carrie and Paul. I made lasagna and we also had salad and garlic bread–and strawberries + whipped cream for dessert. Delicious… We also had a friendly pumpkin-carving contest. Both couples ended up carving bats…which was not planned.
Travis and my pumpkin (we used a stencil)
Paul and Carrie's pumpkin (they did theirs freehand and look how well it turned out!)
Travis and me with our pumpkin--can you tell I dyed my hair? Just a little darker...
That’s all folks!!
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