Here are some photos of a recent hike to Calypso Cascades in Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. This is a beautiful hike along the Saint Vrain river. Not a lot of vistas but a beautiful setting and this time of year abundant water. The warm pine smell was just amazing and my favorite memory of this hike. I looked the entire way for orchids and was rewarded right before the falls with many clusters of these delicate flowers. We were also rewarded by meeting a huge family of Ptarmigan. This hike is 3.6 miles round trip with slight elevation gain. The parking lot is small so arrive early. Enjoy! See you on the trail!

Pair of Calypso Orchids

North Saint Vrain River Wild Basin

Mark your calendars for May 7th, you do not want to miss the Estes Park Duck Race. This event is organized by the Estes Park Rotary Club. For a $20 donation you can  ”adopt” little rubber duckies and choose one of 69 different Estes Valley charities to benefit from your adoptions. Rotary keeps $1 to cover costs and gives $19 to your chosen charity. At 1pm these ducks are dumped in the river at Nicky’s and they travel down the cold Fall River to the finish line at Riverside Plaza.  If your duck crosses the finish line first you can claim one of the major prizes: 46″ LED TV, iPod speaker system, Nook e-reader, NetBooks or 700 other prizes. This is a fun event for the whole family so come on out and cheer the ducks.  Wear your long underwear, it is snowing as I type this.  Crazy spring weather!  See you there!

Estes Park has pedestrian trails that connect downtown to Lake Estes and then continue West to Fall River Rd and also South to Carriage Hills.  This includes the Riverwalk trail along the downtown river corridor and also the trail around Lake Estes.  Locals and visitors alike take to our town trails to enjoy our outdoors, exercise or simply get from point A to point B. With shopping and dining so close together it is great for visitors to park their cars and breath in some crisp mountain air along these paths.  As a local, my kids use it to ride their bikes to schools, I use it to walk my dog and run safely away from traffic.   In April, the Parks and Recreation Department received a grant to assist with an addition of a new section of trail.  The grant is slated to fund an 2.43 mile section beginning at the Fish Creek Trail and ending at the Lily Lake Trail head.  This new section will be an eight foot wide soft trail estimated to cost about $875,000.  The grant from Great Outdoors Colorado is covering $450,000 and the town is contributing $50,000.  The remainder of the funds come from the mill levy increase approved by voters in 2008 for trail maintenance.  Upon its completion we will have a continuous 9 miles pedestrian trail from downtown Estes Park to the Lily Lake trail head.  Construction will be in early 2011 and be complete by the end of the summer.  I am excited, what a huge benefit to us.  I love the outdoors and Haley (my Golden Retriever) and I are going to enjoy using this new trail.  Thanks Estes Park!

This week in June our community comes together under the co-direction of Terry Chiplin and Belle Morris and puts on the Estes Park Marathon, one of the premier high-altitude races in the country. This weekend of events includes a fun run, 5K, 10K, half and full marathon.The courses are all beautiful, if you love to compete you do not want to miss this event.  I had two runners this year so I was crew, cheerleader, mom, wife, and volunteer today. My daughter who is in 8th grade ran the 10K and my husband ran the marathon. Since he is training for the Leadville 100 Trail Run, this should have just been an easy run for him except for the weather.   The forecast was for rain and a cool 36 degrees. We don’t mind the cold, but wet is another story. It wasn’t just sprinkling, it was a downpour.  The dedication of the volunteers and runners was inspiring.  Cold and wet, but both kept going until the end.   Two new items this year were the chip timing and the promotion of going cup-less.   All runners were given a chip to tie on their shoes and at certain intervals on the course they had to run over timing mats which record their splits and finish times.  Also all the half or full marathon runners were given small plastic pouches called HydraPouches that clip on their belts so that they can just fill them and not have to get a paper cup each time.  My husband didn’t use his because they only hold about 3 ounces and that is not enough.  One of the major problems at the aid stations was the drinks, iced down water and Gatorade.  The runners were frozen like popsicles and needed warm liquids, but no one thought of this.  I was running home to get warm water to fill my husband’s bottles because his hands were blue from carrying ice water.   My husband did have a scare and the aid station medic tried to get him to drop because he got too cold and was shaking uncontrollably, but after sitting in a warm truck for 30 minutes he was ready to finish it out.  The volunteers were just outstanding, I can’t say enough about their dedication and concern for the welfare of the runners.  My husband got an Estes Park Marathon finishers medal and is still grumpy about his time of 5 hours, but you never know what mother nature is going to hand you in Estes Park.  My daughter set a new personal record for her 10K time and finished first in her age category.  Being 13, she doesn’t have much competition because all the teen runners run the 5K instead.  I was very proud of her. You can check out the results on the EP marathon.org website.  I didn’t take many photos because of the rain.  Here are a few from the start line.

Estes Park Marathon 10K Start

Video of the start, I don’t think the staff realized that by letting the runners step on the mat it started the clock. My daughters started her watch at the countdown and she was 2 minutes off and so were some other people we talked to at the finish.

What is an Estes Park Snow Day?  Here it means that we have a foot of snow on the ground,  it’s still snowing and quite possibly the weatherman is going to be wrong, but we aren’t sure which way.  Last Wednesday was our first day of canceled school for the year.  You can check your calendars again, yes it was October.  I can never get my kids up in the morning, but at 7:30 am they were outside with me shoveling snow and for the rest of the day sledding and building forts.  Fortunately it stopped snowing that evening so we missed the 3 feet that was forecast.  Across the rest of the state it continued to snow that night and the next day with up to 2.5+ feet in some areas.

In Estes, we have our own little micro-climate.  We are completely surrounded by mountains and usually that works in our favor.  When big storms come through we almost always get less snow than the Front Range.  It was a regular work day for me so I headed to the office, later at the grocery store it was a social occasion I saw so many people I knew.  The snow didn’t keep most folks home.  There was school on Thursday, all the roads and paths were cleared.  The park department is so great usually the walking paths are cleared before the roads are.

walking path

I could have gone snowshoeing or hiking, but decided since it was so pleasant on Thursday I was going to take Haley for a run and we ended up at the dog park.  She loves the dog park and pulled me the last quarter mile.  When we got there she was so sad, there were no other dogs there. She really didn’t know what to do with no dogs to chase.

She loves the snow and dove into a snowbank on our way back.

snowbank

Mt. Olympus

Elk on 18 hole golf course

Well now as I write this almost a week later it was 60 degrees and breezy with beautiful blue skies. Other than the January winds there is not much that keeps us inside. Please visit us in the winter, you will be not be disappointed!

Spending time in the RMNP back country is one of life’s simple pleasures. I try to plan a couple trips per summer with my family. It allows you to enjoy places further into the park because you can spend the night and venture out on day hikes. A place we have wanted to go is Lawn Lake and Crystal Lake. The only draw back is all the tons of gear you have to haul in, especially when camping with children.  Three days of food for 5 people is hard to pack for,  it took two bear canisters to hold it all. My husband and I try to load our packs the heaviest and then let each of the kids carry their own clothing and snacks. We have a rule: The person with the heaviest pack gets to whine~and that’s usually my husband and he doesn’t whine.

The Big Pack

There are three individual campsites and one group site located right East of the lake in the trees. The sites are private and the trees protect you from the wind. We choose the second site so we could set up two tents and there was a large tree stump to cook on.

Filtering water at Lawn Lake

It was cold and rainy the entire weekend. We passed a lot of time in our tents waiting for the rain to stop. Some of the wildflowers were still blooming, but many were already done. We did a little exploring between rain storms and I spent the first night mostly awake after something large walked right between our tents.

New friend we met on the way to Crystal Lake

The second day my two youngest daughters and I headed up to Crystal Lake and my husband and my oldest daughter started scrambling up Mummy Mtn right behind our campsite. All of us were caught in the nasty thunderstorm that hit in the afternoon. My group turned back, but the other group was able to summit successfully. These two photos were taken 10 minutes apart, the first one we were just minutes from Crystal Lake hoping the weather would hold.  Unfortunately, a nasty boomer came over the saddle of Mummy and gave us a scare.

Sweeping Views above Lawn lake

Taking Cover coming down from Crystal Lakes

Stormy Summit

This is my second time being in this area, the most attractive feature to me is the diversity of the wildflowers. We saw Indian Paintbrush in all colors of the rainbow, yellow, light green, red, orange, pink, coral, and lavender.

Pink Indian Paintbrush

We made a slideshow of our photos and our favorite part of camping-Jiffy Pop over the stove.

This is a beautiful area, I hope you can make there someday. See you on the trail!

We are reaping the rewards of a very wet Rocky Mountain Spring in Estes Park. I recently hiked to the Big Pool on the North Inlet trail leaving from Grand Lake. It was 10 miles or so round trip and the wild flowers were the best I have ever seen.  The first mile or so of the trail is a jeep road because there is a private cabin along the trail. Once the trail narrows we saw fields of columbine in varying colors of rich periwinkle and light blues.  On the East side I have seen clumps of columbine, but these fields were amazing.  I also saw my first Calypso Orchid in a top secret location.  Along the trail further in we saw red columbine.  The vegetation was lush and we had to keep moving to ward off the mosquitoes. We stopped at Cascade Falls on our way to The Pool and took a break on the huge boulders and listened to the roar of the water.

Blue Columbine

Calypso Orchid

Red Columbine

Lush vegetation along the trails

Cascade Falls

I know many visitors to our area in Estes Park choose to remain on the East side of the park, but I would highly recommend exploring the trails in the West section of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Are you planning a visit to Estes Park this summer? And you are bringing Fido with you. Check out some of the areas websites before you get here to plan some fun activities with your dog. Dogs are not allowed on the trails in RMNP. You may take your dog along for a ride into the park and keep them on a leash in designated parking areas, but no hiking in RMNP. For those of you wanting to hike with your canine friends consider the National Forests. I wanted to post some pics from a recent hike with Haley, my Golden Retriever, on Crosier Mountain starting in Glen Haven where the Trail head is located. She kept us running most of the way up the steep trail.

There are some incredible views of Longs Peak . . .

All the trails on HWY 36 as you head towards Lyons are dog friendly too. Lily Mountain trail is a popular hike under 2 miles that is close to HWY 7 and minutes from EP. If you dog isn’t up for a hike, stop by the Dog Park right by Lake Estes and Stanley Park. If you want a complete list of dog-friendly trails stop by the Estes Park Visitor Center for a list.

Have fun, be respectful of others on the trail and lookout for wildlife!

What to do with kids in Estes Park? I saw this question posted recently and it is a concern for many who visit here with children too young to hike long distances. You don’t need to climb Longs Peak or back country camp in RMNP to fully appreciate the area. There is art, history, nature, food, shopping, entertainment and much more. There are too many activities to list so I will just mention of few.

It is going to be hard for me not to emphasize JUST going into the park. It is by far the best attraction we have. You don’t have to hike for miles to experience its beauty though. There are lots of places to hike just a block or two and explore rocks, streams, and see great views. Visit the Alluvial Fan near the North Entrance for hours of rock hopping, playing in the water or looking for wildflowers or wild raspberries. Also Lily Lake has a very short walking loop with plenty of opportunity for adventure. Stop in to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center and talk to the staff for ideas. They have ranger led walks just for young children. Make your own GORP, have a picnic in Moraine Park. Drive up Old Fall River Road and find a patch of snow to play in. Let’s back up for a minute before you come into the park, stop by the Estes Park Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and get one of their calendars of events to find out what is going on around town. There might be a festival going on at Bond Park or the Stanley Park Fairground. We have the Rooftop Rodeo, Arabian horse shows, car shows, art shows, Highlands Scottish Irish Festival, Quilt Shows, Film Festivals and our course Elk Fest. You could go to a festival every weekend all summer. We do have some fun touristy kinds of attraction like go-carts and miniature golf, but I would encourage you to also check out some of the unique attractions Estes Park offers like the Estes Park Museum or MacGregor Ranch Museum. Our Art Center and Library offer programs for hands-on activities throughout the summer months. Did you bring Fido? Take him to the Dog Park to burn up some energy. If you are downtown, check out some of our kid friendly stores that sell toys or have rocks and artifacts. Watch the glass blowers at several glass shops too. Grab an ice cream cone and head over to Riverside Plaza or Performance Park to enjoy an outdoor concert. Visit the flower garden on West Elkhorn Ave. and see how many flowers you can name. Rent a bike cart and ride around Lake Estes or play at one of the many playgrounds around town. Ride the Aerial Tram to the top of Prospect Mountain. Maybe the weather is turning off bad? Head over to the Aquatic Center for a swim or to the Historic Park Theater for a movie. How about the Estes Park Mountain shop for a rock climbing lesson? And I almost forgot the YMCA of the Rockies, horseback riding and chuck wagon dinners too. Soon we will have a Planetarium for star gazing. How about an old time portrait? Are you tired yet? You don’t need to leave Estes to keep the family entertained. #1 Rule-don’t forget to take lots of water, sunscreen and snacks!